Chapter 3

I refused without hesitation, "That's not happening."

Tears rolled down Lylia's face. "There's nowhere else in the pack cemetery that's this good. Elena, please, just think of my grandmother…"

My answer was firm and immediate. "Don't even think about it."

Ethan suddenly stepped in front of me and said in a low voice, "Elena, I have a say in this, too. Our pup's grave belongs to the pack. There's nothing strange about a shared grave, so stop restraining yourself with those outdated rules."

His words felt like a blade to my chest.

I grabbed his collar and slapped him across the face. The sharp crack echoed through the wooden house.

"Say that again if you dare," I warned. "Let me be clear, Ethan. If you try to touch my pup's grave, it'll be over my dead body."

Lylia hurried forward and shielded him, putting on a frightened act. "Elena, if you're angry, take it out on me. Don't make things hard for Ethan. If it comes to it, I'll just take my grandmother's ashes back to the countryside."

I thought this ridiculous farce would end before long. But that night, Ethan suddenly grabbed my shoulders in agitation, and the force of his grip was so strong that it felt like he was about to crush my bones.

"Lylia already gave up on the idea of a shared grave." He then demanded angrily, "What exactly are you trying to do now? Why would you send her a threatening message? It's a shame our pup had a mother like you, and it's no wonder why it chose to leave!"

I stood there in a daze as I listened to him, and tears began falling uncontrollably.

Inside me, my wolf let out an anguished howl.

"What did you say?" I asked.

Ethan seemed to realize he'd gone too far, so he softened his tone. "I know you're angry, but that doesn't mean you had to threaten her. You scared Lylia so badly that she couldn't sleep all night, and even her wolf has weakened."

I stubbornly pulled out my communication device, determined to call the Pack Enforcers and have them preside over the situation. "Ethan, I will never admit to something I didn't do. I'm dissolving our mate bond no matter what!"

He believed Lylia's clumsy little scheme without hesitation, yet he wouldn't believe me, his mate who had spent ten years by his side.

Suddenly, I remembered our marking ceremony. Standing before the Moon Goddess, he had looked at me with a smile and sworn, "I'll believe everything you say. I won't believe a single word that didn't come from you."

That privilege still existed, but it just didn't belong to me anymore. Now, it belonged to someone else.

Once upon a time, I had been his personal navigator. He used to joke that without me, he would never find his way anywhere. Yet for Lylia's sake, he had studied maps, memorized roads, and learned how to navigate the territory on his own.

If that was the case, then I had no place left in his life.

The argument went nowhere. The wooden door slammed shut with a loud bang, and Ethan went again to find Lylia.

He probably didn't even realize that he was spending less and less time in this house.

…

After finishing my statement with the Pack Enforcers, I had just returned home when a voice message from the cemetery caretaker came through, his tone laced with urgency.

"Ms. Forbes, a group of wolves just showed up at your pup's grave. They're digging it up to inter another set of ashes in there. They said Alpha Ethan approved it."

My heart dropped.

By the time I arrived, several burly wolves had already dug halfway through the grave. Cold slabs of stone were scattered everywhere.

I rushed forward and shoved them out of the way with all my strength. "Who are you lot? Get away from here! Don't touch my pup's grave!"

A few of them grabbed me immediately and threw me to the ground. My back slammed against the rocks, and pain shot through my body.

"You're so damn loud!" one of them snapped impatiently. "This place is going to be Lylia's grandmother's grave from now on. We'll do whatever we want with it."

They pinned me down so tightly that I couldn't move.

I yelled at them with everything I had while calling Ethan's name through the mind link.

"Where's Ethan? Where's Lylia? I don't believe he'd do this. He promised me he'd drop the idea!"

The wolves ignored me completely and continued digging.

Helplessly, I watched them pry open my pup's urn. They cleared out the center of the grave and carefully placed Lylia's grandmother's urn there instead.

My pup's urn was tossed aside. Then, one of the wolves lifted his foot and brought it straight down toward it.