Chapter 1

I don't know how long I drifted before Theron caught up with me.

"Elara!"

His hand closed around my wrist, yanking me to a stop. He was breathing hard, his dark eyes wild with something close to fear. "Do you have any idea where you're going?"

I looked up. The treeline loomed ahead—gnarled, ancient, wrong. I'd almost walked straight into the Forbidden Woods.

"You're carrying a Pureblood pup." His voice dropped, but the tremor cut through anyway. "Kaelan's Pureblood. You're Pureblood. That should guarantee nothing—this child is a miracle this Pack hasn't seen in a hundred years. And you're just going to throw it away?"

I opened my mouth, but he kept going.

"You know what it cost him." Theron's grip tightened. "You were told you'd never conceive. Kaelan told his family he didn't care—that he'd rather go childless for eternity than lose you. He hasn't spoken to them in six years. Six years, Elara. He burned that bridge for you."

He searched my face, desperate. "If you hurt yourself, you hurt him. That's what fated mates mean. Your souls are tangled. You don't get to bleed alone anymore."

I pulled my wrist free, but gently. "I wasn't going to hurt the pup, Theron. I just wasn't paying attention to where I was walking."

He didn't believe me. I could see it in the way his jaw tightened.

Then he pulled out his phone.

"Kaelan," no greeting, no hesitation. "It's Elara. She's at the Forbidden Woods. She's talking about ending the pregnancy. You know her body—this is her only chance. Get here now. She'll listen to you."

Silence on the other end. Then a laugh—cold, sharp, nothing like the man I knew.

"Theron, did she put you up to this?" Kaelan's voice could have frozen blood. "Some female in the Pack claims she's carrying my pup, and I'm supposed to care? Half the Pack could make that accusation. Should I chase down every single one?"

The line went dead.

Theron stood there, phone still pressed to his ear, the color draining from his face.

And just like that, I knew.

I was done fighting for a man who would always put someone else first.

"I told you. Wrong turn. That's all."

I straightened my spine. "I'm leaving the Pack. Handle the paperwork. Don't tell him."

Theron didn't ask why. He just nodded once.

That evening, my phone lit up with his name.

【Be out of my house tonight. There's an empty cabin at the Pack's edge. Address below.】

A map pin followed.

I didn't respond. I just drove to the house that was supposed to be ours and started packing.

The front door opened onto a stranger's home. Lilies on the table—Seraphina's favorite. A sticky note in her handwriting on the refrigerator. Her shampoo in the shower, her scent everywhere.

This wasn't my house anymore. Hadn't been for a while.

I packed fast. Didn't look at photos, didn't touch his things. Just mine. Twenty minutes later, my suitcase waited by the door.

That's when the front door slammed open.

Kaelan carried Seraphina inside like she weighed nothing. She hung limp in his arms, skin gray as ash, lips bloodless—silver sickness, the worst thing a wolf can face.

"Beckett!" His voice thundered through the house. "Universal antidote. Now."

Beckett appeared at a run, took one look at her, and went pale. "It's gone, Alpha. We're out. We need Pureblood blood to synthesize more."

"Then take mine." Kaelan shifted her weight, offering his arm.

"Alpha, you're still healing. Your blood won't have enough potency. It won't work."

Kaelan's gaze snapped across the room. Found me.

"You." The word was a command. "You're Pureblood. Your blood works. Give her some."

I didn't move.

His eyes narrowed. "What are you waiting for? She's dying. Move."

I looked at him. At the woman in his arms. At the man who didn't know me but somehow knew exactly what I was.

"You don't even recognize me," I said quietly. "So how do you know I'm Pureblood? And why the hell would I ever help you?"