Sol F
On the day I was finally set to bond with Alric Thorne, my childhood sweetheart and the Alpha, he volunteered to endure 99 lashes to apologize to the entire pack for my inability to bear children.
I was touched that he'd taken all the blame for me. Then, right in front of the entire pack, he announced that he would mark both me and my older sister, Yvette Hale.
Alric kissed the tears from my cheek. "Sigrid, I'm only marking Yvette so she isn't giving me an heir for nothing! You're my only Luna!"
That night, he spent two hours in my sister's room.
The pain that burned through our mate bond nearly consumed me.
After that, as if to make it up to me, he spent every day practicing archery and hunting with me. Even when my sister suffered severe postpartum bleeding, he didn't even visit her.
And my sister never once set foot in the Alpha's hall on her own.
I accepted the arrangement, hoping that once my sister gave birth to an heir, we could finally put an end to it.
But seven years passed, and Yvette gave birth to three daughters, none of whom were eligible to inherit the Alpha title.
Then one day, I overheard Osric, the pack healer, talking with Alric.
"I've prepared another tonic for Yvette. I guarantee her next pup will be a girl, too. But are you sure the Luna won't get suspicious?"
Alric paused. "Seven years, and she still insists on having her way. Why can't she be more like Yvette? At least Yvette knows her place. We're only doing this to spare her feelings. If she'd just step aside on her own, it would make things so much easier."
My heart felt like it was bleeding.
During the border war, I shielded him from three enemy arrows, taking every hit myself. Even with my wounds, I unleashed the last of my white wolf's power, saving his life and winning the battle.
When I was on the brink of death, he kissed me, weeping as he swore he'd marry me if I would just open my eyes.
He called to my wolf again and again until she finally woke.
I lost the ability to have children, and I married into the Frostmoon pack with the honors I'd earned in the war.
And after all that, all I got in return was a lie.
The only one he had ever loved was my sister.
I looked toward the distant mountains. My wolf and I lay weak beneath an old tree.
I hadn't told him the truth: he didn't need to keep lying to me. I had barely a year left to live.