While those rogue wolves tore into my flesh, my dear mate Logan was off celebrating the ten-year anniversary of his first meeting with Aria, his first love.

I tried to send him a desperate howl through the pack bond, but all I got back was,

“Don’t think this will grab my attention. I won’t come rushing back, you foolish wolf.”

Honestly, I breathed a sigh of relief when he didn’t come running, Knowing him, I’d probably would have ended up much worse.

Fast forward three nights, and there he was—

Logan Silverclaw, the best forensic wolf in the pack—analyzing the remnants of a brutal attack that had the whole territory buzzing.

He was going on and on about the victim’s last moments, how she fought for her life and all. Little did he know, he was dissecting the death of his very own mate—the one he couldn’t stand: yours truly, Me.

——

So, there I was, discarded like a useless carcass at the edge of the pack’s hunting grounds, real classy.

An old wolf out for a midnight patrol, stumbled upon the scene. His senses caught the scent of death, and when he investigated, his sharp claws uncovered the first piece of me—a bone.

Imagine the shock and horror.

Before long, they were discovering more bodies scattered across the pack's territory, It was a nightmare come to life, the elders had to call in a special unit to investigate.

And guess who got called in? None other than my mate, Logan, the forensic prodigy of Bloodmoon Ridge.

He arrived on the scene, analyzing the blood splatter like it was some twisted form of art.

Even he was taken aback by the scene. “This is... vicious,” he muttered, his face going pale.

Damon, the head enforcer of the pack’s Alpha, wanted Logan to break down the evidence, him being the wolf that he was, pointed out every detail like he was the alpha’s top strategist.

“See these claw marks? Looks like they were harvesting something, and the blood splatter? Our victim was awake during the whole thing.”

Damon furrowed his brows, his claws flexing. “So, according to the evidence, our victim was a young she-wolf under thirty. Who in the pack would hate her enough to do this?”

Logan had a hunch. “This wasn’t just a random kill, someone has a serious grudge, and they’re just getting started.”

You know what? He was right.

My mate’s instincts were sharper than any wolf in the pack___ well apart from the Alpha.

I would’ve loved to see his face when he finally pieced it all together.

Then they found it—a ring, buried beneath the leaves, coated in my blood.

The one piece of physical evidence that connected me to him.

Logan picked it up, trying to act nonchalant.

Damon suddenly went quiet, his nose twitching as he sniffed the air. “Logan , this ring… it looks like your mate’s, doesn’t it?”

Logan took a quick peek inside, his heartbeat steady. The inside was smooth, without the engravings he had once placed there. He didn’t even break a sweat and brushed it off, saying, “Eh, it’s probably the same style. These rings were common back then.”

Once he was done, he lingered by the scene, deep in thought, after a long pause, he glanced down at the bloodied ring and dialed my number.

It rang for a few seconds before he quickly hung up, no second thoughts.

“She’s probably out sulking again,” he muttered under his breath. “Whatever, she’s none of my business anyway.”

He was so sure of himself, after all my ring had engravings on it.

But then Logan, my dear clever mate, shouldn’t you know by now that engravings fade after months of dulling it with sharpened claws and teeth?

It took me six months to erase our initials, and yet he didn’t even notice.

The pack’s forensic team were working around the clock, with at least five wolves on the scene, all pulling all nighters to piece me back together, trying to figure out what happened.

As if they could, as if it was that easy.

It wasn't q

My body laid on the stone slab, a mess of limbs and torn flesh, making even Me queasy to see what was left of my body.

Logan motioned at my remains.

“Look, the head’s gone, fingers too and there's a chunk missing from the hind leg.” Logan said with expertise, analysing the situation perfectly.

Damon stayed silent, his sharp face locked on what was left of me, thinking about why those parts were missing.

Finally he spoke, “Who's the Victim?”

Logan sighed, bristling, “We have to wait for the DNA results, we'll cross-reference it as soon as someone files a missing report, it shouldn't take long, hopefully we would have an ID soon.”

"What if nothing comes up".

"We're hoping something will", Logan said

The Alpha nodded.

“I've been looking into some recent cases and I think we are dealing with something bigger here, this isn't just a random attack, there's a pattern and it matches similar murders that took place near the borders of Yoreclaw pack, wolves over there are into this kind of twisted stuff__gutting their prey, draining them dry and leaving them in pieces, someone's making a statement here, the question is who exactly?"

Damon raised his brows, “Yoreclaw? You mean those renegade wolves from the outlands!”

Logan nodded, “Exactly, it's like they're trying to send a message to our pack or something,, else why would they do this”.

Damon didn't waste any time, he gave order to reach out Yoreclaw’s Alpha.

“I need an audience with their alpha, if it is their wolves crossing into our territory, we need answers first and fast.”

After the meeting a junior enforcer stuck close to Logan practically howling his praises, “You've got incredible instincts, Boss, you always seem to know what's coming next! I truly admire you”

I nearly laughed at the irony, knowing my own mate was investigating my death, I wondered how he would react to when he finally learns the truth.

Logan nodded used to the admiration, he had been the pack second golden wolf after the Alpha right from his first shift. Every one had been singing his praises about the things he did, and being the Alpha's beta,.... you can imagine what comes next.

“Hey, Logan wait up”, the young enforcer said, running up to meet him, and then pulled a long strand of hair from Logan's jacket.

He smirked, sniffing at the hair curiously, “Is your mate doing alright? This doesn't look like hers”, He sniffed again, "And it doesn't smell like it too",

Logan's voice turned ice cold, “Mind your business”, he grabbed the hair, shoved it into his pack before storming off,

Left behind the young wolf scratched his nose, clearly embarrassed, if I’s still had my head, I would have patted him on the back for the awkward exchange.

But then If he found my head, he'd know one thing for sure.

My hair had been short and straight since my last shift .

That hair?

That belonged to Aria

My rival in love. The one who took my man from me

The night I was killed Aria had been wrapped around my mate leaving her mark as if he belonged to her around his neck, while I was fighting for my life.

Way to go, dear mate.

Three days had passed since my death and Logan still hadn't bothered to look for me, the last time we argued about Aria, I crashed at my best friend’s place for a few nights and he probably assumed I was doing the same, he didn't even try to reach me.

Then Aria mind linked him, her voice trembling through the bond between them.

“Logan there's a storm coming tonight and I'm terrified can you come stay with me?”

I watched as Logan gripped his phone tightly, his claws coming out then retracting.

“Aria I'm mated, it's not appropriate for me to come over”

For a moment I thought he was being sensible, then he added, “Why don't you come over instead, My mate’s not home”.

Even Aria sounded surprised, “Logan are you sure about that? What if she shows up, we won't be able to explain ourselves”.

I scoffed at her fake innocence, that bitch knew exactly what she was doing.

“What do we have to explain? You are my oldest friend, my mate has no say in this”, he replied confident and arrogant.

“Besides she's not coming back.”

Aria paused, then asked, “How do you know.”

Then realizing she might have revealed too much, she quickly added, “I mean did she leave you again?”

Damon nodded, “Yeah, on our 10th anniversary I told her whenI was going to see you, she threw a fit.”

“It's exhausting, I choose her instead of you, but it's still not enough for her, unlike you Aria , you've always been there, you've never complained and you put with so much for me, I owe you”

I almost laughed, no sane mated wolf would celebrate their anniversary with an ex.

The day they celebrated, was the day I died.

Tell me Damon will you celebrate our anniversary or will celebrate the date of my death __

Aria wasted no time rushing to Damon, right when she saw him she threw herself into his arms.

“Damon the storm's getting worse and I'm so scared”, she cried

I rolled my eyes The night was always dark and I had never seen Aria so afraid of the dark before

Damon hugged her and patted in her back, “Don't worry I'm here.”

He showed how the candles he'd lit around the room, a calm atmosphere amidst the growing storm outside.

“With this,” he explained, “Even if the power goes out, we’ll still have light.”

Aria signed in relief leaning into him.

Please Spare me the sight.

As the Storm raged on Aria excused herself to freshen up, she disappeared into my room Raiding all my toiletries, my potions and supplies, after making a mess of things, she chuckled “Reyna wouldn't mind, she's not coming back anytime soon anyway”.

Watching from the mirror, I seethed Silently.

The thunder roared and when the lightning struck, my Figure flickered in the reflection Aria screamed calling for Damon.

He rushed in his instance kicking in as he grabbed her protectively shielding her with his body

“This feels risky, what if Reyna shows up?”

Damon shrugged, “I don't know.”

Lightning flashed, casting a sharp light across his face.

“Even if she does, she has no right to say anything if it weren't for her, we wouldn't have wasted all these years, we wouldn't have been apart for so long.”

His gaze darkened, “You don't need to worry about her, if she dies out there, all the more better, She's no fur of my back.”

Alright Damon Your wish has been granted Let's see if you are as indifferent as you claim to be.