"Sign this."

A clipboard hit the metal tray next to my bed with a sharp clatter.

I opened my eyes against the harsh fluorescent lights of the pack clinic. My skull throbbed beneath thick layers of medical gauze. Two days trapped in a dark, silent coma, and these were the first words my mate spoke to me.

"The council needs your signature to validate the trial," Damian said. He tapped a silver pen against the plastic board, his posture rigid.

Lucas stood beside him. The ten-year-old jabbed his thumbs into a handheld gaming console, not bothering to glance at my bruised face.

I looked at the two of them. A bitter, reckless impulse seized my chest.

"Who are you?" I asked, keeping my voice entirely flat.

Lucas paused his game. His head snapped up, and a sudden, bright gleam ignited in his dark eyes.

"You don't remember us?" the boy asked eagerly.

"No," I whispered.

"You're just a healer for the Blackwood pack," Lucas declared, stepping closer to the mattress. "I came to check on you with my dad. And my mom, Vanessa."

The clinic door swung open.

Vanessa strolled into the room. Draped elegantly over her shoulders was the silver-grey winter festival shawl I had spent three months weaving by hand for the upcoming ceremonies.

Lucas immediately reached out and grabbed her fingers.

Damian did not flinch. He didn't correct our son's outrageous lie. He simply crossed his arms and studied my face, his gaze cold and calculating, waiting to see if my memory loss was genuine.

The silence stretched out, heavy and revealing. They didn't mourn my injuries. They saw a convenient opportunity to erase me from their lives.

I stopped playing the game.

"Damian Blackwood. Lucas Blackwood. Vanessa Reed," I stated, my tone sharp enough to cut glass.

Lucas’s face flushed a deep, ugly red. He snatched his hand away from Vanessa and glared at me.

"You lied to us!" the boy yelled. "You're faking it!"

"A sick test, Evie?" Damian scowled. He tossed the pen onto the blanket. "Playing mind games with your family after a medical emergency?"

Dr. Mara stood quietly in the corner by the heart monitor. Her eyes darted downward. My fingernails had pierced the skin of my palms, drawing tiny drops of crimson, but I didn't loosen my grip.

"I'll sign your papers," I told Damian.

I grabbed the pen, scribbled my name on the dotted line, and shoved the clipboard off the bed. It clattered onto the linoleum tiles.

An hour later, the pack transport dropped us at the Alpha residence.

I walked through the heavy front doors and turned toward the East Wing. A row of unfamiliar leather luggage blocked the hallway.

"Vanessa is staying in the guest suite," Damian announced from behind me. "Her leg injury from the border ambush requires Luna-level care. It’s practical."

I turned my attention to the wall above the stone fireplace. The large family portrait we took last summer was missing. A blank, rectangular shadow marked the wallpaper where it used to hang.

"Where are my photos?" I asked.

"I had the staff move them to storage," Lucas answered, walking past me without stopping. "They clashed with the new winter decorations."

I followed them into the dining room. The long mahogany table was already set for dinner, the silver plates gleaming under the chandelier.

Lucas marched to the opposite end of the table and pulled out the ornate chair—my chair.

"Sit here, Vanessa," he offered, flashing her a wide grin.

Vanessa offered a modest, hesitant smile and sat down in the Luna’s seat. "Thank you, little Alpha. You are too sweet."

I stood in the doorway. I didn't yell. I didn't demand my seat back. I simply pulled out a generic wooden side chair and sat down near the middle.

Chief Elder Gideon sat to Damian’s right, carving a piece of roasted meat with precise, forceful cuts.

"The council has reached a decision regarding the winter patrols," Gideon said, pointing his fork toward Damian. "With Evie's wolf gone, she cannot fulfill her duties. Vanessa will act as proxy Luna."

Damian took a sip of water. "It is a temporary arrangement. She will oversee the border checks and manage Lucas's heir training until Evie recovers."

"I am honored to serve the Blackwoods," Vanessa murmured, lowering her eyelashes.

She turned her head toward me, resting a hand on her bandaged thigh.

"Speaking of my service," Vanessa continued, her voice coated in false sweetness. "My leg is aching terribly tonight, Evie. Could you share a bit of your healing magic? Just to ease the pain."

Damian looked at me expectantly. "Go ahead, Evie. Fix her up so she can start patrols tomorrow."

I placed my fork down on the porcelain plate. The metallic clink rang loudly in the quiet room.

"No," I said.

Damian’s brow furrowed. "What do you mean, no? It takes two seconds."

"I am not healing her," I replied, meeting his stare directly. "Not today. Not tomorrow. Never again."

"Don't be petty," Damian snapped, leaning forward over the table. "She is doing your job for you."

"Then she can heal her own wounds."

I closed my eyes and reached deep into my chest. For twelve years, my healing energy had flowed freely through the pack link, a warm undercurrent that comforted every wolf under Damian’s command.

I visualized the glowing silver threads connecting me to the rest of the pack.

I grabbed them all. And I severed them.

A collective gasp echoed around the dining room. Gideon dropped his knife. Lucas shivered violently, wrapping his arms around his own torso.

The sudden absence of my magic hit them like a plunge into a frozen lake.

Damian shot up from his chair. His hand flew to his chest, his fingers clutching the fabric of his shirt. A harsh grunt escaped his lips.

"What did you do?" Damian demanded, his face paling as he rubbed his sternum.

"I withdrew my magic," I answered calmly, standing up from my side chair. "If I am too weak to be your Luna, I am too weak to be your healer."

Damian glared at me, his chest heaving. He rubbed the spot over his heart again, a look of profound confusion crossing his harsh features.

He thought it was just a physical reaction to the magic shifting.

He didn't realize the truth.

The tearing sensation in his chest wasn't just my magic retreating. It was the twelve-year Mate Bond, and I was actively shutting it down, thread by thread.

I turned my back on my husband and walked out of the dining room.

"Evie, get back here!" Damian roared.

I ignored him, keeping my pace steady as I headed for the stairs. Let Vanessa have the seat. Let her have the title. I had a much bigger problem to solve.

My wolf was fading, and if I didn't find out why, the Mate Bond wouldn't be the only thing dying tonight. I reached my bedroom and locked the door behind me, only to find a strange, sealed envelope resting on my pillow.

The wax seal bore a crest I hadn't seen in over a decade.

"The logging camp workers are tearing each other apart over noise complaints," Gideon snapped, tossing a thick stack of incident reports onto my desk.

"Border patrols are attacking their own shadows," another elder chimed in, stepping into my office. "Your neglect of duty is destroying this pack."

"I withdrew my magic," I answered, not looking up from the blank parchment in front of me. "I didn't cause the riots."

"You are the Luna. Fix the pup school right now," Gideon ordered, his voice echoing off the stone walls. "They are tearing the classrooms apart in a collective night terror. Go do your job."

I stood up, pushing my chair back. The elders parted as I walked out the door.

I ran to the training yard. Small wolves snarled and snapped, their eyes glazed over with panic. Desperate teachers tried to pull the frantic children apart, only to get bitten in the process.

I pushed through the iron gates. I dragged the last reserves of my Moon Wolf energy from my fading core and slammed my palms into the frozen dirt.

Silver light rippled across the yard. The chaotic energy vanished. The pups collapsed into the snow, panting and blinking away their nightmares.

I leaned against the wooden fence, wiping a thick layer of sweat from my forehead. My limbs shook.

"Vanessa’s combat drills really paid off," Lucas announced loudly to a group of older boys near the water trough. "She taught us how to hold the line during a panic."

A tiny blonde girl frowned at him. "But your mom did the magic. She saved us."

Lucas rolled his eyes. He kicked a loose rock across the dirt.

"She’s just doing her job," my son sneered. "It's what she's supposed to do."

I turned around and walked back to the Alpha estate. I didn't shed a tear. The cold wind bit my cheeks, but the ice in my chest felt absolute.

Night fell over Silverpine. I sat on my bed and dumped twelve years of medical logs onto the mattress.

I flipped through the heavy binders. Every time I absorbed lethal trauma from a pack member, the council had altered the final report.

*Patient stabilized by Alpha Damian’s command aura.*

*Pack tension resolved through the Alpha's dominant presence.*

They erased my sacrifices. They gave my husband the credit for every drop of blood I shed to keep this pack sane.

I grabbed the thickest folders and marched down the hall to Damian’s office. I pushed the heavy oak door open without knocking.

Vanessa stood behind Damian’s leather chair, wrapping a white bandage around his bare shoulder.

"If the Luna loses her wolf permanently," Vanessa murmured, smoothing her hand over his collarbone, "the pack will demand a new mate recognition ceremony. We need to be ready for the fallout."

"It is merely a political contingency," Damian replied, keeping his eyes on the paperwork on his desk.

I dropped the heavy folders onto the hardwood floor.

The loud smack made them both jump. Vanessa stepped back, lowering her head in a mock display of submission.

"Protocol to replace me?" I asked.

"Evie, we were just discussing pack security," Damian said. He pulled his shirt over his chest, his expression hardening. "Don't overreact. The Mate Bond proves you belong to me. Nothing changes that."

I kicked the folders toward his desk. Papers spilled across the rug.

"The bond lets you feel my pain," I stated, staring directly into his dark eyes. "Why, in twelve years, did you never stop to ask if it hurt?"

Damian froze. His mouth opened, but no words came out. His fingers twitched against the edge of his desk.

"You hid my medical records," I pressed, stepping closer. "You let the council credit my suffering to your aura. You felt my magic ripping my body apart, and you never said a word."

"I am the Alpha," Damian finally fired back, his voice thick with defensive anger. "I carry the weight of everyone's survival. You are my Luna. Your pain is part of the duty."

"A duty you lied about."

"A Luna cannot put personal feelings above pack interests," Damian commanded, pointing toward the door. "Clean yourself up. You are attending the Winter Solstice Council meeting in ten minutes. We will project a united front."

The council chamber smelled of burning pine and old parchment. I sat at the end of the long table, staring at the flickering candles.

"Evie’s condition is unstable," Gideon announced to the seated elders. "Her refusal to heal Vanessa yesterday proves she is a liability. I propose we strip her of all medical decision-making authority."

Vanessa stood up from the proxy seat. She placed a hand over her heart.

"Please, Elders," Vanessa pleaded, her voice dripping with fake sympathy. "The Luna is just tired. I only wish to help her rest until she recovers. Do not punish her."

"The decision is final," Gideon said. He shoved the silver medical seal across the polished wood.

Vanessa picked it up. She smiled at the metal before slipping it into her pocket.

I didn't argue. I didn't defend my title. I placed my hands flat on the table and stood up.

"I invoke the ancient law," I said, my voice cutting sharply through the murmurs. "I demand a private family choice ceremony. Right now."

Gideon scowled. Damian stiffened in his chair.

"That law is for broken households," Damian warned, his eyes narrowing. "Do not make a scene, Evie."

"Bring Lucas in," I ordered the guards at the door.

Two enforcers escorted my son into the room. Lucas crossed his arms, glaring at the elders before turning his scowl on me.

I walked around the table and stopped in front of him.

"Lucas," I said softly. "Will you give up your heir status and leave Silverpine with me?"

Lucas barked out a harsh, mocking laugh.

"Leave? With you?" the boy asked, looking at me like I was insane.

"Yes."

"I am the future Alpha," Lucas spat, puffing out his chest. "You are nothing outside this house. I'm staying right here."

I reached into my pocket. My fingers brushed the carved moonstone amulet I had spent months shaping for his trial. The stone felt cold.

I left it in my pocket. I nodded once.

"Very well," I said.

I turned to face my husband. Damian watched me, his jaw set in a rigid line of absolute authority. He thought he had won. He thought my lack of options would force me back into his shadow.

"Good," I told him, keeping my chin high. "Tomorrow at midnight, I will formally reject you."

Damian slammed his hands onto the table.

"You will do no such thing!" he roared.

I didn't wait for his permission. I turned my back on the council, my husband, and my son, and walked out the door.

The heavy wood shut behind me, cutting off Damian's shouting. I walked briskly down the empty corridor, my mind racing. I had twenty-four hours to prepare for the rejection backlash.

And I needed to open the sealed envelope waiting on my pillow.