I was out of options. All I could do was dig out the keepsakes that documented our past—the courtship tokens etched with moon-silver, the scent-sealed letters where we'd poured out our hearts, the gifts and mementos that held meaning only for the two of us.
But every item I pulled out, Alaric burned.
The flames devoured each one, and with them, the faint traces of his scent that had once clung to the paper and fabric. I watched years of memories turn to ash in the hearth of our shared den.
Eventually, I grew desperate enough to bare my throat and try to draw him in—anything to make the Alpha who was supposed to be my mate stay in our chambers for just one night. I let my natural scent rise, unchecked, hoping it might stir something in him.
Alaric did pause. For the first time in ages, he moved toward me.
But just as his lips were about to meet mine, he gripped my chin and smiled—a cruel, mocking twist of his mouth. His canines glinted in the low light.
"Lyra, you really are this pathetic, aren't you?"
"Too bad I have standards. I don't touch tainted things."
The next day, he brought Seren to a pack charity gathering. My intimate images—the ones I'd sent only to him through warded channels—had been printed out and placed on display for the highest bidder.
When I was dragged into the grand hall, the first thing I saw was my own image splashed across the massive tapestry screen.
Alaric watched the color drain from my face, his smile wide and vicious. His wolf gleamed behind his eyes, satisfied.
"Like it, mate? Happy first anniversary of our bond."
Laughter rippled through the gathered wolves. Dozens of leering gazes crawled over my skin, their heightened senses drinking in my humiliation, my fear-scent filling the air.
Seren draped herself against Alaric's chest, her delicate Omega frame pressed into his arms as she giggled at me. Her scent twined deliberately with his, marking territory that should have been mine.
"With my sister's notorious reputation, Alaric, this gift really does suit her perfectly!"
"Though, ever since you and I got together, you haven't touched her once, have you? Someone with her... appetites... no wonder she's throwing herself at you during her heats."
"I'm not a petty Omega. She's still technically your bonded mate, after all. Maybe you should satisfy her sometime?" She pouted, tracing a finger down his chest. "You wear me out every night—I can barely keep up with how insatiable your wolf is..."
At her words, Alaric's gaze landed on me. The desire I'd once prayed to see had curdled into pure disgust. His nostrils flared as if my very scent offended him.
"Touch her? I'd rather not taint my wolf with her corruption."
He turned and nuzzled Seren's neck, scent-marking her right before my eyes.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. I only want someone pure like you. Once the auction silver comes through, I'll commission you that moon-forged pendant you wanted, hmm?"
Watching them wrapped around each other, their scents mingling into something that burned my sensitive nose, I closed my eyes. Tears spilled down my cheeks, and despair—black and absolute—finally pulled me under.
My voice came out slow. Steady. Final.
"Alaric. Let's dissolve the bond."
He glanced at me sideways. Then he laughed, the sound echoing through the hall.
"Lyra, what makes you think you have the right to ask me for a bond dissolution?"
He rose, looming over me to drink in my anguish. His thumb brushed across my cheek, wiping away a tear with mock tenderness. The contact sent unwanted sparks through the frayed edges of our bond.
"Did you forget what I told you? I'm going to make you suffer for the rest of your life. And this?" He gestured around us at the watching pack members. "This is just the beginning."
"As long as I don't sign the writ, you'll never be free of this mating bond."
To punish my disobedience, Alaric moved Seren into our den.
The common room. The cooking quarters. The bathing chambers. The storage alcove.
Anywhere I'd been, I'd find them the next morning—their mingled scents saturating every surface, marking every corner that had once been ours.
I stopped sleeping. Entire nights passed with my eyes fixed on the ceiling, their sounds filtering through the walls. I saw healers. I swallowed calming draughts, following their instructions to the letter. But nothing could block out the scent of their coupling that seeped under my door.
Then one day, Seren barged into my room, a spelled viewing crystal in hand.
"Lyra, after all these years, you're still this useless?"
"Watching you live like a kicked pup every day... even I'm starting to feel sorry for you."
"Fine. I'll be generous and let you die with some clarity." Her smile sharpened, her wolf gleaming behind her eyes. "That night—when you and Kael were drugged with heat-scent poison? That was me."
She turned the crystal toward me.
On its surface, recorded images played in crisp detail: Seren, tipping white powder into my goblet at the feast.
