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The yard buzzed with movement. Warriors sparred with dull blades, the clang of metal ringing through the clearing. Laughter rang from the sidelines while a couple of pups rolled around in the grass. It felt like normal—peaceful.

Until Bavanda walked in.

She wore her commander's expression—shoulders back, chin high, eyes scanning like she was above it all. But inside, her stomach twisted. She hadn’t slept. Her heart hadn’t stopped racing since last night. Since Loco whispered “You should’ve told me sooner.”

And now, there he was—sitting on the low stone ledge near the sparring circle, just past the weapons rack.

Selene stood beside him, her hand on his arm. She said something—Bavanda couldn’t hear what—but she saw Loco chuckle softly. Selene smiled, then… leaned in. She hugged him.

And he didn’t pull away.

That’s all it took. The sound around Bavanda disappeared. She heard only her blood rushing.

She marched forward, boots pounding against packed earth. Warriors parted instinctively at the look on her face. She stopped only a few feet from them.

“Really?” she snapped, voice loud enough to silence the yard.

Loco turned slowly. His expression shifted from surprise to wariness. “Bavanda…”

Her voice cut like a blade. “Was it that easy for you, Loco? Just… move on? Just fall into someone else’s arms like everything we had was nothing?”

Selene stepped back, eyes wide, lips parting to explain. “I wasn’t…”

“Don’t,” Bavanda hissed, her eyes never leaving Loco’s. “This isn’t about you.”

The yard was dead silent. Even the wind had stopped.

Loco rose to his full height, jaw clenching. “You don’t get to do this.”

“Do what?” she barked. “Ask if the man I thought I knew—if the man who promised me forever—meant any of it?”

His voice dropped to a dangerous low. “You ended it. You said no.”

“I said I needed time!” she shouted. “And you vanished. You gave up!”

Loco’s eyes flared. “I waited. I begged. I broke myself trying to be enough for you, and you shut the door in my face. What was I supposed to do, Bavanda? Rot while you decided if I was worth it?”

Her breath caught.

Baron and Avynna stood on the edges now, watching. Baron’s arms crossed, face stony. Avynna’s expression unreadable, but her eyes flicked to Selene.

“I never said you weren’t worth it,” Bavanda whispered.

“But you acted like I wasn’t,” Loco spat. “Every time I reached for you, you flinched. Every time I made plans, you found reasons to wait. And when I asked you to be mine, you looked at me like I’d stabbed you.”

Tears burned behind her eyes, but she wouldn’t let them fall. “I was scared. I didn’t know if I could lead this pack. If I could love you the way you deserved.”

“And you think this…” he gestured between himself and Selene, voice rising again, “...you think this is easy for me? That it’s not killing me to even look at you?”

Then, Bavanda broke. Her voice cracked, pure pain leaking through. “Then why are you with her? Why are you laughing with her like you used to laugh with me? Why does it look like you want her?”

Loco’s mouth opened—then closed. His face hardened. “Because she doesn’t make me feel like a failure.”

Silence again. Harsher this time. Everyone heard that one.

Bavanda recoiled like he’d struck her. “I never meant to make you feel like that,” she said hoarsely.

“But you did,” he growled. “You loved me when it was convenient. When it was quiet. When no one was watching. But when it came time to fight for me—to stand with me—you vanished.”

“Don’t you dare,” she said, stepping closer. “Don’t you dare pretend I didn’t fight. I bled for this pack. I died for it. I lost everything, Loco. I lost me.”

“And I lost you,” he roared back. “While you were finding yourself, I was losing everything we built. And you didn’t even look back.”

Then Bavanda said the one thing she would regret forever. “I guess you were never strong enough to love someone like me.”

He went still. Everyone felt it. Like the whole world stopped breathing.

Loco’s eyes darkened. Not with hurt—but something colder. Something that had been waiting to crawl to the surface.

“Maybe you’re right,” he said. His voice was dead. “Maybe I should’ve loved someone simpler. Someone who didn’t turn love into a war.”

He turned his back on her.

Bavanda’s hand twitched, like she might reach for him.

Selene stepped forward quietly. “Bavanda…”
She lifted the strap of her bag off the bench. “I was leaving. I told him goodbye. That’s what that hug was.”

Bavanda blinked. Her gaze snapped to the worn leather pack. Her whole chest sank. Her mouth opened, but no sound came.

Selene stepped in front of Bavanda just as she started to follow Loco, her voice low but sharp with emotion.

“What are you doing?” she asked, eyes burning.
“You humiliated him in front of everyone, and now you want to chase after him like that’ll fix it?”

Bavanda’s chest heaved. “I didn’t mean to…”

“But you did. You never mean to, yet you keep doing the same thing time and time again. Why? Why do you treat him like this? He has feelings too, he has a whole damn heart.” Selene’s words cut clean. “You’ve been hurting him for months. Pushing him away, pulling him close, then leaving him in pieces. He deserves better than that.”

Bavanda flinched, her throat tightening.

Selene shook her head. “He gave you everything, and you made him feel like a placeholder. Like he was only good enough until you figured yourself out.”

There was no cruelty in her tone—just truth, raw and unpolished.

“You may be the Alpha’s daughter, Bavanda,” she said softly, “but that doesn’t give you the right to break people who love you.”

She stepped aside then, lifting her bag over her shoulder. And Bavanda stood frozen, heart splitting with guilt.

She turned again—to find Loco already walking away. He was already far gone.

She started to follow, desperate now. “Loco—please. Wait.”

He spun on her, eyes blazing. “Don’t touch me.”
His voice thundered. He pushed her hand aside, and Bavanda stumbled back a step.

Pack members moved instinctively—ready to intervene.

Loco didn’t touch her again, didn’t say a word. He just walked off, his shoulders stiff, his footsteps echoing in the stunned silence.

Bavanda stood there, breathless, empty. And everyone watched. Were they judging or not? She couldn't tell.

***

The council room was unusually quiet. Evening sun filtered through the high windows, casting long shadows across the floor. Baron sat at the head of the room, his hands clasped tightly, jaw clenched. Beside him, Avynna’s expression was unreadable—serene on the surface, stormy underneath.

Gina leaned against the wall, arms crossed, while Steve paced by the windows, tension crackling off him like static.

The door opened.

First came Bavanda, her steps hesitant, her face pale from sleeplessness and guilt. Then Loco, slower, more rigid—his posture like someone walking to their sentencing.

They both stopped before the council table.

Silence.

Then, Avynna spoke. Her voice was calm but carried weight. “This isn’t just about the two of you anymore.”

Loco's jaw tightened. Bavanda looked at her mother, shame burning behind her eyes.

“The pack is watching,” Avynna continued. “They're confused, and fractured. If we don’t get ahead of this now, the damage will spread.”

Baron spoke next, his voice low and firm. “We need our future leaders to be solid… or step down.”

Loco flinched. He looked between them all, and all he saw in their eyes were accusation. It wasn't loud, just a silent gaze that gave away their thoughts. It was clear they thought this was his fault.

A chuckle escaped his lips, as he ran his hand through his hair. “Wow! This is unbelievable," he mumbled to himself.

Baron heaved. “Loco, you're a man. Higher responsibilities rest on your shoulders. You… You have let your emotions cloud your actions too much. This could have been avoided. You…”

“So what?” he snapped, bitterness curling in his tone. “You’re saying this is all my fault?”

No one answered. The silence said everything. Bavanda opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

Loco laughed dryly, no humor in it. “Of course. The girl breaks me, humiliates me, drags me through the mud—and I’m the one being questioned like a criminal?”

Baron stood, slow and imposing. “We’re not blaming you, son.”

“Then what are you doing?” Loco snapped. “Because it sure as hell feels like I’m the one being judged here. I did too much? I overreacted? It's my fault that she said no when I laid out my life in front of her?”

Avynna stood too, her voice softer, but not yielding.
“You’ve been lashing out, Loco. And the younger wolves are picking sides. The pack needs unity, not chaos.” She paused. “Loco, you let go too quickly. And was falling for Selene even necessary?"

Loco parted his lips in shock. The pain flashed through his eyes. He turned sharply toward Bavanda. “Tell me, Bavanda. Am I the reason the pack’s falling apart? Or is it you—who couldn’t make up her damn mind?”

Bavanda’s eyes widened, hurt cutting deep, but she didn’t speak.

“You said you loved me,” Loco muttered. “But you let everything else destroy that. And now they expect me to keep pretending like I’m okay.”

Steve finally stepped forward. “No one’s asking you to pretend. We just want resolution before this tears more than hearts apart.”

Loco’s voice dropped. Cold. “Then maybe the best resolution... is me not being here.”