I sat alone for a long while in the cleansing chamber of the healer’s hall, the white stone walls cold enough to sting. I stared at the message crystal in my hand before finally summoning the courage to call my father.
“I’ll do it,” I said. “I’ll marry into the Ashbournes.”
My parents arrived in less than ten minutes.
My mother didn’t even pretend to hide her satisfaction.
“See? We could’ve avoided all this if you had just agreed from the beginning. I told you Eason was a mistake!”
I watched her quietly as memories washed over me.
Years ago, when the Ashbournes first offered a mating pact, I chose love over legacy. I chose Eason.
Now, with a single decision, my parents were ready to erase him completely—as if he had never been part of my life.
That was the Ashbourne way. Anything—and anyone—could be replaced.
“But you’re carrying a pup,” my mother said, her eyes narrowing like she had stumbled onto an inconvenient detail. “That’s going to complicate—”
“I scheduled the procedure,” I said. “But I need your signatures.”
Her eyes lit up at once.
“Oh! Perfect. Perfect! Tell me where to sign. We can end this today.”
She was practically glowing, thrilled to package me neatly and hand me off like tribute.
I looked at her the way someone might look at a stranger wearing a familiar face.
My father tugged lightly at her sleeve.
“Sophia’s leg is still injured. Let her rest.”
She frowned, displeased that she couldn’t deliver me to the Ashbournes immediately.
“Fine. A couple of days, then. I’m only thinking about what’s best for you. The longer you wait, the more troublesome things become.”
I turned my face away and shut my eyes.
I didn’t want to look at my own mother anymore.
Back then, they used my pregnancy to pressure me into mating with Eason.
Now, the pup was just an obstacle to a more profitable match.
Funny how fast everything changes.
Three days later, I was discharged.
I was limping back toward my den when I saw them again—
Eason and Nancy.
She was pressed into his chest like she belonged there. They looked inseparable, like a pair of wolves bound by the same heartbeat.
Eason’s eyes locked on mine. He took a step toward me—
but Nancy’s hand on his wrist pulled him back.
“Sophia! Where have you been these past few days?” she chirped, dripping false concern.
“He’s been so worried.”
She walked toward me, smiling sweetly, the expression soft… but her eyes—
There it was. That sharp, mean glint.
I tried to sidestep her—forgot for a moment that my leg couldn’t support me.
I stumbled backward.
And she fell with me.
Only, she wasn’t falling.
She threw herself down.
Her elbow slammed into my belly.
Her foot crashed into my already-broken leg.
Pain exploded, white and blinding.
My mind went empty for a heartbeat.
Somewhere in the haze, I heard her pathetic wailing.
Just like last time.
Just like all the times before.
One hundred and one times, to be exact.
And every single time, Eason chose her.
Never me.
But now, it didn’t sting.
Not anymore.
Because this was betrayal number one hundred and one.
There would be no “next time” for us.
Eason rushed straight to Nancy, lifting her in his arms as she sniffled dramatically.
He glanced at me awkwardly as I lay on the ground, trembling, cold sweat sliding down my temples.
“Sophia, Nancy’s ankle—she only just healed. I…”
I clenched my fists and kept my voice even.
“I’m fine. I can manage. Go.”
He didn’t hesitate.
He was gone before I drew my next breath.
I stayed on the ground a moment longer, staring up at what used to be our home.
Tears slid silently down the sides of my face.
Five years of memories.
And now the den looked unfamiliar—as if none of it had ever belonged to me.
Large portraits covered the walls—Nancy’s face everywhere.
Images of her and Eason smiling, posing as if for a mating ceremony announcement.
There was only one carving of Eason and me—and Nancy stood in the middle of that one, too.
Clinging to his side.
And I looked like a stranger wandering into someone else’s picture.
A small, tired smile curved my lips.
It doesn’t matter anymore.
Half an hour later, a great sky-beast descended from the clouds—the Ashbournes’ private sky-wing, its metal wings shimmering like a giant hawk.
Within the hour, news of my new engagement was carved into every clan’s message boards, spreading through the territories like wildfire.
When Eason found out, he came running.
But he was too late.
From the sky-wing’s window, I watched him sprint across the clearing, shouting my name, reaching out as if he could drag me back with his bare hands.
But everything between us was already gone blown away like the wind roaring past my ears.
