Shattered Bonds A Second Chance Mate (by Yui) novel Chapter 5

“A pack meeting?”

I frowned at the unexpected announcement, blinking up at Patricia as she leaned against my dorm room door with her usual warm smile and a steaming mug of tea in hand. I had only been in Florence for a 8 months now, and while I was slowly adjusting to the rhythms of my new life–classes, work at the library, and quiet evenings spent sketching or walking through the old stone alleys–the word pack still made something inside me flinch.

Patricia must’ve seen the hesitation on my face. “It’s a memorial gathering,” she explained gently. “Today would’ve been the Luna’s birthday.”

“Oh,” I murmured, unsure what to say.

Wait a minute…

“The Luna… was dead?”

The pain in her expression told me all I needed to know. Patricia nodded, her eyes distant with the weight of memory. “She died years ago. The Alpha’s mate.”

That caught my attention more than anything.

I’d never heard of an Alpha surviving after the death of.their fated mate.

Every story, every whispered warning, always ended with the same conclusion: death followed.

It was a bond too sacred to be severed without consequence. Fated mates were life itself. When one half died, the other didn’t last long. They couldn’t.

But apparently, he had.”

“Alpha Francesco Totti Lycaon,” Patricia added quietly, her voice laced with something that felt like reverence and pity. “He hasn’t been seen by the pack

in almost a decade.”

I tilted my head in confusion. “So… who runs everything?”

“The Beta. Alfonso,” Patricia answered. “He’s the one you met when you arrived. Most days, he’s the only one allowed near the Alpha’s quarters.”

I remembered the tall, commanding man with kind but tired eyes who had welcomed me upon arrival and explained the basics of my stay. He’d felt like a leader, not a placeholder.

But now it made sense.

A shadow passed through the room as Louis stepped in, carrying a basket of fruit and bread like he always did when Patricia visited. His gray–streaked beard twitched slightly as he snorted. “You’re coming to the gathering, El. No one skips the Luna’s birthday.”

“But “I hesitated, unsure if I had the right to intrude. I was still new. Still unknown. “I barely know anyone. Do I even have to go?”

“You’re a wolf. You live in this territory. You have to,” Louis replied, setting the basket down on my small wooden table with a gentle thud. “Besides, it’s good for you to be seen. And you should hear the stories. Everyone needs to know who she was. Who they were.”

The reverence in his tone made my curiosity burn hotter.

I sat down slowly. “So the Alpha… hasn’t spoken to the pack since… she died?”

“He tried to die with her,” Patricia whispered, not looking at me. “But he couldn’t.”

My brows drew together. “Why not?”

Louis looked at me as if the answer were obvious. “Because he’s not like us. He’s not just a wolf.”

I blinked. “He’s a Lycan?”

The words felt foreign in my mouth. Ancient. Powerful. Dark.

I never knew it still exist.

Louis nodded, and I saw Patricia cross herself unconsciously, as though just speaking the word invoked something sacred-

-or cursed.

“He’s the last,” Louis murmured. “A descendant of the old bloodlines, Lycaon family. From the time when Lycans ruled the forests and bathed in war. Ruthless. Unforgiving. More beast than man.”

“But I thought… Lycans couldn’t have mates?” I asked softly, struggling to reconcile the stories I’d grown up with.

“They weren’t supposed to,” Patricia replied. “The moon goddess never intended it. Lycans were born from chaos. From war and death. She only gave mates to werewolves. But somehow…” She looked up at me with a tremble in her voice. “He found her. His one.”

I sat back, stunned.

A Lycan who found love. And then lost it.

What kind of torment must that be?

“They say he went mad the day she died,” Patricia continued. “He tore through the woods for days. Couldn’t speak. Couldn’t eat. When they found him, he had nearly torn himself apart. But he wouldn’t die. His blood was too strong. His beast wouldn’t let him go.”

I swallowed hard, feeling something tighten in my chest.

Pain recognized pain…

No, my mate hadn’t died. But Ruben might as well have. He’d chosen someone else. Rejected the bond. Abandoned me.

And though I was still standing, my soul had splintered.

I hadn’t seen Mika since that day. The ceremony. The vow. The moment the bond snapped and took my wolf with it.

But I didn’t see or sense the Alpha. Didn’t he supposedly here?

I always did.

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