Chapter 6: The Thirty-Day Deadline

Bruce stood in the middle of the empty bedroom, the protective talisman clenched tightly in his palm.

He didn't know how long he remained there.

The silence was unbearable.

For years, this house had been filled with Leo's laughter, Avril's soft footsteps, and the familiar scent of his mate.

Now there was nothing.

Bruce immediately called Avril again.

This time, the phone was switched off.

His heart sank.

He opened their shared message history and stared at his last message.

Tell Leo I'm so sorry.

There was no reply.

He called the studio once more and asked if Avril had mentioned where they were going.

The employee hesitated before answering.

"Sir, she only said the appointment would no longer be needed."

Bruce's fingers tightened around the phone.

"Did she say anything else?"

"No."

Bruce ended the call and immediately contacted the pack's transportation registry.

A few minutes later, he received the information he was looking for.

Avril and Leo had boarded a flight to the southern Sunstone Pack.

The departure time was three o'clock.

Bruce looked at the clock.

It was already too late.

His wolf stirred violently inside him.

For the first time in weeks, it wasn't anger he felt.

It was fear.

Real, overwhelming fear.

He rushed to the Head Elder's residence.

The old wolf opened the door and immediately frowned when he saw Bruce's expression.

"Where are Avril and Leo?" Bruce demanded.

The Head Elder remained silent.

That silence told Bruce everything.

"You knew," Bruce whispered.

"You knew she was leaving."

"Avril came to me," the Elder finally said. "She made her decision."

Bruce's jaw tightened.

"What decision?"

"The dissolution of your mate bond."

The words struck harder than any physical blow.

Bruce stared at him.

"No."

"The papers were submitted twenty-eight days ago."

Bruce shook his head.

"She wouldn't do that without telling me."

"She tried to tell you."

The Elder's voice was calm, but his words cut deeply.

"You simply kept choosing someone else every time she tried."

Bruce's face went pale.

Memories came rushing back.

Avril standing beside the suitcases.

Her saying, "Bruce, actually…"

His interruption.

The talisman.

Fiona's phone calls.

Leo's lowered head.

The family photo.

The amusement park.

Every time he had said, "It's just one small thing."

Every time he had promised, "I'll make it up to you."

He had believed there would always be another tomorrow.

The Head Elder looked at him gravely.

"There are thirty days before the next full moon. On that night, the sacred grounds will open and the bond can be severed permanently."

Bruce's breathing stopped for a moment.

"How many days are left?"

"Two."

Two days.

Bruce suddenly understood why Avril had been so quiet.

Why she had stopped arguing.

Why Leo had started calling him Alpha.

Why she had packed everything.

They weren't trying to punish him.

They were preparing to leave him behind.

"Where are they?" Bruce asked.

"The Sunstone Pack."

"I need to go there."

The Elder's eyes narrowed.

"And what will you say when you find her?"

Bruce opened his mouth.

Nothing came out.

For once, he had no excuse.

No duty.

No obligation.

No explanation involving Fiona.

He had simply failed his mate and his son.

Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away, Avril and Leo finally arrived at the southern Sunstone Pack.

Leo stepped off the plane holding my hand.

He looked exhausted, but strangely peaceful.

"Mom, is this our new home?"

"For now," I answered.

He looked up at me.

"Will Alpha Bruce come here?"

My heart tightened at the question.

"I don't know."

Leo thought for a moment before nodding.

"If he does, we don't have to go back, right?"

I squeezed his hand.

"No, sweetheart. We don't have to go back."

That night, I contacted the local Elders and confirmed that we would remain under Sunstone protection until the full moon.

The moment the confirmation arrived, I finally allowed myself to breathe.

For the first time in weeks, there was no waiting for Bruce's footsteps outside the door.

No wondering whose call would take him away.

No fear that Fiona would suddenly become more important than us.

I tucked Leo into bed and kissed his forehead.

"Sleep well."

He caught my hand before I could leave.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"If Alpha Bruce comes, don't let him make you sad again."

My eyes burned.

I bent down and hugged him tightly.

"I won't."

Across the mountains, Bruce stood alone beneath the night sky.

He looked down at the little talisman still resting in his palm.

It was Leo's comfort item.

The one thing his son needed when he was afraid.

And Bruce had taken it away to give it to someone else's pup.

For the first time, he understood what Avril had been teaching Leo all along.

Don't cling to what you've already lost.

But Bruce wasn't ready to accept that he had lost them.

Not yet.

He looked toward the southern mountains.

"Avril," he whispered. "Please give me one chance."

His wolf answered with a painful howl.

But this time, there was no one beside him to hear it.