The Woman Who Returned

The third day after the mating ceremony arrived with a storm.

Dark clouds rolled over the pack territory, thick and heavy, as if the sky itself sensed the lie about to walk through our gates.

I was in the healer’s quarters when the alarm horn sounded.

Once. Twice and  Urgent.

Wolves rushed past me, their faces tight with alarm. I followed instinctively, my heart pounding as the scent hit me—sweet, familiar, and devastating.

Delilah. 

She stood at the entrance of the Alpha hall, cloaked in white, trembling like a wounded dove. Her hair was tangled, her dress torn at the hem, skin pale as moonmilk. Two warriors supported her weak frame as if she might collapse at any moment.

Delilah? Finn froze beside me.

The bond between us pulsed faintly, confused, and unsettled—but his body had already moved before I could breathe.

“Delilah,” he breathed.

The sound of her name from his lips was sharper than claws.

She lifted her head slowly, eyes glassy with tears, lips trembling as they parted. “Finn…”

Then she collapsed into his arms. The pack gasped.

Finn caught her with a desperation that shattered something inside my chest. He held her like she was the answer to a prayer he never stopped whispering and i stood there, invisible.

“I was taken,” Delilah sobbed once she was settled inside the hall. Her voice shook as she clutched Finn’s tunic. “I tried to come back. I swear I did. But someone didn’t want me here… not for before the mating  ceremony.”

Her eyes flicked toward me for the briefest second.

Then she cried harder. Finn stiffened.

“Taken?” he demanded, fury rolling off him in waves. “Who?”

She shook her head weakly. “They told me if I returned, you would die. That the Moon Goddess had already chosen someone else for you… and that I would be punished for standing in the way.”

The room went deathly quiet. My blood turned cold.

Finn’s jaw tightened. “But the letter,” he said slowly. “You wrote that you found your mate.”

Her eyes widened in horror. “What letter?”

The lie was flawless. I stepped forward, my heart pounding. “Finn, i read it myself—”

Delilah let out a broken sob. “I would never write that. Never. Someone wanted you to believe I abandoned you.”

Suspicion crept into Finn’s eyes.

Not toward her though... Toward me.

“I was held,” she continued softly. “Drugged and Confused. When I managed to escape, I ran straight back to you.”

Finn pulled her closer, his voice low and fierce. “You’re safe now. No one will ever hurt you again.”

The bond between us went still.... Dead quiet.

Just like that? He isn't going to investigate the truth? I opened my mouth—then closed it.

Because he didn’t look at me. Not even once .

And that night, Finn didn’t come to my chamber.

He stayed with her and the next morning, the pack whispered about it. By evening, it was official.

Delilah had reclaimed her place at Finn’s side.

I confronted him at dusk, my chest tight with something dangerously close to breaking.

“You said you needed time,” I almost yell “You said you were healing.”

“I am,” he replied flatly. “And she’s part of that.”

“She denies the letter,” I said. “But you know she left. You should have investigated tjis first before accepting her back. But...”

His gaze hardened. “Enough.” The word struck like a slap.

“I won’t reject the bond,” he continued, voice cold. But I won’t send her away either.”

My hands curled into fists. “So what am I to you now?”

He exhaled sharply, impatience flashing across his face. “You’ll endure. Or you’ll be the one to reject the bond.”

The ground seemed to tilt beneath my feet.

“You’re asking me to share you,” I whispered, my eyes widened in disbelief.

“I’m asking you to be patient,” he snapped. “If you truly love me.”

That was how he trapped me. With love...

But the truth is... I am afraid of losing him without fighting for our love.

With hope I should have let die, I turned away, aware of Delilah watched me from the shadows of a pillar—her lips curving into a smile no one could see. And in that moment, I knew.

She hadn’t returned to reclaim her place. She had returned to destroy me.