Chapter 4

Without thinking, I lunged for it.

Valerie held the pendant high above her head, a mocking smile spreading across her face.

"Look, Kieran. Doesn't Luna keep saying she can't hold up? She moved so fast. Does that look like someone who just gave birth?"

"She's doing it on purpose to make you worry."

A chill rose in Kieran's eyes.

He reached out, caught me, and held me firmly in place.

"Serena, you're even more unreasonable than I thought."

"Let go of me! That's my mother's!"

"Valerie was only looking at it. Don't make a scene."

His tone was light, as if he were dismissing a piece of junk.

"She's been gone for three years. Keeping her things doesn't mean anything anymore."

It felt as though a hole had been gouged through my chest.

My mother, on her deathbed, had refused her final round of treatment.

She used the money she'd saved to have a jeweler craft a solid-gold crescent moon pendant set with a moonstone.

"Serena, this is the last thing Mom can give you."

"Gold carries the Moon's blessing. May it keep you and your pup safe."

"Mom won't get to see your little one, so let it watch over the pup for me."

After saying that, she never woke again.

Because Kieran failed to show, she had missed my mating ceremony.

And for the sake of my future child, she had spent the last of her treatment money.

Ever since, Kieran had kept the pendant locked away in the deepest part of his private vault.

Only he and I knew the vault's passcode.

Yet Valerie had opened it as if she had every right to be there.

My heart sank.

Valerie caught my look and laughed softly. "Oh, the vault? The passcode is the date of your missed ceremony. Honestly, Luna, you'd think he'd move on."

Three years, and he had never changed it. He had never forgotten. And Valerie had been watching over his shoulder.

"Besides," she went on, tilting her head, "isn't it even more unlucky to put a dead person's belongings on a newborn pup? I'm doing this for Wren's sake, Luna."

The moment she finished speaking, she let go.

The pendant slipped from her fingers and hit the marble floor with a sharp crack.

The moonstone shattered into three pieces.

The whole world spun.

Kieran released me. I stumbled to the floor and picked up the fragments one by one.

It hurt so much I couldn't even cry.

The last tangible piece of my mother I had left was gone.

"See, Luna? You're rushing again."

Valerie's voice drifted softly above my head.

"So it broke. Is it worth kneeling on the floor to grab it?"

"Kieran always says you're slow. I didn't realize you could be this fast."

I clenched the fragments in my fist and didn't hear a single word.

Not until Kieran crouched down and pried my fingers open one by one did I realize the moonstone's sharp edges had cut my hands bloody.

His hands were shaking. For one second, I thought I saw him flinch at my blood.

He called a Healer to bandage my hands and ordered Neil to gather the fragments.

I shot to my feet.

"What are you doing? That's mine!"

Seeing me about to lunge again, Kieran pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Valerie was hasty today, but she meant well for you and your daughter."

"Don't forget, Kieran. That was bought with my mother's lifesaving money."

He was silent for a moment, then sighed.

"Fine. I'll have Neil take the pendant to be repaired."

"Take care of the baby and wait for news."

Wait, again.

I slowly sat back down.

"Fine. I'll wait."

Kieran nodded and left with Valerie and Neil.

Only the Healer stayed behind. It was Thea.

She was rewrapping a bandage that was already perfect.

Her voice was so low that even my wolf's hearing barely caught it.

"Luna, there is another way. The Moon Council's Mate Code, Article Seven. Abandonment of a mate in childbirth is grounds for an expedited petition. The Council can sever the bond without the Alpha's consent."

Something slid beneath the bandage on my palm: a folded form.

"I wrote the delivery record. The time, the dose, the Alpha's Command, it's all in there. I'll sign as your witness."

Kieran had told me to wait for news. I would. Just not from him.

That evening, I took the form to the Moon Council's Registrar.

"Abandonment of a mate in childbirth," she said. "Expedited. The Council hears these within three days. If granted, the bond is cut at moonrise."

"Will he be told?"

"Only at the moment it's done. A Council Envoy will serve him the instant I read the decree." She tapped the stamp. "Too many petitioners have been threatened, or worse, in the days between a filing and a ruling. So the other party hears nothing until it can no longer be undone."

"Do I have to swear anything?"

"No oath," she said. "The Council cuts the bond. I only read the decree, and you choose the moment within moonrise."

"Three days. Sunday, at moonrise."

Three days later, I finished packing my bags to leave.

That morning, a single line had arrived from the Registrar: Granted. Effective at moonrise.

My phone suddenly lit up.

Valerie had updated her social media. The photos showed a complete set of gold jewelry.

A bracelet, a ring, a necklace, all glowing softly in the sunlight.

[He said a gift only means something when it's given to the right person.]

My blood ran cold.

A second later, Neil's call came through.

"Luna, the Alpha asked me to pass along a few words."

"At moonrise tonight, the Alpha will give your pup her Welcome Howl before the Moon Stone."

"He hopes you won't be late."

"Also, Valerie asked me to tell you that she had the pendant's gold melted down and made into jewelry for herself. She claimed the Alpha had approved it."

"She says the Alpha apologized to her on your behalf, and your waiting period has been cleared."

The line went dead.

I stood there gripping the phone for a long time.

So in his world, everything had to be fast.

Faster. Faster still.

It was only when it came to me that there was always so much "waiting."

Whatever hope I had left finally died.

I took a deep breath and walked into Kieran's study.

I placed the Council's Receipt of Petition on his desk. The grounds were printed in plain black type: Abandonment of a mate in childbirth. Mate Code, Article Seven.

Beside it lay a certified copy of the delivery record Thea had written. It read, in black and white:

[1:52 a.m. Moonveil Elixir administered to Valerie Blackwood by Alpha's Command. The heartbeat of Luna Serena Frost's pup continued to decline.]

Finally, I took off the moonstone ring and laid it gently on top.

At moonrise, holding Wren, I stood before the pack's boundary stone.

The Registrar was already there, her Council lantern lit, the decree unrolled in her hands.

Far off, wolves were already gathering at the Moon Stone.

Kieran's voice rang in my mind, carrying that familiar, impatient calm.

"Serena, the moon's up. Where are you?"

"Don't be late."

I shut the link.

He hated waiting.

Then let him wait for once.

I stood before the boundary stone for a full ten minutes. The Registrar said nothing. The Code let the petitioner choose the moment.

Then I nodded.

The Registrar raised the decree. "By the authority of the Moon Council, upon petition under Article Seven of the Mate Code, and finding abandonment of a mate in childbirth established, the bond between Kieran Blackwood and Serena Frost is hereby severed."

The moment the bond snapped, it felt as though my wolf had been torn in two.

I dropped to my knees and tasted blood where I had bitten my lip.

In my arms, Wren let out a tiny whimper.

It hurt, deep in my wolf, where no bandage could reach. But it was a pain that lived in my soul, not in my legs.

I could still stand.

I lowered my head and kissed her forehead.

Then I stood up and crossed the boundary.

From that day on, I would never wait for anyone again.