Back in our shabby den, Finn woke up when I came in. He rubbed his sleepy eyes and sniffed the air around me.

My heart shattered looking at his golden wolf eyes and strong jaw, so much like Kael's.

How could Kael, his Alpha father, bear to let his own cub grow up fatherless, to be teased by other pups?

Sensing my overwhelming grief, Finn nuzzled my neck with his furry little head.

“Momma, did you find out about Alpha Kael?”

It hit me. After Kael showed up as “Ronan,” Finn would always slip up and call him “Daddy.”

I'd always scold him, tell him that was Uncle Ronan, not his father Kael.

I just thought my little cub missed his dead father terribly. I never realized a child's eyes see the clearest!

He'd always known his real father, drawn by their blood connection. He just didn't understand why, overnight, the Alpha father who used to toss him in the air and rub his stubbly chin against his cheek had become so cold, even pushing him away.

No wonder “Ronan's” care for us always felt… measured.

He'd leave the best cuts of meat outside our den, use his Alpha presence to scare off other males who disrespected us, and secretly leave warm furs for us in winter. But the moment Finn tried to get close, he'd quickly cut it off, insisting he was “Uncle Ronan.”

Everyone else said Ronan was as good to Finn as a real father.

Now, it all felt like a sick joke.

He was Finn's real father, but he deliberately kept his distance, cruelly denying Finn his right to have one.

Didn't he ever wake up in the middle of the night, tormented by the backlash of betraying our Mate Bond?

For these five years, I'd ached over Kael's death countless times, but my love for him kept me going.

Now, I felt it with chilling clarity: the Alpha who had shared my soul and body was truly dead to me.

This betrayed Mate Bond needed to be severed for good.

Calming myself down, I looked Finn straight in the eyes and asked him if he'd be okay if I mated with another Alpha.

Confusion flickered in Finn's eyes, then hardened into determination. “Momma, I don't get why Daddy won't say who he is. But if he's not going to protect you anymore, Finn will! Wherever you go, I go. I'll grow up fast and be strong, like Alpha Lucian of the Silver-Moon Pack!”

Finn hugged me tight with his little body, his tiny, clumsy paws patting my back to comfort me.

“Okay!”

Fighting back tears, I hugged Finn close and then sent a message to my cousin in the Silver-Moon Pack.

From far away, it felt like an answer came back.

My cousin would get my message soon. And so would Lucian.

They hadn't exactly been subtle with their hints these past five years; I'd just been too lost in mourning Kael.

And Alpha Lucian of the Silver-Moon Pack… they said he was the only one who could match Kael in strength. And he seemed to have had his eye on me for a while.

Now, I, Elara, was going to find real security for myself and Finn.

?

The next morning, the Stone Creek Pack felt grim after the Blood Moon ceremony.

I took Finn to the communal eating area.

Kael was right there, tenderly tearing off a juicy piece of deer leg for Alina, then gently stroking the little female cub by her side, who was about Finn's age.

The sight stung my eyes.

Before I knew the truth, I'd imagined countless times how Kael and I would be just like that if he were alive.

Alina snuggled against him, basking in her Alpha's protection, while I could only watch from afar.

My wolf instincts were churning because of last night's revelation, but I forced them down. There was no one left to lick my wounds or soothe my anger.

Kael's eyes flickered to my pale face. He put down the meat he was holding, tore off a smaller but still good piece, and offered it to Finn and me.

“Elara, you should eat more too. Finn's a growing boy.”

His tone was still distant, as if the “dead” Kael had nothing to do with him. He was just a responsible uncle.

“Uncle Ronan, I can take care of Momma myself.”

Finn tilted his head up, his voice calm, then he awkwardly pushed a piece of cooked meat towards me with his little paw.

Kael's hand, holding the deer meat, froze in mid-air. A flicker of shock crossed his face; he even dropped the meat.

It was the first time Finn had called him “Uncle Ronan” so clearly, so distantly.

Before, no matter how Kael corrected him, Finn would stubbornly mumble “Daddy.”

Today, “Uncle Ronan” felt like an invisible wall suddenly thrown up between them.

“Finn, you… didn't you always see your uncle as a shadow of your father? What's different today…?” He tried to keep his voice steady, searching Finn's face for an answer.

Finn bared his sharp little baby teeth in a small grin, his eyes clear.

“Uncle Ronan, Finn just missed Daddy too much before and got confused. Now Finn's grown up. I know my Alpha father, Kael, went to be with the Moon Goddess at Blood Moon Cliff five years ago.”

Kael looked like he wanted to say something but couldn't. He just covered it up with an awkward, “Finn's so sensible now.”

His gaze darted between me and Finn, as if trying to peer into our souls.

The bone in his hand creaked as he gripped it, but he didn't take a bite.

Finn and I just shared our food. Finn even tried to act like a grown wolf, tearing off the best pieces for me.

This made Kael even more uneasy. He kept looking over at us, and finally, he couldn't hold back anymore, a hint of anxiety in his voice.

“Even though I'm not Kael… Finn and I, we still share the same blood.”

“If you ever need anything, just tell me. Don't always try to handle everything yourself.”

I let out a short, sharp laugh that cut through the morning air.

Was that his Alpha possessiveness waking up?

But he was the one who chose to wear the fake mask, who pushed us away with his own hands, who kept scolding Finn for calling him father.

I put down the bone I was gnawing on and signaled to Finn, who was full, to get up.

Before we left, I looked straight into Kael's confused eyes and said,

“Ronan, you're right. Even if you and Kael are twins, you're not Finn's real father.”

“Alina and her child, they're the ones you should be taking care of.”

?

After sending word to the Silver-Moon Pack, I knew there was one crucial, incredibly painful ritual I had to perform before I could officially accept Alpha Lucian's courtship gift and start a new life with them.

I had to completely break the Mate Bond with Kael – the bond he'd betrayed and stained.

In ancient wolf lore, once a Mate Bond was forged, it was like a brand on your soul.

It was almost impossible to break unless one mate died, or there was an ultimate betrayal.

And breaking it meant going to Moon-shadow Falls, a sacred place passed down through generations, at the peak of the Blood Moon. You had to offer your own blood and your absolute will to the Moon Goddess, sacrificing the dead love and taking back the part of your soul the other mate held.

The ritual was dangerous. One wrong move, and your soul could tear, leaving you seriously weakened, maybe even unable to ever bond again.

I used to think our bond stayed strong because I loved Kael so much.

I never imagined it was because he wasn't dead at all.

Another day passed. When the Blood Moon hung high in the sky again, I took Finn, snuck away from the Stone Creek Pack without anyone seeing or hearing us, and quietly left our territory.

Moon-shadow Falls was in a sort of no-man's-land between Stone Creek and Silver-Moon territory.

Hardly anyone ever went there. It was full of unknown dangers, but it was the only place for this forbidden ritual.

Finn stuck close to me, his little body trembling slightly. He must have sensed the heavy, dangerous feeling in the air tonight, but he stayed firmly by my side.

I'd brought Finn his favorite berries, soaked in wild honey, to keep him calm.

Then, from the leather pouch I carried, I took out a special ceremonial gown I'd prepared long ago.

It was woven from the toughest night-star grass, a deep, quiet midnight blue – symbolizing endings and new beginnings.

Ancient tradition said that when a she-wolf was breaking an old bond and preparing for a new life, she couldn't wear the moon-silver color of her first mating.

It was about completely burying the past love and showing respect to a potential new mate.

I stood at the foot of Moon-shadow Falls. The huge waterfall thundered down the cliff.

Under the blood-red moonlight, it looked like a giant dragon bleeding, roaring so loud it was deafening.

The mist was freezing, biting.

I took a deep breath and changed into the ceremonial gown.

Its cold touch jolted me.

Looking at my reflection in the water, I saw the five years of sadness had faded, and hope was flickering in my eyes again. I felt a bit dazed. For five years, I'd almost forgotten I was once a proud Luna.

I told Finn to wait at a safe distance. Then, I took the sharp ceremonial dagger from my belt.

Just as I was about to follow the ancient ritual, to cut my palm and use my blood to start praying to the Moon Goddess to break that damned bond…

“Elara! What are you doing here?!”

A voice like a thunderclap boomed from the nearby woods.

I whipped around. Kael was standing in the shadows at the edge of the trees. Behind him, looking confused, were Alina and her little daughter, Luna.

It looked like they might have come here to hunt under the Blood Moon and stumbled upon me by accident.

Kael's eyes were locked on me – or rather, on the special, significant gown I was wearing, and the dagger in my hand.

He wasn't stupid. As the former Alpha heir of Stone Creek, he knew exactly what this outfit, this place, on a Blood Moon night, meant!

His face went deathly white, his eyes filled with terror.

“Elara,” he stumbled a few steps out of the shadows, “you… you're wearing that gown… you're holding that knife… you're at Moon-shadow Falls… What… what are you planning to do?!”

Ever since he'd “faked his death,” I'd cut off almost all unnecessary contact with the outside world, let alone bringing Finn alone to Moon-shadow Falls on a Blood Moon night.

I didn't want to argue with him, didn't want to reveal all my plans in front of him.

I just stared at him coldly, my voice firm and calm, “Ronan, this is none of your business. Please take your family and leave. Don't disturb me.”

“None of my business?!”

My words seemed to set Kael off completely. He lunged forward, and the powerful aura of a top-tier Alpha almost burst through his “Ronan” disguise.

“Elara! You're wearing a 'Bond-Breaking Gown'! You're holding a 'Soul-Severing Blade'! Tell me how this is none of my business?! Are you… are you trying to… to completely break… break our…”

He could barely choke out the last words.

He stared at me, those blue eyes that once held so much love now filled with agony.

He remembered clearly, five years ago, at our grand, sacred mating ceremony, I wore a moon-silver gown when we pledged ourselves to the Moon Goddess.

And now, me – someone he still thought of as Kael's “widowed Luna” – was at Moon-shadow Falls on a Blood Moon night.

A “widowed” she-wolf would never, ever dare to perform such a dangerous and blasphemous ritual unless she'd suffered the ultimate betrayal, or was determined to cut ties with her past mate completely!

Kael stood there, stunned, for a long moment, his eyes a storm of emotions.

Behind him, Alina finally sensed something was very wrong with this sudden turn of events.

She tugged Kael's arm nervously, whispering, “Ronan… Ronan? What's wrong? What… what is she doing?”

But Kael couldn't hear anything else now.

He knew, once I completed this ritual, everything between me and Kael would be utterly gone.

And he would truly, finally, lose me forever.

?