---- Chapter 7 Owen took out a diamond ring I had once desperately wanted and held it up in front of me." Ivy, please come back to me. I love you." Gasps rippled through the crowd. "Alpha Owen actually kneeled for her. My god!" It was a humbling gesture for sure, but my heart had long since gone cold. "It's impossible now, Owen." I walked away without looking back. Once I returned to my pack, I poured all my energy into managing it. I was determined to become a competent Alpha Female. While studying and improving myself, I received a large number of management documents. ---- They were very thorough, each annotated to varying degrees, but the handwriting made it clear that they were from Owen. I didn't hesitate to throw them all in the trash. Only after losing something does a person start to appreciate what they once had. In his attempts to win me back, Owen sent different types of flowers to me every morning. Each bouquet came with a card full of well-wishes written to me. Sometimes, when I returned late from hunting, I noticed his pack members stationed nearby, quietly guarding me. I told him more than once that my own pack had plenty of capable wolves and that he didn't need to do any of this. But he insisted on protecting me, saying he couldn't bear the thought of me being hurt again. ---- What he didn't understand was that this belated affection only made me feel endlessly harassed. At the next year's Werewolf Council's meeting, I formally requested that he sign a treaty that banned him from setting foot in my territory. I needed him to understand that some wounds could never be undone after they were inflicted. At first, Owen resisted the signing, relying on his status as the Alpha. However, I was no longer the timid woman I once was. I presented all the reports of Owen's dereliction of duty. ''You are no longer qualified to lead the wolves, nor are you fit to wield any authority!" The rest of the council supported my claim. After a vote, Owen was stripped of his position as the Alpha. He broke down, sobbing like a child as the council watched him sign the treaty.