All Chapters of The Promise That Never Saw Daylight: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

Three years ago, while saving my mate, Ryder Blackwood, I was poisoned by Silverblood. But he believed his childhood sweetheart, Isabelle Morrison, was the one who had saved him. Now, I learned that he wanted to give her a pup.I called off the bonding ceremony I'd been dreaming of, booked a flight out for that very day, and braced myself to face death alone.…"I need to give Isabelle a pup."Ryder's words cut through the quiet of morning.Two weeks ago, I felt that something was wrong. After a checkup at the infirmary, I learned that Silverblood had been in me far longer than I'd realized.I meant to tell Ryder about the diagnosis today. But when I heard him, I opened my mouth and said nothing.The thorns of the white roses pricked my fingers, and crimson drops found their way onto the petals.I turned toward Ryder, praying it was only a cruel joke.He was in a black suit, dressed for Bluemoon Group's board meeting. His expression was set like stone, and the Alpha presence h

"What on earth is going on?""Why did Alpha Ryder visit Isabelle's family and even officially announce that she's pregnant?""But Alpha Ryder and Healer Lyra are supposed to have their bonding ceremony any day now."The chatter outside my office gnawed at my nerves.My phone buzzed. A coworker had sent a photo.Ryder's hand rested gently on Isabelle's belly. His gaze was steady and protective. Around them stood the Morrison elders. Their faces were alight with joy.A message from the coworker popped up in a tone laced with sympathy. "Why is Isabelle pregnant? They look like true mates. Are you okay, Lyra?"I stared at the photo. Ryder had never looked at me that way. Five years in, he still hadn't formally introduced me to the Blackwood elders.Whenever I brought up the subject, he'd say, "Your family still needs time to prove itself."I saw it now for what it was—an excuse."I'm fine," I typed back, then tossed my phone aside.Silverblood burned hotter in my veins, searing

It had been a week, and Ryder still hadn't returned.News from within the pack reached me every day. Ryder and Isabelle moved as one, circling the territory and accepting each family's blessing, like a true pair.And me? I wasn't even fit to stand in their shadow.I scrubbed the place I once called home. Bit by bit, the marks I'd left were being wiped away. No corner of the room held my scent anymore. It was as if I'd never lived here at all.That afternoon, I visited Elena, the elder who had looked after me since I was a pup. She was a well-respected healer in our pack, and she was Ryder's mother.She was startled when she saw me. "You've lost so much weight, Lyra."I took the seat across from her and managed a smile. "I'm leaving. I'll be gone for a while, Elena."Her brows drew together. "Leaving? But what about the bonding ceremony?"I kept my tone even. "It's been called off. Ryder and I couldn't make it work."Elena's face hardened at once. As an elder among our kind, sh

"It's my friend who's leaving," I told Ryder, keeping my voice steady.He studied my face for a few seconds as if searching for a tell, and in the end, he just nodded.Ryder's behavior made reality impossible to ignore over the next two days.Two days before I left, he showed up with a stack of pictures. Those were the pre-ceremony photos of him and Isabelle.He opened his laptop right in front of me, video-called her, and asked, "What do you think of these?"On the screen, Isabelle had on my white gown, and happiness was written all over her face. She ran a hand over her belly. Her eyes were soft with maternal warmth."Ryder, these photos are gorgeous," she cooed into the camera. "Wearing the gown feels so special. It's like we're actually having a bonding ceremony.""You'd look beautiful in anything," Ryder said. His voice was so tender that it made me gag.I sat at the far end of the couch, as if I didn't exist. As I watched their saccharine display, something inside me simp

Ryder went rigid. He stared at the empty chairs and the gaps where the flowers had been cleared away. This was meant to be our bonding ceremony, the place that would witness two souls becoming bound for eternity.Elena's words circled in his mind. He refused to believe I was dying.A roar tore out of him. "We're fated mates, chosen by the Moon Goddess! Lyra can't reject me!"The guests recoiled. Some of them dropped to their knees under the weight of his presence.Ryder tore away from the scene and drove straight for our estate. The engine's roar cut through the quiet streets. He kept his foot down, as if speed alone could shake him free of the nightmare.The moment he pushed through the gates, he knew everything had changed.My signature rose scent, the one that always calmed him, had vanished. In its place lay a cold, hollow hush. It was as if the house had lost its soul in an instant.He barreled into the living room, and his voice echoed off the empty walls. "Lyra! Where are