Chapter 1

By the time Kael walked out of Lysandra's quarters with her at his side, I was on the verge of blacking out from the pain.

"Same as always. Lysandra gets carsick. Let her sit up front."

I bit down on my lip. Cold sweat dripped down my face. Every breath pulled at the stabbing pain in my stomach. "Kael... I can't hold on much longer."

He glanced at me. "Just hang in there. The healing cottage isn't far."

He yanked me out of the passenger seat, then shoved me into the back.

But when it was Lysandra's turn, he walked around to the other side, adjusted her seat for her, and closed her door gently.

Lysandra turned around and gave me a perfectly measured look of guilt. "I took your seat again. Here, use this cushion for your back. It'll help a little."

She reached into the glove compartment like she owned the car, pulled out a velvet cushion, and handed it to me. Natural as anything.

This Grand Cherokee was the first thing Kael bought when his business took off.

He'd ruffled my hair and laughed. Said I'd never be late to another meeting. Rain or shine, he'd always be there to pick me up.

But ever since Lysandra transferred in as his personal assistant and casually mentioned that the back seat made her nauseous, the passenger seat was hers. Every single time the three of us went anywhere.

She even knew where the cushion was kept better than I did.

The emergency room at that hour had one doctor on shift.

Kael walked Lysandra in first. He looked up at the doctor and said: "Doctor, can you take care of her hand first? It's just a small cut. Won't take long."

I stepped in right behind them, but his arm shot out and blocked me.

He didn't gauge the force. I was so weak I nearly hit the ground.

The doctor took one look at my face and started to come over.

But before he could take a step, Kael had already pushed him toward Lysandra.

"Ella's poisoning is serious. It'll take a while to treat. Better to start with the small injury first."

I sat in that hard plastic chair for almost forty minutes before it was finally my turn.

The nurse dressed my wound. Medicine dripped slowly into my vein through the IV.

"Ella, I'm sorry. It's my fault for being scared of pain and making them treat me first. I held you up."

Lysandra stood by the IV chair, speaking softly.

Kael came back with two cups of mango juice. He held one out to me.

I didn't take it. I turned my head away. The mango smell made my stomach churn even worse.

"Kael, I'm allergic to mango. You forgot again?"

I'd caught a glimpse of his priority app once. Pinned right at the top: [Remember that Lysandra's favorite fruit is mango.]

Meanwhile, I'd told him about my mango allergy at least eighty times since we met. He'd never once remembered.

Kael paused, then frowned. His voice carried a thin edge of annoyance. "Then don't drink it. I'm not forcing you."

The doctor came over with the test results and told me the wolfsbane had been cleared, but I still needed a full purification right away. Without it, there could be lasting damage.

Kael, as my next of kin, had to stay by my side during the procedure.

I was about to agree when Kael cut in.

"Tomorrow is Lysandra's first full power assessment. I promised I'd be there for her."

"If Ella does the purification tonight, there won't be anyone to look after her tomorrow."

"Let's push the purification back a couple of days."

All the bitterness I'd been swallowing for so long rushed up behind my eyes.

So even my wolf spirit going dormant had to wait in line behind Lysandra's errands.

I pulled the corner of my mouth into something like a smile and looked at the doctor. "Doctor, can I do the purification without someone staying with me? Just me, alone."

Kael's face darkened. Shock and irritation mixed together.

I was taken away by the nurse for the purification.

The leftover toxins made me drowsy. Half asleep, I heard voices drifting in from the waiting area outside.

Lysandra's voice, light and teasing: "I bet she comes out crying. She's been terrified of hospitals since she was a kid!"

Kael's low laugh followed. "She's too stubborn for that. She probably won't."

"Okay then, a thousand bucks!"

Kael sounded almost amused. "Deal. I bet she holds it in so we can't make fun of her later."

The laughter outside was soft. But it reached my ears with perfect clarity.

I lay on the hospital bed and wiped the tear that had slid down from the corner of my eye.

I used to believe that once I became Kael's mate, I'd be the most important person in his world.

But now I could see it. In his world, my pain could wait. My wolf spirit could wait. Even our Moon Vow could wait indefinitely.

So starting today, I wasn't going to wait either.

I was done putting Kael first. And I was done wasting the rest of my life on a man who was never going to put me in his heart.