I ran.
Miles disappeared beneath my paws. Trees blurred past, their trunks becoming vertical streaks of brown and gray in my peripheral vision. The bond's silence in my chest felt like freedom instead of absence. Like I'd been carrying weight I didn't realize existed until it suddenly lifted.
Going home, my wolf sang. Home to our mate. Our son. Our pack.
Not the mate fate chose. The one I chose. The one who'd chosen me back every single day.
The Heartlands fell behind me. Ruined pack house. Broken Alpha. Dead bond. All of it fading into memory as I crossed familiar territory I'd once walked as Luna.
Strange how much had changed. How I'd been so small then. So desperate for acceptance. For love from a man who'd never been capable of giving it. These paths had felt endless when I'd been powerless, every step taken in fear of disappointing him. Now they seemed smaller, manageable, just another stretch of forest to cross on my way to something better.
