"This is my formal application to leave the pack."

The clerk at the Pack Transfer Office stared at me, wide-eyed.

"This is… rather sudden."

I fed him the excuse I'd rehearsed: "I want to take my child to my husband's pack—to live with him."

He nodded, offering an awkward smile.

"No problem. Being Wolfless, it must be tough raising a kid here on your own. We all figured you were a single mother."

I smiled—thin, bitter.

I wasn't a single mother. Not yet. But soon, I would be.

I'd barely stepped out of the transfer office when I spotted Alpha Gabriel and Scarlett heading my way.

Gabriel—my fated mate, Alpha of the Silver Moon Pack, and the biological father of my six-year-old son, Leo.

Seven years ago, I'd been his personal Beta.

We recognized the mate bond between us, fell into bed together, and I ended up pregnant.

Six years of hiding what we were. Six years of him refusing to let our son call him "Dad" in public—all because I was Wolfless, unable to shift.

Gabriel walked slowly, his tall frame deliberately matching the pace of the petite woman beside him.

Scarlett held the quarterly hunting report in one hand and clutched the hem of Gabriel's tailored suit with the other—an intimacy so blatant it made my stomach turn, no telepathy needed.

As we passed each other, my heart dropped. Every nerve in my body screamed at the closeness of my mate.

I couldn't stop myself. "Alpha—"

He stopped. Those ice-blue eyes cut to me—cold, distant, as if I were a stranger.

"Miss Seraphina."

Polite. Distant. His tone carried the unmistakable warning of an Alpha—reminding me this was the Pack Affairs Office, he was the leader, and I was merely a subordinate without a Spirit Wolf.

I got the message. I swallowed the longing I'd been choking down for years.

"Alpha Gabriel."

He gave a curt nod and walked on, as if I were nothing more than a crack in the pavement.

I smiled bitterly, fighting the urge to bolt from the territory right then and there.

He wouldn't notice a Wolfless coming or going anyway.

My phone buzzed—a message from Leo, sent from his smartwatch.

[Mom, will Dad come home for my birthday?]

I froze, instinctively glancing back down the hallway.

Gabriel was leaning down, murmuring something to Scarlett with a gentleness I had never once seen him show.

A passerby walked too close, and he instinctively flared his Alpha aura to shield her—his gaze soft, protective, reserved for *his* people.

I swallowed the clawing pain in my chest and typed out a message to Gabriel.

[Today is Leo's sixth birthday—the day his Spirit Wolf might awaken. Will you be home tonight?]

Across the hallway, I watched him glance at his phone. Three seconds. He set it down without expression, like it was spam.

I stared at the unanswered message and let out a hollow laugh.

*Pull yourself together, Seraphina.*

*You should've known—a noble Alpha would never love a Wolfless who can't even shift. What are you still hoping for?*

I shoved my phone back into my pocket, took a deep breath, and severed that last fraying thread of hope. Then I turned and walked away.

*Gabriel, you'll be free soon. No more worrying that your dirty little secret might embarrass you.*

…

After leaving the Pack Affairs Office, I headed straight to the pack's elementary school to pick up Leo.

He launched himself at me the second he spotted me, those eyes—Gabriel's eyes—bright with hope. "Mom! It's my birthday! Is Dad gonna celebrate with me?"

On the crowded street, surrounded by bonded mates walking hand in hand, my eyes stung with tears.

"Your father…"

Before I could finish, my phone buzzed.

Gabriel had finally replied.

[Meeting canceled. I'll be home tonight.]

A rush of joy flooded through me—pathetic, I know—but I nodded eagerly.

"Don't worry, baby. Your dad's coming home today."

Leo clapped his hands and leapt into my arms, radiating the kind of pure, uncomplicated happiness only a child can feel.

This was the first time in six years Gabriel had agreed to celebrate Leo's birthday.

That night, I prepared a feast—roasted meats, the kind werewolves crave—and Leo had already finished his homework on pack history.

One hour. Two hours. Three.

The moon climbed to its peak, as if the Moon Goddess herself were mocking my foolishness.

I sent message after message—*Are you coming? When will you be here?*—but as usual, silence.

Leo seemed to sense it. His shoulders slumped, and he looked at me with uncertain eyes. "Mom… is it because I'm half-blood that Dad doesn't wanna come?"

A sharp pain lanced through my chest, like a silver blade between the ribs.

I wanted to explain, but the words died in my throat—because I knew it was the truth.

Finally, I managed: "It's okay, sweetheart. Mom will always be with you."

Leo didn't ask anything more. He just quietly picked up his birthday hat—the one he'd wanted Gabriel to put on him.

"Mom, can you put it on for me?"

I nodded, reaching for it—and that's when I noticed Scarlett's latest post on social media.

[Had the best day 💕 So much fun. Thanks to a certain someone for the company~]

When The Alpha's Secret Mate Ran Away — Chapter 5

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