I fought to keep my composure.
A soft laugh came through the mind-link.
"Lily's having a breathing collapse? Please. You'd do anything to save this bond—cry wolf enough times and no one believes you anymore."
In my arms, my pup let out a feeble whimper. Something inside me snapped.
"Make him come back! She needs help! This is his own pup! Raven, you'll pay for this!"
Raven just laughed, her presence dripping with contempt through our shared connection.
"Honestly? It'd be better if she died. Alaric's going to have a new pup anyway."
The link severed.
I stood there in the bitter wind, clutching my daughter as her small body went limp in my arms. The hatred that surged through me in that moment—it eclipsed even my terror.
Alaric. Raven.
If anything happens to my pup tonight, I will bury your entire bloodline with her.
In the end, that healer with his glowing rune-stones became the regret I would carry for the rest of my life.
The pack healer emerged from the healing den, lowered his herb-stained hands, and shook his head.
The world didn't collapse. It simply went silent. Completely, utterly silent.
I didn't cry. I just felt something blunt push into my chest and start sawing back and forth until the pain turned to numbness.
I went through the motions mechanically—death rites, selecting a burial ground in the sacred grove, arranging the pyre ceremony.
Every ritual required a pack member's mark. The ceremonial blade trembled so violently in my hand I could barely make my cut.
Somewhere in that haze, I reached out to Alaric through our fading bond.
I wanted to tell him our pup was gone.
I wanted him to see Lily one last time.
First attempt—blocked.
Second attempt—blocked.
The third time, a cold message pushed through the weakened thread between us.
Alaric: Stop trying to reach me. Speak to the pack elders if you have something to say. When you've accepted reality, meet me at the Elder Stone for the Bond Rejection.
I stared at those cold words until my eyes burned dry. Not a single tear fell.
I sent back: Fine. Next moon. Elder Stone. I'll be there.
This time, he replied instantly—his voice echoing through what remained of our connection.
I let his words wash over me. His tone was mocking, impatient.
"Selene, you'd better not be stalling. If you fail to appear, I have ways to make you regret it."
I didn't respond. I just closed off the bond completely.
The days that followed passed in a blur. I drifted through the empty den like a ghost.
The funeral rites were simple—just a few bundles of moonlilies, Lily's favorite flower.
I knelt before her wrapped form, burning sacred herbs through the endless nights.
Alaric never came.
Not a single message asking what happened. Not one attempt to reach through our dying bond.
Nothing.
On the day of the burial, the sharp click of claws on stone echoed from outside the mourning den.
Crisp. Grating.
I looked up.
Raven stood in the entrance wearing a blood-red ceremonial gown, a jeweled collar gleaming at her throat, strolling in like she already ruled this territory.
Her gaze landed on the painted memorial at the center of the space. She pressed a hand to her lips in mock surprise, but her eyes glittered with undisguised satisfaction.
"Oh my. She actually died?"
She walked over and stood above me, looking down at where I knelt, her tone as casual as if she were discussing the weather.
"I was worried this little runt would fight my pups for the succession rights someday. Well, problem solved. Saves me a lot of trouble."
She tilted her head, a saccharine smile spreading across her face.
"Don't be too sad, Selene. It's called survival of the fittest. She was just making room for pups who actually deserve the Alpha's blessing."
My fingers tightened around my ceremonial dagger until my claws broke the skin of my palm. Blood seeped through the gaps between my fingers and dripped onto the stone floor.
