He didn't answer, His mind was still echoing with Ella's voice. "I want a divorce."
Felicia leaned in closer. "Maybe this is for the best" once the ceremony's done, everything will be simpler and back to the way it should be, you didn't love her in the first place so it best she is leaving on her own you know, we can finally talk about our future together."
His jaw tensed.
"Our future," she continued, her fingers drifting to his arm. "Marriage. A real mating bond. The right and proper Luna by your side. And children, Nelli. You need a proper heir. Someone strong enough to be the next Alpha, someone as strong as you, Like us, only me can give you that type of heir"
Her voice dropped into something breathy. "I have dreamed of a little boy with your eyes, noses and my—"
He stoop up.
She froze mid sentence, blinking at the sudden shift. "What is wrong" she asked
"I need to walk," Nelli said curtly
And he left the room without looking back
Nelli could feel her staring after him, but he couldn't hear her anymore—not over the sound Ella slamming every door she did ever kept politely closed before.
Divorce.
She meant it. She wasn't bluffing, or begging, or trying to prove a point.
She was done.
And the worst part? She had not looked heartbroken. She did looked free.
The Bet caught up with Nelli in the hallway, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Sit, are you sure about this.. it's just a shame, "he muttered, "The child of a fatted mate bond would have been the strongest of its generation.."
"Don't bring that up again," He snapped, sharper than he intended.
He went silent, walking beside him with careful steps. Nelli could feel his questions pressing against his teeth, but he didn't voice them. Smart.
Still, he could sense the doubt radiating off him.
Wasn't the Alpha always indifferent about his wife? Why is he so angry now? He asked
Because this wasn't how it was supposed to go.
Because she wasn't supposed to leave me.
Nelli clenched his fists.
"She can't even have children, he muttered. "It's better this way . That marriage was never built on love so it won't last. I have been sick of the low- status rogue for a very long time now."
The Beta didn't respond as the lie hung between them. Before the silence could stretch any longer, a young wolf skidded to a halt around the corner, painting and wide eyed.
"Alpha!" He said, breathless. "A healer is requesting to see you. He said it is urgent.. and it is about your wife!"
Third Person's POV
What could possibly be wrong with her?
The messenger, a scrawny wolf with trembling hands and a nervous scent, stood in front of me, barely managing to meet Nelli's eyes . "Alpha," he said , voice taut, "the Healer insists it's urgent. He said it concerns.. your wife's medical result."
Nelli let out a short, humorless breath.
My wife.
It felt strange, the word. Heavier now. But he shoved that thought aside.
"She was perfectly fine earlier," Nelli mutter "lively, throwing her little tantrum, storming around like she owned the place. If anything, she looked healthier than ever. Yet you think she is ill?
The worker didn't answer, of course. He simply nodded and backed away, disappearing the second he stopped acknowledging his existence.
Nelli star tree d pacing, his thoughts still spinning around Ella's outburst like flies around fire.
She said she wanted a divorce.
And she meant it, she is not throwing a tantrum, even if she is I shouldn't care right, this is what I have always wanted
He could still hear the way she said it, not the sobbing little girl he used to know, the one who wilted under pressure and curled up at his feel with how in her eyes. No, this version of her is wild and loud and sure. Nothing like her past acts, this character felt far too.. real, and it got under his skin.
Nelli clenched his jaw. His footsteps echoed under the high ceiling drowning out his thoughts.
"Alpha," the Beta said quietly, steeping up beside me, "sir, excuse my words, but.. why are you so angry?"
He did not answer.
He titled his head. "You are not usually like this. Cold, yes. Focused. Controlled. But this? You look like you are upset about something."
Nelli stopped walking.
The worst part was, he wasn't wrong.
He did always prided himself on being unmoved. Strategic. He handled was councils and border threats with less heat than he did felt knowing Ella was packing her things like she did never cared for him at all.
Nell ran a hand through his hair, denied, "No, I am not. It is because she is acting out."
"Tell the healer he can leave the result in my office. "He spoke coldly, impatiently, "I will look at them when I have time."
The Beta hesitated, then nodded, clearly sensing this wasn't a battle worth pushing.
As Nelli turned to leave, his jaw tightened.
Medical results.
How could there possibly be something wrong with her?
She was too loud earlier, too bold. Too alive .
Ella's POV
The next day, I was doubled checking my bag, folding each pieces of clothing over again, not because I was sentimental, but because it gave my hands something to do while the rest of me burned. I refused to leave in a flurry. No storming out No slammed doors. If I was leaving, I did do it calm. Composed. On my own two feet.
"Too bad," one of the maids whispered nearby, her voice not nearly quite enough. "Nelli's been Alpha for so long. He really needs an heir. Poor man. Maybe things will finally settle down once Felicia takes over. She can definitely give him children unlike Ella.."