Chapter 4

For two days, I didn’t leave the forest cabin. I sat by my mother’s side, keeping vigil while the curse pulsed faintly beneath her skin.

Logan never came.

Instead, the pack gossip was that Leah was laughing in town, boasting about how Logan ran with her under the moonlight and how they hunted together as if the world already belonged to them.

I didn’t care anymore. I packed in silence. No anger. No tears. Just purpose.

On the third morning, the communication crystal lit up, and Lynn’s signal came: Confirmation.

I dressed my mother gently, wrapping her in her favorite shawl.

She looked up, puzzled. “Where are we going, darling?”

I smiled softly, pushing her wheelchair toward the door. “To meet someone. To fulfill a promise that’ll make you proud.”

We traveled by carriage to the Werewolf Temple. The sacred stones shimmered faintly in the morning mist.

Mother frowned. “Why here?”

“To complete my bonding ceremony under the moonlight,” I said.

She stiffened, worry creasing her face. “Alison, I want you happy, but don’t rush into something just for me.”

I squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry, Mama. It’s not just anyone. You’ll see.”

Before I could say more, a voice I knew too well echoed through the temple.

“Alison,” Logan drawled, smug and relieved, “I knew you couldn’t stay away. Breaking the engagement was just a tantrum. But coming here now, trying to force my hand? Bold.”

He stepped closer, reaching for my hand, pretending there was warmth he didn’t feel.

“You can still be bonded,” he said softly, “but skip the oath ceremony. Leah can’t handle the stress right now. Don’t make me choose between you.”

As expected, Leah whimpered delicately behind him.

“Logan, do you really want her to bond you? She hates me… she’ll cast me out the moment she can.”

Logan brushed her hair back like she was made of glass. “She wouldn’t dare,” he murmured. “She knows her place.”

His voice was soft but dangerous, his eyes on me. Then his voice sharpened.

“You’ve hurt her deeply, Alison. You owe her an apology. Publicly. Swear in blood you’ll treat her as your own sister. Only then will I allow the bond.”

I pulled my hand free and walked straight to the Bond Registrar.

“Who said I’m bonding myself to you, Logan?” I said coldly. “I’m bonding someone else.”

The room froze.

Logan stared for a long time, then laughed, brittle and disbelieving. “Oh, stop embarrassing yourself. After everything we’ve shared, who else would take you?”

I didn’t answer.

I placed a moonstone ring on the altar. Lynn's Beta had personally handed it to me just the day before.

The moonstone glowed. The air shifted.

Gasps rippled through the temple.

Logan’s expression darkened, rage cracking through his face.

“No apology? No vow? Then it’s over. You’ll have no protection from the Stoneclaw Pack. You hurt us and expect safety? That ends now!”

Leah’s sobs filled the silence. “Alison, please… I know you think I stole Logan from you, but I didn’t mean to hurt you. My illness is real, and if he leaves me, I’ll die. If you can’t forgive me, I’ll go. I’ll exile myself for his happiness!”

Whispers rose in sympathy for her and judgment for me.

I didn’t defend myself. Their lies no longer deserved breath. But I should give it to them, their act was good.

I turned the wheelchair toward the side chamber to wait for Lynn.

But Logan’s hand shot out, grabbing my arm.

“One last chance,” he snarled. “Apologize, swear you’ll treat her well, and I’ll still take you. Walk away, and when your mother dies of grief, don’t you dare come crawling back. I won’t save you.”

My hands trembled, not with fear, but fury.

“You dare speak about my mother?” I spat. “Then hear me well. May your pack turn to dust, but she will live and prosper. And I will never wait for you. Not in this life. Not in the next.”

His eyes flared crimson. “You dare defile my pack?! I’ll teach you respect the hard way! You will know pain!”

His claws flashed and his strike came fast.

But before it could land, a shadow moved between us.

A single hand caught his wrist mid-air, calm and unyielding.

Power rolled through the temple, ancient, dominant, and cold as moonlight.

Then a voice, deep and quiet, filled the space like thunder from the earth:

“My Luna,” Lynn Silvermane said, “is not yours to touch. And never will be.”