During the Moonbite Feast, I bit down on a silver token hidden in my portion.

The entire den erupted in cheers.

Last year, my mate's sister found the token and the pack matriarch gifted her a territory stake worth ten resource shares.

The year before, my mate's nephew won and received a full set of hunting gear and scrying crystals.

Full of anticipation, I watched as Morwenna Duskthorn smiled warmly and made her announcement.

"This year, the rite has changed. The one who finds the token must bestow five resource shares upon each of the twenty pack members present."

I froze.

Was this a blessing turned into a punishment?

Most importantly, by no coincidence, I actually possessed exactly one hundred resource shares—the Moonblessing payout I'd received just days ago.

——

Morwenna cleared her throat.

"Let us all congratulate Lyra on earning the 'Pack Contribution Honor.'"

She began the applause, and everyone joined in thunderously.

Pack Contribution Honor?

Was I expected to empty my stores for the entire pack's benefit?

What a mocking title.

Vesper Stormhart was the first to react.

"Mother, how much does that come to?"

"One hundred resource shares."

Morwenna gazed at me with calm authority.

"Lyra has been blessed with such fortune."

A chill crept down my spine.

Three days ago, I had received a rare Moonblessing payout—one hundred resource shares after the pack tithe was taken. I had told only one person about this windfall: my mate, Kael Stormhart.

I never imagined he would reveal it to his mother, and that the matriarch would simply claim the right to decide its fate.

"I refuse."

I set down my eating utensils, my voice steady.

Morwenna's smile turned rigid.

"What did you say?"

"I said I refuse this rite."

I looked at every face around the feast table.

"Last year it was a reward. The year before, a reward. Why is it that when my turn comes, I'm the one giving everything away?"

"The rite changes each year."

Kael tugged at my sleeve beneath the table, whispering his plea.

"Mother's word is law."

"Why should her word be law?"

I shook off his grip.

"Why do others receive blessings when they win, while I must surrender everything? Is this how you treat an Omega of this pack?"

"Watch your tongue, pup!"

Draven Duskthorn, the matriarch's mate, slammed his fist against the table.

"You bring ill omens to the Moonbite Feast!"

"Am I the one bringing ill omens?"

I let out a bitter laugh.

"Or is it the one who changed the rite specifically for me?"

Morwenna's face turned ashen with fury.

Vesper rolled her eyes with a sneer.

"Sister-by-mating, are you really so attached to your hoard? We're pack. There's no need to be so possessive."

"If you're not possessive, then you pay it!"

I rose to my feet.

"I reject this honor. Give it to whoever wants it."

"Stay where you are!"

Morwenna stood as well.

"Once the rite is declared, it cannot be undone! The Moonbite Feast token is a tradition passed down through generations of our bloodline. Do you dare break pack law?"

"Did our ancestors decree that a junior pack member must surrender one hundred resource shares to the entire family?"

I gathered my five-year-old pup, Liri, into my arms.

"Those ancestors certainly knew how to run a profitable pack."

Morwenna stood with her hands on her hips, seething, then turned to her son.

"Kael, are you going to control your mate or not!"

Kael hurried to stand and pull me back.

"Lyra, stop making a scene. It's the sacred feast night..."

"Am I the one making a scene?"

I stared into his eyes.

"I told only you about the Moonblessing. No one else."

His gaze shifted away, unable to meet mine.

In that moment, everything became clear.

"Your shares are just sitting there anyway."

Kael lowered his voice.

"Sharing with the pack lets everyone partake in your good fortune."

I glared at him.

"Did you ever consider that we might face a wasting sickness, or some urgent need? That we should keep reserves for protection?"

Morwenna immediately spat twice in superstitious dismissal.

"Speaking of such dark things during the sacred feast—how dare you."

"The truth is, you're simply selfish!"

"Yes, I'm selfish."

I nodded.

"And selfish wolves don't deserve to share a feast with your pack. I'm leaving."

I held my pup close and turned to leave without another word.

Behind me, the den erupted into chaos.

The matriarch's shrill voice cut through the air like claws on stone.

"Walk out that threshold, and never return to this pack!"

I didn't look back.

In the corridor leading away from the central den, Liri asked in a small voice.

"Mama, why aren't we eating anymore?"

"Because they wanted to make your mother a fool."

"What's a fool?"

"Someone who... gets their throat torn out and thanks the wolf who did it."

I stepped outside and summoned a territory runner to take us to my birth pack's holding.

Along the way, my message-stone kept vibrating with incoming summons.

Kael Stormhart's voice came through, laced with reproach.

"Where did you go? Come back now."

"Mother is only thinking of the whole pack. If you disagree, you could have discussed it properly."

"Are you deliberately trying to ruin the Moon Festival for everyone? Lyra, I truly underestimated you before. You really are that selfish!"

I didn't respond.

Kael sent summons after summons.

I silenced the stone completely.

I thought back to when I first received the Moonblessing payout. I had been so hopeful.

My mother had a growth pressing against her mind—a head-sickness that required healer intervention and long recovery, costing at least thirty thousand in resource shares.

And just last week, Kael's wellness assessment showed signs of a wasting sickness in his chest.

At the time, I had thought fate was showing mercy.

This blessing could solve our most urgent troubles.

But before I could even discuss it with Kael, that devoted son had already made promises to his matriarch.

So be it.

If only to protect my dignity, I had to guard what was mine.

My birth pack's den lay in the eastern reaches of the territory, nearly two hours by swift travel.

I sent word ahead to my mother.

"I'm bringing Liri home for the feast."

"Why now? Weren't you celebrating Moon Festival with your mate's pack?"

"It fell apart."

Silence stretched through the connection for two heartbeats.

"There's plenty of food. Come home."

Those simple words made my eyes sting with warmth.

When we arrived, my parents had already set out a full table.

Not as lavish as the Stormhart spread, but everything was food I loved.

Liri fell asleep quickly on the cushioned bench.

Only then did I have a moment to check my messages.

My stone showed countless notifications—nearly all from the pack alliance channel.

I didn't need to read them. They would all be curses aimed at me.

But one message stood out, from Branwen Duskbrook, a sentinel neighbor from our territory.

"Lyra, did someone breach your den? A whole group came through—they're tearing the place apart like raiders..."

I immediately opened the ward-stone vision linked to our home.

In the scrying image, Kael led his parents and his brother through our den, ransacking everything in sight.

Clothes from the wardrobe, contents of every drawer, books and documents—all scattered across the floor.

The matriarch's voice came through the ward-stone's hearing, sharp as broken glass.

"Search carefully! It must be hidden here somewhere!"

"Mother, this doesn't feel right..." Kael's voice wavered with uncertainty.

"What's wrong about it? That's shared mating property! What right does she have to keep it all?"

"But Moonblessing tokens aren't marked with names..."

"Exactly why we need to find it!"

Morwenna's voice rose even higher.

"Whoever holds it, claims it! Go search the sleeping chamber again!"

Cold spread through my entire body.

I knew my mate's pack valued resources above bonds, but I never imagined they would go this far.

Thankfully, I had kept the blessing token on my person all along.

Vesper, Kael's sister, tore apart Liri's toys and called out impatiently.

"Brother, there's really nothing here."

"Keep looking!"

Morwenna commanded from across the room.

"Flip the sleeping furs! Pull out every drawer and check behind them!"

Their actions were no different from territory raiders.

After two hours of destruction, they finally left our den, reluctant and empty-handed.

I preserved the ward-stone recording.

All of this would serve as evidence later.

My mother approached with a bowl of forest berries.

"What are you watching? Your face has gone pale."

Her health had always been fragile, and I refused to let anything disturb her peace.

"Everything is fine. Let us watch the Moonrise Celebration together."

As the hour approached midnight, a commotion erupted beyond our threshold.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Someone was pounding against the ward-sealed door with violent force.

I peered through the window toward the courtyard below. Kael Stormhart's traveling carriage sat at the entrance to our den.

Dread coiled in my stomach. I immediately activated the ward-stone's vision recording.

The moment my father unlatched the door, Kael burst through. Behind him came his mother, his brother, and the rest of their pack.

"The Moonblessing token! Hand it over!"

Morwenna Duskthorn demanded before anyone could draw breath.

I met her gaze without flinching.

"My Moonblessing. Why should I surrender it to any of you?"

"That blessing belongs to the mated pair!"

Morwenna's voice rang with false authority.

"Kael is entitled to half!"

I lowered myself into a chair with deliberate calm.

"Then we shall discuss division when the bond rejection is finalized. Until then, I ask that you leave. This is my birth pack's den."

Morwenna shoved her son forward.

"Speak up! Say something to your mate!"

Kael studied me, his expression caught between conflict and something harder to name.

"Lyra, just bring out the token. We can talk this through properly."

"You call what happened at the feast a proper discussion?"

I held his stare without wavering.

"Rigging the Moonbite omen so I would be the one to find the marked portion? Announcing in front of everyone how my blessing would be divided? Sending your pack to tear through my belongings? That is what you consider talking things through?"

"If you keep defying the matriarch, you will only suffer for it!"

Kael's brow furrowed with frustration.

"You have never been careful with resources. Whatever you keep will vanish soon enough. Better to let Mother manage it."

A cold laugh escaped my throat.

Now I understood completely.

In his heart, there existed only the Stormhart pack. Our small family meant nothing.

I looked directly at Kael and spoke each word with care.

"What if I simply refuse to hand it over? What will you do then? Strike me? Or reject the bond?"

Kael went still.

He had never considered being forced to choose.

But Morwenna leaped up in fury.

"She must have hidden the token with her birth pack! Search everything!"

Seven or eight wolves immediately began tearing through the den, overturning storage chests and ripping open cupboards. The noise woke Liri, who had been sleeping peacefully in her nest of blankets.

My pup's wail split the air.

"Mama, I am scared!"

My mother rushed toward her, arms outstretched to gather the frightened child.

Without warning, Morwenna's hand shot out and shoved my mother with brutal force.

"The token might be hidden on her! Search her too!"

My mother stumbled, her footing lost. She crashed to the floor.

Crack.

The sound was sickening. My mother lay crumpled on the stone, blood pooling from a wound on her head.

"Mother!"

I kicked hard at Kael's grip on my arm and broke free, rushing to gather her limp form.

But my poor mother had already lost consciousness. No words would come from her lips.

"You! All of you are murderers!"

Rage turned my vision red. My entire body shook with it.

Everyone froze.

None of them had expected this outcome.

Kael moved as if to approach, but Morwenna seized his arm and held him back.

My father had gone pale with shock, his voice barely a whisper.

"We must... we must get her to the healer-den..."

I fumbled desperately for my communication crystal, ready to summon the healers.

But Morwenna snatched it from my grasp.

"No summoning! First, hand over the Moonblessing token!"

I screamed at her through my tears.

"My mother is dying, and you still think only of the blessing!"

Kael's face twisted with something that might have been reluctance. He opened his mouth to speak, but one look from his mother silenced him.

Morwenna planted her hands on her hips, unmoved.

"If you care so much about your mother, then give us the token! If she dies because of the delay, that blood is on your hands!"

Desperation broke me. Tears streamed down my face.

"Kael, I am begging you. Please, let me take my mother to the healers first. The Moonblessing... I will agree to split it with you."

I had to keep some portion. Without it, I would have no means to pay for my mother's healing.

Morwenna still refused to yield.

"Words mean nothing. Bring out the token first!"

My heart turned to ice within my chest.

I looked at Kael with the last shreds of hope draining away.