While the pack scrambled in chaos over Ariella’s cries, I slipped through the side gate and melted into the trees. My heart pounded as I reached the edge of the border.

Just a little farther, and I could finally leave behind everything.

“Where do you think you’re going, Luna?”

I froze.

Ashenclaw warriors—stepped out from the shadows. Their expressions were hard and cold.

“What is this?” I asked, my voice was low and controlled. “Marcus knew I was leaving. He said nothing about—”

One of them—Ronan—stepped forward. “Alpha’s order had changed. You need to come back with us.”

I narrowed my eyes. “No. I’m not coming back. He no longer needs me, and the pack will be welcoming a new Luna soon.”

None of them answered.

And without another word, they lunged.

I turned on my heel, ready to bolt—but their hands caught me before I could shift. Claws dug into my arms. I struggled, snarling, my wolf howling inside me.

“You’re making this harder than it needs to be,” Ronan growled.

“Let me go!”

Suddenly, one of them pulled out a vial.

The stench hit me first.

Wolfsbane.

“No—” I gasped, stumbling as the burning liquid splashed across my skin. It was like fire, licking through my veins, paralyzing me.

They grabbed my arms, legs, and yanked me down into submission. My vision blurred and everything went black.

—

When I woke again, my mouth was dry, my limbs numb. The ropes still dug into my wrists. I blinked slowly, the chamber swimming into view.

And then, as if on cue, the door creaked open.

Marcus stepped inside.

Calm. Composed. Like nothing had happened.

“You’re awake,” he said gently, as if we were still playing house. “How are you feeling?”

I turned my face away. “You have the nerve to ask that?”

He took a step closer and untied the ropes around my wrist. “Esther—”

“Let me go,” I snapped, my voice hoarse but steady. “Just let me go, Marcus. Sever the bond and be with Ariella. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

"You can even kill me just for her," I added bitterly.

Marcus’s expression hardened. “Don't be overly dramatic. Aren't you fine? Ariella was in pain, and the baby—”

At that moment, my phone suddenly buzzed, and a few messages popped on the screen.

[Did you go back on your words? You’re not here.]

My breath hitched.

He waited for me...

Taking a deep breath, I pushed a reply with a trembling hand.

[Something happened. Sorry.]

Immediately, I received a reply.

[I’m coming to get you. Even if I have to rip through your Alpha to do it.]

For the first time in hours, my heart raced.

Marcus didn’t notice. He was too busy trying to explain something I no longer cared to hear.

[Just wait for me, I'll take care of my business here.] I smiled lightly.

Marcus’s gaze lingered on me longer than usual, his jaw clenched. “Why are you ignoring me? Who are you talking to?”

I didn’t even look up. “It’s just a friend.”

“A friend?” he repeated sternly.

Before I could react, his hand shot out. He snatched the phone from my grip.

“Marcus!” I snapped, reaching for it, but he was already holding it out of reach.

“Unlock it.” His eyes were sharp, demanding.

I folded my arms. “You already know the password.”

His expression darkened. “What is it?”

“Our wedding anniversary,” I said flatly, watching him like a hawk.

He scoffed and began tapping numbers. Once. Twice. Three times.

The phone vibrated, but it didn't unlock.

He frowned, tried again—reverse order, month first, but still nothing.

His fingers hovered. “This isn’t our anniversary,” he said slowly.

I said nothing.

Rage twisted his features. “What the hell is the password then, Esther?!”

I stared him down. “You tell me.”

My words seemed to touch a nerve. With a growl, he hurled the phone across the room. It hit the wall with a sharp crack, the screen exploding into spiderwebs.

I didn’t flinch. Just watched the pieces fall.

Marcus's gaze softened as he looked at me. "I didn't mean to break your phone."

I didn’t answer. However, my silence seemed to ignite his fury.

His lips curled into a sneer. “Tsk. Don't push my buttons, Esther. I'm already humbling myself, but you're still acting like a brat!"

Gritting his teeth, he added, "Well, I shouldn't have asked. You have no one, Esther. I’m all you’ve ever had.”

Hearing his arrogant words, I laughed bitterly. “You’re right,” I whispered. “I was an orphan. My parents died when I was young, and then you found me. Give me a title, a place—a home.”

He didn’t speak, but I saw the flicker in his eyes—pride, perhaps, in the power he wielded over me.

“My whole world revolved around you, Marcus. I made you my sun, my stars. Every decision I made, every effort I gave—was for us.” I looked down at my wrists, still raw from the ropes, at the dry blood along my arm. “And you still managed to betray me.”

He inhaled sharply and said, "Don't make it sound like it's my fault. You knew all too well why I looked for my fated mate."

"But I'm your mate! You swore under the Moon Goddess' altar! How could you do this to me?—"

I wanted to say more. I wanted to scream at him.

But his phone rang.

His hand instinctively went into his pocket. After looking at the screen, a gentle smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Without a word, he turned away.

“You can call the pack healer yourself,” he said as he walked toward the door. “Technically, you’re still the Luna. I’m sure they’ll listen to you.”

The door clicked shut behind him, and I was alone again.

—

Later that night, the dining hall buzzed with quiet conversation and clinking cutlery. I sat at the far end of the long table, staring into my untouched bowl of soup, the steam rising like ghosts.

Across from me, Marcus and Ariella were nestled close—too close.

She laughed softly, tucking a golden strand of hair behind her ear as she leaned into him. “You always know just what to say,” she purred, touching his arm.

Marcus chuckled. “Maybe it’s because I finally have someone worth saying it to.”

My grip tightened around the spoon.

Ariella giggled again and playfully bumped her shoulder against him. “You’re such a charmer.”

“Only for you,” Marcus murmured, his fingers brushing a crumb from the corner of her lips. Slowly. Intimately.

I looked away.

A sharp sting bloomed in my chest, and I forced down the rising ache. The bond flickered, an echo of everything I was no longer allowed to feel.

Ariella glanced at me briefly, then smiled wider, like twisting the knife just a little deeper. “You don’t mind if we sit here, do you, Esther?” she asked sweetly. “It’s just... Marcus and I have so little time alone these days.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. Words felt pointless.

Marcus didn’t even look my way.

—

For days, I holed up in the pack clinic just so I wouldn’t have to watch Marcus and Ariella fawn over each other like love-struck pups.

The bed was cold, too large for my frail frame. My blood had been nearly drained but they didn't care. I was the daughter of an Alpha, yes, but my body had always been fragile—a quiet curse I carried in secret. If not for my parents’ influence and strength, Marcus never would’ve looked twice at me, much less chosen me as his mate.

I curled onto my side, pressing a hand to the ache in my chest. The physical pain was nothing compared to the slow, seeping heartbreak that had turned to poison in my veins.

Beep. Beep. Beep.

My phone buzzed continuously, the screen lit with messages, alerts, and social media pings.

I opened it, and there it was.

Photos—dozens of them.

Marcus was beside Ariella. Walking with her through the marketplace. Laughing with her under the plum tree, holding her hand as she fed the pack pups.

He had never done those things with me.

Whenever I asked to go sightseeing, he scoffed. “You’re the Luna. You’re not some idle girl chasing dreams. Do your duty.”

But Ariella... she wasn’t even officially Luna, and yet he paraded her like a treasure.

Tears blurred my vision.

Then I saw her latest post—her hand on her belly, Marcus kissing her temple, the caption read. [My fated one, my forever.]

I didn’t think.

I clicked comment.

[Congratulations on claiming what fate handed you. I hope your forever is everything my nine years weren’t.]

The moment I hit send, I stared at the screen until the ache became numb.

Being a chosen mate meant nothing when fate chose someone else.

I opened my messages.

[I’ll be leaving soon. I just need to finish a few things first. Be ready.]

The reply came instantly.

[I’ll be waiting.]

The next day, the clinic doors burst open.

“Where is the doctor? Ariella's stomach is hurting again!” Marcus barked, carrying Ariella, who whimpered dramatically in his arms.

The pack doctor rushed over, checking her vitals, murmuring diagnostics under his breath.

“I—I don’t understand,” he said, frowning. “We just transfused blood a few days ago. Why does she need more?”

Marcus’s eyes locked onto me. “Then give her more.”

The doctor hesitated. “We don’t have the right match available right now—”

“I said give her more!” Marcus roared. “Use Esther again if you have to. Drain every drop if that’s what it takes!”

My heart stuttered.

The doctor turned to me with a pale face. “Luna... I...”

I sat up slowly, my body trembling under the effort. “Do it,” I said hollowly. “If that’s what the Alpha commands.”

Without wasting another second, they began to draw my blood.

They said it wouldn’t take long—that it was “just a bit more blood.” But that bit felt like a flood. My veins screamed in protest, my limbs turned ice-cold, my vision blurring at the edges as the blood drained from me.

When it was finally over, the coven of healers and Marcus’s warriors left without a word.

Marcus didn’t even come this time.

They just... left me there.

Suddenly, the door opened again.

I expected a healer. Maybe even Marcus. But instead, it was Ariella.

She walked in slowly, like she had all the time in the world, and closed the door behind her with a soft click.

“Well, well,” she purred. “Still alive? That’s impressive.”

I didn’t answer.

She strolled closer, her gaze running over me like I was a piece of dying prey. “You really don’t know when to stop clinging, do you?” She crouched by my bed, tilting her head. “Even if you die here, Marcus won’t shed a tear.”

I turned my head away, but she grabbed my chin, forcing me to meet her eyes.

“You’re really pitiful. An orphan clinging to a mate who never truly loved you. First your parents, and now your mate. You’ve got nothing left, Esther.” She smiled, sickly sweet. “So maybe I’ll help you along. End things a little quicker.”

I barely processed her words when a loud boom sounded.

The entire building shook.

Shouts rang out in the distance.

Ariella smirked at me before turning toward the window. The sound of snarls and breaking glass filled the clinic.

I pushed myself up, wincing at the burning in my chest.

“Rogues,” I whispered, staring out the small clinic window as shadows swarmed the perimeter. “How did they...?”

The clinic was under siege in seconds.

I could barely hold myself upright, let alone run. A rogue crashed through the clinic doors, snarling, blood dripping from its muzzle.

Grabbing a scalpel from the nearby tray with trembling hands, I scrambled backward.

Just as I thought we were done for, Marcus arrived.

He stormed through the broken entrance, his eyes scanning the chaos. When his gaze landed on me, for a heartbeat—I saw something flicker in his expression.

I thought maybe—just maybe—he would choose me this time.

But then Ariella screamed, “Marcus! Save me! The baby—!”

And just like that, his eyes left mine.

Without hesitation, he shifted into a massive gray wolf—and lunged toward Ariella, knocking a rogue away from her.

He didn’t look back.

He didn’t even hesitate.

I stood frozen, feeling breathless, surrounded by growls and howls and chaos.

The air was thick with the stench of blood and the growls of rogues tearing through the clinic.

Still, I fought.

I sank my teeth into one’s arm, clawed at another’s face, but I was too slow—too weak. My limbs wouldn’t respond the way they should. My vision kept tilting at the edges.

'Come on,' I begged internally. 'I need you—come out!'

Panic bloomed in my chest. 'Why won’t you come out?'

A snarl behind me. Then a rough yank as one of the rogues grabbed my hair and dragged me from the clinic, my knees scraping across broken glass and stone.

“Let—go—of me!” I screamed, thrashing, but it was useless. My strength was gone.

Without warning, the rogue hurled me like a rag doll. My body slammed into a tree with a sickening crack. The impact sent a sharp jolt of pain through my spine, and I collapsed to the ground, coughing violently.

Blood trickled down my chin. My vision flickered in and out.