5

Three days later, I buried my child in the pack's small cemetery.

A single, tiny headstone read: "Blackwood Baby - Too Soon for This World."

My father's funeral was held in the Silver Moon territory. I was the only one there.

No one from the Blackwood pack came. They were all "too busy."

After the burial, I returned to the pack house to grab my last few things.

My life with Ethan had been condensed into two small boxes.

I dragged my bags toward the pack's border. The night was cold, the moon just a sliver away from being full again.

The loss of my pup's essence had left me weak, and every step was an effort.

"Sophia, where are you going?"

Tessa's voice came from behind me.

I turned to see her holding a silver dagger.

"What are you doing with that?"

"Protection," she said, advancing on me, a dangerous light in her eyes. "Lots of rogues out here. It's not safe for a lone she-wolf."

"I'm about to leave pack lands. I'll be fine."

"Will you?" She closed the distance between us. "You're a loose end, Sophia," she hissed, the silver blade glinting under the moonlight. "A ghost that will haunt his future. I'm just… tying up loose ends."

"I won't tell anyone."

"I don't believe you." She raised the dagger. "Besides, Ethan deserves a future free from the shadows of his past."

The blade sliced across my arm.

Silver poison seared through my veins like fire.

"You're insane!" I stumbled backward, my weakened body giving out.

"No one will ever know the truth," she said, slashing again, this time across my cheek.

Silver poison seared through my skin, twisting my features into an unrecognizable mask of agony.

I collapsed onto the snow-covered ground, my blood staining it red.

"Help… me…" My voice was barely a whisper.

"No one is coming to save you," Tessa sneered, crouching down beside me. "And soon, no one will even be able to recognize you."

Just then, headlights cut through the darkness.

Ethan's car pulled up. He ran toward us.

"What happened?" he yelled, seeing me lying in a pool of blood, my face a mangled mess.

"Ethan!" Tessa threw herself into his arms, sobbing hysterically. "A rogue! She attacked me! I had to use my silver dagger to fight her off!"

Ethan held her, checking her for injuries. "You're okay. That's all that matters."

He looked down at the bloody, mangled thing on the ground, and his expression shifted from shock to pure disgust. It was just another rogue. He didn't recognize me. He didn't even look long enough to try.

"Is the rogue dead?" he asked, his voice flat.

"I… I think so," Tessa whimpered into his chest. "She was so vicious, I almost…"

"It's okay. I'm here now," he soothed, stroking her hair.

I lay in the snow, the silver poison robbing me of my voice. I could only watch them, helpless.

"We can't leave a rogue's body this close to the border," Ethan said coldly. "It'll draw scavengers."

He walked over and lifted me into his arms without hesitation.

I tried to speak, to tell him it was me, but the poison had paralyzed my vocal cords.

He carried me to the edge of the nearby cliff.

"Ethan, what are you doing?" Tessa asked from behind him.

"Disposing of this rogue," he said, looking down into the dark abyss. "Making sure she disappears. She'll never threaten our pack again."

No… please, no…

I tried to struggle, but my body was too weak.

"I'm sorry," he murmured, not to me, but to the creature he believed me to be—a rabid animal that needed to be put down. "But this is necessary."

And then, he let go.

I fell, the dark water of the moonlit lake rushing up to meet me.

As my consciousness faded, the last thing I heard was Tessa's voice drifting down from the cliff. "Ethan, what should we do with the silver dagger?"

"Get rid of it. We can't leave any evidence."

The impact with the water was a final, cold shock, and then everything went black.

—