After walking out of the pack house, I thought I would break down and cry.

But I didn't.

I just felt empty.

There was a huge hole in my chest. The cold night wind howled right through it.

The lingering agony from Damien's rejection was a constant, dull throb.

My phone vibrated.

It was a text from Damien.

"I have withdrawn the announcement of our mating ceremony. I informed everyone that we will not be mates due to incompatible personalities. From this day on, we are no longer connected in any way."

Immediately after, my father posted an announcement on the pack's internal app.

"My disowned daughter, Ella, is vicious and unfilial. From this day on, she is severed from the Blackwood Pack. All her actions hereafter are her own."

Then he kicked me out of the group chat.

So decisive.

I leaned against an old tree by the road. I stared at the cold words on my phone screen.

My heart felt like it was being shredded.

The tears finally fell.

If I had truly been the one with silver poisoning today, I would have died of despair seeing this.

Warren. Damien.

You are so cruel.

I dried my tears. I called a cab and went back to my small apartment.

That tiny place was completely mine.

For the next three days, I turned off my phone. I cut off all contact with the outside world.

I locked myself in my room like a wounded animal.

I replayed the last twenty years of my life over and over.

I thought about how my parents left me in the southern pack. They only visited once a year.

I thought about how Sarah basked in all their love while playing the innocent sister.

I thought about how Damien had promised me eternity. Yet he cared for my sister more than he cared for me, his actual mate.

I asked myself again and again. Why?

I was a pack healer. I had healed so many wolves. But I could never heal my own heart.

On the fourth day, I finally turned on my phone.

Countless missed calls and messages flooded in.

I ignored them.

On a strange impulse, I opened Sarah's social media account.

She loved to share her life. She posted updates almost daily.

Beautiful scenery from her trips. New limited-edition bags. Warm family photos. Exquisite desserts Damien made for her.

Her world was always so glamorous. So full of love.

But today, her feed was silent.

All her posts stopped exactly three days ago.

That was the day she went for her physical exam.