Chapter 2

Rhys and the doctors worked with tense precision.

Eventually, a beating wolf heart was pulled from my chest.

He didn't even look closely. He escorted the heart straight into Cora's OR.

My chest was hollow. My body lay alone on the table.

The heart monitor flatlined with a harsh, endless beep. The guards were startled.

"How is she dead? Isn't she a double-heart wolf?" one guard asked, confused.

"You actually believed the Alpha's coaxing?" another guard sneered coldly. "Good that she's dead. That's what she gets for defying the Alpha and leaving her sister to die."

"What do we do now?"

"She's returned to the Moon Goddess. Let the pack handle it. If nobody claims her, toss her in the freezer."

With that, all the wolves left the room.

Over in the other room, Rhys was watching Cora for signs of rejection. Suddenly, a sharp, piercing pain hit his left chest. His inner Alpha wolf let out an uneasy growl.

He pressed hard against his chest.

Right there, a strong heart was beating wildly and vividly.

"Aurora..." he muttered with a frown.

He reached out through the bond. He finally relaxed when he sensed a trace of Aurora's life force was still there.

Losing a heart would obviously take a toll.

Rhys figured he would go see me once Cora finished her shifting recovery and settled down.

‘Just coax her a bit, and everything would be fine.’ He thought.

Rhys stepped out to check on me. He bumped into the guard.

"Where is my mate?"

The guard paused. "Isn't she resting?"

"Don't worry, Alpha. Someone will watch over her. The healers will take good care of your future Luna."

Rhys didn't catch the lie. He thought the guard made sense.

With him around, the pack would look out for me.

So Rhys went back to his Alpha suite to handle pack business.

A day later, Cora woke up.

Rhys was by her side. "Cora, you're finally awake."

Seeing him, Cora burst into happy tears.

Rhys hugged her.

"Don't worry. The surgery was a success. Your heart will never fail again."

Cora felt the surging power inside her.

The defect that plagued her for years was gone. She cried and clung to Rhys.

Rhys patted her back. He told her to stay calm.

A pack doctor saw them and joked.

"The Alpha cares so much for the Luna's sister. Outsiders might think she is your mate."

Rhys frowned.

"Watch your mouth. Aurora is my mate."

Cora's eyes darkened. She grabbed her chest, interrupting him.

Rhys swallowed his annoyance and patted her back.

"I told you not to get worked up. You need rest to fuse with your new heart."

Seeing Cora like this reminded him of me.

He hadn't seen me since the surgery.

"Cora, rest well. I'm going to see Aurora. She just lost a heart. She must be throwing a tantrum, waiting for me to coax her."

He stood up.

But Cora grabbed his hand.

"I hid this surgery from my parents. This is the crucial time for my power fusion. If no one is here, I'm scared something will go wrong. My sister has your mate bond to protect her, but I have nothing..."

Rhys saw her pitiful look. His heart softened.

He figured the healers were taking care of me out of respect for him. He relaxed.

"Alright. I'll stay a few more days. As a Luna, Aurora shouldn't be so fragile."

He sat back down. Cora finally closed her eyes.

Down in the underground freezer, two low-ranking guards stared at my body.

"Two days and nobody claimed her. What do we do?"

The other guard was cleaning. "Who cares? Just wrap it up so we can get our food."

They roughly rolled my body into a cheap linen cloth.

"Look at her. Died so miserably. A grand Luna without even one loyal follower to collect her body."

"A mate rejected by the Alpha is worse than an Omega. Might as well toss her in the incinerator."

"True. Shame, though. She was so young."