Chapter 4

"That's not real!" Echo shrieked in my mind. "It's just a fantasy! He's just trying to tell you that he wants you to be stronger! He's trying to motivate you! The one he truly cherishes is still you!"

But I wasn't listening anymore.

In front of every powerful wolf in the nation, he had just crucified me—his true, flawed Luna—on a pillar of public shame.

"Hold on," a discordant voice cut through the stunned silence.

Alpha Marcus of the Blood Moon pack stood up. He was Rylan's old rival, and his eyes gleamed with malice.

"Since Alpha Rylan cherishes this mighty warrior so much, why don't we see her skills for ourselves?" He raised his glass. "I, as Alpha of the Blood Moon pack, issue a challenge of honor to Morrigan!"

The hall went silent.

Everyone knew Marcus was a veteran Alpha, his power at its peak.

This was a death sentence.

Morrigan's face went white.

"This is his chance!" Echo's voice grew excited. "I can hear his thoughts! He's going to refuse! To protect you, his true mate, he's going to publicly declare that Morrigan means nothing to him! He'll use this to prove to you that everything just now was an act!"

My heart hammered against my ribs as I waited for his refusal.

Waited for him to finally, belatedly, defend me, his true Luna.

Rylan walked slowly down from the stage.

He stood before Morrigan, ignoring her pleading eyes.

"I accept the challenge," Rylan's voice was low and calm.

But in the next breath, he turned to Marcus and said, word by word, "But we're changing the rules. I will take her place and accept your duel."

The hall erupted in gasps.

For an Alpha to risk his life and honor for a non-mate was unprecedented.

"Why?! Echo’s voice cracked. Is he insane? How could he—" Her thoughts shifted, a dawning horror in her voice. "Oh gods. I feel it... He thinks you've stopped caring. He's betting his own life just to see if you still feel anything for him. He's trying to force you to react."

So that was it.

He thought my heart wasn't dying fast enough, so he decided to stab it again with his own life.

I rose to my feet. While the room buzzed, moved by his display of "love," I turned and walked toward the exit.

"Aveline!"

Rylan's voice called out from behind me, a faint note of panic in it.

I didn't turn back.

"Rylan!" Morrigan's voice cut in just in time. "Let me go talk to Aveline. She must have misunderstood."

I heard Rylan's footsteps stop.

"Go," he agreed. "Let her... cool down."

He wouldn't even chase me himself. He'd pawned that off on someone else, too.

I walked out of the hall and onto the castle's terrace.

The night wind was fierce, nearly knocking me off my feet.

"Aveline," Morrigan’s voice was sickly sweet behind me. "Don't misunderstand, Rylan was just—"

"What do you want to say?" I didn't turn around.

"I want to say that a weak healer like you doesn't deserve to stand by his side."

Her tone suddenly turned sharp and cruel. "You're jealous of me, aren't you? Jealous that I can bring out his most primal, protective instincts. Jealous that I can make him risk everything!"

I turned to face her. "You're terrified," I said, my own voice calm. "Terrified that all this attention is just a show for my benefit. You have to keep pushing, keep provoking him, just to prove to yourself that you matter to him at all."

Her face twisted in a snarl. "Shut up!"

A dark energy pulsed from her. "You think you can act so high and mighty just because of a mate bond? Let me show you what reality looks like!"

Shadowy tendrils formed in her hands and slammed into my chest.

The force of the impact sent me flying backward, shattering the stone balustrade of the terrace.

I plunged ten meters to the ground below.

A werewolf's body shouldn't fear a fall like that.

But in that moment of freefall, I reached for him through our bond—an instinct, a silent plea for the protection an Alpha owes his mate. And I felt it get severed. A cold, deliberate slice. He had cut me off.

I hit the hard ground with a sickening crunch.

Worse, the ground was dusted with wolfsbane.

My healing stalled, leaving me in pure agony as my body screamed from broken bones and ruptured organs.

The poison's bite was absolute. My vision went black, and I passed out.