Elder Weston held Elara and Lyra in his gaze,his knowing smile thin and challenging.“Could it be that Alpha Ryder Thorne’s Claimed Mate is—”

“It is none of your concern,Elder,”Ryder interrupted with a fierce,low growl,clearly unwilling to discuss the fractured state of his claim with a Pack outsider.

The Elder nodded calmly,his eyes never leaving Elara.“I apologize,Alpha.These cycles,open claims are quite common among the Northern Packs.Ryder,you must be…”

He paused,a dark,dangerous smirk playing on his lips before he drawled sarcastically,“Do not worry,I know when to cease my territorial sniffing.”

Before Ryder could fully ignite with Alpha rage,the Elder turned to leave.As he melted into the shadows beyond the Keep’s perimeter,he tossed a final,chilling barb over his shoulder:“If you ever require my services for a severance,Alpha.Come to me.I will grant the Claimed Mate a sizable discount.”

Ryder instinctively glared at Elara,his voice cold with suspicion.“My Mate and I share a strong,functional bond,Elder.”

Elder Weston was already gone,lost to the scent trails,so it was unclear if he had heard.

But Lyra definitely did.

She leaned into Ryder,feigning a drunken wobble.Her eyes,magnified by her emotional state,were watery as she whispered,“Ryder...Am I disrupting the sanctity of your claim with Elara?”

Before he could respond,her face crumpled in practiced grief,and she struggled to pull away.“You are no longer my adopted Alpha...You have a Mate now...I shouldn’t be a burden.I must return to my solitary den.”

Ryder seized her tighter,his powerful hands gripping her upper arms.

His voice dropped to a pitch so soft it could melt the mountain ice,laden with raw protectiveness.“I may not be the Alpha who formally raised you...But you are always welcome and safe within my territory,Lyra.”

His burning gaze,full of an inappropriate depth of feeling,made Lyra’s face turn an even deeper shade of scarlet.Meanwhile,Elara stood a few feet away,observing the scene like a useless human sentinel guarding a bond that didn't exist.

Finally,Ryder seemed to recall her presence.Releasing Lyra,he looked at Elara with a fleeting flicker of guilt.“Elara...You don’t mind,do you?Lyra is my pack-sister,after all.”

He had already prepared the placating words—the Alpha rituals to soothe a jealous Mate.

But she only offered him a faint,hollow smile and said,“I do not mind,Alpha.”

Those three words were light and airy,yet they felt like a jagged piece of bone stabbing into her own heart.

The next morning,Elara woke up and instinctively reached for the other side of the massive,custom-made bed.Ryder’s side was already cold and empty.The bed only smelled of the residual musk of Alpha sleep—no lingering presence.She pulled on her silk robe and walked barefoot down the third-floor hallway,looking down toward Lyra’s temporary chamber on the second floor.

Through the slightly ajar door,she caught the scene.Ryder,the Alpha King,was carefully feeding Lyra a bowl of a pack remedy for the ceremonial mead hangover.

When Lyra frowned and pouted,Ryder gently blew on the spoon to cool the broth.When she complained about her tangled hair,he picked up a comb—a human,delicate tool—and skillfully tied a complex,beautiful ponytail for her.

Elara’s nails dug deep into the soft skin of her palm as she watched,her breath hitched in her throat.

Then,the memory returned.She recalled the time she suffered internal bleeding after drinking too much with the Pack’s trade allies.The next morning,Ryder only asked the Omega servants to prepare her a common,bland soup.She had once tearfully asked him to tie her hair into a simple ponytail for her,but he had simply stated,“I do not possess the human skill for such a trivial task.”

Elara stood frozen until Ryder finally guided Lyra out of the room,their forms vanishing down the spiral staircase.

Her legs were numb,but she stubbornly refused to move.

She refused to descend and play the part of the foolish,irrelevant Claimed Mate—the useless shadow in their perfectly scripted fated love story.

Perhaps because her mind was elsewhere,lost in the icy solitude of her decision,Elara misjudged the steep,carved stairs as she finally walked down.She stumbled.Then,she fell heavily,her body thudding painfully against the polished stone steps.

“Ah!”

A sharp,searing pain exploded in her lower abdomen.She curled up on the cold ground,feeling a warm,metallic liquid—the undeniable scent of fresh blood—slowly spreading beneath her.

Her face,usually pale,turned a ghostly white.With trembling fingers,she pressed her lower belly.A horrifying,visceral realization hit her:The life she carried was trying to leave her.

“The Mate!The Alpha’s Mate!”

The elderly Pack Servant rushed over in a panic.When the servant saw the dark blood spreading on the floor,her composure shattered.“I—I will call the Pack Healers immediately!And the Alpha’s private comm!”

The servant quickly seized Elara’s rejected phone.“I have tried the Alpha King’s private line ten times,Mate,but he is outside the range!I have tried seventeen times on your line...No response from the Alpha’s comm-link…”

On the harsh metal gurney,Elara weakly opened her eyes and grabbed the Healer’s sleeve.

“I…I will sign the decree myself…I do not want the pup…”

Her voice was barely a whisper,but it carried the chilling,crushing weight of a final judgment.

Elara remembered how Ryder had commanded her to prepare for a Pack heir just two moon cycles ago,securing the future of their shaky bond.She had ceased the human suppressant.This pup had come unexpectedly—a desperate,fragile link.

Now,it was leaving her,just as unexpectedly.

The lead Healer spoke with grave concern.“The situation is critical,Mate.The pup may not survive the trauma,but we can attempt a full bond restoration—”

“There is no need,”Elara whispered,closing her eyes.

Tears,hot and silent,slipped down her temples and into the cold metal beneath her head.On the unforgiving surgical slab,the bright,sterile surgical light burned her eyelids.The metallic sounds of the tools were sharp and mechanical,and every movement felt like a piece of her very Claimed flesh was being cut away.

Elara bit down hard on her lip until she tasted the sharp tang of her own blood,refusing to make a sound.She refused to scream.She refused to let the Alpha feel the pain of his dereliction.She refused to feel anything at all.

A moon cycle later,sunlight streamed through the gauze curtains of the Pack’s private Healer’s Den,casting a deceptive warmth on the sterile cot.

Elara put down her comm-link.The screen still displayed Lyra’s latest video log,widely shared across the allied Clan channels.In the visual,Ryder was kneeling,his powerful frame contorted as he meticulously adjusted Lyra’s laced combat boots,his focus entirely on her.They shared a laugh—a sound of genuine,unbound joy.

Expressionless,Elara locked the screen.She felt no shock,only the dull,steady ache of acceptance.

Suddenly,the door swung open with a heavy thud.

“Elara!”Ryder,the Alpha King,rushed in,his face etched with a fleeting,unfamiliar panic.“How are you—”

As he got closer,he noticed the alarming pallor of her skin.Her lips were almost devoid of natural color—the color of a wolf who had lost too much blood.

His brows furrowed,the instinct of the Alpha Mate finally kicking in,albeit belatedly.“Is it the irregularity in your heat cycle again?Why did you keep this from me?”

Elara had long grown accustomed to managing her own human ailments.Since she had fiercely instructed the servant to never mention the lost pup,Ryder simply assumed she was recovering from a usual,minor health crisis.He took the convenient excuse for granted.

Elara looked at him quietly.

In the past,whenever she felt weak,she would use the opportunity to demand his presence—to ask him to share her cot.

But this cycle,she hadn’t even tried to call.

Seventeen unanswered calls.To the bond,it was no different from calling zero times.Why should she continue to set herself up for the bitter taste of his dereliction?

“I assumed the Pack’s affairs held the Alpha King too busy,”Elara said softly.“Besides,I did not wish to disrupt your patrol.”

Ryder’s chest tightened,a momentary flicker of guilt hitting his Alpha core.

He stepped forward,the heavy scent of his authority and his territory closing around her,and pulled her into his arms.“I am your Claimed Mate,Elara.You have the right to summon me,always.”

Elara did not push him away,but neither did she return the embrace.She leaned against his shoulder,her body a dead weight,and suddenly asked,“Is the bond of duty the same with Lyra?”

The moment the words left her lips,she regretted them.It made her sound like a jealous she-wolf fighting for a better scent mark.Ryder stiffened slightly against her,then offered a practiced,reassuring smile and stroked her hair.“Of course,it is the same.She is family;the connection is primal.”

Just then,Elara’s comm-link chimed.

It was Elder Weston.She answered the call briefly in front of Ryder,keeping her words short and transactional before hanging up.Ryder frowned,his expression hardening.

“Come to think of it,I encountered Beta Felicia’s Mate a few cycles ago.They did not seem to be progressing toward a severance.”

“It was Felicia’s solitary decision to initiate the decree,”Elara said calmly,sealing her inner emotions.“Her Mate has not yet been served the official documents.”

Ryder looked genuinely confused.“But is a severance not a decree that requires both wolves to consent to the fracture of the bond?”

Elara met his gaze with a deliberate,meaningful intensity.“Felicia sensed that her Mate was secretly scenting his first love—a wolf from his youth.She could not endure the lie,so she chose to file for severance without telling him.If she had raised the matter,he would likely have used his authority to deny the claim.”

Ryder’s powerful face darkened.“Then she must sever the bond!A wolf who violates the sanctity of the claim is worse than a rogue!”

Elara lowered her eyes.Ryder clearly knew the Beta’s Mate well.Given his Alpha insight,he surely knew whether the man carried the lingering scent of an old love.Yet,without hesitation,he immediately condemned the man.

Ryder was not as calm as he pretended to be.

“How much longer is Lyra’s severance cooling-off period,Alpha?”Elara asked suddenly,throwing the focus back on him.

“Fifteen more days,”Ryder answered without thought.It was clear he had been counting down every single cycle.

Elara looked outside at the sharp sunlight cutting through the trees and whispered,“Then it will be nearly simultaneous.”

“What will be?”Ryder was puzzled,failing to follow the subtle shift in her meaning.

“Nothing,”Elara replied.

She smiled faintly—a ghost of her former self—and said no more.

Just then,Ryder’s personal comm-link vibrated.The same Alpha who had ignored Elara’s seventeen missed calls immediately answered,his voice dropping to a velvet whisper of deep concern.

“Hello,Lyra?”

On the other end,Lyra’s voice was strained and wet with tears.“Ryder…I feel so exposed being alone in this territory den…”

“Do not be afraid,my dear.I will be back to reinforce your scent barriers soon,”Ryder reassured her,oblivious to the fact that his eyes had flickered towards Elara,gauging her reaction.

Elara watched quietly.She no longer felt the sharp sting of disappointment,only a cold,clinical understanding.So,this was the truth of the Alpha King’s priorities.

When Lyra was with him,Ryder ignored his comm-link because he knew Elara’s presence wasn't important enough to disrupt their private alliance.But when Lyra was absent,he was terrified of missing a single word from her.After hanging up,Ryder hesitated.

It might have been guilt.Or,it might have been the chilling echo of Elara’s phrase:‘A man who violates the sanctity of the claim is worse than a rogue’.For once,he didn’t rush to leave.

“Return to your Alpha duties,”Elara said first,dismissing him.“Do not let the Pack’s logs pile up.”

Ryder looked relieved,the pressure lifting from his shoulders.“When will you be cleared by the Healers?Send me a chime,and I will personally collect you.”

With that,he left the private Den without even a backward glance.

A moon cycle later,Elara packed her sparse suitcase,preparing to leave the Healer’s den for good.She called Ryder three times.No answer.

At the same time,Lyra’s latest video log was trending across the Clan networks,boasting over 100,000 positive scent markings(likes).

In the video,Lyra proudly displayed the‘Alpha’s efforts’:limited-edition human trophies(handbags),enormous financial transfers(money),pictures of her global scent-marking travels,and close-ups of Ryder performing mundane human tasks—cooking,washing dishes,and massaging her feet.

The comments section was full of admiration.

[What an absolutely perfect,devoted Alpha!]

[What a powerful and caring Mate!I’m so jealous of her claimed bond!]

Lyra made no effort to clarify her true relationship with the Alpha King,allowing the wider wolf community to believe whatever they wished.

Finally,Ryder called back.

His voice was casual,dismissive,the sound of an Alpha interrupted.“I was occupied by a border patrol and missed the calls.What is the urgent matter,Mate?”

Sure enough,Ryder had completely forgotten his promise to collect her.In the background,Lyra’s melodic laughter was clear as day.Yet,Ryder still lied calmly.“I am finalizing a business contract.If the matter is not critical,perhaps we can discuss it once I return to the Keep?”

Elara’s voice was gentle as she delivered the final blow.“It is of no consequence,Ryder.I merely needed to confirm your current Pack location.”

After hanging up,she opened the calendar on her comm-link.

Lyra’s official severance cooling-off period had one cycle left.Elara’s own Separation Decree would take effect in fifteen cycles.Soon.There was no need for Elara to feel the pain of his betrayal anymore.

When Elara opened the gate to the Blackwood Keep,she almost thought she had entered the wrong territory.The Den,which held the scent of her five-year-long,secret Claim,had been completely contaminated.It was a raw,visceral shock to her Fated Mate senses.

She had packed most of her personal human belongings before leaving the Healer's den,but it was clear that Lyra had taken advantage of her absence to remove even more of Elara’s residual scent markers.

Elara walked slowly toward the Master Chamber’s private washroom.

On Ryder’s washstand,there was a pair of matching Pack-issued scent stones—one deep crimson,one pale lavender—clearly a set.She looked around and saw that the entire Den was now filled with these paired,coded markings.Matching Pack blankets,carved drinking horns,and communal bedding were everywhere.

Anyone who didn’t know the truth would believe this was the established Den of a deeply Mated Alpha and his She-Wolf.

Elara then recalled the early cycles of their claim.She had nervously purchased a set of simple,matching wolf emblems for their Den.

At the time,Ryder had only glanced at them with a cold Alpha eye and said,“What is the utility of these trivial,human distractions?”

After that,she never suggested another shared marking again.

Elara took a deep,steadying breath,forced her body to ignore the overwhelming,intrusive scent of Lyra that permeated the territory,and went to pack the last of her few personal belongings.She had grown accustomed to the Alpha’s indifference.After so many disappointments,her inner wolf had gone numb.

She quickly packed the remaining clothes and her precious human scrolls(books)and dispatched them to the Vance Clan Territory via protected courier.

That evening,both Elara and Ryder received coded invitations to a mandatory Alpha/Beta dinner gathering from an allied Clan.Since the invitations were sent separately—one in the name of the Vance Clan and the other in the name of the Thorne Clan—both of them arrived at the event alone.

When Elara reached the Neutral Zone gathering point,she saw Ryder exiting his armored transport with Lyra clinging to his side.

Ryder noticed her and,displaying a flicker of Alpha discomfort at the public optics,stepped forward.“My apologies,Mate.I should have ordered a patrol transport to collect you from the Den.”

“It is of no consequence,Alpha,”Elara replied with a polite,brittle smile.“Besides,I secured my own escort.”

As more guests—high-ranking Alphas and Betas—arrived,someone from an older,more traditional Pack asked curiously,“When did Alpha Thorne and Beta Vance become so close in proximity?”

Ryder hesitated.He had promised Lyra that he would publicly solidify their alliance at an official Pack gathering.But when he glanced at the petite,pale woman beside him,his Alpha tongue seemed unable to form the declaration.

Elara smiled brightly,the sound carrying a deceptive confidence.“Have you forgotten,Elder?Alpha Thorne is my direct superior now,the Alpha King.Naturally,I follow his command.”

Someone from the crowd laughed,easing the tension.“The eldest daughter of the Vance Clan working as a mere Beta secretary?Is that not a wasteful assignment for such a sharp mind?”

Another Alpha joked,“Still marking the Alpha King’s territory,Elara?Surely you know he is already Claimed!”

The people around them chuckled knowingly.

Almost everyone in their social hierarchy knew that Elara had fiercely pursued Ryder years ago,an open secret everyone acknowledged—everyone,that is,except Ryder himself.Hearing this,Ryder froze,the reality of her long-term devotion hitting him belatedly.

Before he could react,Elara spoke lightly,dismissing her past.“That was during the last moon cycle.But I have been following Alpha Thorne’s command for a while now,and I have become too comfortable.Now that you mention it,perhaps I should seek a more challenging assignment in a different Pack.”

With just a few words,Elara had expertly deflected the focus and steered the conversation toward neutral Pack trade topics,and the atmosphere became lively again.

Hearing her mention leaving—not just the Den,but his direct command—Ryder suddenly felt an unfamiliar,deep uneasiness.

He forced a stiff,practiced smile.“Beta Vance is highly valuable.I would suffer a severe loss to the Pack if she chose a different territory.”

Someone else asked,trying to fill the quiet void,“Why did Alpha Thorne not bring his Claimed Mate tonight?Your Claiming ceremony was so low-key…”

Ryder responded vaguely,“She is preoccupied with Pack matters.”

The guests wisely changed the topic.No one questioned why Lyra,who had no official standing with the Thorne Clan,was standing in the Mate's place.While Ryder was caught up in the mandatory Alpha drinking rituals with the other Clan leaders,Lyra suddenly approached Elara.

She smiled innocently,her voice like soft velvet.“Sister-in-law…Oh,I—I mean,Elara.I sensed from my Alpha that you and Ryder already signed the decree for severance,is that correct?”

Elara looked at the she-wolf pretending innocence and calmly replied,“Yes.”

Lyra let out a visible sigh of relieved acceptance,her smile growing more natural.“That is good…I thought you still felt a bond of devotion toward my Alpha.”

As soon as Lyra finished speaking,she acted as if she had revealed a forbidden truth.She shook her head,nervously twisting the hem of her expensive human dress like a shy little pup.

But Elara could clearly see the hidden satisfaction burning in her eyes.

“Really,Lyra?”Elara asked,setting down her drinking horn,a faint,dangerous smile forming on her lips.“It certainly took you a long time to cease your scent marking.”