Chapter 182 Don’t Break My Heart

Chapter 182 Don’t Break My Heart

Soren

The housekeeper found me in the nursery, where I was folding little onesies Hope had already outgrown, and her voice was hesitant in a way that told me she didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news.

“Luna Soren, the Alpha asked me to remind you of the pack gathering on Friday. He said the seamstress will be here tomorrow morning.”

I stopped folding and looked at her.

“He sent you to tell me that?”

“Yes, Luna.”

No message. No note on the kitchen counter. No moment of his time to tell me himself. A servant, because he couldn’t be bothered to walk upstairs and speak to his own mate.

“Thank you,” I said. “You can go.”

She left, and I stood there holding a small yellow onesie and felt something cold settle in my chest.

\---

I found him in the study, already dressed in his formal Alpha clothes, scrolling through his phone with a completely blank expression.

“Felix.”

He looked up. “Soren.”

“The housekeeper told me about the gathering. You couldn’t tell me yourself?”

“I was busy.”

“Busy.”

He set his phone aside and looked at me, and his eyes were tired and distant in a way that had become familiar.

“The seamstress will be here at nine. She has your measurements. Choose whatever you want.”

“This isn’t about the dress. This is about you not talking to me.”

“I’m talking to you right now.”

“This isn’t a conversation. This is you just playing your part.”

Felix stood up and walked toward the door, and I stepped in front of him because I was done being dismissed.

“The almost-kiss meant nothing,” I said. “Noah stopped. I didn’t want it. You have to believe me.”

He looked at me for a long moment, and I saw the struggle behind his eyes—the part of him that wanted to trust me, and the part that was too afraid to let anyone close.

“I have pack business to attend to,” he said.

He walked past me and left the room, and I heard his footsteps fade down the hallway and the front door close behind him.

I stood in the empty study and wanted to scream.

\---

The seamstress arrived the next morning at nine—a cheerful woman who measured me, pinned fabric, and talked about colors that would suit my complexion. I nodded and smiled and chose the first dress she showed me, because I didn’t care what I wore to an event where my mate probably wouldn’t even look at me.

Hope played on a blanket in the corner, babbling at her toys, and I watched her and wondered if she could feel the tension in the house, if she knew her parents were falling apart.

The seamstress left, and the house was quiet again, and I sat on the couch and waited for Felix to come home.

He didn’t come home for dinner.

He didn’t come home for bedtime.

He came home after midnight, and I was already in bed with my back to the door, and I heard him in the bathroom and then the mattress giving way behind me.

He didn’t touch me.

I didn’t turn around.

\---

On the night of the event I put on the dress, did my hair, and put on the earrings Felix had given me for our first anniversary. Hope was with Jazz, and the house was empty except for the two of us standing in the living room like strangers waiting for a bus.

“You look good,” Felix said.

“You look like you’d rather be somewhere else.”

He didn’t argue.

The drive to the pack house was silent, and I watched the city lights slide past the window and tried to remember the last time we had talked about something that wasn’t logistics or responsibility or the baby.

The event was held in the great hall, decorated with flowers and candles and a kind of elegance that made me feel like a fraud. Pack members greeted us as we entered, and Felix shook hands and smiled and played the role of Alpha better than anyone I had ever seen.

I played my part too. I smiled and nodded and said the right things, and no one could see that my heart was breaking in my chest.

An older beta and his wife approached me, and the woman took my hands and looked at me with kind eyes.

“Luna Soren, we’ve been wanting to properly meet you for a long time. You’ve done so much for this pack.”

“Thank you,” I said. “But I can’t take the credit. Felix is the one who leads.”

“He leads because you stand beside him.” The woman squeezed my hands. “Where is the Alpha? We’d like to congratulate him as well.”

I looked around the room, searching the crowd for Felix’s tall frame and dark hair.

“I’ll find him,” I said. “Please enjoy the refreshments.”

I walked through the crowd, past the tables and the dance floor and the groups of pack members laughing and talking. I checked the corners, the bar, and the doors where he usually stood when he needed a moment away from the noise.

Then I saw him.

He was standing in an alcove at the far end of the hall, half-hidden by a pillar and the shadows. And he wasn’t alone.

Holly was with him.