Felix Dan
Seven days before our bonding ceremony, my fiancé, Alpha Cassian Vale, died.
The patrol said he had fallen into Deadfall Gorge, where hunters had set silver traps. All they brought back was a bloodstained badge.
The elders blamed me for everything.
"If he hadn't gone to gather moonflowers for your bonding ceremony, the Alpha would still be alive!"
"You're the jinx who brought death to your entire pack, and now you've killed our Alpha too!"
Cassian's childhood friend, Vera Holt, sobbed as she crushed an echo stone, releasing a recording of his final words.
"Eileen, don't come looking for me. Live a good life."
I clutched the badge and went into Deadfall Gorge alone.
I searched for three days and nights before a silver spike pierced my abdomen, forcing me to crawl back.
On the fourth day, I dragged myself up the cliff, bleeding heavily.
The moment I climbed over the stone railing at the cliff's edge, cheers erupted from the woods.
Vera ran up to me, clapping and laughing until she cried.
"I win! Cassian, she was actually stupid enough to go down there looking for your body!"
The crowd parted, and Cassian walked out without a scratch on him.
He turned to Vera first, his voice warm and indulgent.
"Happy now? No more games after this."
Vera hooked a finger under the wolf-fang necklace around her neck and smiled.
"Don't I deserve some credit for proving how much she loves you?"
"You do." Cassian smiled and nodded. "I was saving it for our bonding night. But if you like it, wear it for now."
Only then did he hold out his hand to me.
"Surprised?
"Vera was upset that you'd stolen me from her. That's why I went along with it this once.
"Now that you've passed the test, we'll bond in three days, as planned."
I looked at the two of them and finally understood.
The fall was fake. The last words were fake.
The only real things were my dying she-wolf and the wound in my stomach.
I knocked his hand away and hurled the bloodstained badge at his face.
"Cassian, I went down into that gorge to repay you for saving my life all those years ago.
"Now we're even. The bonding is off."