Chapter 3

Dawn broke, and Kael still had not returned to the bedchamber.

It gave me the quiet I needed to finish drafting the severance of our Mate Bond.

By the time the maid came to call me for breakfast, the ink was dry. I folded the paper carefully and slipped it into my sleeve.

My whole life, it seemed, I had lived for other people.

Sent away as a child. Brought back when I came of age. Forced into a marriage that was never meant to be mine.

But once this document was sealed, the road ahead would finally be my own.

I had barely stepped into the front hall when I saw Kael seated there, Elara beside him, smiling as if she already owned the room.

“Ayla, last night I—”

He never finished. Elara picked up a honeyed fruit and pressed it gently between his lips.

The sight burned behind my eyes.

“I have no appetite. I’ll return to my rooms.”

I turned and left before he could say another word.

Whatever he had meant to say, I was done listening.

“Ayla, must you treat me this way?”

My steps faltered.

But then Elara pressed her handkerchief to her face and began to weep.

“Kael, it’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have come back. I’ve made Elara feel like I’m trying to take her place.”

“If my presence distresses her, I’ll leave. I would never cause trouble for you both.”

“Don’t speak nonsense. No one is sending you anywhere.”

Kael’s voice was low and soft as he comforted her. Then he turned to me.

“Elara has just returned. I’m holding a feast in her honor. I hope you’ll join us.”

“Yes, sister, do come. We’re family, after all.”

Elara agreed in that same gentle tone. The sight stung my eyes.

I didn’t answer. I simply walked away.

Of course I would go.

This was my pack. I was the rightful Luna Queen. What did I have to fear?

I returned to my chamber and summoned the most skilled maid. High chignon, painted forehead ornament, silk robes, incense.

Two hours later, I entered the great hall in a gown of silver-threaded gold, woven with the wolf crest.

Elara, meanwhile, lounged at ease in the same plain dress she had arrived in, leaning against our parents and Kael, laughing freely.

She blinked at my attire, then laughed.

“Ayla, it’s only a family dinner. Why such grandeur?”

“Is your need to compete truly so desperate?”

I paused, my nails digging into my palm.

But my face revealed nothing.

“You’ve lived in the wilds too long, sister. You may not understand. I am the Luna of this pack. Every word, every gesture reflects its honor. How could I appear before guests in disarray?”

“You—!”

Elara swayed, clutching her chest, her face a mask of wounded fragility.

“You’re nothing but a replacement! You stole my life, took my place. All of this was meant to be mine!”

Absurd.

Hadn’t she been the one to throw all of this away?

The hall fell silent. I lowered my eyes, my voice barely audible.

“Sister, you speak such interesting words.”

“What did I steal? You were the one who found the throne too fragile. You handed it to me with both hands.”

“You walked away so easily, unwilling to bear the burden. Why should I have spent six years holding your place, facing what you refused to face?”

“Ayla!”

Kael’s voice cracked like a whip.

“Must you make your words so ugly? Does marrying me fill you with such bitterness?!”

He looked beyond furious.

His eyes were bloodshot. Before the words had left his mouth,his Alpha presence crashed over me like an avalanche.

Gasps rippled through the hall. I didn’t flinch.

If you mean to strike, then strike. I am tired.

“Kael!”

Elara threw her arms around him.

When he didn’t move, she pressed a slow kiss to his cheek. A touch, then gone.

“Last night, I learned your true heart. I am content.”

“If I have caused strife between you, I will carry the guilt forever.”

What true heart?

And why hadn’t he pulled away from her kiss?

Could it be…

My mind went blank. I looked at the hand he had settled against her waist, and spoke softly.

“Kael. So you do know how to be gentle.”

“Just not with me.”

A crystal goblet on the side table exploded under the weight of his rage, shards scattering across the marble.

Kael stared at me, his own eyes red, as if he were bleeding for me, or perhaps for himself.

“Is that what you believe?”

I stepped back and withdrew the paper from my sleeve, laying it on the table.

“Kael. I want to sever the Mate Bond.”

“Since she has returned, this Bond was always meant to be hers. I am giving it back.”

Kael’s eyes widened, staring at me in disbelief.