Chapter 1

It was the last time I would ever step into the Black Moon Pack's Hall of Covenants.

The cold marble steps bit at the soles of my feet, each step sending a jolt of tearing pain through my chest.

The final stage of Wolf Soul-Decay had already stripped me of my healing abilities. Even the simple act of walking had become torture.

"Hello. I'm here to request a severance of my mate bond."

The covenant official looked me over, his eyes full of pity at my pale, gaunt figure, and asked softly,

"Sir, don't you have a pack to protect you?"

Though we had been fated for years, Valeria had never even promised me a formal marking ceremony, and she rarely appeared with me in public.

As a result, few in the pack even recognized me.

"It doesn't matter anymore," I said, cutting him off calmly. "A dying wolf doesn't need protection."

Just as I finished speaking, the hall doors were slammed open.

Valeria's cool voice echoed through the space. "Rowan! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

I turned to see her amber eyes blazing with fury.

Behind her, Silas hurried in, a perfect mask of concern on his face.

"Did you have to cause a scene today, of all days?" Valeria strode toward me in her high-heeled boots. "Silas was just promoted to Head Warrior. The entire pack is celebrating him, and you choose today to cause a scene?"

Without another word, she slapped me hard across the face. The force of it sent me staggering back half a step, my cheek instantly numb.

It took me several seconds to realize what day it was. It was the celebration for Silas.

Valeria had deliberately postponed a two-day territorial patrol just to celebrate my adoptive brother's promotion to Head Warrior.

And I, her mate, whose soul was on the verge of dissolving, had done nothing more than reach out to her for help through our mind-link.

Only to be berated for abusing the connection.

A bitter sting filled my eyes, but I clenched my jaw, refusing to let any emotion show.

I was about to speak when a violent cough seized me. Droplets of blood spattered onto the floor, blooming like dark red flowers on the white marble.

After finally steadying myself, my voice trembled, but I clung to one last sliver of hope as I tried to explain. "Valeria, I'm really not..."

Valeria's brow furrowed tightly, perhaps at the sight of the blood on my lips.

Silas cut in, his voice thick with feigned guilt. "But Rowan, the Alpha Female rushed over here specifically for you..."

"I told you both not to bother with him. He's nothing but trouble," my father, Gideon, interjected through the mind-link. "He's pulled every stunt imaginable for attention since he was a kid. Does he really expect us to believe this pathetic act now?"

The color drained from Valeria's face. "Rowan, you'd go so far as to hurt yourself just to trick me into coming here and ruin Silas's celebration?"

She advanced on me, her fingers tightening, grabbing my collar in her fist. Silas quickly grabbed her arm.

He looked at me, his face a picture of pained self-reproach, his voice a pleading whisper.

"I'm sorry, Rowan. I shouldn't have accepted the promotion. It's all my fault! Please, just stop hurting yourself!"

"Alpha Valeria has already worried herself sick over you. If you would just show some genuine remorse, I swear I will never accept another honor again!"

Every word was a dagger to my heart, pushing me deeper into an abyss, painting me as the villain.

My mother Helena's voice followed, dripping with adoration for him. "My dear boy, it's not your fault. You are so gifted; you deserve every honor you receive."

Although I had seen this touching display of motherly affection countless times before, it still felt like a blade carving out my heart.

I was born the son of a Beta, yet it had been a long time since I'd felt a mother's love. She poured it all onto Silas now.

But it didn't matter anymore. When you're about to die, you tend to let go of many things.

My heart felt like a desolate wasteland. Another wave of metallic-tasting blood welled up and spilled from my lips.

Valeria snatched the medical report from my hand, sneering after a quick scan, "Wolf Soul-Decay? You can't even fake an illness convincingly."

With a sharp rip, the report was torn to shreds, the pieces of paper fluttering down around my feet.

Her gaze lingered on my ashen face.

Meeting her eyes, I remembered those same amber eyes, how they had shone with wonder at my eighteenth birthday ceremony. Now they were as dull and lifeless as stagnant water.

I raised a trembling hand to wipe away the blood, my body swaying as I turned back to the covenant official.

"I no longer have a pack. This will ensure my soul dissolves in three days. Please, begin the severance ritual."

Valeria flinched.

She grabbed my wrist, her grip like a vice. "You'd drag an official into this farce just to ruin Silas's celebration?" Her voice was laced with rage. "This is absolutely absurd!"

"Rowan, I'm warning you, come back with me right now. Don't make a fool of yourself here."

Shielding Silas with her arm, Valeria turned and walked toward the door without a backward glance.

I looked at my reddened wrist and shook my head with a bitter laugh.

I should have known. She was never going to believe me, was she?

Forcing myself to ignore the sickness wracking my body, I completed the severance application unilaterally.

On the day I die, Valeria will receive the official documents.

With only three days left on the clock, I severed my own mate bond.

And my Alpha was linking arms with another man, raising a glass to his glory.