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.

I lifted my head and fixed my gaze on her perfectly painted face. My voice came out raw, like I was choking on blood.

"Get out."

Raven let out a contemptuous scoff. "What's with the attitude? I came all this way just to kindly remind you not to forget about the bond rejection ceremony."

She tilted her head, a cruel smile playing on her lips. "After all, now that your little burden is gone, you don't exactly have any leverage to keep Alaric anymore, do you?"

She turned away, ignoring the inferno raging in my eyes. Her gaze swept the den like she was surveying conquered territory, and then she left, thoroughly satisfied.

I watched her retreating figure, and in my heart, I spoke to Lily, word by word.

Baby, take a good look. The wolves who hurt you—Mommy won't let a single one of them go.

They'll pay for what they've done. Every last one of them.

The day of the moon court. Outside the Elder Tribunal hall.

A cold drizzle fell without end. The sky hung low and gray, like one vast tombstone pressing down on the world.

I stood at the bottom of the stone steps in black from head to toe, the broken plastic crown clutched tight in my hand.

A dark carriage pulled by shadow-wolves stopped before me.

Alaric stepped out, radiating dominance, looking like an Alpha who had everything going his way.

But when his eyes landed on my face, that easy confidence froze for just a moment.

I probably looked like a ghost.

Deathly pale. Hollowed-out eyes. So thin I was barely recognizable—like something had drained every last drop of life from my body.

Alaric's brow furrowed. For once, a flicker of guilt—faint, almost imperceptible—crossed his features.

He walked over and held his cloak over my head to shield me from the rain. His voice softened, just slightly.

"What have you done to yourself?"

He paused, as if weighing his next words. "Since you're being so cooperative with the rejection, I won't be completely heartless about this."

He pulled another scroll from his satchel and held it out to me.

"I had my pack counsel draft a new agreement. Everything I promised before, plus additional hunting grounds near the eastern ridge."

His tone turned magnanimous. "After all, raising Lily on your own won't be easy. Training fees, healer visits—it all adds up."

The moment her name left his lips, my heart seized.

I raised my head. My eyes, flat and empty, locked onto his.

Alaric shifted under my stare, visibly uncomfortable. He cleared his throat and asked casually, as if making small talk:

"By the way, how's Lily been since that day? Still mad at me?"

He gave a light chuckle. "That pup holds a grudge—gets it from you. Once we're done here, I'll bring her a new toy. You can smooth things over with her."

I opened my mouth, ready to shatter his nauseating fantasy of fatherhood.

But before I could speak, the screech of claws on wet stone cut through the rain, followed by a female's shrill, furious voice.

"Selene, you shameless omega!"

Raven didn't even bother shifting to shield herself from the weather. She burst from her crimson carriage like a she-wolf possessed.

She shoved aside the cloak Alaric was holding over me and jabbed her finger in my face, screaming.

"You're about to sever your bond and you're still trying to lure him with your scent? What, you can't survive without Alaric? Is that it?"

Rain instantly soaked through my clothes. The icy droplets hammered against my skin—but they were nothing compared to the cold that had already settled in my bones.

Alaric's brow creased, but not because I was getting drenched. He reached for Raven's hand, his voice tender with concern.

"Raven, what are you doing here? It's pouring—you'll make yourself sick."

He slipped off his outer fur and draped it over her shoulders. His tone was so gentle, so warm—as if the cold, indifferent Alpha who'd stood before me seconds ago had never existed.

Raven melted into his arms on cue, her eyes reddening as she pouted up at him.

"I was worried you'd go soft on her. This omega is so manipulative—what if she tries to use the pup against you again?"

Then she shot me a venomous glare. Her gaze dropped to the broken plastic crown in my hands, and her lip curled with undisguised disgust.

"Clutching that worthless trinket like it holds any power? You should count yourself fortunate that Alaric bothers to offer you territory scraps at all—most Alphas would cast out a rejected Omega with nothing."

I wiped the rain from my face, my expression carved from stone, watching the two of them display their sickening bond right before me.

Alaric stroked her back with a weary exhale. "Enough, Raven. I already marked the rejection scrolls, didn't I?"

Raven's eyes sparked with sudden cunning. She pressed herself closer against his arm and lifted her chin, shooting me a look of pure triumph.

"Since we're already heading to the Elder Tribunal today for the bond severance, why not complete everything at once?"

She turned to Alaric, her voice thick with honeyed sweetness. "My Alpha, if you're finalizing the Bond Rejection anyway, why don't we just perform the Mating Ceremony today too?"

Alaric blinked, clearly caught off guard. Uncertainty flickered across his features.

"Today? Taking a new mate immediately after a rejection... wouldn't the other packs see that as dishonorable?"

"Who cares what they whisper! I don't care—I want it today! I want every wolf in every territory to know I'm your true Luna!"

Raven shook his arm relentlessly, even pretending to storm off in a huff, her scent flaring with manufactured distress.

Alaric wavered, his gaze drifting toward me almost against his will, as if testing my reaction through the bond's dying threads.

I watched their pathetic performance, and slowly—very slowly—a strange smile curved my lips.

"Accept her demand."

My voice came out rough, cutting through the storm with unsettling clarity.