At the birthday moot, my pup was just about to blow out her candles.

Alaric Vargan leaned in with a smile, his tone light—as if he were sharing a harmless jest with the gathered pack members.

"Lily, little one, your mother and I are breaking our mating bond. Why don't you make a wish for Aunt Raven Frosthollow to give you a little brother?"

The smile froze on my daughter's face. Her golden eyes—so like mine—filled with tears in an instant.

The next second, she burst into howling sobs, the small wooden fork slipping from her trembling fingers and clattering against the stone floor of our den.

Alaric clicked his tongue in irritation, his wolf's displeasure rippling through the bond we still shared.

I couldn't take it anymore. I scooped Lily into my arms and carried her to her sleeping chamber, her small body shaking against my chest.

After I finally got her to sleep, her breathing still ragged from crying, I took the bond rejection scroll and found Alaric in his study.

"I've marked it with my blood."

He blinked, clearly caught off guard. After all my desperate clinging before, all my pleas to the pack elders, he hadn't expected me to let go so easily.

But relief washed over his face almost immediately, his shoulders dropping as tension left his frame.

"Should've accepted this sooner. Don't worry—Raven's still young in her wolf years. She's not cut out to raise another female's pup. The child stays with you."

For six moons, he'd done everything to force this bond rejection. Cut off my share of the pack's hunting grounds. Refused to speak to me through our mental link. Moved tribute and territory claims beyond my reach. Every cruel trick an Alpha could use against his unwanted mate.

And now, at our daughter's birthday moot, he said this in front of witnesses.

Fine. If he wanted to cast us out so badly, I'd grant his wish.

I just hoped that when the truth came out, he wouldn't regret it enough to want to die.

——

Alaric took the blood-marked scroll, barely able to contain the smile tugging at his lips. He was already sending a mental summons to the pack elders before the blood had dried.

"Yes, it's done. She's accepted the rejection."

"Prepare the announcement for the next gathering. Release it after the moon council concludes—we need to minimize unrest among our allied packs. And get me a count of the unclaimed dens under my direct authority."

I listened to him arrange everything with cold efficiency, his Alpha voice carrying that commanding tone I once found so attractive. I said nothing.

Instead, I bent down and picked up the birthday crown from the floor. The one he'd crushed underfoot when he'd risen from his seat.

It was a simple thing made of twisted willow branches and dried flowers, half the petals already crumbling away.

It wasn't that we couldn't afford finer craftsmanship from the pack artisans. Lily had insisted on this one because her daddy had woven it with his own hands last year, during a bonding ritual at her first pack gathering. She'd treasured it like a sacred relic, wearing it even after she'd outgrown its small size.

And just now, Alaric had stepped on it without a second glance.

Something cold and heavy lodged in my chest—like ice water flooding my lungs, pressing against my heart until it ached with each breath.

Alaric ended his mental summons and noticed me holding the ruined crown. Annoyance flickered across his face, his wolf's impatience bleeding into his expression.

"Stop picking up that worthless thing. Our bond may be broken, but I'm not going to leave you with nothing. This den is yours—you and the pup can stay in the outer territory. Lily's used to these grounds anyway."

"I'll also grant you hunting rights to the eastern forest and a share of this season's tribute. Selene Ashvale, learn to be grateful. That's enough for you and the child to survive for the rest of your lives."

"And I appreciate you being sensible about this. No howling fits like before. You've saved me a great deal of trouble with the elders."

His bond with Raven must have pulsed with her call, because the coldness in his eyes melted instantly, replaced by a tenderness I hadn't seen in years. His whole body seemed to lean toward the door, toward her.

"Anyway, the rejection is sealed. I should go."

"Raven just reached out through our new bond—she's frightened by the thunder. You know how sensitive her wolf is to storms. She can't be alone in the main den. If I'm late, she won't sleep all night."

My fingers tightened around the broken crown, the dried petals crumbling further in my grip.

Lily had just cried herself into trembling fits because of him. Her own father hadn't spared her a single thought, hadn't even checked if her fragile lungs could handle such distress.

But that woman was afraid of a little thunder, and he couldn't get to her fast enough.

Before I could respond, Alaric was already at the den's entrance.

He shifted his cloak onto his shoulders. Grabbed his Alpha medallion from its hook. Checked his reflection in the polished obsidian mirror by the door.

Every movement smooth and practiced. Not a trace of hesitation. Not a flicker of regret.

The heavy wooden door slammed shut behind him, and I felt the last threads of our mating bond grow cold and silent.

The den fell into a quiet so complete it felt like death itself had crept inside.

The tension drained from my spine all at once. I crumpled onto the woven carpet, my legs giving out beneath me, the ruined crown still clutched against my chest.

I didn't want to cry, but my eyes burned and swelled with unshed tears.

This past year had wrung me dry. There was nothing left to give.

The first breakdown came when I discovered the Alpha who'd once sworn to bond with me for life had betrayed our pack—for a high-born Beta female barely past her first shift.

When Lily had a fever, one howl from Raven Frosthollow was all it took. He'd abandoned us and walked out of the den without a backward glance.

Then came the despair. Alaric's cruelty knew no bounds. To force my hand so he could claim Raven openly before the pack, he'd cut off our share of the tribute entirely.

But what could I do?

I'd refused to accept the Bond Rejection because I wanted Lily to have an intact pack family. But tonight, at that birthday moot, Alaric's words had slapped me awake.

An Alpha who could use his own pup as a bargaining chip to please his intended mate—keeping him in our lives would only cast an endless shadow over my child's future.

If he was so desperate to run to his chosen female, then fine. Let him go.

A dull ache throbbed in my chest, making it hard to breathe. I forced myself to stand, intending to check on Lily in her sleeping chamber.

She'd cried so hard earlier. I was worried the stress might trigger her condition overnight.

But before I reached the door, a heavy thud echoed from inside the room.

Like something had hit the floor.

My heart lurched. A terror I'd never known before seized my throat.

"Lily?"

I shoved the door open and called forth a dim glow from the wall sconces.

My daughter—who should have been curled asleep in her nest—was crumpled on the stone floor. Her tiny body convulsed violently, her face mottled purple, foam frothing at her lips. Her eyes had rolled back, and her throat produced a horrible rasping wheeze, like broken bellows struggling for air.

A breath-crash from her lung-curse.

Lily had been born with the condition—a weakness in her chest that made breathing difficult when cold or panic struck. The pack healers had warned me over and over—no major stress, no intense crying.

"Lily! Don't scare Mama! Lily!"

I lunged forward and scooped her up, my hands shaking uncontrollably.

Her body was burning hot beneath her fur-lined sleeping gown. Her breathing had faded to almost nothing.

Raw terror shattered every rational thought.

I scrambled for the healing herbs and tinctures in the medicine chest—the special blend the healers had prepared for emergencies like this.

It wasn't there. The spot where the remedy should have been was empty.

Then I remembered—two days ago, Alaric had torn through the healing supplies looking for a salve for his training wounds, scattering everything. I hadn't had time to reorganize it.

No remedy.

The movements in my arms grew weaker by the second. I didn't stop for my cloak. I grabbed my daughter and ran for the den's entrance, reaching through the pack bond to find Alaric's presence.

Thunder rolled outside. Rain hammered down in sheets, cold enough to freeze the marrow.

We lived in the outer estate—the pack healers would take at least twenty minutes to reach us through this storm. But Alaric had left less than five minutes ago. If he just turned around, if he carried us to the healing hall at his Alpha speed, it would only take ten minutes.

This was a life.

I pushed through the bond, desperate, calling out with everything I had.

Finally, a split second before the connection would have faded completely, someone responded.

I clutched at the thread of awareness like a lifeline, my voice cracking into a desperate scream through our fading link.

"Alaric! Come back! Please, come back now! Lily's having a breath-crash—she's going into shock! Come back and take us to the healers! I'm begging you!"

But the presence that answered through the bond wasn't Alaric's frantic response.

It was a female's presence—soft, satisfied, laced with drowsiness and mockery.

Raven Frosthollow.

"Oh my, if it isn't Selene."

"Alaric left his mind open to me when he fell asleep in my den."

"So you really accepted the Bond Rejection?"

"Yes, I accepted it. Can you wake him now? Tell him to come back—something's happened to Lily—"

I fought to keep my composure.

A soft laugh came through the mind-link.

"Lily's having a breathing collapse? Please. You'd do anything to save this bond—cry wolf enough times and no one believes you anymore."

In my arms, my pup let out a feeble whimper. Something inside me snapped.

"Make him come back! She needs help! This is his own pup! Raven, you'll pay for this!"

Raven just laughed, her presence dripping with contempt through our shared connection.

"Honestly? It'd be better if she died. Alaric's going to have a new pup anyway."

The link severed.

I stood there in the bitter wind, clutching my daughter as her small body went limp in my arms. The hatred that surged through me in that moment—it eclipsed even my terror.

Alaric. Raven.

If anything happens to my pup tonight, I will bury your entire bloodline with her.

In the end, that healer with his glowing rune-stones became the regret I would carry for the rest of my life.

The pack healer emerged from the healing den, lowered his herb-stained hands, and shook his head.

The world didn't collapse. It simply went silent. Completely, utterly silent.

I didn't cry. I just felt something blunt push into my chest and start sawing back and forth until the pain turned to numbness.

I went through the motions mechanically—death rites, selecting a burial ground in the sacred grove, arranging the pyre ceremony.

Every ritual required a pack member's mark. The ceremonial blade trembled so violently in my hand I could barely make my cut.

Somewhere in that haze, I reached out to Alaric through our fading bond.

I wanted to tell him our pup was gone.

I wanted him to see Lily one last time.

First attempt—blocked.

Second attempt—blocked.

The third time, a cold message pushed through the weakened thread between us.

Alaric: Stop trying to reach me. Speak to the pack elders if you have something to say. When you've accepted reality, meet me at the Elder Stone for the Bond Rejection.

I stared at those cold words until my eyes burned dry. Not a single tear fell.

I sent back: Fine. Next moon. Elder Stone. I'll be there.

This time, he replied instantly—his voice echoing through what remained of our connection.

I let his words wash over me. His tone was mocking, impatient.

"Selene, you'd better not be stalling. If you fail to appear, I have ways to make you regret it."

I didn't respond. I just closed off the bond completely.

The days that followed passed in a blur. I drifted through the empty den like a ghost.

The funeral rites were simple—just a few bundles of moonlilies, Lily's favorite flower.

I knelt before her wrapped form, burning sacred herbs through the endless nights.

Alaric never came.

Not a single message asking what happened. Not one attempt to reach through our dying bond.

Nothing.

On the day of the burial, the sharp click of claws on stone echoed from outside the mourning den.

Crisp. Grating.

I looked up.

Raven stood in the entrance wearing a blood-red ceremonial gown, a jeweled collar gleaming at her throat, strolling in like she already ruled this territory.

Her gaze landed on the painted memorial at the center of the space. She pressed a hand to her lips in mock surprise, but her eyes glittered with undisguised satisfaction.

"Oh my. She actually died?"

She walked over and stood above me, looking down at where I knelt, her tone as casual as if she were discussing the weather.

"I was worried this little runt would fight my pups for the succession rights someday. Well, problem solved. Saves me a lot of trouble."

She tilted her head, a saccharine smile spreading across her face.

"Don't be too sad, Selene. It's called survival of the fittest. She was just making room for pups who actually deserve the Alpha's blessing."

My fingers tightened around my ceremonial dagger until my claws broke the skin of my palm. Blood seeped through the gaps between my fingers and dripped onto the stone floor.