I stared at Kai, waiting for him to explain what he meant.
He never looked away from me as he repeated calmly, "The doctors believe Iris needs both of her parents together before the surgery. She's been asking questions lately, and she's scared, Lyra. They think having a complete family around her will make the surgery easier."
I frowned, unable to stop myself from asking, "I don't understand."
Kai released a slow breath before answering, "Selene is back."
The name settled over the room like a heavy cloud. I lowered my eyes, pretending it was the first time I had heard it in years.
"Selene?" I repeated quietly.
"My former mate," Kai replied.
Former.
Not first love.
Not the woman he still couldn't let go of.
He had chosen his words carefully.
I nodded slowly and said, "I remember hearing her name once."
"She came back a few weeks ago," Kai explained.
A few weeks.
Another lie.
She had been back long enough to stand beside him in the hospital as though she belonged there.
I folded my hands beneath the table so he wouldn't notice they were shaking.
"What does she have to do with Iris?" I asked.
Kai didn't answer immediately. Instead, he looked at me with the same calm expression he always wore whenever he had already made a decision for both of us.
"The doctors suggested that Iris needs a mother and father beside her before the surgery," he said.
I forced confusion onto my face and frowned again.
"But... her parents are gone."
"They are," Kai answered without hesitation.
Another lie.
It came so naturally that I wondered whether he even remembered what the truth sounded like.
Before I could ask another question, he continued, "Selene raised Iris for a time after the attack."
My stomach twisted violently.
I almost asked how a dead child's aunt could suddenly become her mother.
Instead, I remained silent.
"Iris already sees her as family," Kai added.
Of course she did.
She was her mother.
He reached across the table and gently took both of my hands into his. The warmth of his touch now made my skin crawl.
"I've thought about every possible solution," he said quietly.
I waited for him to continue.
"There isn't another one."
My heartbeat slowed, not because I was calm, but because every instinct inside me was bracing for another blow.
Kai held my gaze before finally saying, "I'm going to marry Selene."
The room became painfully quiet.
I blinked once.
Then again.
As though I hadn't heard him correctly.
He mistook my silence for confusion.
"It'll only be on paper," he explained patiently. "The ceremony is for Iris. She needs stability before the surgery, and the elders agree it's the best choice."
My throat burned as I struggled to speak.
"So..." I swallowed hard before finishing, "you're going to marry another woman."
"It isn't what you're thinking," Kai replied.
No.
It was exactly what I was thinking.
He tightened his hold on my hands and said gently, "You'll always be my true mate."
I almost laughed.
The sound rose into my throat before dying there.
True mate.
The woman without a title.
The woman who had waited five years for a Luna ceremony that never came.
The woman sitting across from the man who had just asked for permission to marry someone else.
I lowered my eyes before he could see the tears threatening to spill over.
"If that's what Iris needs..." I whispered, my voice softer than I expected. "...then I'll support you."
Kai's shoulders relaxed immediately.
He smiled.
Not because he felt guilty for hurting me.
Because he had gotten the answer he expected.
"I knew you'd understand," he said.
Of course he did.
He believed I knew nothing.
He believed I still thought Iris was an orphan.
He believed I was agreeing because I loved him.
In reality, I was agreeing because I loved Iris. That little girl had done nothing wrong. She hadn't asked to be born into lies, and she hadn't asked to love the wrong people.
Kai stood, walked around the desk, and pulled me into his arms.
"I'm sorry this is asking so much from you," he murmured against my hair. "But you've always been the strongest person I know."
I closed my eyes.
No.
You simply know I'm the easiest person to use.
I wrapped my arms around him because that was what he expected. Nothing more. Nothing less.
After a long moment, he kissed my forehead and said, "I'll speak with the elders tomorrow."
I nodded.
"I'll prepare dinner."
He smiled again.
"I knew I could count on you."
Those words followed me all the way to our bedroom.
The moment I closed the door behind me, my legs finally gave out. I slid down the wall until I was sitting on the floor, hugging my knees to my chest while my wolf curled into herself, crying so hard that every sob echoed through our bond.
"Why?" she whimpered.
"I don't know," I whispered back, pressing both hands against my face. "I don't know anymore."
Silence filled the room until another memory quietly found me.
It had happened six years earlier, before Kai became my mate, before Mooncrest became my home, and before I believed anyone could ever choose me.
The first snow of winter had covered the mountains when rogues attacked the convoy carrying medicine to my old pack. I still remembered the screams, the flash of silver blades, the blood staining the snow beneath me, and the sharp pain that tore through my side before I collapsed.
Everyone else ran.
No one came back for me.
By the time the fighting ended, I could barely breathe. The cold crept through my body, stealing the feeling from my fingers first and then my feet. I had already accepted that I was going to die as snow continued falling over me until I could barely keep my eyes open.
Then I heard footsteps.
Strong.
Steady.
Someone knelt beside me.
A familiar voice called my name.
"Stay awake."
I tried.
I truly did.
But everything hurt too much.
Warm arms lifted me from the snow.
I remember trying to push him away as I whispered weakly, "You'll die too..."
Kai ignored me completely.
He carried me through the blizzard for hours while my blood soaked through his clothes. Every time I drifted toward unconsciousness, he pulled me closer against his chest to keep me warm.
When we finally reached Mooncrest General Hospital, doctors rushed toward us.
One doctor shouted, "She's lost too much blood."
Another shook his head grimly.
"She won't survive the night."
Kai didn't hesitate.
"Take mine."
The doctor froze.
"Alpha, your blood will weaken you."
"I said take mine."
"But you'll—"
"I don't care."
The memory blurred through my tears.
I still remembered opening my eyes days later and seeing him sitting beside my hospital bed. He looked pale and exhausted, and thick bandages covered one of his arms.
The doctor noticed I was awake and smiled gently.
"The Alpha gave his own blood to keep you alive."
That was the day I decided my life no longer belonged only to me.
It belonged to the man who had saved it.
I wiped away my tears with trembling fingers.
"He gave me one life," I whispered into the empty room, the words catching painfully in my throat. "I can return one."
My wolf cried louder, but I closed my eyes and forced myself to ignore her.
For Iris...
I could do that much.
After that...
Kai and I would owe each other nothing.
