Chapter 2 Ever since signing the mate dissolution papers, Luna June Blackstone had stopped handling pack duties altogether. She no longer dragged herself out of bed at five in the morning to prepare the special protein-rich meals growing werewolf pups needed, and she no longer stayed up late waiting for Alpha Nicholas Blackstone to stumble home from pack meetings so she could brew him the herbal tea that helped with the headaches that came after long shifts. All those responsibilities she'd once seen as her Luna duties were now dumped on the pack house staff. At first, no one picked up on the change. But then things started falling apart: Kai Blackstone showed up late for his combat training and got chewed out by the pack trainer, Cora Blackstone's homework went missing, and Nicholas Blackstone's silver watch stopped working completely. The staff scrambled around in a panic, but they could never quite match the standards June had set. The kitchen was a mess with unwashed dishes, the living room was covered in the pups' toys, and even the clothes came out of the laundry wrinkled no matter how hard they tried. What had once been a perfectly run pack house slowly turned into complete chaos. When Alpha Nicholas pushed open the bedroom door, June was sitting by the window reading a book. Sunlight came through the curtains, making shadows dance across her face. "How long are you gonna keep this up?" he asked from the doorway, his voice that low growl that usually made pack members submit immediately. June closed her book and looked at him. "I'm not causing any problems." "Then why did you stop taking care of the house?" He stepped closer, and she could smell his scent-pine and something wild that used to make her wolf purr. "Are you still pissed about what happened before?" "I'm not pissed," she said, putting the book down. "I just don't want to do it anymore." Nicholas's eyes narrowed, his fingers drumming on the dresser. "What's your excuse?" "I'm tired," she said simply. "We have staff-I don't need to do everything myself." In her head, she thought about her past life, when she'd gotten up before sunrise every single day: making Nicholas's coffee exactly how he liked it, preparing the kids' lunches, hand-washing their training clothes, even organizing his pack documents. But what had any of it gotten her? Nicholas being all lovey-dovey with Megan Silvermoon, the pups treating Aunt Megan like their real mom, and dying alone on her 62nd birthday. "June Blackstone," he said, his voice getting cold, "if you're having some kind of breakdown, just say so. Don't act like a spoiled brat." She almost smiled. "I'm not having a breakdown. I just want to take a break." Before she could say anything else, the door slammed open. Kai and Cora Blackstone ran in, their little faces red with anger. "Mom's being so lazy!" Cora screamed. "We want Aunt Megan to take care of us!" Kai jumped in, shouting, "Aunt Megan is way nicer than you, way better at everything, and a million times cooler!" Nicholas stared at June, like he was waiting for her to back down. But she just took a deep breath and said quietly, "If you all think she's so amazing, then go ahead and bring her here. I don't care." The room went dead silent. Nicholas's face went dark. "Are you serious right now?" June nodded. "Completely serious." "Dad, let's go!" Cora said, pulling on Nicholas's arm with excitement. "I want Aunt Megan here right now!" "With Aunt Megan here, we don't need you anymore!" Kai said, making a face at June. "Just leave-get out of our house!" Nicholas looked at June one more time, saw that she wasn't going to change her mind, and turned around, walking out with the kids. June stood there by herself, listening to their car drive away, and closed her eyes. Soon enough, she'd give them exactly what they wanted. She was going to leave them all behind for good.