Caleb paced restlessly outside the emergency room, his agitation radiating like heat from a furnace.

His voice cut through the air, sharp and unforgiving. "Eve! Is this really the time to argue? We were together for six years, and Chloe is your cousin! Of course I'd remember your blood type in a crisis like this."

I remained silent, my body feeling like it could collapse at any moment. I'd just endured the Bloodline Severing Ritual; I was still weak, still bleeding. Yet here he was, demanding I donate blood for his lover.

The backlash from the ritual left a werewolf's body fragile, and my Dawnbright Blood was rare, almost sacred. Donating it was unthinkable, even if I were healthy.

Besides, why should I pay the price for a man who had shown his true colors?

Had Caleb not considered the consequences when he trespassed into Silvermoon territory with another she-wolf?

Everyone knew we were about to be bonded—our union meant to forge an alliance between our packs. Yet he had shamed us both for the sake of my cousin.

"I just had a Bloodline Severing Ritual," I said coolly. "I can't donate blood. Find someone else."

Caleb's anger flared, his words scalding. "Eve! Don't you always claim to love me? Now I'm just asking for a little blood, and you're hiding behind that ritual as an excuse? You're showing your true colors. You'd rather let Chloe die than lift a finger. I can't believe I ever loved someone so cold and heartless!"

His accusation landed like a slap.

Maybe he was right—maybe he had never truly loved me. If he had, he wouldn't have faked a damaged wolf just to deceive me.

He wouldn't have ignored the exhaustion etched on my face or tried to force me to give my precious Dawnbright Blood to save his lover.

And he certainly wouldn't have been sneaking around with my cousin.

An alarm blared from a nearby magic crystal, breaking the tense standoff. Emergency healers rushed over, wheeling Chloe into the operating room.

In his frustration, Caleb grabbed me, heaved me over his shoulder, and carried me toward the blood donation room like a sack of grain.

"Eve, like it or not, I'll owe you for this one," he said gruffly. "Damn it, I'll even go through with the bonding ceremony if that's what you want."

This was the future Alpha of the Blackstone Pack—ruthless, reckless, and willing to do anything to get his way.

I stopped resisting. Perhaps this was my way of settling an old debt. He had once risked his life to save me when we were teenagers. This would settle the score between us for good.

A chill seeped into my heart as my Dawnbright Blood flowed into the collection vessel.

After the donation, Caleb rushed off with the healer to the emergency room without a second glance in my direction.

Watching his retreating back, I whispered to myself, "We're even now, Caleb."

Later, I woke up in a hospital bed, a heavy exhaustion weighing on me like lead. The healer's hoarse voice cut through the fog. "Your body is extremely weak from the ritual and the blood loss. You can't donate again for at least six months. Any sooner and it could kill you."

I nodded weakly, managing a faint, detached smile.

After he left, I checked my messages. The Sanctum had tried to reach Caleb a dozen times on my behalf. None had been answered. Instead, there was only one message from him.

Caleb: [Eve, stop being so dramatic. You need to learn your place.]

I stared at the message for what felt like an eternity.

In that moment, the last shred of warmth in my heart froze over. I couldn't reconcile the man I'd once loved with the cruel stranger who sent this message.

I didn't reply, spending the rest of my recovery in silence.

When I finally felt strong enough, I dragged myself to the Sanctum's garden, hoping the sunlight might thaw the chill that had settled deep in my bones. But instead, I stumbled upon a group of Caleb's friends.

Each of them carried flowers and enchanted fruit baskets. For a foolish moment, I thought they were there to see me.

I turned to leave, but they blocked my path, their taunts sharp as knives. "Well, look who it is. The great 'Moon's Favored Daughter' of Silvermoon. Caleb's with his new girl, and you're here playing the victim? Pathetic."

"Isn't this a bit much? Putting on a fragile act after donating a little blood. Such a drama queen."

"Looks like even princesses can be losers. Can't keep her own mate, and now she's been one-upped by her cousin. Talk about karma."

Their words stung, but I steadied myself and glared at them coldly. "Don't forget that Silvermoon's bloodline ranks above anything from Blackstone. If you continue to slander me, you tarnish Caleb's reputation as well."

They faltered, momentarily taken aback.

Before they could retort, Caleb appeared from the stairwell. His eyes fell on me, his brows furrowing in frustration.

"Seriously, Eve? You have to pick a fight with my friends?"

His tone grew colder, more suffocating. "I already said I'd go through with the bonding ceremony. What more do you want? Stop playing the victim just to keep tabs on me. If this is how you're going to act after we're bonded, then this whole thing is off."

"Don't bother. I don't want a bonding ceremony with you."

For the six years we were together, I had always given him his freedom.

When he wanted to drink, I accompanied him in silence, never rushing him.

If my presence was an inconvenience, I'd wait for his mind-link and pick him up without a word of complaint.

When he was drunk, I always tended to him with patience and care.

When he wanted to travel with his friends, chasing thrills and turning nights into reckless adventures, I would plan their trips, buy their teleportation talismans, and map out their routes.

I even refused when he offered to let me see his communication crystal.

I loved him, but I feared my noble bloodline would become a cage, so I never tried to control him. I was determined not to repeat my mother's mistakes, who had pushed my father away with her suffocating expectations.

I believed I had managed our relationship perfectly, keeping the rhythm steady and harmonious.

Before I learned of his betrayal, it felt like we were still in the first blush of love. His desire for me was endless, his craving for my body never waned.

But now I realized—he loved me, but he also loved the thrill of the chase. He loved the attention of every she-wolf. He loved temptation itself.

Was that why he resisted the finality of the mate bond? To indulge in a new kind of thrill?

Our eyes met, but there was no love in his. The questions burning on my tongue were swallowed, leaving only silence.

Caleb's brow furrowed under my gaze.

He snatched a string of moonstones from his friend's hand and thrust them at me. "Here. Take this as a gift. Just take it and go, alright?"

In his eyes, I was still the naive girl who would be satisfied with the smallest token. He never stopped to think that I was the Moon's Favored Daughter of the Silvermoon Clan, a woman who had seen the world.

My joy was never about the gifts—it was because I loved him.

He couldn't comprehend that I might actually mean it when I said I didn't want him.

I handed the moonstones back to his friend.

"These are for your new girlfriend, Chloe. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to accept them. I gave my blood willingly. You don't have to force yourself to complete the ceremony."

For a moment, Caleb's expression faltered. A flicker of panic crossed his face. "Eve... Chloe and I... there's nothing between us. I still love you."

I smiled faintly. "Fine. You go take care of my dear cousin. I'll handle my own discharge. Go on. Don't let me keep you."

My words stung him like claws. He stiffened, then turned his head, trying to hide his discomfort.

His friends wasted no time linking their arms with his and dragging him away.

"Come on, Caleb, Chloe's waiting. She nearly died for you—not like someone who donates a little blood and suddenly thinks she's owed a bonding ceremony. She might get jealous if you don't get back soon. Oh, and we've got a few new she-wolves lined up for you later!"

"Eve's just playing games. She'll come crawling back. They always do. You're too soft on her, man."

Their words should have hurt, but I felt nothing.

Only a cold numbness, as if I were standing on the frozen tundra of the wolf lands, never to feel warmth again.

After Caleb left, I called the only maid I trusted in the Blackstone Pack to help me pack.

The ceremonial gown, the memory crystals, and the engagement tokens disappeared one by one. With them went the fragile dream of a shared future, stripped bare to its ugly truth.

Most importantly, I had her remove the ceremonial mate-mark on Caleb's shoulder—the one meant only for me, the one he claimed had vanished with his "injury."

The maid hesitated, looking at the empty room, now devoid of any ceremonial air.

"Princess Eve, these were all for the bonding ceremony. Are you really giving it all up?"

"Yes," I replied, my voice calm and detached. "The groom is a stranger to me now. It's all useless."

Her hands trembled at my words. Not daring to say more, she carefully disposed of all the tokens and the Blackstone Pack's engagement ring.

When the room was empty, I stood at the door with my suitcase. I looked at the once-familiar entrance and erased all traces of my aura from the wards of our home.

From this moment on, this was no longer my home.