For Our Anniversary, I Returned His Mark

It was already dark when I returned to the Nightbane Packhouse and found Alpha Darius in the kitchencooking.

The scent of roasted venison, sage, and firewood filled the air. He moved with practiced grace, his large hands slicing meat with deadly precision as if he were gutting rogues, not preparing dinner.

Hed always been obsessed with cleanlinesshated clutter, hated chaos, hated... mess.

I still remember the first year of our bond. I was trying to make stew. He walked in, wrinkled his nose, and muttered, Is this place doubling as a landfill?

But when my younger sister, Lexie said she liked his cooking? He enrolled in a culinary course taught by the best chef in the Packlands. For her. Always for her.

Didnt you say the patrols were quiet today? He asked, placing a steaming bowl in front of me. Why are you home so late?

Even now, dressed in an apron, Darius Nightbane the Alpha of Nightbane Pack looked like he ruled empires with a single growl. That square jaw, those storm-gray eyes, the dark energy that clung to him like a second skin.

The Goddess helped me. He was magnetic. But Id long since stopped letting that illusion fool me.

I smoothed over my expression. The new recruits arrived early. I was finalizing their lunar transition briefs.

He didnt ask questions. Never did. To him, I was useful, an extension of the pack, not a partner. Not a mate. Not a wife.

Alright, he said. Dinners ready. Come eat.

I sat. He placed a slice of bitter moonroot on my plate. I remember you like this, he said with a rare smile. Made it just for you.

My throat tightened. A dull, familiar ache pulsed in my chest.

Lexie liked Moonroot.

I was allergic to it.

Three years. Weve been bonded for three long years. And he still didnt know. Or worsehe never bothered to remember.

If he'd looked beyond my bodybeyond the markless bond we sharedhed have known I couldnt eat this without my wolf getting sick. But no. Alpha Darius never looked at me.

Only through me.

Avelyn? Why arent you eating? he asked, frowning.

I gently pushed the dish away and reached into my bag. Dinner can wait. There are two agreements I need you to sign.

His expression darkened. You know I dont discuss pack business over meals.

I know that Only this is not pack business I-its personal, I said simply.

Just as he reached for the papers, his phone buzzed.

He tried to hide it, but too late, I had already seen the name.

Lexie Moonveil.

He stood abruptly, knocking his wine glass off the table. It shattered into sharp pieces. One shard nicked my finger.

Blood dripped onto the stone tilesquiet, unnoticed.

He didnt look back. He stepped onto the balcony and answered the call.

I sat there, bleeding, alone, while he spoke softly to the woman who once left him for a foreign Alpha The same woman he took back with open arms when she returned.

Fifteen minutes later, he walked back in, grabbed his coat, and headed for the door.

Ive got something tonight. I wont be home for dinner.

You havent signed the papers, I said, still calm.

He sighed, irritated.

Like I was the one being difficult.

With a flick of his wrist, he scribbled his name across both papersone rejecting our bond before the Pack council, the other dissolving my ties to the Nightshade Pack as their Luna.

There. Happy? Can I go now?

I looked down at his signature. Cold. Final.

Yes, I said softly. You can go.

And he did.

Without a glance at my hand, it was still bleeding. Without asking what those papers were.

Without a word of hesitation.

As the door closed behind him, a bitter laugh slipped from my lips.

He didnt even know what he signed.

Divorce. Rejection. Freedom.

I watched the blood dry on my fingertips and let the silence swallow me.

Hed always loved Lexie. The golden girl. My younger sister. The real daughter of our parents.

Twenty-five years ago, my mother, Myra Moonveil, and a?Beta nanny gave birth in the same hospital. A mix-up switched the infants. IAvelyn Moonveilwas the true-born daughter of the Moonveil Pack. But I was raised among servants, while Lexie was draped in silks and praised like royalty.

The truth came out five years later. And still, my parents refused to cast her out.

Avelyn, Myra Black, my mother, once told me, hearts are made of flesh. We raised Lexie as our own. Let the world think shes the heiress. Dont take that from her.

So I stayed hidden. An unwanted truth. The secret Luna.

While Lexie was always seen., I was always necessary.

When she fled to Paris chasing some omega-born aristocrat, the Moonveil Pack asked me to take her place. Marry Darius Nightbane in her stead. A political union. A placeholder Luna of the Nightshade Pack.

Alpha Darius agreedheartbroken and indifferent. And I I was naive. I thought I could earn him. Thought I could make him love me.

Then she came back.

And he betrayed me with her in the most humiliating wayleaking videos and images of their intimacy to the High Council. A calculated scandal.

I saw the footage. I heard his voice when he said-

"Avelyn never did anything wrong, but if I just ask for a divorce, neither family will accept it. We need to ruin her reputation so our parents cant argue."

And I heard Lexie She asked, Did you ever love her?

His answer?

"Shes just a stand-in. I married her to shut everyone up."

I should have shifted then. Should have torn the Nightbane down to ash. But I didnt.

Instead, I pulled out the small leather-bound notebook I'd kept hidden since our wedding night.

99 chances, I had written. If Im disappointed 99 times, I will leave.

Tonight was number ninety-nine.

I walked to the safe and placed three things into a carved obsidian box, my wedding band, my Luna pendant, and the sealed rejection rune, a bond severance etched in my own blood.

My last anniversary gift.

He wouldnt open it.

But when he did hed understand what he lost.

With trembling fingers, I picked up my phone. I hadnt called him in three years, but I knew hed answer.

Riven, I whispered.

His voice on the other end was a growl of recognition. My mate. The one I should have chosen.

My divorce cooling-off period ends in one month, I said. Come for me. Then.

Outside, the wind howled. Inside, my wolf finally stirred, her eyes glowing in the dark reflection of the window.

I didnt expect him to answer right away.

In fact, I thought it would ring a few timesmaybe go to voicemail. That wouldve given me time to breathe, to regret calling, maybe even hang up.

But the line connected to the first tone.

Avelyn, Riven Ashtons voice came through, low and sharp, like a blade unsheathed. Youre not screwing with me, are you?

I stayed silent.

Sometimes silence was safer than the truth. Safer than the ache clawing at the back of my throat.

Ive been chasing you for as long as youve been wasting your soul on Darius Nightbane, he snarled. Youcold as a diamond for three yearsand now, suddenly, youre calling me like nothing happened? What the hell changed?

Riven Ashton. My once-lover. My almost-mate.

Riven wasnt just an Alphahe was a force of nature. The rightful heir to the Ashton Pack, yet he walked alone. An Alpha of the most powerful, feared pack, carved from ancient bloodlines and forged in the wild, untamed lands. He answered to no council, swore loyalty to no throne. Unshackled by politics. Feared even by those who ruled. One of North Carolinas most dangerous fewhe ruled a rogue pack not by banishment, but by deliberate, ruthless choice.

He had hunted me for yearsnot with claws, but with a gaze that pierced deeper than fangs ever could. Always watching. Always waiting. A storm cloaked in the body of a man, his presence thrumming with barely restrained violence and desire. And oncejust onceI almost gave in. Almost let myself be claimed.

But then Alpha Darius gave me hope.

Or rather, what I thought was hope. A cruel mirage I clung to with bleeding fingers.

So I turned from Riven. I left him behind.

Now, with his voice scraping down my spine and my heart too hollow to shield, I closed my eyes and whispered, Im sorry. I wasnt thinking clearly. Forget I called.

There was a long pause. Then a crackthe violent sound of something heavy hurled against stone or glass.

You think Im someone you can summon when youre lonely and toss aside when youre not? His voice deepened, rough, guttural. His wolf was near the surface nowsnarling just beneath his skin. You chose me this time, Avelyn. Dont even think about running again.

My pulse stuttered.

Im giving you one month, he snapped. Handle that bastard. After that, Im coming. And Im not asking next time. Im taking whats mine.

Then silence, too quiet enough to make my breath hitch.

The line went dead with a cold, decisive click.

I stared at the screen, the ache in my chest dragging me into memory. And then a bitter smile curled my lips.

He hadnt changed. Still all storm and steel.

That night, Darius didnt come home.

But I didnt wait for him.

I moved through the pack house like a shadow, ghosting from room to roommy body here, my soul already gone. I packed in silence, folding his forgotten gifts one by one. Trinkets from past battles. Apologies dressed in expensive silk.

They are all useless now. Meaningless.

My wolf didnt stir. She was tired. She didnt cry anymore.

When the first light of dawn spilled across the hardwood floors, the front door creaked open.

He stepped in.

Same shirt. The same scent of stale lust and sweat. No shame. No guilt.

What are you throwing out? he asked casually, his eyes landing on the boxes stacked by the entryway.

I flinched, just barely.

Then I forced myself tall as I tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, and said evenly, Just some garbage.

He approached and peered into the nearest box. His eyes darkened.

It was filled with everything he had given me.

You call these garbage?

Old clothes. Old gifts. I kept my tone light, almost sweet. They take up space. Thought Id donate them under your name. Might earn you some good pressAlpha donates to winter orphans in the mountains. I flashed him a tired, hollow smile.

His lips curved faintly. That familiar smirk. Empty as always. You always did know how to make me look good.

But I knew better.

He didnt believe a word of it.

He just didnt care enough to question me.

Then came the crash. A loud, echoing shatter behind me.

I turned, dread crawling up my spine.

And there she was.

Lexie. My sister. The golden wolf. The one everyone loved without effort.

She stood near the shelf, her eyes wide, a broken sculpture at her feet. Her expression was soft, innocentthe kind that could fool gods if she smiled long enough.

Oops sorry, Alpha Darius. Sorry, Avelyn. I- I didnt mean to.

As always, Alpha Darius didnt even glance at the shattered marble, instead, he brushed right past me.

Straight to her.

His scent shiftedno longer sharp with irritation, but filled with concern. Urgency.

He cupped her face and looked her over. Are you hurt?

She shook her head, her voice sugar-sweet. No.

Good, he whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Nothing is more important than you.

My breath caught in my throat.

Nothing is more important than you

Not me. Not the mate bound to him by fate and blood. Not the woman marked beneath a full moon in secret and left unclaimed in the daylight.

But Lexie wasnt done.

She turned her eyes on me, wide with mock guilt. You dont mind, right, Avelyn?

My gaze dropped.

The sculpture had been one of a kind.

A custom piece from a craftsman in the eastern mountains, commissioned after our first run outside the Nightbane borders. A rare moment of peace carved into stone.

Our faces had been etched together into the base. A memory. A symbol.

Now, just shards.

Years ago, I wouldve lashed out. Let my wolf rise. Demanded respect.

Now?

Its fine, I murmured.

Just two words. But they tasted like ash in my mouth.

A flicker passed through Lexies eyesvictory, perhapsbut it vanished quickly beneath another smile. Aww. Youre really so kind.

Then, without missing a beat, she twisted the knife.

With a sister like that, she said to my husband, Im sure she wont mind my next request either.

Alpha Darius didnt even glance at me. He didnt have to.

She just got back to North Carolina, he said. Her parents, the Moonveils are out of state. She doesnt feel safe staying alone.

I stood still. A stone. A statue.

Let her stay here, he said.

My stomach turned. My wolf stirred uneasily beneath my skin.

Then, as if that wasn't enough, he added without pause, And your room faces the sun. Shes always been sensitive to the cold. Let her have it.

It wasnt a request, nor a suggestionit was a command. And in that moment, I finally understood: Darius had never truly been my Alpha. Never truly my husband. Never truly loved me, because he had always belonged to her.

But not for much longer.

Because soon, hed learn what it meant to lose a wolf who had already died once.

To watch the one he buried rise againwith fangs sharper, spirit stronger, and fire in her bones.

One month...

Thats all he had left.

Even after three years of being mated, Alpha Darius Nightbane and I didnt always sleep in the same bed.

He claimed it was because he didnt like anyone lying beside him at night.

But I knew better.

It wasnt anyone he couldnt tolerate. It was me.

I was the Luna by title onlyunmarked, unclaimed, and unwelcome beneath his sheets. His wolf never reached for mine. His scent never wrapped around me like a true bond should. I was the shadow of a promise he never intended to keep.

And yet, he was always gentle with Lexie.

He probably had a whole speech rehearsed to justify giving her my room. Something polite. Something pitiful. But when I agreed without a fight, it clearly threw him off.

All right, I said lightly. Theres a lot of my stuff in there anyway. Ill just move it all out.

Besides, it didnt matter whether I left that room now or later.

We both knewsooner or later, Id be gone.

When I mentioned Id be taking all my things, I saw something flicker behind his eyes. An instinct. A protest rising to the surface.

But before he could say a word, Lexiethe golden wolf, the precious onecut in with that sugary tone of hers. Thanks, sis Luna Avelyn.

I didnt answer. Just bent down, and let my arms tremble as I lifted one of the heavier boxes and turned toward the stairs.

The thing was too full. My foot slipped across a hidden shard of glass on the floor. And thenI fell.

My knee slammed onto the floor hard, and a stabbing pain tore through my skin. Sharp edges sliced through me as if the floor itself wanted me gone.

My body went rigid. Pain sang down my leg, sweat gathered at my temple, and my wolf whimpered softly beneath my skin.

But I didnt make a sound.

Darius didnt see. He was too busy being led away by Lexie, who clung to him like he was hers.

And maybe he was.

So I stayed there on the floor, broken pieces of glass beneath me and tears falling silently onto the tiles.

I used to believe those tears would matter. That someone would notice.

But I knew better now.

In the Moonveils pack house, Alpha Darius never let Lexie carry anything heavier than a teacup. Our Lexies a little princess, hed say, full of warmth. She should be treated like one.

When I was still the maids daughter, I scrubbed floors until my hands bled. I lifted more than I could carry. I learned to keep moving, no matter the weight.

Now, I am the daughter of a powerful wolf. Now, I was Alpha Dariuss wife. I was Nightshade Packs Luna.

And still, nothing had changed.

It took me the rest of the day to finish packing. Box by box. Memory by memory.

By sundown, I had everything loaded onto a truck.

You didnt have to throw so much out, Alpha Darius muttered as he passed by. There was a small frown between his brows. Lexies only staying for a little while. When she leaves, youll move back in. Whats the point?

To him, I was acting strange. Too calm. Too quiet.

Theyre old, I said simply. My voice didnt shake. It was time to let them go.

He studied me like he was trying to read something between the lines.

Youre not the wasteful type.

No. I wasnt. Never had been. I never grew up with luxury, only with leftovers and hand-me-downs. Every object I owned had a story. A cost.

I just smiled faintly. Theyve been with me a long time. Sometimes you need room for something new. Out with the old, right?

Just like people, I thought.

He couldnt argue with that. If he pushed again, hed only make himself look petty.

Theres an auction tonight, he said instead, shifting the conversation. The organizers invited me. Youll come. With your sister Lexie.

I was about to say no.

But he cut me off. You may be my Luna but outside, youre still my secretary. I cant show up to an event like that without one.

I looked at him for a long time.

So many words gathered in my throat like a rising tide, I wanted to cry outAnd bringing your mistress is appropriate? What am I now? The staff?but I said none of them.

Instead, I nodded.

One final task.

One last show before I disappeared.

Night fell fast.

The auction hall was brightwhite lights cast over velvet curtains, polished glass, and high-ranking wolves in tailored suits and elegant gowns. The air smelled of money, power, ambition and secrets.

Alpha Darius walked ahead, he walked tall, letting Lexie clutch his arm like she belonged there.

Sable, the host, came out to greet him. Alpha Darius Nightbane, she beamed. Your seat is ready. Right this way.

She gestured for two seats.

I heard you got married? Sable smiled. The second seat is for your wife.

And just like thatthe moment I always knew would comearrived.

A beat of silence. Long enough to feel like a lifetime.

Alpha Darius of Nightbanes Pack marriage had always been a secret. Hidden away, like I was something shameful.

Two women. One seat.

The choice wasnt surprising.

He didnt hesitate.

Im not married, he said coolly. Not sure where that rumor started.

My heart didnt breakit had already done that, long ago.

But something tightened in my chest. A cold burn beneath the ribs. The ache of final clarity.

Sable blinked. And these two?

Darius reached for Lexies hand. This is Lexie Moonveil, daughter of Alpha Jonas of the?Moonveil Pack.

Sable nodded politely.

Thenlike it pained himDarius flicked a glance at me. That one next to you is my secretary.

Only this time, I didnt flinch.

I had prepared myself for this moment.

But no amount of preparation could dull the sting of public rejection. Not when you are already bleeding from a thousand cuts beneath the skin.

I stayed upright. Proud. Dignified.

A Luna only in name. A mate only on paper.

They took their seats while I stood behind themlike a servant. Like I was nothing.

Maybe it was just the air, too cold and sharp. Maybe it was the weight of betrayal pressing against my bones. But pain stabbed at my lower abdomen, sharp and sudden.

I pressed a trembling hand to my belly, each step away from him heavier than the last. I turned and walked toward the restroomnot with grace, not with strength, but with the quiet desperation of a wolf retreating from a battle, she already knew she had lost.

At least for now.

I hadnt even shifted lately, I also havent had my period so why did it hurt this bad all of a sudden?

It wasnt just physical. It was as if something deep inside memy wolfwas clawing at my insides, howling in anguish, furious and frightened at once.

I gripped the bathroom sink, my knuckles turning white, breathing through the cramp that twisted through my abdomen like a curse.

No blood.

No heat cycle. No mating bond snapping.

But I could feel itsomething was wrong.

I pushed off the sink, stumbling toward the door. I needed fresh air, a moment to clear my head. Maybe even to escape this place. But as I reached for the knob and twisted, it didnt move.

Click.

It was locked. From the outside.

Hello? I called out, my voice sharp and urgent as worry started to creep inside me.

Then came her voice. The last one I wanted to hear.

Lexie.

Bitch, she drawled from the other side, her tone smug. Hows that hand-me-down love treating you?

My heart clenched.

Alpha Dariuss always loved me, from the very beginning. Now that Im back, you should step aside. You really have the nerve to show up tonight? Trying to steal my spotlight? she snarled, her voice rising.

I doubled over, my stomach folding with a wave of pain so sharp I nearly fell to my knees. Cold sweat beaded on my forehead. My wolf whimpered inside me, recoilingsomething was off. Wrong. Tainted.

Whatever she did it wasnt just petty jealousy. Something unnatural was coursing through my system. Poison? A spell?

Gritting my teeth, I leaned against the door. Lexie, if you want himtake him, I rasped. Im done.

A beat of silence.

Then, she laughed. Cold. Cruel.

Funny. Do you think Id believe that? You stole my mom and my Alpha father back thennow you want to steal my mate too? Who do you think you are?

Mate

That word pierced me harder than any insult. Because Alpha Darius Darius Nightbane had been my fated mate.

Or so I thought.

Youre staying in here tonight, she hissed. No ones coming to save you.

I heard the scrape of metal outside. She dragged something heavy in front of the door, then the sharp snap of a sign being placedRestricted Area. Do Not Enter.

Of course. This wing of the auction house was off-limits, the area where rare magical items were kept. Phones had been surrendered before entering. Cameras disabled.

No one would come looking. No one would even think to.

Especially not Darius, he wouldnt even notice I am gone, not with Lexie beside him.

I slid to the floor, my body shaking uncontrollably. The pain in my stomach had dulled to a slow, dragging achebut my heart? My heart was wide open and bleeding.

I lifted my trembling hand and pounded on the door.

Help Someone, please

My voice cracked, hoarse and dry. I screamed again, raw and wildbut all that met me was silence. The sign outside was a ward in itself. People would see it and turn away.

Time blurred. Minutes. Hours. Maybe more. I cried until there were no tears left. I screamed until my voice was gone.

Eventually the darkness claimed me.

--

The Next Morning

I woke to the clatter of keys, and the creak of a door swinging open.

A womans gasp.

Oh, the moon aboveMiss? Miss, can you hear me?

My eyes fluttered open. The world swam in a gray haze. I was cold. Freezing. My dress clung to my skin, soaked through. My limbs refused to move at first.

Then I saw herthe cleaner.

I tried to speak, but my throat burned. I forced myself to sit up, pressing my palms to the cold floor.

No I whispered, my voice barely audible. No need Ill be fine.

That was a lie.

Everything inside me felt broken. My wolf was curled tight in my chest, silent. She hadnt spoken since the pain started.

The cleaner helped me stand, her brow creased with worry. I gave her a weak smile and staggered out on my own, leaning on the wall, one step at a time.

Just like I guessed, Alpha Darius hadnt come.

Not once.

The realization settled like a stone in my chest.

I remembered, when Lexie went missing for ten minutes at a pack ball, Darius had nearly shifted out of worry and stormed the place down looking for her.

But me?

A whole night. Not even a call.

Not even a thought.

Then I realized, that love was a bond forged between two souls. But indifference, indifference was a blade, and last night, it sliced me open.

When I retrieved my phone at the entrance, I didnt even bother checking for his nameI already knew what I would find. Nothing. No missed calls. No messages. Not a single word from the mate who was supposed to protect me, love me, fight for me.

Except one.

Riven Ashton.

The only one who still saw menot as what I had become, but as the woman I once was, before betrayal carved me hollow.

[Avelyn, I cant wait a whole month. One week. Im coming to get you in a week.]

Tears blurred my vision, but they didnt fall from sadness. They came from something deeper, sharperresolve.

What I had felt last night wasnt just the sting of betrayal or the ache of a shattered heart. It was something far more wild. Something had awakened within mesomething ancient and powerful. I could feel her now my wolf, long dormant, stirring in the shadows of my soul. She was stretching, sharpening, and changing.

Whatever Lexie had tried to do to mewhatever cruel games she playedshe thought it would break me.

But it had done the opposite.

It had awakened the bloodline buried in my bones. The one born of moonlight and fire. The one who remembers war, survival, and vengeance.

They had left me to die. Starved me. Stripped me of my title, my pride

They locked me away like I was nothing.

But I am not anything.

I am Avelyn Moonveil.

And they are about to learn that a wounded wolf doesnt disappear.

She evolves.

And when she comes back, she never misses her mark.

The moment?Riven Ashtons message appeared on my phone, a faint warmth stirred beneath the numb frost in my chest. After days of feeling nothing but the cold rhythm of survival, seeing his name brought a flicker of something like comfort.

[Okay.]

That was my replysimple, final, safe.

Yeah, a month is too long, I told myself, staring at the message like it could ease the ache. One week will do.

Seven more days under this roof. Seven days to mourn the ashes of a bond Alpha Darius had already burned. Then Id be gone. For good. No farewell, no final howl beneath the moon. Id sever myself from this territory, this pain, and the Alpha I once thought was fated for me.

The moment I stepped into the pack house, I smelled her.

Lexie.

Her scenta toxic blend of lilac and synthetic lustclung to the air like spoiled wine. It wrapped around the walls of the home that was once mine. I followed it into the main hall, and there she was.

Lounging on the velvet couch like a queen in conquest, wearing my nightgown. The white one is lined with silver thread. The one Darius had once torn off me during our mating moon. Seeing her in it felt like being slapped. My wolf stirred restlessly but remained silent.

The door closed behind me, and she glanced up. Her lips curled into a sneer.

"Back already?" Her voice dripped with mockery. "You look like a mess."

She rose slowly, her bare feet soundless against the marble. Reaching me, she tilted my chin with her fingersbold, defiant.

Tsk, she said, studying me like a cracked mirror. Pale as death. If I didnt know better, Id say your wolf is dying too.

She leaned in, letting the silk slip from her shoulder, revealing the mating marks across her chest. See these? she whispered. All from Alpha Darius. Last night was intense.

My jaw tightened, but I didnt pull away. My silence only encouraged her.

She dropped her voice, her words aimed at the wound. He said I make him feel like a real man. That you lie there like a corpse. Cold. Weak. That your wolf hasnt surfaced in monthsprobably bored of you too.

I didnt remember moving. One moment her breath was on my cheek, and the next, my palm connected with her face. The slap echoed. Her head snapped, blood rising to the surface.

Her gasp of shock was far more satisfying than it shouldve been.

Know your place, I said, my voice lownot from fear, but fury. Im still Luna. Youre just the servants daughter who clawed her way into a bed that was never yours.

She snarled, showing her fangs, but then her gaze shifted. She went still.

And as expected, just a few moments later, Alpha Darius arrived.

I felt him before I saw him. The shift in the air, the weight of his aura pressing down like gravity. And as if almost instantly, Lexie dropped to her knees like prey caught in a predators gaze.

L-Luna Avelyn, Im sorry! she wailed. I should never have come back! Ill leaveIll die if it means Im not in your way!

Alpha Darius moved fast. Lexie bolted toward the marble column, but he caught her just in time, pulling her into his arms like a fragile thing.

Lex he said gently, I invited you. If anyone has a problem with you theyll deal with me.

Something cracked inside me then. Not all at oncebut slow, splintering, final.

I didnt cry.

Not even when he turned to me, cold and unfamiliar. Avelyn Moonveil, he snapped. Apologize to her.

I looked at him, my voice flat. I didnt do anything wrong. Youre not even curious where I was last night?

Did you he began, frowning.

Dont you want to know who I was with? I interrupted. What Ive done?

I dont care, he said. You dont get to hurt Lexie. Apologize, or youre suspended from your role. Out of Council. Out of everything.

He thought Id be devastated.

He never knew I only carried the burden so he didnt have to. I bore his failures, hoping he'd one day choose me again.

Darius turned away with Lexie. Just before they disappeared upstairs, he told the maid, Dont let her eat until she apologizes.

And just like that, the mate I had loved for three years walked away.

I stood frozen, staring at the space he left behind. Slowly, my body caught up with what my heart had already accepted.

I didnt love him anymore.

Not after this.

--

The days bled into silence.

I was confined to the pack house, treated like a rogue. Three times a day, the maid asked if Id realized my mistake. Three times, I said nothing. I counted the days. Five. Four. Three.

My phone buzzed with messages from Lexie.

In the morning I planned to leave, another message came.

[Bitch, you couldnt win our mother, and you cant win a man. One word from me, and Darius wont come home for a month.]

She was right.

My mate never returned.

But Lexie made sure she sent daily videoskissing on the beach, cooking in the kitchen, writhing beneath him under the moon. In the past, Id have curled up and cried until my wolf howled.

But it was all in the past Now, I felt nothing.

Darius had never been mine. He only borrowed my love until it became inconvenient.

By the fourth day, Id survived on nothing but water. My limbs trembled. My vision blurred. But I refused to beg.

I refused to apologize for something I didnt do.

That evening, I stepped into the garden, needing aireven if it was laced with lies.

Then it happened.

A golden retriever barreled out of nowhere, slamming into my side. I collapsed onto the stone path. I shouldve stayed standingbut I was brittle, hollow.

A sharp pain exploded in my abdomen.

Then I felt the wet warmth, I looked down, I wanted to scream, and cursed at the moon, but I couldnt do anything but let blood soak through my pants. My knees buckled. The scent of iron filled the air. I couldnt move.

No

I knew instantly.

Two months ago, Alpha Darius and I had shared one last hollow night. His mother and elder Alpha Fenric wanted an heir. We hadnt used protection. I had hoped.

Now, I feel that hope is dying inside me.

Help, I whispered.

Only the driver moved. He rushed me into the car, driving like hell toward the hospital. I clutched my stomach, my breath shallow.

Then the car stopped.

Why?

Luna Avelyn, he stammered, its Lady Lexie Moonceils birthday. Alpha Darius shut down the roads for her party. We we cant get through.

I turned my head toward the window, and what I saw nearly broke me all over again. Fireworks burst across the sky in vibrant colors, laughter echoed in the distance, and the entire territory seemed to pulse with celebration.

And me?

I was bleeding out in the back seat of a carforgotten, discarded, alone.

That was Darius, Alpha of the Nightbane Packs love out there.

Not quite. Not intimate. But loud, extravagant, and meant for someone else.

Each explosion of light in the sky felt like a dagger to my chest, a cruel reminder that while he lit up the heavens for her, I was left to suffer in silence.

With what little strength I had left, I reached for the ring on my fingerthe symbol of three years of loyalty, of sacrifice, of believing in a bond that was never real.

My hands trembled as I pulled it free.

I rolled down the window, the cold night air cutting across my skin like truth itself, and without hesitation, I let the ring slip from my fingers into the darkness.

Let the wolves howl.

I was finished.

No more mourning. No more waiting.

Whatever love I had carried for him died in that momentalongside everything else hed taken from me.