Chapter 3

I used the last of my strength to stand. By the time I was on my feet, sweat covered my forehead.

When the healer first told me I had no more than thirty days to live, I had considered telling Ivander countless times.

I was afraid the truth would hurt him. I was even more afraid that it wouldn’t.

I couldn’t bear either possibility, so I chose silence.

Ivander studied me with suspicion while my heart pounded against my ribs. Then he gave a cold laugh, disappointment settling over his face.

“You really haven’t changed. You pretended to accept my decision so gracefully that I almost believed you.” His gaze moved over me. “When this little performance didn’t get you the concern you wanted, you became disappointed.”

He stepped closer.

“Give it up, Lina. Nothing you do will make me cancel tomorrow’s bonding ceremony.”

Tears filled my eyes. His words burned like a slap, but I still managed to smile.

“You’re very clever, Ivander. If only you had come back a little later.”

His expression turned colder.

“What spilled on the floor?”

“Water. It’s only water.”

“Then why did you panic when I came in?”

His gaze swept across the darkened room. When he reached for the light switch, I quickly moved between him and the wall.

“I was about to go to sleep. You should get some rest too.” I held his gaze. “I hope your bonding ceremony goes well tomorrow.”

His mouth twisted as though I had told him a joke.

“Whether it goes well depends on you, doesn’t it?”

I didn’t understand what he meant. His words only showed me how deeply he still mistrusted me.

But if the ceremony truly depended on me, then it would go perfectly.

I wouldn’t be there.

The next morning, Ivander emerged in his finest ceremonial clothes.

The sight of him stole my breath. I had imagined this moment countless times, although never like this.

“You look handsome today.”

The moment he saw me, his brows drew together as if he were already waiting for my next scheme.

I didn’t give him one. I returned to my room and finished packing.

When I had awakened that morning, my mind had been blank again. Fortunately, my journal was waiting beside my pillow.

Only one task was written on the page.

Leave quietly.

I drank a dose of the healer’s potion, hoping it would keep my body steady long enough to reach my parents’ house.

By the time I came downstairs, the entrance was crowded with the most influential members of the Blood Moon Pack.

Ivander glanced at my plain clothes and lowered his voice.

“You spent all that time upstairs. Why haven’t you changed into your ceremonial dress?”

Before I could think of an excuse, his assistant reminded him that it was time to leave.

Ivander looked at me once more. “You won’t make it into this car. Find your own way to the ceremony.”

“Eric is picking me up.”

It was a lie, but it was the quickest way to make Ivander leave without looking too closely at me.

I kept my expression calm. His face remained unreadable, and I couldn’t tell whether my answer had relieved him or bothered him.

Before I could decide, the waiting guests surrounded him and carried him toward the cars.

“Today is the most important day of your life, Alpha,” someone called. “Why do you still look so serious?”

Others joined in, urging him to smile. Ivander finally gave them a faint one before getting into the car.

I watched from a distance.

I truly hoped he would be happy.

My fingers closed around the worn cord bracelet on my wrist, the only thing my parents had left me.

“Mom, Dad, after today, Ivander will have a family of his own. I saw him this morning. He must be happy.” My voice trembled. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’ll be with you soon.”

A gentle breeze touched my face like a familiar hand.

When everyone was gone, silence settled over the estate. I let myself cry for one final moment. Then I wiped my face, carried my luggage downstairs, and loaded it into the car.

I was going home.

The roads were packed with members of the Blood Moon Pack traveling to Ivander’s bonding ceremony. Everyone wanted to see the beautiful Luna he was about to claim.

According to pack tradition, the more wolves who witnessed a bond, the more blessed the couple’s future would be.

Everyone else was driving toward the ceremony.

I was driving away.

Traffic eventually came to a stop, forcing me to wait among the celebration-bound cars. Through my open window, I heard several wolves talking nearby.

“Oh, Goddess, Ivander is so romantic. My brother is already at the venue. He says the entire place is covered in pink roses. The moment you walk inside, you can smell them everywhere.”

“My parents just mind-linked me,” another woman said. “The Luna’s gown matches the roses, and it has a long train. Come on—we have to see it for ourselves.”

Pink roses. A matching gown with a long train.

It was exactly the ceremony I had described to Ivander.

For one bewildered moment, I wondered why.

Then I pushed the thought away. Whatever his reason was, it no longer had anything to do with me.

When the road finally began to move, a young wolf approached my car and handed me a small bag.

“Today is Alpha Ivander’s bonding ceremony. Every witness receives a gift.”

I wasn’t going to witness anything, but I accepted the bag without explaining.

Ivander must have gone to extraordinary lengths to make Daisy happy.

I opened the bag and took out a cookie. The first bite stopped me.

It tasted exactly like the cookies Ivander had made for me when I was young. He had never stepped inside a kitchen before, yet he had spent three days and nights learning how to bake them with his own hands.

There would never be another.

Before leaving the estate, I had placed a note on the table in my room.

Ivander, thank you for taking care of me all these years. You don’t have to do it anymore. I hope my leaving gives you the happiness you deserve.

I finished the cookie, shut down my mind link so no one could reach me, and tightened my hands around the steering wheel.

Then I drove toward the only home I had left.

I never looked back.