Chapter 5

Over the next few days, I didn't initiate a single conversation with Fenrir. I completely treated him as if he were invisible.

Strangely enough, it didn't make me feel bad at all.

That lasted until the night before our marking ceremony. It was also the night before my scheduled bond-severing.

A frantic ringtone came from the living room and woke me.

My hearing was exceptionally sharp.

Through the half-closed bedroom door, I immediately heard the voice from the next room.

"Mia? What's wrong?" There was unmistakable urgency in Fenrir's voice.

I lay quietly on the bed in the bedroom and listened.

From the other end of the phone, I vaguely heard Mia's trembling, tearful voice. "Fenrir, I'm behind the healer's den. There's a rogue–"

"Don't move! I'm coming!" Fenrir's footsteps were hurried and chaotic.

He didn't even have time to get properly dressed. He grabbed his coat and threw it on as he rushed outside. He slammed into the door but didn't seem to feel it.

What happened to his silence period? What happened to his nighttime rules? What happened to the rule about no contact after ten o'clock?

None of it mattered when it came to Mia.

I got up and walked to the window. I watched the yellow glow of his headlights cut through the darkness as his car sped away.

The night sky was dark and still. Somewhere in the distance, I could faintly hear the howls of a rogue that had lost control.

I recalled that on a rainy night two weeks ago, I'd begged him for help in exactly the same way.

All I'd received was his impatient response.

Now, all it took was hearing Mia's frightened voice for him to forget everything else.

It seemed that Mia really was the only exception to him, but it didn't matter anymore. I was leaving soon anyway.

None of this had anything to do with me.

Fenrir didn't come home all night. That night, I slept better than I had in a long time.

In the morning, he sent me a text.

[Mia was frightened, so I stayed with her at the healer's den. I'll be back this afternoon. Don't worry, I'll make it back in time for our ceremony.]

I didn't reply. Instead, I packed my bags and went straight to the werewolf council hall.

The elder led me to the laurel tree.

He handed me a short knife. "Cut your palm under the laurel tree. Smear your blood onto the bark and call upon the Moon Goddess. Ask her to sever your mate bond.

"Be prepared. It will hurt, but the Alpha's pain will be much worse. You're the one initiating the severing. He'll be the one having it done to him."

I went down on one knee before the laurel tree, cut open my palm, and slowly smeared my blood across the rough bark. I watched as my blood gradually seeped into the tree.

"Moon Goddess, I, Ellia Levington, future Luna of Blood Moon Pack, request that you sever the mate bond between Fenrir and me."

The tree began to tremble slightly.

The next second, I felt a searing pain in my chest. It felt like someone was tearing it open with their bare hands.

Yet beneath that excruciating pain, I could faintly feel a sense of relief I'd never experienced before.

It was as if chains that had been wrapped around me for years had finally snapped.

-

At the healer's den, Fenrir was sitting beside Mia's bed. There were several healers standing nearby.

Watching Mia sleep peacefully, Fenrir let out a sigh of relief.

"Alpha, you really seem to care about Ms. Lovegood," one of the nurses teased. "Are you two–"

"Stop. Don't finish that sentence." Fenrir cut her off coldly. "She's not my mate. I already have one."

"Oh? I'm sorry." The nurse looked embarrassed. "But I've never heard you mention her. We don't even know her name."

Fenrir was about to answer when he felt a sudden sharp pain in his chest.

"Ahh!" He clutched his chest and tried to stand up, but he couldn't muster any strength. His legs gave out, and he collapsed heavily onto the floor.

"Alpha? What's wrong?"

Chaos ensued in the ward.

Fenrir felt like he had suddenly lost his hearing. All the voices around him faded into the background.

Then, with growing horror, he realized that his mate bond with me was being forcibly severed.

His wolf spirit began howling frantically inside him. It was restless.

"Ellia! What are you doing? Are you trying to get my attention by doing this?"

Fenrir clenched his jaw to brace the agony. He desperately tried to establish a mind-link connection with me.

But the bond continued to break. The pain in his chest was so intense that it nearly shattered his will.

He was truly panicking now. Once the mate bond was completely severed, it could never be restored.

"Ellia! Whatever you're doing, stop right now! This is your last chance!"

His wolf spirit let out a howl of unbearable agony.