The ritual chamber was cold despite the candles I'd carefully arranged around its perimeter. My fingers trembled as I laid out the ceremonial herbs—lavender for calm, jasmine for bonding—in the ancient pattern passed down through generations of Lunas. The scent mingled with my fading freesia and vanilla, creating a bittersweet perfume that filled the sacred space.
"This needs to be perfect," I whispered to Luna, my wolf, who stirred weakly within me. She hadn't been able to fully emerge in weeks now, the sickness stealing her strength as surely as it was stealing mine.
I sprinkled moon-water along the altar's edge, watching how it caught the candlelight like scattered diamonds. Six months. That's all Elara had given us. Six months before the wolf sickness claimed us completely. If this was to be my only true moment as William's Luna, I wanted it to be beautiful.
Selecting silver-threaded ribbons from the ceremonial box, I practiced my vow in a trembling whisper. "I, Sarah Mitchell, accept you, William Sterling, as my mate, my Alpha, my heart..." The words caught in my throat. Three years of rejection hadn't dimmed my love for him, though it had broken everything else inside me.
Luna whimpered, a sound of both longing and warning. She knew better than I did that hope was dangerous.
"Just once," I promised her, arranging the final elements on the altar. "Just once to feel what it should have been."
Exhaustion pulled at me as I finished the preparations. The ritual chamber was ready, waiting for tomorrow night when William would finally mark me properly before I gave what remained of my healing essence to Rebecca. The thought should have been bitter, but instead, I felt an odd peace. At least I would have this one moment of connection before the end.
I slept deeply that night, Luna too weak to keep her usual vigilant watch over our dreams. I didn't hear the movements at the eastern border. Didn't sense the deception being woven in the darkness.
The pounding on my door came with the first light of dawn.
"Luna Sarah!" Marcus's voice was urgent. "Alpha William demands your presence at the eastern border. Now."
Confusion and alarm shot through me as I hurried to dress. The eastern border? There had been no scheduled inspection today. Luna stirred anxiously, sensing danger we couldn't name.
The morning air was crisp as I followed Marcus through the trees. Pack warriors stood in a tense circle at the border marker, their faces grim. And there, at the center, stood William—his powerful frame radiating fury, his black wolf rippling beneath his skin.
The scent hit me before I saw it: my scarf, the one I'd worn two days ago, lying torn and bloodied beside clear signs of rogue tracks. But I hadn't been here. I hadn't—
"Alpha," I began, my voice barely audible even to my own ears.
William's head snapped up, his eyes flashing golden with his wolf's rage. In three strides, he was before me, towering over my small frame. He snatched the scarf, thrusting it toward my face.
"Explain this," he growled, his Alpha tone reverberating through my bones, making Luna curl into herself in submission and fear.
"I don't—I haven't been to the eastern border in weeks," I whispered, confusion making my already weak knees tremble. "I don't understand."
"Rogues crossed our territory last night," William snarled. "And somehow, they knew exactly where our patrols wouldn't be. Your scent is all over their entry point."
Realization dawned like ice water in my veins. Rebecca. It had to be. But the accusation in William's eyes told me he'd already made his judgment.
"William, please," I reached for him, desperation making me forget my place. "I would never betray the pack. I would never betray you."
His face contorted with disgust as he stepped back from my touch. The warriors around us shifted uncomfortably, but none dared intervene. In their eyes, I saw it all—I was already condemned.
William's chest expanded as he drew himself to his full height, his Alpha aura crushing against me with suffocating force. When he spoke, it was with the formal, ritual words that I had dreaded for three years.
"I, Alpha William Sterling, reject you, Sarah Mitchell, as my mate."
The words slammed into me like physical blows. Our bond—already fragile and neglected—shattered completely. Luna howled in agony as something vital was ripped from within us. I fell to my knees, a scream tearing from my throat as white-hot pain coursed through every cell.
Through tears, I saw Rebecca standing at the edge of the clearing, her lips curved in a triumphant smile.
The ritual chamber would remain empty tonight.
