From Rejected Mate to Luna (Julia White) novel Chapter 200

Julia’s POV

My body felt heavy with exhaustion, but my mind remained sharp, hyperaware of the silence between my thoughts. For the fifth time in an hour, I reached out through the mindlink to Matthew.

“Matthew? Can you hear me? Where are you?”

Nothing but a muffled echo returned, like shouting into a distant canyon. The blurred sensation confirmed he was beyond the fifty–mile range of clear communication.

Inside me, Kaia paced restlessly, claws scraping against the edges of my consciousness. Something’s wrong. Our Alpha wouldn’t just vanish.

“He’s not our Alpha,” I whispered, but the correction felt hollow even to my own ears.

I glanced at the clock: 9:47 PM. Nearly an hour since the emergency meeting had concluded, since I’d declined the Alpha position and nominated Eric. An hour since Matthew had slipped away while all eyes were on me.

Filing away the last of the inventory sheets, I grabbed my jacket and headed for the door. Medical center staff nodded respectfully as I passed–the woman who’d led them through the crisis, who’d just redirected her power to another.

The night air hit my face as I crossed the compound toward the guest quarters where Matthew had been staying. Stars pierced the black sky overhead. indifferent to the turmoil below.

He wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye, I assured myself. Not after everything we’ve been through.

But doubt crept in with each step. I remembered his distant expression during the meeting, how he’d encouraged me to face the pack alone. This is your

moment, Julia,” he’d said. At the time, it had seemed like respect. Now it felt like preparation.

My heart pounded as I reached Matthew’s door. I knocked once, twice, then tested the handle. Unlocked. The door swung open to reveal a room that looked

simultaneously tidy and abandoned.

The bed was made with military precision. The closet door stood open, revealing empty hangers. The small desk was bare except for a folded piece of paper at its center. No travel bag by the door, no jacket hanging on the hook, no coffee cup on the nightstand. Nothing remained of the man who had stood beside

me through crisis after crisis.

“No,” I whispered, the word escaping involuntarily.

Kaia howled inside my mind, the sound blending with my rising panic. I moved mechanically to the desk, fingers trembling as I unfolded the note. Matthew

distinctive handwriting filled the page:

By the time you read this, I’ll be on my way back to Spring Valley, James contacted me about rogue wolf activity along our northerns harder that requires

attention.

I’ve watched you find your strength these past weeks, culminating in todayx decision. You’ve chosen your path with wisdom and snow, pack above your own desires. You’ve become the leader I always knew you could be.

I won’t make you choose between your responsibilities here and what a growing between us. That would be cruel and neither of us cum afford to be torn hemmen

Chapter 200

two packs right now. You belong with your pack as they rebuild, and I must return to mine.

Know that what we shared was real. Perhaps someday, when both our packs are stable, we can revisit what might have been.

Take care of yourself, Julia.

-Matthew

I read the note twice, my hands clenching tighter with each word. The paper crumpled slightly in my grip as anger replaced shock.

“You coward, I whispered, t

I grabbed my phone

“You don’t

Kaia’s

olute coward!”

he busy signal that answered felt like another rejection, another door closed without discussion.

the empty room, pacing now. “You don’t get to walk away for my own good without even talking to me!”

den eyes flashing in my mind. Chase him. Track him. Make him explain himself.

side the curtain to stare at the highway leading north. Somewhere along that dark ribbon of road, Matthew was driving ble thing. Just like that–the second time in my life

cided my future without my consent.

hand. I could call again. I could jump in my car Instead of accepting this dismissal by note.

ley was only three hours away. I could demand an

an flickered unbidden into my mind.

whispered, my voice steadier than I expected

ded the note and slipped it into my pock

ition.

last look around the room tha

the door gently behind,

alked back toward

check on

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