Lysera’s POV
I was lying in the healer’s den of my pack, my hands bound in thick white cloth, my gift as a mind-healer destroyed, when I heard my Alpha mate, Ronan Nightreaver, whispering with the sister of the wolf who attacked me.
“You cannot let her send my brother to the dungeons! And we should end this hidden bond between us!”
It was Thara Melvere who hissed while I pretended to sleep.
“I am tired of being your secret, Ronan! I am tired of hiding in the shadows when I deserve more than this.”
“Don’t say that,” Ronan replied, his voice soft. “You know why I marked her as my mate. It was my mother’s last wish. I regret it every day because it has always been you. Can you wait a little longer? After the alliance between our packs is sealed, I will cast her aside.”
I thought losing my hands was the worst thing that could happen to me. The worst was my mate refusing to let me seek justice against my attacker, claiming he wanted to protect my honor when he was truly protecting his secret lover.
So, I decided to call his rival Alpha to take my case. But what he didn’t expect was that I would also break our mate bond and choose another Alpha as my future mate. By the time he realizes it, it will be too late for him to beg.
——
I was twenty-four when I performed my first solo mind-healing ritual under the full moon. By twenty-seven, I became the youngest chief healer in the most respected pack in the kingdom. They called me blessed by the Moon Goddess. Now, those hands were wrapped in heavy cloth, lying useless against the rough fur blankets.
The healer’s words from an hour ago still echoed in the hollow space of my mind.
“The nerve damage is severe, Luna Lysera. We tried to mend the torn tendons with moon magic, but the shaking will likely remain. You may still use your hands for simple tasks, but healing rituals… I fear that path is closed to you.”
I drifted in and out of sleep, the herbs pulling me under. Then, I heard voices.
“Are you truly letting your mate send my brother to the dungeons, Ronan? You cannot allow it,” she hissed. “You cannot let him rot in chains.”
“Thara, lower your voice,” came the deep, familiar tone of my mate. “You know what your brother did. He attacked her, Thara. He ruined her hands. The pack guards are already involved.”
“She brought it on herself!” Thara snapped. I could almost hear her stamping her foot. “She took that sacred healing trial from me, Ronan! It should have been me leading that circle. It should have been my rise in rank. Lysera knew I wanted it, and she still took it just to hurt me.”
“He didn’t mean it,” Thara sobbed, her voice turning soft and cunning. “He only wanted to frighten her. It was not meant to go this far. It happened because she fought back. If she had just obeyed…”
“I know, I know,” Ronan sighed. I heard the shift of cloth. “I will see what I can do. I can speak to the council, maybe lessen his punishment.”
“No,” Thara said, her voice turning cold. “That’s not enough. You must choose, Ronan. Me or her.”
The silence that followed was suffocating. The soft hum of the warding runes beside me felt like a cruel countdown to the end of my bond.
“You know I cannot just—”
“Then we should end this hidden bond!” Thara cut him off, her voice rising again. “I am tired of being your secret, Ronan! I am tired of hiding when I deserve more. I love you, and I know you love me. But if you stand with her against my blood… if you choose to be the loyal mate to the one who ruined my future… then let’s end this.”
The words lingered in the air, heavy and choking.
“Thara, please,” Ronan’s voice broke. “Don’t say that. I cannot lose you. You know why I took her as my mate,” he whispered. The softness in his voice shattered what remained of my heart.
“It was my mother’s final wish. She made me swear it as she was dying. Lysera saved her life once, and my mother believed we owed her. I should not have agreed. I should not have bonded with her out of duty.”
I felt like I was breaking apart, yet there was no wound this time.
“I regret it every day,” he continued. “Because it has always been you, Thara. Always.”
“Then show me,” she demanded. “Save my brother. Don’t let her destroy my family like she destroyed my future.”
“Alright,” he whispered.
Then silence. Soft sounds. The clear sound of lips meeting. My mate, comforting the sister of the wolf who crippled me.
I didn’t scream. I didn’t move. The tears on my face turned cold. Something inside me, something gentle I had held onto for five years, faded and died.
I closed my eyes and kept pretending.
An hour later, the wooden door creaked open.
I waited before slowly opening my eyes. Ronan sat beside my bed, still dressed in dark pack robes, looking like a grieving, loyal mate. He reached out and lightly touched my shoulder.
“Lysera?” he whispered. “You are awake. Thank the Moon. How do you feel?” He leaned closer, his face full of worry. “The healer told me… about your hands. I am so sorry, Lysera. I cannot imagine your pain.”
“My path is over, Ronan,” I said, my voice calm. “Thorian took everything from me.”
Ronan stiffened at the name. He leaned back slightly, running a hand through his hair.
“About that,” I said, testing him. “I want to bring this to the council at once. I want him locked away for life. You are the strongest legal mind in the pack. You will stand for me, won’t you? We must make sure he never harms anyone again.”
“Lysera, listen,” he began, his voice smooth like when he spoke before the council. “I have been thinking. I have looked at this from every side.”
“And?”
“We should not bring this forward.”
I stared at him. “What did you say?”
“Think about it,” he said quickly, reaching toward my bandaged hands but stopping. “It will become a great scandal. The blessed healer crippled in a fight. The whole pack will talk. They will dig into everything. They may even twist it and say you provoked him. It will stain your name.”
“My name?” I let out a hollow laugh. “Ronan, he destroyed my hands. I cannot heal anymore. What name am I protecting?”
“Your honor,” he insisted, his voice rising. “Others cannot know you were brought down so easily. It makes you look weak. And besides… Thorian is not stable. Locking him away will not heal you. It will only drag us through shame for years. Thara… she’s suffering too. She wants to settle this quietly.”
“Quietly?” My anger rose, hot and sharp. “He ended my life, Ronan! He took the only thing I loved!”
“You still have me!” Ronan snapped, losing his calm. He stood and paced the room. “Why is that not enough? Why must you be so cruel? Think clearly for once, Lysera. See the bigger picture. If you do this, you ruin Thara as well. Do you truly want that?”
I looked at him, and everything became clear.
“You refuse to stand for me?” I asked softly.
“I refuse to let you make a choice you will regret,” he said, fixing his robes, believing he had won. “I am doing this for you, Lysera. I will not take a case that destroys our privacy.”
“Fine,” I said.
Ronan let out a breath, smiling with relief. “Good. I knew you would understand. You need rest. We will get through this.”
“But,” I said, my voice cutting through the air like a silver blade. “If you will not take that case, then you must take another one for me.”
“Of course,” he said. “Anything. What is it? A dispute with the healers? Pack compensation?”
I met his eyes.
“No. Our bond severance.”
