Chapter 4

When I woke again, the sun was up.

I was alone.

My phone blinked faintly on the floor.

I struggled to sit up and picked it up.

More than a dozen missed calls from Isla.

And one text: Hazel, I'm on my way.

Hang on.

I checked the time.

I had six hours left.

An hour later, Isla burst into the room. "Hazel!" She fell to her knees by my bed, her eyes swimming with tears. "How are you?"

"Still breathing," my voice was a thin thread. "Barely."

Isla was an oath-keeper, a respected position from a neutral pack. More importantly, she was my only friend.

"The will you mentioned…"

"Do you remember it?" I managed to sit up and pulled a small, wrapped bundle from under my pillow. "This is the last thing I have to give."

Inside the cloth was a Moonstone, milky-white and glowing with a soft light.

"Is this... the Luna's Moonstone?" Isla whispered, her voice full of awe. "Hazel, this contains the very essence of your Luna power!"

"It's yours now," I said, taking her hand. "Along with my final request."

Isla's tears fell. "Hazel, maybe there's another way—"

"There isn't." I shook my head. "Isla, listen to me. I need you to seal the news of my death and my true will inside a Blood Pact, to be triggered at the right time."

"What time is that?"

"When they realize that the Blood Contract they witnessed yesterday is void."

Isla's eyes widened. "Void? Why?"

A weak smile touched my lips. "Because a Blood Contract is only binding if given 'willingly and without deception.' The entire premise for the transfer… Meggie's curse… it was a lie."

"She was acting under false pretenses," Isla finished, understanding dawning on her face. "You knew Meggie was behind this?"

"I suspected it from the beginning," I said, the effort to speak exhausting me. "A curse that only targets the Luna bloodline? And she just happens to get a similar one? It was too much of a coincidence."

"Then why did you…"

"Because I needed everyone to see," I closed my eyes. "I needed them to see that even when I gave them everything, they still chose her. That way, when the truth comes out, they'll understand what they've truly lost."

Isla squeezed my hand. "Hazel, you're brilliant. And you're cruel."

"To myself, and to them."

Just then, my phone buzzed.

A message from Meggie.

I opened it. It was a photo of Edwin, asleep.

On his bicep, where my mate mark used to be, was a new one.

Meggie's.

Beneath the photo, a single line of text glowed: Couldn't have done it without you, Hazel.

The last bit of warmth in my heart turned to ice.

They had already completed the bonding ritual.

While I was still alive.

"Hazel?" Isla asked, seeing my expression.

"It's nothing," I said, deleting the photo. "Just confirming a few things."

My phone buzzed again.

A text from my mother.

"Hazel, since you're going on your trip, you should clear your things from the Alpha's house. Meggie needs a quiet space to recover."

I stared at the message and couldn't help but laugh.

"Isla," I handed her the phone. "Look at this."

Isla's face went pale. "Hazel, how could they…"

"Because in their hearts, I'm not the Luna anymore," I said, my breathing growing shallow. "I died the moment I agreed to sever the bond."

My wolf was fading, like sand slipping through an hourglass.

"Promise me, Isla," I rasped, gripping her hand with the last of my strength. "When the time is right, make them see. Make them see who they threw away. Who they killed."

"I promise," Isla's tears fell onto my hand. "Hazel, I will get justice for you."

"It's not about justice for me," I closed my eyes. "It's about making them pay the price for their choice."

My consciousness began to blur.

Before the last spark of my wolf was gone, I looked at Isla. "If there's a next life, I hope I find someone who will truly choose me."

"You will, Hazel," Isla whispered, kissing my forehead. "You will."

And then, darkness consumed everything. In the final moment, I heard the Moon Goddess whisper:

"Rest now, my child. Your pain is over. But their reckoning is just beginning."