I didn’t say a word. I simply placed the severance scroll...the dissolution of our mate bond...into his hand.

Jareth accepted it with a soft smile, wolf-golden eyes filled with a sickeningly gentle facade.

“Eirene… what is this?” he asked again.

He was about to unroll it when his crystal communicator chimed. He tried to hide the glowing rune on the surface, but I clearly saw the name etched across the light:

[My Moon]

I stood right there. I didn’t need a seer to tell me who was calling.

If I hadn’t uncovered the truth, I might’ve snatched the communicator and demanded answers like a naive, jealous mate.

But now, I remained perfectly calm and tugged lightly at his sleeve. “Place your mark on it before you go.”

His brows tightened. The false warmth in his eyes faded, replaced by reprimand.

Yet he still attempted that coaxing tone. “Eirene, I have matters to attend to. I’ll sign it once I return, alright?”

I didn’t move aside. I blocked the doorway, silent and solid as a stone guardian.

Eventually, irritation twisted his brow so hard it looked painful. Without even reading the scroll, he slashed his signature across it in a single stroke.

Before leaving, he glanced back coldly. “You’ve been absurd lately, Eirene. I won’t be returning to the den tonight.”

I only nodded, watching him vanish down the corridor.

Not long after, messages from Lucienne flooded into my crystal device.

The she-wolf got my rune frequency as soon as she returned to Ashenwood and started sending me images of her and Jareth together.

Them locked in a heated kiss beneath the lunar tide. Running hand in hand across sunlit cliffs.

Attending gatherings like a flawless, radiant pair.

At first, I thought she was some delusional imposter. Yet for reasons I didn’t understand, I never blocked her.

Only after the ambush did I realize every image was real.

Those countless nights when Jareth wasn’t at my side…he had been with her.

With that in mind, I saved each image...every vile piece of proof.

When he reached Lucienne, he swept her into his arms almost instantly. Image after image showed him gazing at her with the same tenderness that once belonged to me.

Then, unlike before, Lucienne began sending actual messages.

When I opened them, my blood iced over.

[If I hadn’t stepped away back then, you never would’ve laid a finger on Jareth. Now that I’ve returned, walk away while you still can. Otherwise, I’ll take even more from you.]

[And did you enjoy the gift I sent last time? Your parents’ deaths… and that pathetic unborn pup. My little welcome offering. If you refuse to leave, I’ll make sure you join them.]

As I stared at her words, I could practically hear her venomous voice, see the smug curl of her lips.

And all of it...every ounce of her daring cruelty...was power Jareth allowed her to wield.

I gripped my communicator so tightly the crystal nearly cracked, wishing it were their throats in my hands instead.

That night, Jareth never returned to our den.

(Eirene’s POV)

The next dawn, Jareth didn’t come home. Instead, he sent a short mind-link message through the pack network:

[Eirene, remember you’re visiting the Elder Den today. I’m tied up with Alpha duties, so I sent my beta aide to escort you. Take care.]

I dismissed the link at once, refusing to respond.

Two whole hours passed. No one came. His so-called “beta escort” was nothing but a lie.

I nearly abandoned the trip altogether...until I remembered the two Moonbound relics from our arranged bond, still held at his parents’ manor. They were the last heirlooms left to me after my own parents’ deaths. Relics blessed under the Moon Goddess couldn’t simply be replaced.

So I went.

But the moment I stepped into the Darkhowl Elder Den, the air froze in my lungs.

Lucienne was there.

Laughing sweetly beside Nerielle, Jareth’s mother and the former Luna of the Darkhowl Pack. Lucienne wore shimmering spell-woven robes and resting against her collarbone was a gemstone pulsing with pale lunar light.

I recognized it instantly...the enchanted Moonshard Jareth had fought viciously for at the Nightfall Auction.

Before I could speak, Lucienne noticed me. Triumph flickered in her amber wolf-eyes. Then, with a voice dripping false innocence, she turned to Nerielle.

“Luna Nerielle, I really shouldn’t stay here… Jareth and I were once promised to each other. If Eirene finds out, she’ll be devastated.”

Nerielle snorted, folding her arms.

“Don’t worry about that cursed she-wolf.”

Her voice was as sharp as broken stone. “She brought doom to her bloodline...both her parents dead, her womb too weak to carry a five-moon pup. If not for her parents dying, I would have told Jareth to sever the bond long ago before she drags him into the grave with her.”

Then her expression softened when she turned back to Lucienne.

“The only thing that matters now is the pup you carry. If Eirene dares cause trouble, I’ll cast her out of this den myself.”

My breath lodged in my throat.

Lucienne… pregnant? With Jareth’s pup?

I stared at Nerielle, remembering how she once welcomed me as though I were her own daughter.

When I mated into the Darkhowls, their pack was nearly ruined. My family had poured silver, territory rights and Moonstone resources into saving them.

Lucienne, meanwhile, had fled the continent entirely.

Nerielle used to greet me with open arms.

Now, days after my parents’ funeral, she showed me her true face.

Bitterness twisted inside me.

I turned away, determined to ignore them and head upstairs. But I didn’t get far.

A harsh grip yanked me back.

Nerielle’s glare was venomous, her wolf rising behind her eyes. Lucienne stood beside her, smiling as though she were watching a show.

“Hit her. Twice.” Nerielle snapped at the housekeeper.

“Look at her...moping like a curse walking on two legs. You think we’re obligated to endure her attitude?”

The housekeeper obeyed instantly. Two sharp blows cracked across my face. My cheek seared with heat.

I ripped myself free, hatred burning in my chest like wildfire.

Nerielle saw the look in my eyes and only grew more furious.

“Wretched creature! How dare you glare at me? Planning to strike your Luna Elder? Beat her again...beat her until she learns her place!”

The housekeeper stepped forward.

But before she could hit me again, footsteps descended the stairs.

Jareth.

“Enough!” His voice sliced through the den. “Mother, she is my bonded mate. How can you treat her like this?”

He reached for me, trying to pull me into his arms with feigned concern as he examined the marks on my face.

I slapped his hand away.

Lowered my gaze.

Anything to hide the disgust clawing at me.

Since learning the truth, every touch from him felt like poison.

Jareth stiffened, then exhaled slowly. He turned to his mother.

“Let it go. Lucienne is staying in the den tonight. Didn’t you prepare a chamber for her? Take her to see it.”

Nerielle scoffed.

“Keep defending that cursed witch. One day she’ll drag you to your grave.”

She shot me one more hateful look before leading Lucienne toward the stairs.

As Lucienne passed me, she paused...and smiled.

A heartbeat later, with the grace of a puppet whose strings had snapped, she pitched backward...

tumbling down the stairs.

Eirene’s POV

Jareth’s eyes widened in shock. Without a word, he shoved me aside and lunged down the staircase.

He knelt beside Lucienne, gathering her into his arms with trembling urgency. Panic clouded his wolf-gold eyes.

“Lucienne...goddess, are you hurt? Is your womb hurting? I’ll get you to the healers right now.”

Lucienne clung weakly to his sleeve, her fingers shaking, a whimper slipping from her lips as she pointed directly at me.

“Jareth… I don’t know why Eirene pushed me, but… m-my belly… it hurts so much…”

I stared at her, stunned.

She had clearly fallen on her own...no one had touched her.

Jareth turned toward me, his aura flaring, eyes blazing with fury.

“Eirene! Do you even understand what you’ve done?”

I forced myself to breathe evenly.

“I didn’t touch her,” I said firmly. “The Elder Den has Moonstone wards...every corner is under scrying. Check the recordings.”

But Lucienne...who had been sobbing in pain moments earlier...went utterly still.

Then she suddenly threw her arms around him, her voice trembling with manufactured guilt.

“Jareth, please… don’t argue with her because of me. Just… let it go. Maybe… maybe this pup really isn’t destined to survive…” Her voice cracked and she collapsed into him, crying even harder.

I didn’t move.

I didn’t look away.

I simply watched Jareth.

He refused to meet my eyes. His jaw clenched.

Then, with Lucienne still in his arms, he said coldly, “I believe Lucienne. There’s no need to review the scrying stones. Eirene, you’ve crossed the line. If anything happens to this pup… I won’t forgive you.”

Nerielle stood to the side, expression icy and full of contempt.

She had been standing at an angle where she could clearly see I had not touched Lucienne.

But she didn’t hesitate to choose her side.

With a flick of her hand, she motioned to the butler.

“Remove her from my sight. She’s poison...she returns here and nearly kills my grandpup? Throw her into the frost cellar. Let the cold purge her cursed aura!”

The butler seized me by the arms. I struggled, twisting away with all the strength I had left.

I turned toward the doorway and shouted:

“Jareth! I said I didn’t push her! Just check the Moonstone scrying...why won’t you look?!”

He hesitated.

Just for a heartbeat.

One step faltered as if he might finally turn around.

But Lucienne let out a soft, pitiful moan.

And that single sound erased me from his world.

He rushed out the door with her cradled in his arms, not sparing me so much as a backward glance.

As for me?

I was dragged to the frost cellar and thrown inside like discarded prey...no hesitation, no mercy.

The heavy iron door slammed shut.

Darkness dropped over everything.

Cold seeped instantly into my bones, sharp enough to numb my heartbeat.

I curled in on myself, trying to hold on to whatever warmth remained.

A dull ache throbbed low in my abdomen...the lingering reminder of the pup I had just lost.

Jareth had forgotten. Or perhaps… he simply didn’t care.

He once vowed he would always place me first.

Now, his heart belonged entirely to Lucienne.

Hot tears slipped down my cheeks.

And before my eyes finally fluttered closed, I could almost see the Jareth I once loved...

the one who no longer existed.