Chapter 3

Three days passed in a haze of weakness and pain.

The Wolf Soul Degeneration had progressed far faster than even the healer had feared.

I lost the ability to shift the day after my diagnosis, and now I could barely walk across the room without collapsing from exhaustion.

I probably only had three days left.

Then, the entire pack erupted in chaos.

The very same day, the pack announced that Kael would be mating with Ella, the heir to the Blackstone Pack, in three days.

The Marking Ceremony would be the largest and most extravagant event our pack had seen in generations.

I told myself he was trying to hurt me. But three days? He had already claimed Ella as his mate and his future Luna.

Though, perhaps it's fitting. I might just have enough strength left to hold on until the Marking Ceremony ends.

I was lying in bed when my mother came in, her face pale.

"Bella," she said softly. "They're here. Kael and Ella. They want to see you."

My heart started pounding. "Tell them I'm not here," I whispered. "I don't want to see them."

"Bella, you know he won't leave until he sees you," my mother said gently. "And... I know you want to see him too. Just for a minute."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

She was right.

She supported me as I walked slowly down the stairs to the living room. I sat down in the big armchair by the window, and my mother went to the door to let them in.

Kael walked in first, and my breath caught in my throat.

His arm was wrapped around Ella's waist, and she was leaning against him, looking up at him with adoration in her eyes.

She was beautiful, with long black hair and big brown eyes, everything a Luna should be.

Kael's eyes immediately locked onto me, and he stared at me for a long, heavy moment.

I could see the surprise in his eyes when he saw how weak and thin I had become, but it was quickly replaced by coldness.

Ella chattered on happily about their alliance plans, about the amazing preparations for the ceremony, about how excited she was to become Luna.

Kael nodded along, but his eyes never left me.

He was watching every move I made, waiting for me to break down, to show him how much I still loved him.

But I forced myself to smile. I smiled through the pain in my chest, through the tears that were threatening to fall.

Finally, Kael spoke.

"Ella and I are having our Marking Ceremony three days later," he said, pulling an official pack decree out of his pocket and handing it to me. "I want you to officiate it."

I stared at the paper in my hands, my fingers numb.

"You heard me," he said, his voice cold. “Noon sharp tomorrow. Be there to help us rehearse. I won't have any unforeseen issues on the actual day.”

He leaned in slightly, so only I could hear him. "And I want you to stand up there and watch me mark another wolf as my mate. It's what you deserve."

Before I could say anything, he turned to Ella.

"Come on, baby. We have a lot of things to take care of before the ceremony."

And without another glance at me, he walked out the door, Ella trailing happily behind him.

I stared at the decree until my vision blurred.

Officiate his mating. Stand up there and watch he mark another wolf as his mate.

It was the cruelest thing he could have done to me. But I would do it.

Because it was the last thing I could ever do for him.