第4章

Word that Luna had cast aside his Luna spread through the pack like wildfire.

The Omegas wasted no time piling on, gathering outside my door to gossip and mock me without restraint.

"Can't even compete with a human woman. What kind of Luna is that?"

"On the human's birthday, Luna had the whole pack put on a three-hour fireworks display for her."

"That's nothing. Luna's pet snake that she raised for eight years? Luna killed it himself because the human said she was scared of it."

Every cruel word drilled into my ears, but I didn't even have the strength to argue back.

The battle with the Silverfang Pack finally broke out.

Beyond the sealed room, war horns thundered and the roars of wolves clashing in battle rolled in, wave after wave.

The sounds drew closer and closer to where I was.

From the dozens of battles I had helped Rook command, I could tell our pack was losing.

The corridor filled with the wailing of pups and the blare of the emergency evacuation announcement.

In the chaos, I tried to wrench at the chains around my wrists.

But my body was too weak. There was no chance of breaking free.

So I gave up entirely.

For me, death would be its own kind of freedom.

I lay still, listening to footsteps rushing past the door again and again, then fading into the distance.

Everyone was running to save themselves. No one remembered that inside this locked bedroom, a Luna who had long since been discarded was still trapped.

I accepted my fate calmly.

But what I didn't know was that the moment the fighting began, Rook's first instinct was to think of me, locked in the bedroom.

But Elowen was clinging to his side, and the heavy stench of blood washed over them.

She pressed a hand to her chest and gagged weakly, her face drained of color.

"Rook, the smell of blood is too strong. I'm dizzy. I can't run."

Rook stopped in his tracks.

Elowen immediately softened her voice. "It's fine. Don't worry about me. I'm just a human. It wouldn't matter if I died.

"Go save Luna. She's more important."

Her fragile, self-sacrificing act shattered whatever hesitation Rook had left.

He gave in, swept Elowen into his arms, and held her close.

Memories flashed unbidden through his mind.

In countless battles, I had taken on five male wolves alone to protect a badly wounded Rook, fighting them to the death to carve out an escape for him.

He murmured to Elowen, "I won't leave you behind. Lira is tough. She's strong enough. She'll make it out on her own."

He had no idea that enemy pursuers had already arrived behind him, torching the estate.

To maximize casualties among the wolves, they had laced the fuel with massive amounts of wolfsbane.

Searing heat carrying deadly fumes seeped through every crack. The iron chains around my wrists grew scorching hot in the blaze.

I buried my face in the blankets, but nothing could stop the poison from flooding through my lungs and into every limb.

My consciousness began to blur and drift. Through the haze, I seemed to see Rook as he had been when we were young.

As a boy, he was always roughhousing with a wooden staff, and whenever the elders scolded him for being wild, he would point at me with a proud grin, his eyes bright.

"I'm training. Someday I'm going to protect my future mate."

That promise had been so earnest, so full of fire. Now it was nothing but a cruel joke.

Meanwhile, the pack's main force reached safety, and a violent stab of unease went through Rook.

He looked back. The blaze had stained the entire sky red, and the firelight burned in his eyes.

He turned instinctively, wanting to go back and check if I had made it out.

The moment he took a step, Elowen tugged gently at his sleeve.

"Rook, the fire is so scary. Please don't leave me."

Rook stopped immediately, turned, and pulled her into his arms.

"Don't be scared. I'll be back soon."

His steady voice belied the panic that surged when he realized the last trace of our fated bond had vanished. His steps quickened without conscious thought.

At last, he shifted and sprinted back toward the compound at full speed.

The Silverfang forces had finished looting and withdrawn completely.

By the time Rook reached what had been their home, the fire had already burned itself out.

Devastation stretched as far as he could see. A faint trace of wolfsbane still hung among the broken walls and ruins.

Using what remained of the structure, he managed to identify where the master bedroom had been.

The chain that had held me for so long was still there, scorched black and warped by the flames.

Where the bed once stood, there was nothing left but a pile of unrecognizable ash.