“What Moonbond Ceremony are you talking about?” Alden asked, his brow drawn tight, confusion clear on his face.

I smiled slowly, with care, letting the words rest between us like a quiet threat. “The Moonbond Ceremony you will not attend.”

He blinked, clearly caught off guard. “Whose ceremony? Not… not ours, right, Liora?”

I tilted my head, releasing a soft, mocking breath as I stepped closer to the Alpha. “Of course not ours. You have not even marked me yet, Alden. I am still only your chosen Luna, am I not?”

I brushed my fingers lightly over his arm, just enough to unsettle his wolf.

He pulled back at once, shaking my hand away. “Liora… do not act this way. You are still recovering. Just… rest.”

I swallowed the pain that cut deep into my chest. He did not even pretend to care now. How foolish I had been to believe in his bond.

Draven leaned against the stone doorway, folding his arms. “Wait. Why are we not invited, Luna? We have shared cycles together.”

“She is of a distant bloodline,” I said evenly. “You would not know her. My mother wishes me there to stand for our pack.”

“And Selene?” Draven pressed. “Will she go with you, Luna?”

I lifted one shoulder. “No. She has no tie to that bloodline. She is only my adopted she-wolf. There is no reason.”

Alden laughed, clearly pleased. “Good. Then, while you are away, we can travel to Bloodmoon Territory.”

Bloodmoon Territory. My breath caught. That land had been my dream territory for cycles, yet they always claimed it was wasteful.

“Yes,” Draven added casually. “The healer has cleared Selene to travel next moon. We will make the journey.”

“Without me?” I asked, though my wolf already knew.

Alden smiled and I did not return it. “Do not worry, Luna. We will send you a gift for the ceremony. Perhaps garments. Now rest. We must escort Selene to her next healer visit.”

And just like that, the Alpha and Beta turned away again.

I said nothing. I only nodded and closed the chamber door behind them. So this was my place now, a silent presence in another wolf’s life.

Fine. Let them believe I remained. I would leave quietly, vanish without sound. No one would notice and when they did… regret would follow. I only needed time.

Later that afternoon, I finally left my chamber and entered the manor’s hearth room, craving warmth. Soup, perhaps. Something real, not prepared for show.

As I opened the cold storage and began slicing roots, I heard it, a soft step behind me.

I turned slowly.

Selene stood there, wrapped in a pale wool garment, her hair braided neatly. The picture of a fragile, harmless she-wolf.

“I did not know you were awake,” she said sweetly, leaning against the stone counter. “I thought you were still injured… or perhaps pretending?”

I ignored her, cutting steadily.

“I mean,” she continued with a light laugh, “did you truly go to the Healer Sanctum? Or were you lying because I was there, taking attention?”

I set the blade down and met her gaze. “I am not like you.”

Her face hardened. “What do you mean by that?”

“You hunger for attention,” I said calmly. “You always play the wounded one.”

She scoffed, her voice turning sharp. “You are jealous. How does it feel, Luna, knowing Alden and Draven choose me now? Your mate, your protector, both mine. And you? You are nothing.”

My wolf flinched, just enough for her to notice. She smiled.

“You should leave this manor and Crownfang Pack,” she said softly. “You no longer belong.”

I turned back to the pot, stirring slowly, refusing to give her more.

“Still pretending you are above this?” she mocked. “Very well. I will help cook. They will enjoy it.”

I spun toward her. “No, Selene. I do not need help.”

“I will prepare something anyway,” she said cheerfully, taking a blade. “Let us see whose they prefer.”

She stepped closer, cutting fast and carelessly, clearly on purpose. I moved aside, letting her continue.

Then….

“Ah!” Selene cried, dropping the blade. Blood welled on her finger.

“You must be joking,” I whispered.

Too late.

“Alden! Draven!” she cried out. “Help! I am hurt! Luna Liora did nothing!”

Heavy footsteps thundered down the stone passageway.

The Alpha and Beta burst into the hearth room, alarmed.

Alden rushed to her side. “What happened? Are you wounded?”

“She ignored me,” Selene sobbed, clinging to him. “I was bleeding and she just watched!”

I stood frozen, ladle in hand.

“You did not help her?” Draven barked. “What is wrong with you, Luna?”

Selene held Alden tightly.

“I tried,” she whispered. “But she pushed me away.”

“I did not touch you,” I said quietly.

But no one listened.

“I did not touch you,” I said softly, but no one in the pack listened.

Their attention was fixed on Selene, the adopted she-wolf, who held her hand as if it had been torn apart instead of lightly cut. Her act was perfect, wide watery eyes, shaking lips, hunched shoulders. Every movement was shaped to gain pity from the Alpha and the Beta.

“You should have stopped her!” Alden shouted at me. “She is still weak from healing! Why did you allow her near the hearth room?”

“I told her no,” I said quietly. “She ignored me. Why am I the one blamed?”

Draven’s stare was cold, filled with anger. “You should have forced the issue. You know she is unwell. You are supposed to be the sensible one, Liora!”

“And what about me?” I whispered under my breath. “I am not healed either.”

Once again, my words vanished into nothing. Or perhaps they heard them and chose to ignore them.

“Next time, Liora, you will prepare all the meals yourself,” Alden ordered. “Selene should not lift a finger in her condition. Show some care for her. You are pack sisters and we are one pack.”

Pack? The word turned my stomach.

I tried to speak again, but the words died before they reached my lips. What use was explaining when my Alpha and Beta never listened?

“She should not need to ask for anything,” Draven added sharply. “Just handle it. You are fine now, are you not? Act like it. Prepare food for us. We want something proper to eat.”

They guided Selene, still sobbing, toward her chamber. Alden held her close, as if she were made of fragile glass. Draven followed, saying he would bring her ice herbs.

And once again, they left their Luna behind.

Alone.

I stood before the hearth, the soup long since cooled. Without thought, I warmed it again, added salt and cracked an egg into the pot. My body moved on its own, stirring, pouring, working as I had done countless times for the pack.

But this time… I did not cook for everyone.

Why should I? They had already planned to travel to Bloodmoon Territory without me. I was not wanted. They did not deserve my care, not even once.

So this meal was for me. Only for me.

I sat at the table and began to eat.

The broth was warm, gentle on my tongue. It did not heal my heart, but it belonged to me.

Halfway through the bowl, heavy footsteps entered the hearth room.

Alden. Draven.

“There you are,” Alden said, scanning the table. “Where is our food, Liora?”

Draven frowned. “Is it not finished yet? What did you prepare?”

I did not look up. “Nothing for you. This meal is mine.”

Alden stared. “You only cooked for yourself? Did you not hear me? I told you to prepare food for Selene and us. Where is it?”

“I am not a pack servant,” I said simply, lifting another spoonful. “I never agreed.”

Silence followed. Then a sharp scoff.

“This is about Selene again, is it not?” Draven asked. “By the Moon Goddess, Luna Liora, when will you stop this?”

I said nothing.

“She is wounded,” Alden added. “She is in pain. Why must you always be so bitter? Do you expect us to abandon her just so you feel important?”

I continued eating.

Spoon after spoon, the silence thickened.

“You are selfish,” Draven growled. “Everything is always about you. Do you believe the pack owes you something just because you were here first?”

I stared at my bowl. My hands shook slightly, not from fear, only exhaustion.

“She did not choose to be hurt,” Alden continued. “You have been cold since she returned. She is trying and you sulk like a jealous pup. Admit it.”

Jealous.

That word again.

The word they always used to silence me.

I slowly set my spoon down.

“I am not jealous,” I whispered. “I am simply… finished.”

They did not respond. Perhaps they heard me. Perhaps they did not care.

Suddenly, Draven slammed his palm against the table. The bowl rattled. I flinched.

“You know what?” he snarled. “You are nothing compared to her.”

Without warning, he grabbed my bowl and hurled it against the stone wall.

The clay shattered. Warm broth splashed down the surface like blood.

I stared at the mess.

Alden did nothing.

Neither of them stopped it.

“Useless,” Draven muttered, shaking his head. “You are completely useless.”

The words hung heavy in the air, sinking deep.

They left the hearth room again, their footsteps fading down the stone passageway.

I remained standing, staring at the broken bowl, at the food wasted, at the mess they did not bother to clean.

And strangely, I did not cry.

Not this time. Not anymore.

Because I had already passed that point.

By dawn, most of my travel packs were prepared. Leather bags stood against the stone wall beside my bed, tied and marked with runes. Garments, parchments and crystal records I had not yet burned. I folded the final tunics with slow care, not from affection, but because there was a strange calm in working quietly.

They all believed I was only packing for the Moonbond Ceremony.

No one questioned when their Luna would be back. No one asked if I would go back at all.

That silence answered everything.

I walked to the back of my chamber, where I kept a small velvet-lined case hidden within my chest. My adornments. Simple things collected through cycles, nameday gifts, clan tokens, small keepsakes I once treasured.

I opened the case. The necklace.

A moon-diamond pendant set in pale silver, shaped in an old clan design. It once belonged to my grandmother, then my mother and then me. I was meant to wear it on my mating night, whenever that fate arrived.

But when I looked inside, it was gone.

The necklace was missing.

My body went cold.

I searched the drawers. The shelves. The locked box is beneath my bed. I tore through my travel packs. Nothing.

My heart struck hard against my ribs. I left my chamber and went straight into the main den.

Alden was there, resting on the couch, his crystal communicator in hand.

“Alden,” I said, my voice sharp, “where is my moon-diamond necklace?”

He barely lifted his gaze. “Ah. That.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I gave it to Selene,” he replied easily. “She will wear it on our Bloodmoon Territory journey. It suits her.”

My breath stopped. “You did what?”

He finally looked at me, irritation clear. “She admired it. It fit her. You were not using it, so I allowed it.”

I stepped closer, hands tight. “That pendant is not a decoration. It is a blood heirloom. It belongs to my mother’s pack. It was given to me. It is mine.”

Alden shook his shoulders. “She is family, too. Why are you acting this way? She only borrowed it.”

“No,” I said through clenched teeth. “She was never a pack blood. I brought her into our lives. I begged my Alpha parents to shelter her. I gave her a den. And she took everything.”

His face darkened. “You are speaking poorly, Liora. I cannot believe you were truly envious of her, just as she said.”

“I am speaking truth,” I said bitterly. “I regret bringing her into my pack. And I am not jealous. Never. She is nothing but poison.”

The sound came without warning.

A sharp strike.

My head snapped to the side. Heat burned across my cheek.

I blinked, stunned. Alden’s hand remained lifted between us.

“She is your sister by bond,” he said harshly. “She is packed. Never speak of her that way again.”

Before I could respond, Selene stepped from her chamber. She wore a silk robe, bare feet silent on stone, her face shaped in false concern.

“What is happening?” she asked softly. “Why are voices raised?”

I pointed at her chest. “Where is my necklace?”

She glanced down, as if surprised to see it resting there. The moon-diamond shone at her throat.

“Oh… this?” she said lightly, touching it. “I borrowed it. I did not think you would mind. Alden said it was fine. I am a pack member too, am I not?”

“Remove it,” I ordered. “Now.”

Her face tightened. “Luna….”

“Remove. It.”

I stepped forward. She stepped back, clutching the pendant.

“What is happening with you?” she cried. “Why are you like this? I only wanted to feel beautiful. I love this piece…”

I reached for it. She pulled away. We struggled. She resisted harder than expected.

The chain snapped.

The pendant fell, striking stone, rolling beneath the low table.

“You broke it!” I shouted.

“It is not serious,” she said, breathless. “It is only jewelry.”

“You had no right to touch it!”

Alden rushed between us, blocking my path. “Enough!”

Draven came from the hall, moving straight to Selene. “Are you harmed?”

“She has gone mad,” Selene sobbed, holding his arm. “She is cruel. I did not mean to damage it…”

“She attacked me,” she added quietly. “I think she pushed me.”

I felt numb. “You are shameless.”

Draven turned on me, eyes cold. “What is wrong with you? She did not mean it. You always seek conflict.”

Then Alden shoved me back, not hard, but enough to unbalance me.

“Stop this,” he mumbled, guiding Selene away.

And again, they left me. Alone.

I stood in the center of the den, breathing unevenly, staring at the broken chain on the floor. I knelt and gathered the pieces with shaking fingers.

That was it.

The final boundary crossed.

I returned to my chamber, took my crystal communicator and activated a call rune.

A sleepy voice answered. “Hello?”

“It is Luna Liora,” I said plainly. “I wish to sell the manor dwelling in Mooncrown.”

“Sell?” the voice echoed. “Immediately?”

“Yes,” I replied. “List it. Open it to buyers.”