Chapter 4

Ten o’clock at night.

The villa’s front door opened.

Ryker walked in, bringing a chill of night air with him.

He took off his jacket, his eyes automatically flicking to the space above the fireplace.

He froze.

“Where’s the painting?” His voice was tight, a clear note of panic in it.

I sat on the sofa, turning a page in my book.

“It fell this afternoon. The glass broke.” I didn’t even look up. My voice was bland. “The canvas got dirty, so I put it away.”

Ryker stared at me for two seconds.

When he saw no anger on my face, he let out a long, relieved breath.

“I’ll have the artist paint a new one. A bigger one.”

He came and sat beside me, pulling a long, elegant velvet box from his pocket.

“To make up for it.” He opened the box.

It was a moonstone bracelet.

While it was moonstone, its luster and quality were nowhere near Chloe’s necklace. Her pendant was a masterpiece. The wolf carving was lifelike. The work of a master. A symbol of true favor. The bracelet in my hand was a cheap, mass-produced trinket you could find on any commercial street.

“Do you like it?” he asked with a smile, but his eyes held a clear, calculating glint.

I took the box and closed it.

“What do you want?”

He cleared his throat, a pathetic attempt to hide his guilt.

“There’s an open seat on the pack council next month,” he said, his tone taking my approval for granted. “Chloe just awakened. Her wolf is unstable, and she feels very insecure. She needs to join the pack leadership to gain some recognition. You’re already the Head Healer. Give the spot to her.”

I just looked at him.

I had pulled three all-nighters organizing the pack’s medical archives to earn that spot.

He didn’t even bother to ask before offering it up to impress someone else.

“Okay,” I agreed without a fight.

Ryker blinked.

He had clearly prepared a whole speech to pacify me. He was probably even ready for a huge fight.

My compliance made him ecstatic.

“Aurora, I knew you were the most understanding!”

He grabbed my hand, his voice thick with excitement. “Tomorrow morning! Ten o’clock, at the sacred site! I’ve already told the Head Elder. I will not postpone it this time. We are going to complete our final mating ceremony!”

Ten o’clock?

I looked into his earnest eyes and wanted to laugh.

BZZZZT—!

The dedicated distress signal exploded in my mind, right on cue.

“Ryker… it hurts… my power is turning on me… save me!”

Chloe’s voice was shrill, laced with a deadly dependence.

Ryker’s smile froze on his face.

He shot to his feet, the hand holding mine dropping in an instant.

“Chloe’s wolf is going feral!” His face was a mask of anxiety. “I have to go!”

“Go,” I said, nodding calmly.

“Tomorrow! Ten o’clock! See you at the site!” He didn’t offer a single other excuse before bolting into the night.

I watched him go, then took the box with the cheap moonstone bracelet upstairs.

On my vanity lay two identical, cheap bracelets. Every time he abandoned me for Chloe, he would try to buy me off with one of these worthless trinkets. His apology was as cheap as his promise.

I tossed the third bracelet onto the pile. They clattered together with a cheap, hollow sound.

The next day.

I rolled my suitcase out of the villa and headed for the airport.

As the car pulled away, I watched the Iron Ridge Pack territory shrink in the rearview mirror. I felt nothing.

When the time for our mating ceremony arrived, I was sitting in the airport departure lounge.

No calls. No texts. No mind-links.

My mate had disappeared for another woman again. Right at the moment of our final bonding.

I wasn’t surprised at all.

Finally, just as the airport announcer called my flight for boarding, a message belatedly echoed in my mind.

It was Ryker.

“Aurora, I’m sorry.”

He sounded exhausted, but not panicked. He was sure I was still waiting for him like a good little mate.

“Chloe’s in bad shape. Her wolf is rejecting her body. She’s trying to tear herself apart and won’t let go of me. I really can’t get away.”

The 18th time.

“The ceremony will have to be postponed one more time,” he promised, his tone dripping with condescension. “I swear, the moment you get back from your trip, we’ll complete the ceremony.”

I stood up and grabbed my suitcase.

For the first and last time, I answered him in a voice as cold as ice.

“Don’t bother, Ryker.”

There was a pause on the other end of the link.

“What the hell is wrong with you? I told you I’d wait—”

“I stepped down as Head Healer,” I cut him off. “And this isn't a trip. I'm moving to the Neutral Territories. I’m boarding now. We're done, Ryker. You're free. Go play Alpha with her.”

I was about to sever our mind-link for good, to turn off my phone forever.

And then his voice exploded in my head, screaming my name.

Over and over again.