Mortimer's POV

The Swedish aurora writhed across the sky like a fever dream. Those eerie green lights felt like cold snakes, strangling the breath right out of me. I stood on the balcony, my thumb mindlessly rubbing the edge of my phone.

"You're on edge, Mortimer." Deep in my head, my wolf—Barton—let out a jagged growl. The vibration made my skull ache.

"I'm just thinking about the pack," I shot back.

A moment later, I reached back into the mind-link. "But... fine. Tell me how our mate is doing."

Barton paced restlessly in my mind, claws digging into the void. "I've got nothing. That temporary mark you gave her a year ago? It's gone. Faded to nothing."

His words hit me like a physical blow. It was true. Ever since Alaska, the bond between Seraphina and me had gone stone cold.

She used to be a chronic over-sharer. She'd send me photos of anything—even a weirdly shaped leaf she found on the sidewalk. I usually blew her off. In our world, catching feelings is a death sentence. But now, her chat window was a ghost town.

Was she playing games? Some pathetic attempt at a protest? All because I'd ditched her to save Vivian?

The thought left a bitter taste in my mouth.

"Morty? You there? Come take a picture of me!" Vivian ran over, camera in hand, wearing that innocent little pout. Her eyes flicked toward my phone, and for a split second, I saw a flash of ice in her gaze. It was gone before I could blink. When I looked again, there was nothing but concern.

Maybe I was just seeing things.

"Morty, are you worried about Seraphina?" Vivian tilted her head. "It's all my fault... If I hadn't made you come back that day, she wouldn't be this mad. Maybe you should just... I don't know, apologize?"

Apologize?

I let out a dry, sharp laugh. I was the Alpha of the strongest pack in North America. "Apology" wasn't in my vocabulary. I hated being guilt-tripped, and I hated showing weakness—especially to my mate.

"If she's going to act like a brat over a life-or-death situation, then she's clearly not ready to be a Luna," I said, shoving my phone into my pocket. "Go stand over there. I'll take the shot."

Vivian gave the lens a dazzling smile, but I wasn't even looking at the frame. I told myself she'd only lied about the kidnapping because her wolf was weak and she was spiraling.

She didn't mean any harm. I was just here to keep her calm. My conscience was clear.

So why was Barton howling like his world was ending?

Back at the hotel, a crushing sense of loss started to hollow me out—the kind of grief you only feel when a mate is truly gone. I stared at Seraphina's profile picture. She was in her healer's uniform, looking soft and kind.

"Find her," I ordered.

"I can't!" Barton wailed, curling into a ball. "The bond is dead air. Just static. You idiot—you never should've left her."

"I was saving a life," I hissed.

But the regret was already set in. If I'd just finished the marking ceremony under that blood moon, I'd be able to feel her heart beating right now. Then, the memory of our goodbye flashed back: Seraphina standing in the snow, her face flushed deep red, her eyes glassy.

Damn it. I thought she was just freezing. Now I realized—that was the start of her heat.

Whatever. She'd always been the one chasing me. Maybe I'd throw her a bone and break the silence first. Call it an "alpha's mercy."

I opened the chat, my thumb hovering over the screen. I'd faced down the most bloodthirsty rogues without flinching, yet here I was, actually nervous. It was irritating as hell.

Finally, I sent something short. "See the blood moon yet? Why no photos?"

The ding of the sent message felt like a gunshot in the quiet room.

One minute. Five. Ten. The screen stayed black.

Hours crawled by. My phone was basically an expensive paperweight. The rejection turned into a slow-boil rage in my blood. I slammed the phone onto the nightstand and headed for the shower. I let the ice-cold water hit me, trying to drown out the panic clawing at my chest.

Ten minutes later, I stepped out with a towel around my waist. The screen flickered.

My heart stopped. I didn't even bother grabbing a towel for my hair; I just lunged for the bed. I could feel the corner of my mouth twitching into a smile.

Then I saw the screen, and the smile died.

The chat was still empty. Seraphina hadn't said a word. The notification was just Vivian tagging me in some I*******m post.

I tossed the phone aside, feeling like I'd swallowed a handful of barbed wire.

"Seraphina," I muttered to the empty room. "You've really got some nerve."

Seraphina's POV

I flipped my phone to airplane mode. The moment the screen went black, it felt like I'd finally severed a dead nerve. I closed my eyes, trying to find some peace in the hum of the jet engines.

But the second I drifted off, the nightmare found me.

It was pitch black. Freezing. Fear swallowed me whole, like a demon dragging me into a bottomless pit.

"Mortimer… help me…"

I screamed in my sleep, but there was no answer. Lily, my wolf, was curled up in the darkest corner of my mind, letting out one broken whimper after another. My fingers dug into the armrests, nails sinking into the leather. "Please… save me…"

Through the haze, I felt someone grabbing my hand, trying to pull me out of the abyss.

"Are you okay? Ma'am? Hey, wake up."

The voice was soft but urgent. I snapped my eyes open, gasping for air. My chest ached from hyperventilating. I turned to my side. A girl with round glasses—probably a college student—was staring at me, her face pale and trembling.

I realized then that my aura had spiraled out of control, leaking into the cabin. For a human, the raw grief of a high-blooded werewolf felt like a psychic tidal wave.

I took a shaky breath, forcing Lily to settle down and pulling my jagged scent back inside. The heavy pressure in the air finally lifted.

"Sorry," I said, taking the tissue she offered. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. "I… I didn't mean to scare you."

The girl wiped sweat from her forehead, still looking shaken. "You were having a massive panic attack. It felt like… like a storm was coming. You kept whispering for help. You sounded heartbroken."

Heartbroken? My heart had frozen solid in that snowbank, right along with the video calls he'd cut off.

"Yeah," I muttered. "Surviving an avalanche like that is the kind of life experience you only need once."

The girl's mouth dropped open. "Oh my god… You mean that Alaska avalanche? The one that's been all over the news?"

I closed my eyes. The news talked about the snow, but they didn't mention how an Alpha had left his mate to die.

When the oxygen had run out, the thing that kept me conscious wasn't the fear of death. It was the memory of Mortimer's last message—the one dripping with disgust. For three years, I'd been naive enough to think that if I just did my duty as a Luna, the mating bond would eventually make him care.

But reality had slapped me hard. When a man doesn't love you, he'll believe your dying breath is just another "clumsy lie" for attention.

A total stranger could feel my pain. But my own mate? He'd just cut the connection.

I patted the girl's hand. "It's okay. I made it. I guess the Moon Goddess decided it wasn't my time yet."

When the long flight finally ended, I turned my phone back on.

A message popped up.

"See the blood moon yet? Why no photos?"

I stared at Mortimer's name. He'd sent it hours ago, right when I was boarding. I never expected him to reach out first. In our three years of being mated, our chat history was a joke. Aside from cold pack business, he never started a conversation. Even when I'd swallow my pride and share bits of my life to spark some kind of connection, he'd meet me with dead silence.

He always left me on read. He thought silence was the best way to "teach me a lesson" about my "neediness."

I stared at the screen for a long time. Part of me wanted to ignore him, to give him a taste of his own medicine. But our agreement only had two months left. I typed back, "The blood moon was beautiful. So beautiful I forgot to take pictures."

Knowing his ego, I figured he was done. But then my phone buzzed with an aggressive, immediate vibration.

An instant reply. That never happened.

But as I read the words, the last spark of feeling in my chest died out.

"Vivian's wolf is flaring up. She almost killed herself. Seraphina, as my Luna, do you have any basic compassion? You've been gone for days without even checking on her. You're becoming a stranger to me with this cold-blooded act."

Every word was a jagged whip. I could almost see his golden eyes narrowed in disgust.

I calmly typed one word back, "Sorry."

No explanation. No defense.

I locked the screen. That "sorry" wasn't for him. It was for the girl I used to be—the one who'd spent three years trying to make him love her.

I grabbed my suitcase and walked out of the airport without looking back.

Seraphina's POV

I stood in the airport pickup zone, my hand resting quietly on the handle of my suitcase.

"Morty, hurry up! Humphrey said the guys are throwing us a welcome home party at the Wildwolf Club tonight."

That voice sliced through the air, and my grip on my luggage tightened.

Mortimer and Vivian.

Deep in my mind, Lily scratched restlessly. As they got closer, the scent of pine—the scent that belonged to my fated mate—started to wrap around my ankles like a suffocating vine. I kept my eyes down. I had zero desire to play nice. I just stared at the little car icon on my screen. Uber: two minutes away.

"Luna?"

Vivian's voice carried a note of forced confusion. I acted like I hadn't heard a thing.

"Luna Seraphina! Morty, look, it's Seraphina!"

Once she started using my name, ignoring her would just look petty. I let out a tired sigh, fixed my expression, and turned around.

Vivian was clinging to Mortimer's arm, waving at me with fake excitement before dragging him over. Mortimer looked like he was in a foul mood. The Alpha aura radiating off him was a physical weight, making the humans nearby pick up their pace without even knowing why. There was a ring of burnt gold around his pupils—a sign of pure irritation.

I met his sharp, blade-like gaze with a blank stare. Was he pissed because I'd dared to show up and ruin his "quality time" with Vivian?

"Luna Seraphina, you're just getting back too?" Vivian's eyes flickered with a split-second shadow of malice. Then, she buried herself deeper into Mortimer's side, her face twisting into a mask of guilt. "I am so, so sorry. If it wasn't for my breakdown, Morty wouldn't have ditched you in the glacial forest for Sweden. It's my fault. I'm so fragile, and I ruined your blood moon ritual. I'm truly sorry."

Right on cue, her eyes welled up.

I'd heard this kind of blatant provocation way too many times. I kept my smile professional and elegant, not letting a single pheromone slip. "It's fine. I understand."

Vivian's face froze for a beat. She bit her lip, and when she spoke again, her voice went up an octave, trembling violently. "No, Seraphina, you must hate Morty! Your eyes are like ice... you went missing for days without even a text. Are you punishing him with silence? Just scream at me instead! I'll do anything, just stop this cold-shoulder act with Morty!"

She reached out, trying to grab my sleeve, her "victim" act drawing stares from everyone around us. My Luna upbringing started to crack at the seams. I thought I was numb, but a sharp, stinging sensation flared in the center of my chest. It was the physical feedback of a damaged bond—faint, but unmistakable.

I looked at Mortimer. He hadn't said a word. His golden wolf eyes were frozen over, judging me like I was some "failing Luna."

"Miss Davis, I'm not mad at you. And I'm not mad at... Alpha Mortimer," I said, giving her a shrug. I sounded as detached as if I were talking to a stranger from another pack. "As for not calling? Honestly, the scenery was just too beautiful. I was busy enjoying myself and forgot."

"Heh." A dry, sarcastic snort came from Mortimer.

My spine stiffened, but I didn't explain.

Just then, a flashy Rolls-Royce Wraith pulled up to the curb. Humphrey hopped out, his grin dying the second he saw me. "Luna Seraphina. You're... here too."

I gave him a polite nod.

Vivian took Mortimer's hand, giving me a smirk that didn't reach her eyes. "Humphrey's here. Morty, let's get in. We're blocking traffic."

Mortimer didn't move. He was staring at me with an unreadable expression.

Humphrey took off his sunglasses, looking between my lone suitcase and Mortimer's dark face. He gave a half-assed, formal apology. "My bad. I thought you were still traveling, so I brought the two-door Wraith. There isn't exactly room for four."

The Wraith was a two-door four-seater. Humphrey's girlfriend was already in the passenger seat. The two spots in the back were obviously meant for Mortimer and Vivian.

I knew Humphrey had never really accepted me. He was the one who'd commented on Vivian's post that Mortimer should just mate with her instead.

"It's fine. I already called a car. Go ahead, mine's here anyway."

"Luna Seraphina..." Humphrey started to offer some polite nonsense, but my ride pulled up right behind them.

"Goodbye." I waved, turned my back, and grabbed my suitcase, desperate to get away from his scent.

I hadn't even taken two steps before a violent, scorching Alpha energy exploded behind me. My wrist was snatched in a grip so tight it felt like my bones might snap. His fingers dug deep into my skin.

I could feel it—a faint but frantic tremor of possessiveness vibrating through his palm. It shot up my pulse and slammed into my mind, making Lily let out a whimper of pure terror.

Was he out of his mind?