Page 52 of The Alpha's Pretend Mate

The world tilted on its axis.

Cassius felt the ground beneath him shift. His breath hitched as the words sank in, cold and unrelenting. He searched her face for any sign of hesitation, something he could latch onto, but there was nothing. Just resolve.

Cassius blinked, sure he'd misheard. "What?"

Alysa took a deep breath, squaring her shoulders. "I'm leaving. I've already called Aleksander. He's coming to pick me up this afternoon."

You pushed her to this.

Cassius felt like he'd been sucker-punched. "Alysa, you don't have to—”

"Yes, I do," she interrupted, her voice cracking slightly. "I can't… I can't stay here anymore. Not after…" She trailed off, gesturing vaguely between them.

This is what you wanted.

Cassius reminded himself harshly. He had pushed her away, after all.

What did you expect?

But knowing he'd brought this on himself did nothing to ease the panic clawing at his throat. "What about Aurora?" he asked, grasping at straws. "She needs you."

A flash of pain crossed Alysa's face. "Aurora will be fine. She has you, Abigail, and the rest of the Pack. I'm just… I'm just the nanny, after all."

The words hit Cassius like a physical blow. He wanted to grab her, shake her, make her understand how much more she meant—to him, to Aurora, to everyone. But the words stuck in his throat.

"I've loved every moment with Aurora," Alysa continued, her voice soft. "And I'll miss her terribly. But I can't stay here and pretend everything's okay when it's not. It's not fair to anyone, least of all Aurora."

Cassius's mind raced, searching for a way to fix this, to make her stay. But every argument he could think of felt hollow, selfish.

You don't get to ask her to stay. Not after what you said last night.

“It was a mistake.”

His own words echoed in his ears, and he didn’t know how he could take them back.

"Where will you go?" he asked instead, hating how weak his voice sounded. “I thought you didn’t renew the lease on your apartment.”

Alysa shrugged, a small, sad smile tugging at her lips. "Home, I guess. Back to the Iron Fang territory. Aleksander says there's always a place for me there."

His mind raced with a thousand thoughts, but none of them made sense. His Pack, his duties, his daughter—everything had always come first. There was no room for more.

And yet, the thought of Alysa leaving, of her going back to her old life as if the past weeks had never happened, made Cassius's chest constrict painfully.

"You don’t have to go," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes, I do," Alysa said, her tone cool and calm. "I’m not asking you to change, Cassius. I’m not even asking for anything from you. But I can’t stay here, feeling like I’m a convenience."

Her words hit him like a blow to the chest, and for a moment, he couldn’t breathe. He hated himself for letting it get to this point. But what could he say?

Say something else, his wolf urged.

Tell her how you feel. Ask her to stay.

But Cassius remained silent, the words lodged in his throat like shards of glass. He watched helplessly as Alysa moved past him, heading for the stairs.

"I should go Pack," she said softly. "Aleksander will be here in a few hours."

Cassius nodded numbly, unable to form a coherent response. As Alysa disappeared up the stairs, he slumped against the kitchen counter, his head in his hands.

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