Chapter 1I used to mind-link Miles about everything.
A flower on my morning patrol. How bitter the coffee was at the new pack-owned café. The sunset bleeding orange over the highway.
Sometimes I linked just because I felt his presence in my chest - that faint pull of our soon-to-be bond.
He never said much back.
A low "yeah." A clipped "got it."
But he always replied.
For six months, I convinced myself that was enough.
I made it through the betrothal announcements. The gown fittings. The venue scouting for the mating ceremony.
All the way to five days before the bond was supposed to seal.
That's when I opened his laptop and found it.
An AI program. Can manifest mind-links as text messages. Then Auto-replying.
It scanned my words, yanked out a keyword, and spat back the safest reply its code could generate.
"Miss you" → "Yeah."
"I'm upset" → "Got it."
"Can we talk?" → "Stop."
Turns out, for the past six months, Miles had never been the one answering me.
Then I saw his other chat. The one with Sophie.
Pages upon pages.
Good-morning howls. Late-night voice notes. Plans to run the coast trails together. Plans for everything.
That's when it finally clicked.
Miles could love someone. He just didn't love me.
Miles came home late that night. His scent clung to rain and something floral - Sophie's conditioner.
He dropped his keys, didn't even look at me.
"Why are you still up?"
I was perched on the couch, claws dimly pressing into the cushion.
"I wanted to talk."
He sighed, a low rumble in his chest.
"Couldn't you just link me?"
I stared at him.
"Do you think I talk too much?"
He stopped, amber flickering behind his irises.
"Why are you asking me that?"
"Just answer."
He sat, rubbed his face.
"Sometimes, yeah."
"When?"
"Like when I'm working and you send me random crap. Today you linked about some dessert shop. Then the flowers for the ceremony. Then a broken streetlight."
He laughed - sharp, dismissive.
"Anne, do you realize you tell me everything?"
My chest tightened, and I felt my wolf stir, restless.
"Isn't that what mates do? When they love someone?"
"But I don't have the energy for it."
He leaned back, looking at me like I drained him.
"I work all day. I come home exhausted. And then I have to deal with your emotions. Can you just grow up?"
Miles loved telling me to grow up.
When I wanted to celebrate our anniversary, he called it childish.
When I asked him to come gown-shopping, he said I was making a big deal out of nothing.
When I tried to share my day, he'd remind me that every wolf has problems.
But today, I'd seen his messages with Sophie.
Hundreds of them.
I spent the whole afternoon scrolling. I only made it back six months.
And the Miles in those messages? I didn't recognize him.
He was sweet. Patient. He'd spend half an hour comforting her because she ate a sour grape.
A sour grape.
I stared at him, my voice dropping low.
"Why doesn't Sophie need to grow up?"
He looked at me like I'd lost my mind.
"Are you seriously starting a fight right now?"
That was his move. Every time I mentioned Sophie, I was the unreasonable one.
Not this time.
"Forget Sophie," I said.
"If you didn't want to talk to me, you could've just said so. Why make an AI do it for you?"
His face shifted. His wolf surfaced for a split second - gold flaring in his eyes.
"How did you - " He stopped. "Did you go through my laptop?"
I didn't answer.
He rubbed his face, letting out a heavy breath.
"You always said I never made you anything. So I made you something. That's your gift."
Something cracked inside me.
Miles was a genius developer. Everyone in the pack said so.
For Sophie's birthday, he built her a website. When you opened it, snow fell, fireworks burst, and in the center: Sophie, stay happy forever. I'll always be here.
When she couldn't sleep, he coded an app that played sounds based on her mood - and reminded her to drink water at 2 a.m.
When she was bored at work, he made her a game - a little wolf pup running across the screen, cheering: You're amazing, Sophie.
And me?
He built a program so he wouldn't have to talk to me.
Chapter 2
I didn't say another word. I just went to bed, curled into a tight ball, and let my wolf simmer in silent fury.
The next morning, voices dragged me awake. Miles and Sophie were back from their morning run - I caught their mingled scents before my eyes even opened: pine, sweat, and that floral note Sophie always wore. They were laughing about something, their wolves still buzzing under their skin.
I padded out and saw them by the door, both flushed, panting. Sophie was saying she'd almost given up halfway.
Miles grinned, his fangs flashing briefly. "That's because you stayed up too late again. We'll go easier tomorrow."
Three years ago, I'd asked if we could run together in the mornings. He said no - he needed that time to himself. I asked about evening walks. Too tired after pack duties, he said.
But every single morning for the past three years, he'd been running with Sophie. Rain or shine.
He saw me and stopped mid-laugh.
"Hey. You're up."
He was holding a bag from the pack-owned café down the street.
"Got breakfast. You want some?"
I didn't need to look inside. The almond hit me before I could think - sharp, cloying, and my wolf shrank back, ears flattening. Almond croissants. Iced lattes with almond milk. Sophie's favorites.
The same almonds that landed me in the pack clinic two years ago. Miles had been there, held my hand, even snapped a picture of my medical bracelet so he wouldn't forget.
But every single time he brought breakfast home, it was almond croissants and almond lattes. Twenty years with Sophie. He knew her order by heart.
I stared at him.
"Miles."
He glanced up.
"Why do you keep forgetting I'm allergic to almonds?"
His smile dropped.
Before he could open his mouth, Sophie laughed. "Oh god, that's my fault. I kept begging him to try that place." She brushed her fingers over his forearm. "But next time you'll ask Anne first, right?"
Miles nodded.
Next time. There was never a next time.
Sophie was already heading to the bathroom. "I'm gonna jump in the shower."
"Towels are where they always are," Miles called after her.
Where they always are. I knew exactly. Second shelf. Pink towel. Her body wash. Her lotion. Miles couldn't remember to buy toilet paper, but he always remembered to restock Sophie's things.
I stood in the middle of the living room, and it sank in - I felt like a stranger in my own den.
I couldn't stay there.
I grabbed my bag.
Miles glanced up. "Where are you going?"
"Out."
He didn't ask where. He was already pulling plates down for Sophie.
The second I stepped outside, I could finally breathe - my wolf unclenched, and I drew in the cold air. I had calls to make. The gown. The ceremony site. All of it.
At the pack seamstress's shop, the she-wolf at the counter saw me and her face lit up.
"Anne! Did Miles come with you this time?"
I shook my head.
Her smile faded.
I'd been in six times. Miles hadn't shown up once. The first few times, she'd tried to be kind - "He must be swamped with pack duties." By the sixth, she'd stopped pretending.
When she handed me the cancellation form, she paused.
"You deserve someone who shows up."
I couldn't trust my voice. I just left.
Outside, my throat burned, and my wolf stirred restlessly. A stranger could see what I'd missed for five years.
By the time I finished canceling everything, the sun was dipping below the treeline. My phone buzzed - Miles's mom.
"Anne, sweetheart, pack dinner's almost ready. You coming?" Then, lighter, like it was nothing: "Miles and Sophie are already here."
Chapter 3
Miles's mom hosted pack dinners all the time. At least twice a moon cycle. Sophie was always invited. I got invited maybe once a month - just enough to keep up appearances.
By the time I arrived, everyone was already digging in. Sophie was tucked next to Miles, laughing about something. He'd peeled an entire pile of shrimp for her with his own claws - his wolf clearly proud of the service.
She spotted me and smiled. "Anne! Glad you could make it."
I dropped into the seat at the far end of the table. Most of the spread was seafood - I couldn't touch any of it. My wolf flattened her ears at the smell. I picked at the salad.
Halfway through, Miles's mom looked up. "Anne, have you finalized the ceremony menu?"
Before I could answer: "I was thinking we should upgrade the main. Maybe a full wild boar roast? Sophie loves a good cut."
Sophie laughed. "You don't have to do that."
"If you love it, we're doing it. It's a celebration."
I stopped chewing.
It was supposed to be my mating ceremony. Miles hadn't helped plan a single thing. And now even the menu was about Sophie. Not that it mattered - there wasn't going to be a ceremony. I just nodded.
After dinner, Miles's mom waved me toward the couch. "Come sit, honey." Then she turned to Sophie. "Sophie, sweetie, help me clean up?"
Sophie started to rise.
Miles cut in. "Mom, Sophie's on her cycle. She's not feeling well. Anne can handle it."
My claws dug into my glass.
So he noticed when Sophie was on her cycle. Five years together, and he never noticed with me. Last month, I was cramping so badly I could barely stand. He thought I looked tired. "You should go to bed earlier," he'd said.
Miles's mom laughed. "We're not making a guest clean up. You two can manage."
Miles and his father headed into the kitchen. Sophie followed and lingered in the doorway, smiling.
I stayed on the couch.
A little while later, Sophie yawned. Miles was on his feet before she even finished. He grabbed his keys.
"Let's get you home."
Same as always. Sophie first.
Her den was two blocks from ours. Miles had helped her find it - made sure the territory was safe, made sure her favorite café was nearby. Made sure he could get there fast if she needed him. And she always needed him. Broken faucet. Dead phone. Bad dream.
We dropped her off. She waved from the sidewalk. Miles didn't pull away until she was inside.
The ride home was quiet.
I broke it. "Don't you think you're too close with Sophie?"
He looked relaxed. Almost amused. He reached over and patted my hand. "You jealous?" His wolf flickered in his eyes - complacent. "Sophie and I grew up together. We're practically pack siblings. If something was going to happen, it would've happened long ago."
He pulled into our driveway. "Besides, I'm mated to you. What more do you want?"
I pulled my hand back.
"Are you free tomorrow? I need to talk to you about something."
He frowned. "Can't you just send a mate link - "
He stopped. He remembered. I already knew about the AI.
After a long pause, he nodded. "Fine. I'll make time."
