Mira’s POV
The day we buried my mother, even the sky seemed to mourn.
Rain poured without mercy, soaking through my thin black dress, clinging to my skin. The forest that used to echo with our laughter felt lifeless, replaced by the dull thud of shovels and distant thunder.
Her grave was simple—a small patch of earth beneath the old cedar tree where she used to sit and make her remedies. I knelt there, hands shaking, as I laid her favorite wildflowers on top of the freshly turned soil. My wolf stirred quietly inside me, grieving just as deeply.
“Rest now, Mama,” I murmured. “I’ll be okay.”
But I knew I was lying.
Because the man I loved more than anything… didn’t even show up.
Theron never came. Not the Alpha I once gave everything for. Not the man who used to promise me forever under the roof of our tiny home.
They said he was “occupied.” But I knew better.
He just didn’t care.
When the rain eased and everyone else left, I stayed behind until dusk settled in. I didn’t realize then just how much betrayal could hurt—until later that night.
I went back to the Nightbane estate.
A part of me still hoped he’d explain. That there was some reason behind everything. That maybe he’d still pull me close and say he was sorry.
Our room—his and mine—was at the far end of the east wing. I walked up the stairs slowly, each step heavier than the last. His scent grew stronger the closer I got—pine and smoke.
It used to comfort me.
That night, it made my chest tighten.
The door wasn’t fully closed. I pushed it open carefully, not making a sound. Moonlight spilled through the window, casting a pale glow across the room.
And then I saw them.
Theron. And Irene.
In the same bed I once slept in.
Her body moved beneath him, her soft sounds filling the space like a cruel echo of everything I had lost. His voice followed—low, intimate—words I couldn’t bring myself to hear.
I couldn’t move. My whole body went numb. I covered my mouth to keep from crying out. Inside me, my wolf thrashed wildly, furious, broken, begging to tear everything apart.
I turned to leave—
Then Irene spoke.
“Theron…” she breathed, her voice uneven. “What if… Mira finds out I was the one who—”
“Don’t,” he cut in quietly. “Don’t say it.”
“But what if she learns that I… that I’m the reason her mother died?”
Everything around me spun.
His reply came without hesitation. “She won’t. I’ll make sure of it.”
Something inside me snapped.
My legs gave out, and I had to grab the doorframe to steady myself.
Her mother died… because of her.
The words kept repeating in my head, cutting deeper each time.
I bit down hard on my lip, forcing back the sob rising in my chest. Every part of me burned. I wanted to storm in, to scream, to demand answers—
But I couldn’t.
Because in that moment, the truth became clear.
He didn’t just leave me.
He chose her.
He protected the one who took my mother from me… and helped bury the truth.
—
The days that followed blurred together. Then came Elder Marcelle’s birthday banquet—a cruel reminder that I was still stuck in their world.
I should’ve left after my mother died.
But I stayed.
I needed to know just how far their lies went.
The hall sparkled with gold and laughter. Wolves dressed in expensive fabrics filled the room, toasting the woman who had ruined my life. I stood among them, my plain black dress making me stand out for all the wrong reasons.
“Mira!” someone called, waving at me like I was staff. “Be helpful and get us more wine.”
I stiffened. Her smile was sweet, but her eyes weren’t.
“And bring desserts too,” another added with a smirk. “Hurry up, omega.”
Their laughter rang out. Heat rushed to my face, but I swallowed it down. My wolf stirred, angry, but I forced her back.
I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.
Then I saw him.
Theron stood across the room, dressed sharply, his arm wrapped around Irene’s waist. She wore silver, looking like she belonged there—like she had always belonged.
Our eyes met.
Just for a second, something in his expression shifted.
But that was all.
He didn’t come to me. Didn’t say a word.
He looked away.
And just like that, I understood.
The man I loved was gone.
I turned toward the table, my hands steady despite the storm inside me. Every insult, every laugh—they stopped hurting.
They became something else.
Fuel.
I looked up one last time, meeting his gaze across the room.
He didn’t realize it yet…
But the moment he let me walk away—
was the moment he sealed his own ruin.
