Ruby trembled with rage, but Sylvia turned to the healer. "What do you do when patients can't pay?"
He hesitated. "They. gather herbs from outside the pack to cover it."
Sylvia nodded. "Then Isabella can gather her own herbs."
Ruby gaped. "She's half-dead! How can she-"
"It's her responsibility," Sylvia said coldly. "No exceptions, not even for Stone Manor's lady."
"What's all this noise?" Adrian's voice, cool and sharp, came from the doorway. He stood there, hands clasped behind him, scanning us.
Ruby threw herself at his feet. "Adrian, please! Isabella's hurt, and Sylvia's making her gather herbs herself. It'll kill her!"
Sylvia didn't back down. "If you help her, Adrian, I'm leaving."
He was quiet for a moment, then said, "Do as Sylvia says."
I closed my eyes, the pain in my chest sharper than the wounds on my back. "I'll go," I whispered, forcing myself up.
The mountain path was brutal. Thorns tore my hands, blood dripping as I gathered herbs. My whip wounds burned, vision blurring with every step. Hours later, I staggered back to Stone Manor, blood-soaked but with the herbs in hand.
Passing Sylvia's courtyard, I saw Adrian painting her brows, his touch tender, like she was his world. I froze, remembering last Thanksgiving when he did the same for me. "Your brows are like distant mountains," he'd said. "I'll spend my life tracing them." The whole town envied me then.
Now, his hands belonged to her.
I smiled, but tears blurred my eyes. Back in my room, Ruby saw my state and broke down. "How long are you gonna live like this, Isabella?"
"No more," I said, my voice steady despite the pain. "I'm breaking the bond."
Ruby froze. "But Alpha Alexander's decree binds you two. Without his permission-"
I cut her off, a faint smile on my lips. "My family saved the alpha once. He gave us a blank decree. Anything I write, as long as it's lawful, he'll grant." My eyes hardened. "I'm using it to break this bond and never see Adrian again."
"Ruby, go to Joravia Town. Get the decree. When it's here, we're gone."
Forever.
Ruby was gone, and I was alone, nursing my wounds. The summer heat and cicadas' drone kept me awake, pain throbbing with every heartbeat. But Luna Helena's birthday feast was today, so I dragged myself up, dressed, and headed out.
At the manor's gate, Adrian was already there, holding a horse's reins. Sylvia stood beside him, glowing in a fancy dress, all smiles.
"Isabella," Adrian said, his tone flat, "the manor's ten-cent rule means we can only afford one horse for two. I'm taking Sylvia to the palace. You'll walk."
My fingers tightened on my sleeve, but I just nodded. "Fine."
I watched him lift Sylvia onto the horse with care, then swing up behind her, his arm circling her waist protectively. The clatter of hooves faded, and I was alone.
Three years ago, when I first went to the palace, Adrian had ordered a cushioned sedan so I wouldn't be uncomfortable. "My mate," he'd said, "won't suffer a single slight." Now, those words were for someone else.
The walk to the palace took half an hour. Rain started pouring, soaking me through by the time I arrived, looking like a drowned rat. The feast was in full swing, music and laughter spilling from the hall. I stepped inside, only to see Sylvia sitting in my place-the seat of Stone Manor's lady.
Whispers stung like needles. "Isn't that Isabella? Why's she standing there?"
"Adrian's all about that lotus-picker now. No room for his mate in his heart."
"Remember when he knelt for three days to get the decree to bind with her?"
I kept my head down, taking a servant's spot. Adrian glanced at me but said nothing, pouring Sylvia a glass of wine instead.
"Present the gifts!" the herald called.
When it was Stone Manor's turn, Sylvia stepped forward with a delicate box. "I, Sylvia, wish Luna Helena endless blessings and long life."
Helena smiled, opening the box-then her face twisted. She hurled it to the ground, hawthorn candies spilling out. "You dare mock me with this?"
Sylvia stammered, "Luna, you're used to fancy feasts. I thought you'd like something simple, like what poor folks eat."
"Silence!" a noble she-wolf snapped. "Don't you know Luna nearly lost a pup from eating hawthorn? She despises it! And you offer this filth to the pack's mother?"
Sylvia paled but doubled down. "I didn't know! And hawthorn's delicious. Besides, she didn't lose the pup, did she?"
"Insolence!" Helena slammed the table, her crown trembling. "Guards, drag this wretch away!"
Sylvia panicked, pointing at me. "Spare me, Luna! Isabella prepared the gift. I just presented it!"
I staggered forward, stunned. "You're lying! You run the manor now. How could I have chosen the gift?"
"It's my first time at the palace!" Sylvia cried, tears welling. "You told me what to bring!"
