Aiden stormed out of the room, the necklace still clutched in his bleeding fist.

My soul was dragged along behind him. I watched, helpless, as he staggered into the room and swept everything off his desk in a single, violent motion.

"Doesn't need it?!" he repeated, his voice a low, guttural snarl. "DOESN'T NEED IT?!"

He raised his arm and hurled the blood-stained wolf tooth against the wall.

CRACK.

It shattered, the pieces scattering across the floor.

"I'll give you what you want," Aiden roared, his eyes shot with crazed, bloodshot veins.

The crash brought guards running, with Elder Elias right behind them.

"Alpha!"

The door flew open. Elias stared at the wreckage, his face instantly pale. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"She betrayed me!" Aiden jabbed a finger at the broken fragments. He rounded on the Elder, his voice a raw scream. "She threw away my necklace! She's leaving me! The traitor!"

"How can you say that?!" Tears streamed down the old wolf's face. "Rhea would never betray you! Ten years ago, when you were just a bastard son, who was by your side? When this council refused to acknowledge your blood, who found the proof?!"

Aiden froze for a second.

"When Kane tried to assassinate you, who charged into his war party alone to shield you?!" Elias pressed on. "When Vincent conspired with our enemies, who went into the Shadow Mire and brought you back the traitor's heart?!"

I saw a flicker of doubt in Aiden's eyes.

Those bloody nights. The endless killing.

How many had I killed for his safety? How many sins were on my soul for his throne?

"She has eighty-seven scars on her body!" Elias shrieked, his voice breaking. "Every single one of them was for you! She has PTSD so severe she needs a draught just to close her eyes at night! And she never once complained!"

A flash of pain crossed Aiden's face.

But the rage of being abandoned burned hotter. It twisted into a furious snarl. "Enough! Whatever she did, she's the one who chose to throw me away!"

Aiden lunged for his desk, snatched a pen and paper, and began writing furiously, right in front of the horrified Elder.

"What are you doing?" Elias gasped. "Alpha, don't be rash!"

Aiden stopped.

He lifted his blood-red eyes and read the words aloud, each one a hammer blow.

"Effective immediately, Rhea is exiled for desertion and betrayal of the pack. Her name will be struck from the records. She will be denied all honors. And upon her death… she will be barred from the Tomb of Heroes."

Elias collapsed to his knees, shaking uncontrollably. "No… you cannot do this…"

Aiden signed his name with a vicious slash of the pen and slammed the decree onto the desk.

"From this day forward," his voice was ice, "Rhea and I are done."

---

The full moon had not yet arrived, but the pack's wishing pool was already adorned with flowers, lanterns, and champagne.

The altar was ready.

Everyone was waiting to celebrate their Alpha's Mating Ceremony.

Aiden and Gianna stood before the statue of the Moon Goddess, hand in hand.

They were rehearsing for the ceremony.

The crowd applauded. All except for the members of my unit who had been on the mission with me.

I stood in the crowd, a ghost at their rehearsal. And I remembered his promise, whispered in the dark when we had nothing but each other. I’ll make you happy, Rhea. Forever.

Now, I was just a ghost, forced to watch him pledge his life to another woman.

Aiden lifted Gianna into his arms and made a wish before the Goddess.

He closed his eyes, his voice ringing with false conviction. "Before the Goddess, I bind myself to you. Forever."

"I accept," Gianna cooed, standing on her toes to kiss Aiden's lips.

Aiden closed his eyes and kissed her back.

But I saw it clearly. A tiny, almost imperceptible frown creased his brow.

I was standing right between them, a ridiculous third wheel.

I closed my eyes, unable to watch anymore.

I couldn't imagine the pain I would feel on the actual night of the ceremony.

"Pup."

An ancient voice whispered beside me.

I opened my eyes to see the Witch of the Moon Temple standing before me.

She could see me?

"A spirit bound by such attachment becomes a restless thing," the Witch said, her eyes seeing right through me. "Let go, pup. He has chosen another."

"I can't," my voice was choked with a sob. "I've loved him for ten years."

"To love what you cannot have, to cling to what is gone... it will only deny you peace for eternity," the Witch said, reaching a withered hand toward me. "The Moon Goddess will guide you."

"The Moon Goddess?" A bitter laugh escaped my lips. "If she's real, why? Why let me love a man who would never love me? Why make me die for his happiness, only to haunt it as a ghost?"

The Witch didn't answer.

Suddenly, a wild gust of wind tore across the pool, as if summoned by an unseen force.

The stacks of wishing stones on the altar tumbled and scattered.

Guests cried out in alarm.

Gianna clung to Aiden's arm. "What's happening? The weather was perfect..."

Aiden frowned, looking around.

The wishing stones had rolled across the ground, some of them cracking into pieces.

He bent down and picked one up.

He knew that jagged, determined handwriting instantly.

May Aiden be safe.

Aiden froze. It was mine.

He picked up another:

May Aiden be healthy and never know pain.

And another:

May Aiden achieve his dreams and become the strongest Alpha.

Aiden's hands started to tremble.

He dropped to his knees, clawing at the scattered stones like a man possessed.

May Aiden never be looked down on again.

May Aiden find his true love.

May Aiden be happy, even if he forgets me.

Every single stone held a wish I had made for him.

We grew up together.

When his identity as the old Alpha's bastard was revealed, the pack's Luna was forced to take him in, but she was always wary of his power. She even tried to kill him once with silver poison.

Every year, on the full moon, I would come here and wish for Aiden's health, for his success.

He never knew.

"Aiden?" Gianna noticed he was acting strangely. "What's wrong with you?"

Aiden didn't answer. He kept searching the ground as if hunting for treasure.

The pack members watched, confused.

"What's the Alpha doing?"

"Is he... picking up rocks?"

"Picking up rocks on his rehearsal night. How strange..."

Aiden heard none of it.

He found the last one. It was the largest wishing stone of all.

The carving on this one was faint, the edges worn smooth as if by a thousand silent tears.

He held it close to his face.

Under the moonlight, the words burned into his eyes:

Moon Goddess, bind my soul to Aiden's. Let us be fated mates.

Aiden went rigid, the air knocked from his lungs.

Fated mates.

Such a naive wish.

I watched him on his knees, scrambling for broken rocks. Pathetic. So pathetic it was almost funny.

For ten years, I stood by his side and he never gave me a second glance. Now he was getting sentimental over a few broken rocks?

"What... What is this?"

Gianna's shrill voice cut through the silence.

She had clearly seen the words on the stone, and her beautiful face twisted into an ugly sneer. "Aiden! Did Rhea carve this? Is she trying to curse our Mating?"

Aiden didn't speak.

He just kept staring at that stone.

"Throw it away!" Gianna shrieked, lunging for the stone. Her nails raked across the back of his hand. "Get rid of it! How can you do this to me, for her—"

"Shut up."

Aiden looked up.

The cold fury in his eyes silenced Gianna instantly.

He slowly stood, gathering the stones one by one and placing them carefully inside his suit jacket pocket.

He handled them as if they were precious jewels, as if he wasn't the one who had just banished me.

"I'm tired."

He turned and walked away, leaving his future mate and all his guests standing there in stunned silence.

...

Late that night, candles flickered in the dining room of the pack house.

Gianna was smart, I'll give her that. No more scenes. Instead, she slipped into a whisper of silk that passed for a nightgown and served him a steak dinner.

With a subtle flick of her silk slipper, she "accidentally" kicked the offensive wishing stone into the shadows.

"Aiden, try this," she said sweetly, cutting a piece of steak and holding it to his lips. "Don't think about unpleasant things. Rhea was probably just confused when she said she wanted to leave the pack... We still have each other, don't we?"

Aiden opened his mouth mechanically, his eyes unfocused.

He was still thinking about the stones.

He was thinking about why I had so many wishes, but had never told him a single one.

He was wondering why he never knew the strong, unshakeable warrior he saw had such a soft, vulnerable side.

"Oh, and I made dessert."

Gianna presented a small silver platter like she was revealing a grand prize.

On it were several perfectly golden-brown cookies. A sweet, familiar scent filled the air.

Maple cookies.

Aiden's vacant stare snapped into focus the moment he saw them.

It was his favorite flavor.

The only sweet thing that could ever make the stoic Alpha smile.

"I know you like them," Gianna said, her smile gentle and wifely. She handed one to him. "I learned how to make them just for you. I want you to know I'm willing to do anything for you."

Aiden took the cookie.

The familiar shape, the familiar color, even the slightly browned edges were exactly as he remembered.

His hand trembled slightly.

He took a bite.

The crisp texture exploded on his tongue, and the rich maple flavor filled his mouth.

But... something was missing.

The texture was right. The sweetness was there. But the soul of it... the soul was gone. It was an echo, a ghost on his tongue.

"What's wrong?" Gianna watched his face, her own expression tense. "Is it not good?"

Aiden put the cookie down. His gaze drifted past her, out the window into the dark night.

There was nothing out there but an empty void.

Just like his heart at that moment.

"It's nothing," he said flatly, his voice hollow with a strange exhaustion. "I was just remembering something."

Something.

I floated above the table, watching the ghost of a bite mark on the cookie. A phantom ache echoed through my soul.

Of course it was wrong.

That wasn't the taste of a princess. It was the taste of my burnt fingers and secret smiles.

How could a pampered princess like Gianna ever replicate that?

She'd probably just bribed one of my omegas for the recipe and had the pack chefs make them.

But even with a recipe, some things can't be stolen.

Like love.

He stared at the plate, but he wasn't seeing cookies. He was seeing a memory.

"Maybe..." he murmured, so low I could barely hear.

"Maybe it's her I miss."