"I won't banish Elena."

Sebastian's words struck me like a physical blow. He took Elena’s hand, his choice crystal clear.

"Why?" My voice was steady, but my world was crumbling around me.

"Because this is about the future of the pack." He looked at me then, his green eyes filled with the cold, hard logic of an Alpha. "Sophia, you're a smart woman. You understand the importance of a bloodline. This child will be the strongest Alpha heir our pack has seen in decades."

Elena opened her eyes weakly, a glint of triumph in them as she looked at me. "Luna Sophia, I'll accept any punishment, but please, don't take away the pack's chance at a powerful future."

Her words sounded humble, but each one was a dull knife dragging across my already wounded heart.

"What about our bond?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper. "Our sacred bond, Sebastian."

"The bond stands," he answered without hesitation. "You are still my mate, and I am still your Alpha. But..."

"But what?"

"But the pack needs this heir. I cannot sacrifice the future of our entire people for personal feelings."

I stared at him, at the man who had promised me eternal loyalty under the full moon. I watched how easily the words "personal feelings" fell from his lips, as if our three years together were nothing more than an inconvenient footnote.

"I understand."

I turned and walked toward the door.

"Sophia! Where are you going?" For the first time, a note of panic laced his voice.

"You chose to compromise. I choose to leave."

I didn't look back. Deep inside, I felt a pain more searing than any I'd ever known. It was the tearing sensation of our mind link being violently severed—I was the one who cut the cord connecting my soul to his.

I heard his choked cry of pain behind me, but I kept walking.

The cabin in the mountains sat at the northernmost edge of our territory, a place used only as a shelter during the worst blizzards. Now, it was my place of self-exile.

Flames flickered weakly in the hearth, casting long shadows on the sparse furniture. I sat in the single wooden chair, watching the heavy snow blanket the world outside the window.

Six months.

For six months, no one had dared to come here. Even the pack patrols gave this area a wide berth, as if I had ceased to exist.

But today, the crunch of footsteps broke the silence.

The door creaked open. Marcus—Sebastian's father and head of the Elder Council—walked in, flanked by three other elders. A gust of frigid wind and snow swirled into the cabin, nearly extinguishing the fire.

"Sophia, we need to talk."

"What is there to talk about?" I didn't get up, my eyes still fixed on the falling snow.

"Elena gave birth."

My fingers trembled slightly, but I didn't turn around.

"Twins," another elder added, his voice grim. "Two boys, both showing incredible Alpha potential. The entire North American Alliance is celebrating. They're calling it the strongest new bloodline in generations."

"Congratulations," I said, my voice flat and empty.

"Sophia, you have to come back," Marcus's tone turned stern. "As Sebastian's bonded mate, it is your duty to help raise the pups. It's pack tradition. It is your responsibility."

I finally turned, my gaze falling on the four men who had once treated me with the utmost respect. "Responsibility?"

"Yes, responsibility," Marcus nodded. "Whatever personal grievances you hold, your bond is still valid. These children are the future of the pack, and you are their mother in name."

Mother in name.

A laugh escaped my lips, so sharp and hollow it echoed in the small cabin, making the elders take an involuntary step back.

"Marcus, let me tell you something about 'responsibility'," I said, rising from the chair and walking to the fireplace. "I've already fulfilled my duty—by removing myself from this farce so your 'future bloodline' can thrive."

I picked something up from the mantelpiece—the moonstone bracelet I had worn for three years, a sacred object symbolizing my bond with Sebastian.

"But now, it's time for this final tie to end."

Crack.

I clenched my fist, and the bracelet shattered. Shards of glowing moonstone clattered onto the stone floor.

"Sophia!" Marcus stared in horror. "You can't do that! Severing a bond requires the consent of both—"

"This was just a symbol," I said calmly. "The real bond died six months ago."

I walked toward the door, pausing as I passed the elders.

"Tell Sebastian he got everything he wanted—his powerful bloodline, his Alpha authority, and the pack's future." My voice was low and cold. "But what he's lost, he can never get back."

I pushed the door open and stepped out into the blizzard.

"Sophia! Where are you going?" Marcus yelled after me.

I didn't answer, but my escape was cut short.

Three towering figures emerged from the swirling snow, blocking my path. They were the pack's elite Enforcers, their eyes glowing with the distinct gold of their wolf.

"Luna Sophia," Oliver, the captain, said in a deep, conflicted voice. "Please come back with us."

"Move," I said, my voice as cold as the mountain wind.

"I'm afraid we can't do that." Oliver shook his head. "The Alpha has given an order. You are not to leave the territory."

"Sebastian's orders don't apply to me anymore," I took a step forward. "The bond is broken."

"But you are still a member of this pack," another guard added. "Without a formal ruling from the Elders, you cannot leave."

I looked at the three guards. They had been my friends, but now their eyes held only the cold light of duty.

"So this is Sebastian's final choice?" I asked softly. "He won't let me stay, but he won't let me go either?"

"The Alpha says," Oliver's voice was tinged with apology, "that time heals all wounds. You just need to wait."

Wait.

I laughed again, a sound that was raw and desperate in the howling wind.

"Fine," I stopped fighting. "I'll go back with you."

The three guards visibly relaxed, though they remained on high alert.

On the long walk back to the pack settlement, I led the way, trailed by the three guards and four elders. The snow continued to fall, but my heart was colder than the winter night itself.

Sebastian wasn't keeping me here out of love. He was keeping me here for control.

He wanted me to be a living reminder of my own failure, a broken trophy to his power.

But he was about to learn that some wounds, once inflicted, don't heal. They fester.

The Alpha's main house was even more opulent than I remembered.

Moonlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, reflecting off the polished marble floors. A new, massive crystal chandelier cast glittering patterns across the room. Clearly, the North American Alliance had been generous with their gifts to celebrate the "birth of the new bloodline."

When the Enforcers escorted me into the living room, I walked into a perfect portrait of domestic bliss.

Sebastian was leaning back on the sprawling leather sofa, cradling a sleeping infant. He wore an expression of tenderness I had never seen on his face. Elena sat beside him, cooing at the other pup, who was awake and had its tiny hand wrapped around her finger.

The scene was so complete. I was the intruder.

"Sophia's back," Sebastian said, looking up. His tone was as flat as if he were commenting on the weather. "You've lost weight."

"Six months as a hermit will do that to you," I replied, my voice just as cool.

The others in the room—including Sebastian's parents, the former Alpha pair Marcus and Lydia—froze. An awkward, heavy silence filled the air.

"Oh, look who it is," Lydia broke the silence, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Our noble Luna Sophia, finally deigning to return to the pack that's 'not good enough for her'."

Marcus set down his wine glass and sneered. "Now, Lydia, be fair. Our 'Luna' was once our son's mate. Even if she couldn't provide a strong bloodline, she can at least help maintain Sebastian's reputation."

"Reputation?" Lydia scoffed. "What reputation can a barren Omega provide? If it weren't for Elena, our bloodline would have ended with this generation."

I felt my blood boil, but I forced a mask of calm onto my face. This was what they wanted—to see me break, to see me lash out. It would only confirm their judgment of me.

"Father, Mother," Sebastian finally spoke, a hint of annoyance in his voice. "Sophia just got back. Let her rest."

"Yes," Elena stood up suddenly, a harmless smile on her face. "Luna Sophia does look exhausted. But..." She paused. "Before you rest, would you like to hold the little ones? They're very sweet."

She held the pup in her arms out to me. The baby had golden hair and green eyes, and was looking at me with wide, curious eyes.

"I don't think that's a good idea," I said, taking an instinctive step back.

"It's okay," Elena's smile widened. "She's a good baby, she won't cry. Besides..." she lowered her voice so only I could hear, "you should feel what a truly powerful bloodline is like."

With everyone watching, I had no choice. I reached out and took the infant.

She was so light, it made me nervous. She stared at me, her little mouth slightly open as if studying this strange new face.

Then, everything went wrong.

The pup began to seize violently in my arms. Her small face turned a blotchy red, and a thin line of foam appeared at her lips. Her breathing became rapid and strained, her tiny hands clenched into fists.

"Oh, Moon Goddess!" Lydia screamed.

"What's happening?" Marcus shot to his feet.

Sebastian moved with a speed I'd never seen. He snatched the baby from my arms, his eyes so cold they sent a chill down my spine.

"What's wrong?" he murmured to the infant, his voice trembling. "Shh, baby, Daddy's here. It's okay, it's okay..."

Elena collapsed onto the sofa, looking more panicked than anyone. "I... I just wanted Luna Sophia to see how sweet she was," she stammered. "I had no idea... the rejection... it would be so strong... Gods, I almost killed our child..."

"Rejection?" Marcus frowned. "Are you saying Sophia is hostile toward the pup?"

"No, not hostile," Elena shook her head, tears streaming down her face. "It's... it's the raw despair of a rejected mate. I should have known. Luna Sophia... her heart must be filled with so much resentment and jealousy. That kind of profound negative energy... it's like poison to a newborn pup..."

I opened my mouth to defend myself, but no words came out. Because, in a way, she was right. My heart was filled with resentment and jealousy.

"Enough," Sebastian finally spoke, his voice as cold as the arctic wind. "Sophia, until you learn to control your emotions, you will move to the West Tower. Stay away from the children."

The West Tower.

The most remote building on the pack estate, used to confine pack members who had broken laws, or to quarantine the dangerously ill.

"Sebastian..." I tried to explain.

"This is not a discussion, Sophia," he looked up at me, his eyes devoid of any warmth. "It's an order. Oliver will escort you. Your things will be brought over."

He paused, glancing down at the pup in his arms, who had stopped seizing and was now sleeping fitfully.

"I don't want to see this happen again. If you have a single shred of decency left, you will stay far, far away from my children."

In that moment, I felt my heart being crushed into dust.

Not because I was being imprisoned, but because of the cold, alien look in his eyes.

It was as if I had truly become a monster to him.

"I understand," I nodded, my voice so calm it surprised even me. "I'll move to the West Tower."

I turned and left the living room. Behind me, I heard Lydia's satisfied hum and Marcus's low muttering. Only Elena's sobbing sounded out of place—the hypocritical sympathy of a victor.

Oliver was waiting for me at the door, his expression conflicted. "Luna Sophia, I've prepared a room in the West Tower. It's basic, but..."

"Thank you, Oliver," I said sincerely. "At least you still call me 'Luna Sophia'."

The path to the West Tower was long, cutting across the entire estate garden. The snow was still falling, my footsteps leaving a lonely trail behind me.

Looking back, I could see the warm light glowing from the main house's windows. I could imagine Sebastian rocking his children to sleep, with Elena watching lovingly by his side.

That should have been my life.

But now, I was just an exile. A stranger in my own home.

The room in the West Tower was even more stark than I'd imagined. A metal bed, a table, and a chair. A small, barred window looked out at the estate's formidable outer wall.

I sat on the edge of the bed, watching the snow fall, remembering that night six months ago.

Maybe Sebastian was right.

Maybe I really should have just left and never come back.

But now, even leaving was a luxury I no longer had.

I was trapped here, a bird with broken wings, forced to watch as another woman lived the life that was stolen from me.

This was the price of betrayal.

Not death, but a long, slow sentence of humiliation and solitude.

The nights in the West Tower were deathly silent.

I sat on the rickety iron bed, listening to the north wind howl outside, a lonely echo of the storm that had shattered my life six months ago. Only this time, I held no more illusions.

The small, barred window faced the estate wall, but through it, I could see the distant, warm glow of the main house. I knew Sebastian was in there, with his new family.

And I was a ghost, forgotten in the cold.

I reached for the back of my neck, where a small, silver mark was imprinted—the official seal of the Elder Council. Every pack member had one, a conduit to the pack's collective consciousness, a record of their identity, status, and permissions.

Tonight, I was going to use it for something I should have done long ago.

Closing my eyes, I sank my consciousness into the mark, feeling the thrum of the pack's ancient power. Soon, the Council's archive materialized in my mind—not a library, but a nexus of the pack's collective mind, an archive woven from a thousand years of memory.

I found the rite I needed: Petition for Bond Severance.

It was one of the oldest and most sacred laws. When a mated pair's bond was broken beyond repair, either party could petition the Moon Goddess to sever the spiritual connection, completely and irrevocably dissolving the union.

The process was irreversible. And excruciatingly painful.

My spectral fingers trembled as I filled out the ethereal form:

Petitioner: Sophia Ashford

Mate: Alpha Sebastian Nightshade

Reason for Petition: The foundation of the bond has been destroyed by betrayal and the introduction of an outside bloodline. To continue it will only cause greater spiritual harm to both parties.

Date: Tonight

Signature: Sophia Ashford

The moment I willed it to be submitted, a tremor went through the entire pack's network.

A Petition for Bond Severance was instantly broadcast to all relevant parties: both mates, the Elder Council, and...

Sebastian.

I could feel his shock and fury crash against our crumbling mind link. The emotions were a tidal wave, threatening to drown me.

Less than five minutes later, the door to the West Tower was thrown open with such force it slammed against the stone wall.

Sebastian stood there, clad only in silk pajama pants, barefoot in the snow that had drifted onto the threshold. His eyes were burning with a wild rage, his chest heaving.

"Are you insane?" He stormed over to me, his voice shaking with anger. "A bond severance? Sophia, do you have any idea what that means?"

I watched him quietly, a strange sense of peace washing over me.

"I do," I said softly. "It means there will be nothing left between us. You can be with Elena and your children openly, without the inconvenient stain of a failed mate."

"You think this is what I want?" Raw pain flashed in his eyes. "Sophia, I know things are broken between us, but this is not the answer! The Elders are traditionalists; they will never approve this. And besides..."

He paused, his voice growing desperate.

"Besides, the process of severing the bond could kill you! Your wolf is already weakened by the trauma. Forcibly tearing your connection to an Alpha… your spirit can't handle that kind of backlash!"

I laughed, a dry, self-mocking sound.

"So you're worried I'll die?" I stood up to face him, eye to eye. "Or are you worried that the death of your barren mate will bring shame upon you in front of the other packs?"

"Sophia!" he roared, wounded. "I have never, ever looked down on you because you couldn't have children! Never!"

"Really?" I shot back. "Then why did you refuse to even discuss adoption? Why did you let your parents humiliate me in front of you and say nothing? Why did you choose Elena and her child without a second's hesitation?"

He opened his mouth to argue, but I pressed on, my voice rising with every question.

"Why, tonight, when that baby was seizing in my arms, was your first instinct not to protect me, but to order me away from my own home?"

Each question was a knife twisting deeper. I could see the agony on his face.

But I no longer cared.

"Sophia, it's not what you think..." his voice was a desperate plea. "I admit I've made so many mistakes, but please, withdraw the petition. We can fix this, but not like this..."

"Like what?" I sneered. "Like you locking me in this tower? Humiliating me in front of the entire pack? Or like you sleeping next to another woman every night while I rot in here alone?"

His face went white, as if I’d struck him.

"My... my arrangement with Elena is for the future of the pack, for the bloodline..."

"For the bloodline," I repeated his own damning words. "Yes, that's the core of it all, isn't it? I was a means to an end. And when I couldn't fulfill my purpose, you threw me away."

"No!" he yelled. "You were never just a tool, Sophia! You were my mate, the woman I loved..."

"'Loved'?" I seized on the word. "Past tense. You said it yourself."

He fell silent, the despair in his eyes a bottomless pit.

Just then, an urgent mind-link message burst into the room, so frantic it made us both flinch.

It was Elena's voice, laced with terror.

"Alpha! Alpha, come quickly! The pups have a dangerously high fever, their life-force is fading! The healers say… they say it might be a bloodline backlash from the unstable bond! They need your power to stabilize them!"

The color drained from Sebastian's face.

I looked at him, feeling that strange, cold calm return. Another choice. Another test.

And I already knew the answer.

"Go," I said quietly. "Your children need you."

He looked at me, his eyes a battlefield of pain and conflict. His hands trembled, as if reaching for me, but they fell uselessly to his sides.

"Sophia… I'll be back. We'll talk..."

"There's no need," I shook my head. "Sebastian, I've given you enough chances. Tonight was the last one."

He tried to say something else, but Elena's cries echoed in his mind again, more frantic, more hopeless.

"Alpha, please, they're getting worse! The healers say they might not make it!"

I could see the war raging inside him. But I also knew that when it came to a choice, he would always choose those two children. It wasn't wrong for a father to do so.

But it meant that in his heart, I would never, ever come first.

"Go," I said again, this time sending the word directly into his mind through our fraying link. "Your heirs are waiting."

He gave me one last look, his eyes brimming with unshed tears and a despair that mirrored my own, then turned and bolted from the room, a man running from his own ruin.

I listened as his footsteps faded into the snowy night.

Then I sat back down on the creaky iron bed.

Soon, the sounds of frantic activity drifted from the main house—the running feet of healers, urgent voices, the faint, pained cries of the pups.

And I listened to it all, a detached observer to a life that was no longer mine.

I don't know how long passed before the sounds finally died down. I felt a wave of relief ripple through the pack's collective mind—the children were stable.

The sounds of celebration followed, faint howls of joy for the heirs' recovery.

And as I sat alone in my prison, listening to them rejoice, the last ember of warmth in my heart finally went out.