Chapter 7

The moment I learned the truth, something inside me died for good.

So, my seven years of devotion, my ninety-nine moments of tolerance, were nothing more than a game of possession to him, something that needed constant "stimulation" to keep it "alight."

How pathetic. I had actually considered postponing my departure.

Back at the manor, I erased the last traces of my existence.

Bank accounts were emptied and closed.

My assets within the pack were transferred through secret channels.

I contacted my only friend, Mia. A lone wolf, a mysterious figure who moved between packs. I asked her for a way out—a route to the human world.

It was a sanctuary. A place our kind didn't go.

A place for my own dreams, free from pack politics.

"Are you sure about this?" Mia's voice came over the link. "You're really just walking away from it all? From being the Luna?"

"I'm sure," my voice was flat.

"Alright. The docks at the Black Forest, tomorrow night."

The next day, the day the Elders were set to announce the severing of our mate bond, was our bonding anniversary.

In previous years, I would have prepared elaborate gifts.

I would have cooked his favorite rare steak, decorated the entire manor with moon-blossoms.

He would always accept them coolly, never showing any special emotion.

This year, the house was a tomb. Cold and silent. Just like my heart.

I sat in the living room, reading a book, as if it were any other day.

Rylan came home at dusk.

He pushed open the door, his eyes immediately sweeping over the undecorated living room and empty dining table. His brow furrowed.

"Did you forget what day it is?" he asked, his voice tight.

I didn't look up, just turned a page. "Forget what?"

"Today is..." he paused, as if waiting for me to finish.

"What about today?" I kept my eyes on the book.

His expression darkened. "July fifteenth."

"Oh," was all I said.

"Our seven-year bonding anniversary!" His voice was finally laced with suppressed fury.

"Is it?" I finally looked up at him, my face a placid lake. "Did you ever care?" I asked, my voice devoid of heat. "I guess you could call it practice," I said, my voice hollow. "For all the anniversaries we won't be having."

The light in Rylan's wolf eyes dimmed.

He just stood there, staring at me, waiting.

Maybe waiting for me to say, "Just kidding." Maybe waiting for me, like always, to pull a hidden gift from some corner and give him a "surprise."

But I just stared back, my eyes empty.

"He's waiting for the surprise!" Echo's voice piped up out of habit, but it was weak and thin. "He thinks you're just mad at him, that you're trying to surprise him! He cleared his whole schedule today just to spend the anniversary with you!"

Rylan waited for five minutes.

Then, the last flicker of light in his eyes went out.

He spun around and slammed the door behind him.

I closed my book, stood up, and prepared to leave for the docks in the Black Forest.

But fate, it seemed, wasn't done with me yet.

On the only road to the docks, a group of she-wolves blocked my path.

It was Morrigan and her cronies.

"Well, well, look who it is. The pathetic, weak-willed healer," Morrigan sneered, her eyes full of malice. "Abandoned by your Alpha on your anniversary, and you still have the guts to wander around alone?"

Her friends snickered. "What do you expect from a low-born omega? Her family line died out ages ago. All she knows how to do is cling."

"Her healing gift is barely enough for scrapes and bruises. Useless to a real warrior!"

I didn't want to deal with them. I turned to find another way around.

"Trying to run?" Morrigan sneered. "Just like your father did. The coward died abandoning his post, didn't he? Like father, like daughter."

That was it. The final line.

The rage in my chest exploded.

I spun around and slapped her across the face. Hard.

"You hit me?!" Morrigan clutched her cheek, staring at me in disbelief.

Her friends shrieked and pounced on me.

I might have healing magic, but I was no fighter. They had me pinned to the ground in seconds.

Sharp wolf claws tore at my skin, leaving bloody trails.

Just then, a crushing Alpha presence descended.

"Stop!"

Rylan strode over. He took one look at me, disheveled and bleeding on the ground, then at Morrigan, whose only injury was a red cheek, and his pupils contracted.

"Rylan!" Morrigan's face changed instantly, tears welling in her eyes. "Aveline... she just attacked me for no reason! We were just saying hello, and she went crazy!"

"Aveline," Rylan's voice was dangerously low. He was waiting for my explanation.

This was his last chance for me. A chance for me to defend myself.

But I was so tired.

Tired of explaining, tired of arguing, tired of trying to make him believe me.

I just pushed myself to my feet, silent. My silence seemed to infuriate him more than any scream would have.

He waited for two full minutes, his face growing darker and darker.

"Since you won't explain..." His voice was flat, devoid of all emotion. A judge passing sentence.

He turned to Morrigan and, using his Alpha command, spoke the words that pushed me into the abyss.

"She drew first blood. You will answer in kind."