Chapter 6

During my days in the infirmary, Adrian came several times to ask about my condition.

Caleb always made it sound simple.

“Her injuries are bad, but not beyond saving.”

“She is recovering slowly because she refuses to cooperate. When an Omega’s emotions are unstable, her wolf becomes harder to steady.”

“In two days, I’ll send her to the western healing lodge in Frostpine’s own territory. It’s quieter there. She can recover and reflect.”

Adrian’s face darkened every time.

He was angry that I would not give in, yet restless because I was not getting better. To him, my weakness looked like another way of forcing him to lower his head.

He stood beside my bed for a long while before speaking.

“Elena, is it really that hard to accept treatment?”

I said nothing.

His voice cooled.

“You would rather let your wolf keep sinking than admit you got Celia hurt?”

I almost smiled.

It was not that I refused treatment. Someone had never wanted me to heal in the first place.

But I knew better than to say it.

Adrian saw my expression, and whatever softness had started to appear in his eyes vanished.

“There it is again,” he said. “No explanation. No apology. Do you think if you drag yourself down far enough, I’ll feel sorry for you?”

I closed my eyes.

After he left, I heard his order outside the door.

“Send her to the western healing lodge as soon as possible.”

Maybe he truly feared I would get worse if this continued.

But he also believed I needed to be moved away from the main house and learn obedience somewhere quieter within Frostpine territory.

When his footsteps faded, I opened my eyes.

Tears slid down my face, and I remembered the night in the ravine.

I had been leaning against the ice wall with my injured leg stretched uselessly in front of me. My wolf had gone silent. The wind screamed over the snow, rogue scent lingered somewhere beyond the rocks, and I no longer had the strength to lift my hand.

Just as I thought I would die there, moonlight fell over the ravine.

The Moon Goddess appeared through the snow haze.

She looked at me and said, “Your wolf is breaking.”

I forced my eyes open.

“Can you save me?”

“Yes,” she said. “But you must give me what you treasure most.”

I almost laughed.

“I have nothing left.”

My parents were gone. My home was gone. Even my wolf was slipping away.

In the end, the only thing I still had was my love for Adrian.

The Moon Goddess seemed to know before I answered.

“When the next full moon rises, I will take your love for him and every memory tied to him. The mate bond will be stripped from you. You will live, and you will forget.”

I looked into the dark beyond the snow.

For the first time, I felt only exhaustion.

“Fine.”

Back then, I said one last thing to Adrian in my heart.

I’m giving you up.

The next day, Adrian came again.

Maybe because I was about to be sent to the western healing lodge, he looked more unsettled than before. He stood beside my bed without immediately scolding me, as if waiting for me to speak first.

“When you get there, accept the treatment properly,” he said. “And think about what you did.”

I nodded.

“I understand.”

His frown deepened.

The old me would not have been so calm. I would have asked when he would visit. I would have asked if he no longer wanted me. I would have reddened my eyes the moment Celia appeared at the door.

Now I asked nothing.

Adrian seemed to notice that something was wrong. His expression slowly tightened.

Then Celia entered and slipped her arm through his.

“Elena, are you ready?”

I looked at her leaning against him and smiled faintly.

“Wait outside. I need to change.”

Adrian did not move.

He watched me, unease darkening his eyes.

Celia tugged gently at his arm.

“Adrian, don’t worry. The western lodge has already made the arrangements. Elena will be looked after.”

At last, she pulled him out.

Before the door closed, Adrian looked back once more.

I did not look at him.

When the room fell quiet, I pushed myself up from the bed.

Outside the window, the full moon had risen.

Silver light spilled across the floor, cold and pale, just like it had in the ravine.

I braced myself against the wall and walked to the window. When I opened it, night air rushed in, carrying the scent of pine and snow.

The mate bond in my chest suddenly twisted with sharp pain.

Outside the door, Adrian’s voice drifted in.

“When she reaches the western lodge, I’ll visit when I have time.”

Celia said nothing.

Then Adrian added, quieter, as if speaking to himself,

“She can’t leave me.”

I smiled.

Not anymore.

The Moon Goddess’s voice came through the moonlight.

“It is time, Elena.”

I closed my eyes and let go.

In that instant, the mate bond felt as if it had been cut by a silver blade. Every memory of Adrian tore out of me piece by piece. The pain went so deep that, at the end, it became nothing at all.

Outside, something struck the wall.

Adrian’s voice changed.

“Elena?”

The door burst open a second later.

By the time he rushed in, I had already collapsed in the moonlight beside the window, my breathing almost gone.

All color drained from his face.

“Elena!”