I didn’t expect him to answer right away.

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

But the line connected to the first tone.

“Avelyn,” Riven Ashton’s voice came through, low and sharp, like a blade unsheathed. “You’re 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.

“I’ve been chasing you for as long as you’ve been wasting your soul on Darius Nightbane,” he snarled. “You—cold as a diamond for three years—and now, suddenly, you’re calling me like nothing happened? What the hell changed?”

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

Riven wasn’t just an Alpha—he 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 Carolina’s most dangerous few—he ruled a rogue pack not by banishment, but by deliberate, ruthless choice.

He had hunted me for years—not 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 once—just once—I 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, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking clearly. Forget I called.”

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

“You think I’m someone you can summon when you’re lonely and toss aside when you’re not?” His voice deepened, rough, guttural. His wolf was near the surface now—snarling just beneath his skin. “You chose me this time, Avelyn. Don’t even think about running again.”

My pulse stuttered.

“I’m giving you one month,” he snapped. “Handle that bastard. After that, I’m coming. And I’m not asking next time. I’m taking what’s 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 hadn’t changed. Still all storm and steel.

That night, Darius didn’t come home.

But I didn’t wait for him.

I moved through the pack house like a shadow, ghosting from room to room—my 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 didn’t stir. She was tired. She didn’t 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 I’d donate them under your name. Might earn you some good press—Alpha 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 didn’t believe a word of it.

He just didn’t 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, innocent—the kind that could fool gods if she smiled long enough.

“Oops… sorry, Alpha Darius. Sorry, Avelyn. I- I didn’t mean to.”

As always, Alpha Darius didn’t even glance at the shattered marble, instead, he brushed right past me.

Straight to her.

His scent shifted—no 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 wasn’t done.

She turned her eyes on me, wide with mock guilt. “You don’t 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 would’ve lashed out. Let my wolf rise. Demanded respect.

Now?

“It’s fine,” I murmured.

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

A flicker passed through Lexie’s eyes—victory, perhaps—but it vanished quickly beneath another smile. “Aww. You’re really so kind.”

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

“With a sister like that,” she said to my husband, “I’m sure she won’t mind my next request either.”

Alpha Darius didn’t even glance at me. He didn’t have to.

“She just got back to North Carolina,” he said. “Her parents, the Moonveils are out of state. She doesn’t 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. She’s always been sensitive to the cold. Let her have it.”

It wasn’t a request, nor a suggestion—it 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, he’d learn what it meant to lose a wolf who had already died once.

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

One month...

That’s all he had left.

Even after three years of being mated, Alpha Darius Nightbane and I didn’t always sleep in the same bed.

He claimed it was because he didn’t like anyone lying beside him at night.

But I knew better.

It wasn’t “anyone” he couldn’t tolerate. It was me.

I was the Luna by title only—unmarked, 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. “There’s a lot of my stuff in there anyway. I’ll just move it all out.”

Besides, it didn’t matter whether I left that room now or later.

We both knew—sooner or later, I’d be gone.

When I mentioned I’d 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, Lexie—the golden wolf, the precious one—cut in with that sugary tone of hers. “Thanks, sis… Luna Avelyn.”

I didn’t 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 then—I 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 didn’t make a sound.

Darius didn’t 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 Lexie’s a little princess,” he’d say, full of warmth. “She should be treated like one.”

When I was still the maid’s 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 Darius’s wife. I was Nightshade Pack’s 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 didn’t have to throw so much out,” Alpha Darius muttered as he passed by. There was a small frown between his brows. “Lexie’s only staying for a little while. When she leaves, you’ll move back in. What’s the point?”

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

“They’re old,” I said simply. My voice didn’t shake. “It was time to let them go.”

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

“You’re not the wasteful type.”

No. I wasn’t. 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. “They’ve been with me a long time. Sometimes… you need room for something new. Out with the old, right?”

Just like people, I thought.

He couldn’t argue with that. If he pushed again, he’d only make himself look petty.

“There’s an auction tonight,” he said instead, shifting the conversation. “The organizers invited me. You’ll come. With your sister Lexie.”

I was about to say no.

But he cut me off. “You may be my Luna but outside, you’re still my secretary. I can’t 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 out—And 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 bright—white 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 that—the moment I always knew would come—arrived.

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

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

Two women. One seat.

The choice wasn’t surprising.

He didn’t hesitate.

“I’m not married,” he said coolly. “Not sure where that rumor started.”

My heart didn’t break—it 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 Lexie’s hand. “This is Lexie Moonveil, daughter of Alpha Jonas of the Moonveil Pack.”

Sable nodded politely.

Then—like it pained him—Darius flicked a glance at me. “That one next to you is my secretary.”

Only this time, I didn’t 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 them—like 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 restroom—not 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 hadn’t even shifted lately, I also haven’t had my period —so why did it hurt this bad all of a sudden?

It wasn’t just physical. It was as if something deep inside me—my wolf—was 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 it—something 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 didn’t 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. “How’s that hand-me-down love treating you?”

My heart clenched.

“Alpha Darius’s always loved me, from the very beginning. Now that I’m 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, recoiling—something was off. Wrong. Tainted.

Whatever she did… it wasn’t 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 him—take him,” I rasped. “I’m done.”

A beat of silence.

Then, she laughed. Cold. Cruel.

“Funny. Do you think I’d believe that? You stole my mom and my Alpha father back then—now 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.

“You’re staying in here tonight,” she hissed. “No one’s 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 placed—Restricted 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 wouldn’t 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 ache—but 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 wild—but 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 woman’s gasp.

“Oh, the moon above—Miss? 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 her—the 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… I’ll be fine.”

That was a lie.

Everything inside me felt broken. My wolf was curled tight in my chest, silent. She hadn’t 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 hadn’t 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 didn’t even bother checking for his name—I 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 me—not as what I had become, but as the woman I once was, before betrayal carved me hollow.

[Avelyn, I can’t wait a whole month. One week. I’m coming to get you in a week.]

Tears blurred my vision, but they didn’t fall from sadness. They came from something deeper, sharper—resolve.

What I had felt last night wasn’t just the sting of betrayal or the ache of a shattered heart. It was something far more wild. Something had awakened within me—something 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 me—whatever cruel games she played—she 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 doesn’t disappear.

She evolves.

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