He wouldn’t have to die for me at thirty.

We could both live… finally free.

I took a deep breath and signed “Selena” on the bond contract.

I remembered the regrets from his journal:

Regretting our forced bond.

Not defying his parents.

Failing to save Selena.

One regret down.

I stepped outside, holding both copies of the contract. Killian stood waiting.

He reached for the papers, but I stopped him with a smile.

“Tomorrow,” I said gently. “Let it be a surprise.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You’re acting weird. What, being bonded to me knocked something loose in your brain?”

Maybe. Or maybe I was just relieved to see him breathing again.

“I think you’re the best Alpha in the world,” I said. “Anyone who ends up with you will be lucky.”

He scoffed and turned away. But if I didn’t know better, I’d say he looked flustered.

Nearby, a young couple chattered excitedly.

“There’s a rare meteor shower tonight! They say if you watch it with your mate, your bond will last forever!”

My heart faltered. In my first life, I had begged him to go see the stars.

He scoffed at me. “Stars can’t fix forced bonds, Clara. You’re dreaming.”

This time, I stayed silent.

But then Killian surprised me.

“If you want to see the stars,” he said, “I’ll take you. But don’t expect a honeymoon—I’ve got work.”

I blinked.

Then smiled. Because even when cruel, he’d always been kind.

He saved me three times.

Once, when I was ambushed by rogue wolves in the forest. He’d shifted mid-air, tearing them away from me. He took a silver-coated claw to the chest—leaving a scar that never healed.

Once, during the Winter Moon Raid. Feral rogues burned our healer’s hut. I was trapped. He shifted, dragged me through smoke and fire, his paws scorched. He didn’t stop until I was safe.

And once… when a rogue Alpha injected me with diluted silver. I collapsed. Killian used his own fangs to draw the venom out—knowing silver could kill him too.

He collapsed. I lived.

How could I not love him?

Killian sighed, impatient. “Are you coming or not?”

I nodded. “Let’s watch the stars tonight.”

He relaxed, flagged a cab. “I’ll drop you off first. Pick you up later.”

Then his phone buzzed. His brow furrowed.

“Selena hurt her hand. I’m going to check on her. You go home.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You’re not mad? Usually you throw a fit.”

I started to reply, but he cut me off.

“Guess it’s fine. We’re bonded now. She’s no threat to you anymore. Message me when you’re home.”

He walked away.

He didn’t see the ache in my chest or the sad smile I wore.

The truth was… I never tried to stop him from loving her.

But once, I caught Selena with an older wolf—kissed him like she’d done it many times before.

I investigated. She had multiple “benefactors.” Sponsors. Secrets.

I told Killian.

He didn’t believe me.

After she died, he mourned her for a decade. Her memory chained him.

And I… I couldn’t let that happen again.

I froze.

That night came early. The Moon Goddess had cut my time short.

In the last timeline, Selena had died too—from a silver-laced wound after a rogue ambush.

The blood vaults had run dry. No healer came in time.

That was the moment Killian’s resentment toward me turned lethal.

But that had happened a month into our bond.

So why... was it happening now?

The Moon Goddess wasn’t giving me time.

She was giving me a chance—to fulfill Killian’s third regret early.

A medic’s whisper cut through the chaos.

“She’s fading. Her wolf spirit is detaching. If it severs completely... she’ll go feral. Or worse.”

Killian turned to me, and for the first time, I saw desperation crack through every layer of his Alpha pride.

“Clara... please.”

I didn’t answer.

I didn’t need to.

I was an Omega Healer—not just a mender of flesh, but a soul-weaver.

Without hesitation, I dropped to my knees beside Selena and opened my satchel.

Moonflower dust. Shadowroot ash. Spirit-binding quartz.

And my final vial of moon-charged spring water—gathered under a blood eclipse.

I mixed. I burned. I chanted.

The scent of scorched herbs filled the room as I pressed my palms to her chest, whispering verses passed down through lunar bloodlines.

My wolf stirred—weak, but willing.

She offered what little she had left.

Time collapsed.

I worked through dusk and dawn. No food. No sleep. No light but starlight.

My aura dimmed. My bones screamed. But I didn’t stop.

Not until I had nothing left to give.

When sunlight finally spilled through the stained glass, Selena’s aura was steady—but faint.

I collapsed beside her.

Killian didn’t speak.

Didn’t look at me.

His eyes stayed fixed on Selena, like nothing else mattered.

When I woke, I was alone in the cot near the ward’s side screen.

Everyone moved around me. No one noticed I’d stirred.

The ancient projector played last night’s celestial event.

A meteor shower—rare. A blessing from the stars.

I missed it. Again.

Some wishes were never meant to be mine.

Footsteps. Then a voice, rough but laced with hope.

“You’re awake. Selena stabilized. It’s because of you.”

I nodded. “Good.”

He blinked, then flinched. I must’ve looked like a ghost.

“You shouldn’t have pushed yourself,” he muttered. “And I... I was cruel. You didn’t deserve that.”

“It’s okay,” I said softly.

Because it was.

Because it no longer mattered.

He hesitated. “You once said you wanted to see the Southern Peaks. The moon-glass lakes. I... I booked the flights. After you recover, we can—”

I shook my head.

“You don’t have to, Killian. This wasn’t about making anything right. I owed you this.”

He didn’t understand.

How could he?

He turned to pour water, his hand trembling.

The old scar—silver-burned—flared pale against his skin.

“Do you regret saving me?” I asked.

He didn’t turn.

“No. Even if it had been someone else, I’d do it again.”

“Even when you were already wounded… if a packmate lay dying before you, you’d still save them the same way you saved me. Wouldn’t you?”

He stiffened.

“Yes.”

That was who he was.

Always had been.

Not because I was his mate.

Not because I was chosen above all others.

Even when his own body was torn, when blood soaked his fur and skin—

he would still throw himself into danger for a dying packmate, the same way he had for me.

For his pack. For our kind. For anyone who called to him.

I was never the exception.

And that truth bit deeper than any silver blade.

My heart ached. Swelled. Cracked open.

“You’ve always been good, Killian. I... I held on too tightly. For too long.”

Tears slid quietly down my face.

“You must’ve hated that.”

He turned, startled. “Clara...”

A knock.

“Alpha Thorne?” A healer. “Selena is conscious.”

His entire body jolted.

His eyes lit up—brighter than I’d seen in years.

“I need to see her.”

He turned to go. I called gently.

“Killian.”

He paused.

“Thank you,” I whispered. “For everything. And... goodbye.”

His brow furrowed.

“Don’t talk like that. I’ll be back. I have something to tell you.”

Then he was gone.

I stood.

Unwrapped the bandages from my wrists.

My wolf, already frayed, whispered her last breath inside me.

The bond’s light was fading.

Eight minutes left.

That was all the Moon had granted me.

I walked barefoot into the morning light.

Each step slower, heavier.

Each breath a farewell.

I will never return to his world again.

Goodbye, my once-beloved mate.

By the time Killian returned—with herbal broth in one hand and something unreadable in his eyes—

The infirmary bed was empty.

“Clara?”

Silence.

A heartbeat later, a healer burst in, pale and frantic.

“Alpha! Come quickly. It’s Clara. She collapsed near the western gate.”

“Her wolf… her spirit… it had already begun to sever. We tried to anchor her.”

“But she chose it. She let go.”

“She’s gone.”