Suddenly, Fenris slammed his claws against the carriage brake, sending the bone-wheeled transport lurching to a halt.

Heat-suppressant vials on the dashboard rolled to Lyra's feet.

At some point, Fenris had started keeping heat-dampening medicine in his carriage every day, because Selene's cycles were unpredictable and her scent grew distressed during travel.

In recent years, Selene spent more time with him than Lyra did. So everything around him was prepared for Selene's comfort. There was even moon-sage incense burning in the carriage. Fenris forgot that Lyra was allergic to it—that it made her throat close and her omega instincts spiral into panic.

But none of that mattered anymore. She didn't want him anymore. How he lived had nothing to do with her.

Lyra looked at Fenris quietly, waiting for his answer. For the first time, the Alpha who always wore a mask of gentleness let his true coldness show through. His dominance pressed against her like ice water.

"Lyra, you've been fighting this bond for two years. Do you really want the severance?"

Her answer was firm, despite the way his Alpha voice tried to curl around her spine. "Absolutely."

Fenris suddenly smiled with sarcasm, his fangs catching the light. "Fine. I'll grant your wish."

Soon, Fenris took her to the Council Registry Hall. He presented their bond-marks to the Elder Scribe and emerged quickly from the stone building. Each of them was holding a Moon-Count Notice—the formal acknowledgment that bond severance had been requested.

The Elder Scribe had explained, "There is a thirty-day moon-count waiting period. After thirty days, the bond severance becomes recognized by pack law."

As soon as they walked outside into the territory's central square, Fenris said, "I've already gone through the process with you. Don't keep talking about severance. Even I get tired of hearing it."

Then his communication stone pulsed with Selene's scent-signature. She said she felt unwell. Her illness seemed to be acting up again—the mysterious weakness that had plagued her for years, that no healer could quite explain.

Fenris didn't hesitate to climb into his carriage and drive away. The dust from the bone-wheels snapped Lyra back to reality and made her laugh quietly.

In Fenris's eyes, she was just being emotional—an omega having a tantrum. He thought this bond could never end. But oh, he was so wrong. This severance was something Lyra was determined to get.

To avoid later trouble, Lyra didn't return to their shared den that night. She stayed at a neutral waystation and arranged passage out of New Metro territory for the next day—a border-crossing to Ironcrest, where different laws held sway.

Early the next morning, she went to the territory gate.

As soon as she arrived, she received a message through the pack-link from Fenris: [There's going to be a Moon-Market tonight. Get ready.]

She didn't reply. In thirty minutes, she could board the border caravan. She would finally leave this cruel territory.

Just as she boarded and the caravan was about to depart through the warded gates, the protective barriers suddenly shattered. A group of Pack Guards in black leather rushed in, their wolves half-shifted and snarling.

Fenris then walked in slowly, one clawed hand in his pocket, and stopped in front of Lyra. His Alpha presence flooded the enclosed space, making the other passengers whimper and bare their throats. "Lyra, come home with me. I'll forget what you did today."

Lyra's heart sank. She had underestimated him. She didn't expect him to come directly to the border gate, to make such a public display of dominance.

She said firmly, fighting against the instinct to submit, "Fenris, we are severing our bond. We are in the moon-count period, remember?"

Fenris smiled lightly, raising his eyebrows. "Lyra, you're so naïve. Do you have a severance mark? If not, we are still bound by pack law." He continued, his voice dropping into command register, "Before I get angry, come back with me."

Lyra didn't move. "No."

The caravan became completely silent. No one dared to speak. Even the border guards looked away, unwilling to interfere in what pack law deemed a mate-dispute.

At that moment, Selene walked in. She naturally helped Fenris adjust his rank-collar, her delicate omega fingers lingering on his throat. "Fen, you forgot to wear your Alpha sigil this morning. I brought it for you."

While doing this intimate gesture, she looked at Lyra with clear provocation, her scent deliberately mingling with his in a display of closeness.

Fenris's expression stiffened. He explained, "Selene was sick last night, so I stayed with her in the healer's den. Don't misunderstand."

Lyra showed no reaction at all.

In the past, she would have questioned him. She would have been hurt by the scent of another omega clinging to her mate. But now, she was too tired of it all. She didn't care anymore.

"It doesn't matter. It has nothing to do with me. If Alpha Blackthorn has nothing else to do, please leave the caravan. Don't waste other travelers' time."

Lyra's calm attitude made Fenris's dominance flare with anger. He lowered his voice and threatened her, his Alpha command bleeding through, "Lyra, I heard you're looking for an Elder Advocate to petition for your brother's case."

Lyra's face tightened. She looked up and stared at him.

Seeing her finally react, Fenris smiled faintly. "In New Metro territory, without my permission, no Elder dares to take your petition. No Council member will hear the Stormvale name."

It was clearly midsummer, but Lyra felt like her heart had fallen into an icy pit.

Her body trembled. Tears streamed down her face. "Fenris… are you threatening me?"

Fenris bent down and gently wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes, his touch possessive rather than tender. "Lyra, as long as you come home with me obediently, I'll handle your brother's case. I'll speak to the Council myself."

Hearing this, Lyra laughed coldly. Back then, Fenris had said the same thing. He promised to take care of her brother. He said everything was under his control—that his influence with the Pack Council would protect Kael. But things resulted with her brother caged in silver chains, his life and bloodline honor ruined on falsified scent testimony.

She was no longer the Lyra from two years ago. "Fenris, I won't believe a single word you say anymore."

Fenris sneered and turned to Selene behind him. "Spread the word to every Elder and Advocate in New Metro territory. Anyone who dares take the Stormvale bloodline's petition will never survive in this territory again. Their hunting rights will be stripped. Their dens will be seized."

Then he looked back at Lyra. "Lyra, I'm the only person you can trust now. Either come home with me and I'll pretend nothing happened, or keep fighting me."

He added, his Alpha voice wrapping around her like chains, "You choose."

Lyra felt as though she had fallen into an ice cave carved from silver.

Her fists clenched tightly, claws threatening to break through skin. Fenris controlled New Metro territory with absolute dominance. Once he spoke, no wolf in any den dared help her. His command voice echoed through every pack runner, every elder, every guard who might have offered sanctuary.

In the end, the path she had worked so hard to find was blocked again. The familiar darkness crept through her chest—the bond-sickness that came from a forced claiming, from years of having her will crushed beneath his Alpha authority. Her whole body shook, even her voice trembled.

"Fenris… if you keep forcing me like this, aren't you worried you'll be pushing me to death one day?"

Fenris's expression stiffened for a moment, his amber eyes flickering with something that might have been concern—or possession. Then he said softly, "Lyra, I love you so much. How could I ever push you to death? Since you're begging anyway, why beg outsiders instead of begging me?"

Lyra couldn't say a word. His love was too heavy. It crushed her until she couldn't breathe, until her wolf cowered in the depths of her soul, until her own scent turned bitter with submission she had never chosen.

She couldn't bear it anymore. "I'm begging you. Can you show me mercy?" She looked up at him in despair, letting him see the hollow emptiness in her eyes.

For the first time, the proud Omega of Stormvale blood lowered her head to Fenris Blackthorn. Everything was going exactly as he wanted, yet seeing Lyra give in still made Fenris uneasy. Something in his chest tightened—a warning he refused to acknowledge.

He lowered his eyes and pulled her up, his grip firm on her wrist. "Come back to the den with me first. I'll take care of your brother's case."

Lyra accepted her fate. As long as Kael could be cleared of his charges. As long as her brother could walk free from the iron-silver holding den where he'd been caged for crimes he never committed.

Her lips parted slightly. "Fenris, if you break your word again, our story will only end when one of us is in a grave."

But Fenris didn't hear her.

All of a sudden, Selene suddenly collapsed for no clear reason—her body going limp, her scent turning sharp with distress that seemed too perfectly timed. All of his attention went to her. He gathered Selene up in his arms and rushed out of the private chamber, his command voice booming for healers.

Watching how carefully he held Selene, how his entire being oriented toward protecting her, Lyra laughed softly. The sound was hollow.

She didn't understand. If he loved Selene so much, why wouldn't he let Lyra go? Why wouldn't he sever their bond and release her from this cage of teeth and territory?

Fenris, could you really see your own heart clearly?

That evening, Fenris didn't come to escort her to the Moon-Market rite. He sent word through a pack runner that she should go first.

Before Selene returned, Fenris never let Lyra be alone. His scent was always nearby, his guards always watching, his presence always pressing against her like a weight she couldn't shake. Right after Selene came back, everything changed.

As soon as Lyra entered the grand hall where the Moon-Market was held—a cavernous space lit by silver-touched lanterns and thick with the mingled scents of a dozen bloodlines—she saw Selene holding Fenris's arm as they walked in together.

So it wasn't that he had no time. He just had no time for her.

The market broker, Balthazar Gravesong, flattered Fenris eagerly, his oily voice carrying across the gathering. "This must be Selene Nightbloom. Seeing you in person is even better than rumors. You're beautiful and capable—your scent-weaving talents are spoken of in every den."

"Everyone says that if you hadn't left Alpha Blackthorn's side back then, the position of his bonded mate would surely have been yours."

"No wonder Alpha Blackthorn takes such good care of you. You two look perfect together—your scents practically sing in harmony."

Selene smiled proudly, her delicate features arranged in perfect humility that didn't reach her eyes. "You flatter me, Balthazar. I owe everything to Fenris for giving me a chance to serve his pack. If not, how could an Omega with a severed bond like me stand here today?"

The crowd stepped on Lyra to praise Selene. Every word was a blade, every glance a judgment. Fenris didn't say a single word to defend Lyra—didn't release even a hint of protective scent, didn't acknowledge her existence.

In their first year of forced bonding, someone once spoke badly about Lyra. Fenris had broken that wolf's jaw on the spot, his dominance crashing through the room like a storm. Now, these wolves mocked her word by word in front of him, and Fenris showed no reaction at all.

So this was the difference between love and no love.

Lyra took a deep breath, steadying her wolf, and turned to leave. But Selene deliberately stopped her, her voice pitched to carry.

"Lyra Stormvale, you're here. Why didn't you greet me properly?"

Everyone's eyes turned toward them. The broker, who had just insulted Lyra, looked like he wanted to crawl into a hole and bury himself beneath the stone floor.

Lyra couldn't leave now. So she walked over calmly, her cold eyes sweeping across everyone present. She let her noble bloodline show in her bearing—the ancient Stormvale dignity that no forced bond could strip away.

"Selene Nightbloom, I am Fenris's bonded mate. My Alpha is here. Why shouldn't I be here?"

"As for you—you left Fenris back then to chase after foreign Alphas with larger territories. After your bond was severed, you ran back to this territory to find him again."

"One thing you said is right. Fenris has patience. If I were him, I would stay far away from an Omega like you, not keep you by my side as a scribe."

"As an Omega, let me give you some advice, Selene. If you want to bond again, find an unmated Alpha."

"Stop clinging to a bonded male every day. It's embarrassing, and it only makes people think no Alpha wants your scent."

Every word cut sharply. Lyra showed Selene no mercy at all. The gathered wolves shifted uncomfortably, scent-pressure rising in the hall.

Before Selene could arrange her features into hurt submission, Fenris spoke first, his command voice crashing through the room as he angrily scolded Lyra, "That's enough!"

"Selene is my person. If you have a problem, take it up with me. Don't bully her."

The smile on Lyra's face looked worse than crying.

Bullying Selene? From beginning to end, the one being bullied was always Lyra.

But Fenris was blind to it. Clearly, he couldn't see it at all.

The pack members around looked at Lyra with pity. As the bonded mate treated like this, she was probably one of a kind.

Painful memories flooded back one by one. Her illness acted up again, the familiar trembling that came when her suppressed instincts warred against the forced bond.

"If I'm not welcome here, then I'll leave." She clenched her fists tightly.

Selene pretended to step forward to stop her, but Fenris stopped her instead. "Leave her alone. The entire Stormvale bloodline is finished. She still carries bad temper from that. I'm not going to spoil her."

After leaving the Moon-Market hall, Lyra went to the back garden of the Central Den.

The last time she came here with Fenris, the place was full of moonflower vines. His promises were just like those blossoms. Beautiful for a moment, then quickly withered.

She didn't want to cry, but because of her illness, tears kept falling. Her hands shook as she took out a vial of heat-stabilizers. Before she could take the medicine, Selene rushed over and snatched it away.

She was no longer weak like before. Now she was sharp and cruel.

"Oh? Is this medicine for your unstable condition? Huh, so you really are broken. Kael is a criminal in the holding den and now you're mentally scattered. You two really are perfect siblings."

Lyra could endure many things. But not insults about her brother. Her eyes filled with anger. "Selene, say one more bad word about my brother, and I'll tear your throat out!"

Selene laughed coldly. "Lyra, you're no longer the Stormvale heir. Your bloodline is disgraced. Fenris protects me everywhere now. What do you have to fight me with?"

"Just like back then. You knew Kael didn't force himself on me. But all I had to do was release distressed pheromones and act pitiful, and Fenris believed me."

"What I didn't expect was that Fenris would personally send his own bond-brother to the iron-silver holding den for me. But that proves how much he loves me."

"Lyra, I destroyed your pack once. Now I can turn you into a miserable omega dog again. If you don't believe me, we can try and find out."

Lyra completely lost control. She raised her hand and slapped Selene hard.

"Selene, you framed my brother. I will end your life!" She grabbed Selene by the neck, her eyes red with rage.

Just as she thought she could finally take revenge, Fenris rushed over. He pulled them apart with Alpha strength and threw Lyra several meters away.

Lyra's calf was cut by a sharp stone. A long wound opened, over ten centimeters. Blood stained the ground.

But Fenris only looked at Selene. "Selene, are you hurt? Are you okay?"

Selene hid in his arms, crying softly. "Fenris, I thought I was going to die just now. If you hadn't come, the Stormvale omega would have killed me."

Fenris turned to look at Lyra. His eyes were full of disappointment and hatred.

In the past, the way he looked at her was full of love. Now, after just a few words from Selene, only hatred remained.

Fenris... Fenris... You kept saying you love me. But everything you do hurts me.

"Is this what you call a mating bond?" Lyra muttered to herself.

Fenris spoke coldly. "Lyra. Apologize."

Even in this miserable state, Lyra still refused to lower her head.

"I did nothing wrong. I will not apologize." She continued, "Fenris, you're the one who's wrong. You trusted Selene. She admitted it herself just now. That she framed my brother and destroyed my pack."

"From beginning to end, she has been weaving false scents in front of you. She has been lying to you the whole time."