I was not leaving the Mooncrown without a farewell, just not the kind they expected.
Before taking the skybound griffin that would carry me away, I had one final place to visit. One last knot to sever, clean and without mercy. Ending a bond did not always come with kindness. Sometimes it came like a blade, cold, sharp and silent. That was the severing bond I chose.
Selene.
She was still staying inside the Healer Sanctum of the Mooncrown, said to be “recovering.” I doubted most of it. With her, pain was often exaggerated, shaped to draw pity. She had always known how to twist truth until it cried.
I walked through the stone passageway of the sanctum, the sound of my boots echoing with each step. It felt like a countdown. Every pace brought me closer to freedom. My hand tightened around what I carried, a bundle wrapped in dark cloth, the flowers inside as black as night.
Black roses.
They fit perfectly.
Flowers of parting. Of endings. Not death of flesh, but death of bonds, lies and the past I once believed in.
When I reached her chamber, the door was slightly open.
I looked inside and everything became clear.
Selene was not resting in bed as the Alpha and Beta claimed. She was not bound by healing charms or lying weak. She stood before a mirror, humming softly, swaying as if listening to her own tune. Her healer’s robe slipped from one shoulder. Bare feet touched the floor lightly.
She was dancing.
I allowed myself a small smile before knocking once and pushing the door open.
She turned, startled, her face twisting when she saw me.
“What are you here?” she demanded, her voice cold and uneasy.
I stepped inside calmly. “I came to leave something behind.”
I held out the black roses. Under the lantern glow, they looked almost unreal.
“I heard you were in pain. Yet you seem quite well.”
Her eyes dropped to the flowers, narrowing. “Black roses? Are you mocking me?”
“I thought they suited the moment,” I replied lightly. “And your act.”
She scoffed. “You’ve lost your mind.”
“No,” I said, moving closer. “I finally opened my eyes. I used to think I was the one seeking attention. But it was never me. It was always you.”
She crossed her arms, the robe slipping lower. “So what? They chose me. You can’t accept that.”
There it was. Her truth. Simple and cruel.
“You envy me,” she said.
“Once, perhaps,” I answered without flinching. “Not now. I didn’t come to argue. I came to say farewell.”
Her brow twitched. “Farewell?”
“You can keep them,” I said plainly. “Alden. Draven. All of it. I’ve already moved forward. I have another bond waiting.”
She burst into laughter, sharp and mocking, the kind that once tore at my confidence.
“Don’t tell me you’re truly entering a Moonbond Ceremony,” she sneered. “You?”
Her words dripped poison. “Who would claim you as a mate? You are cold. Hard. Demanding. You are not Luna material. You are wearing around the neck.”
I smiled. Small. Controlled. Burning.
“Maybe,” I said. “But I remain a she-wolf with an Alpha blood of Obsidian Fang Pack. I still carry a bloodline. A name. A pack that wanted me, not one that took me out of pity.”
Her color drained.
“And let this be clear,” I continued, stepping close enough for her to smell my scent, “everything you have, the sanctum, their care, your place, exists because I brought you in. I shielded you. Fed you. Gave you a den. And you repaid me by trying to replace me as Luna.”
She opened her mouth, but I was finished listening.
I dropped the roses onto her lap.
“Recover well,” I said calmly and turned away.
Right on cue, the sobbing began. Loud. Broken. Crafted for sympathy. She had always been skilled at that, using tears like armor.
I did not look back.
I left her chamber and walked into the passageway, ready to leave all of it behind. Ready to breathe air free of betrayal.
But fate was predictable.
Heavy footsteps rushed toward me. Draven. Alden.
“Liora!” Draven growled, gripping my arm. “What did you say to her?”
“Why is she sobbing like that?” Alden demanded, breath tight, eyes darting to the room, then to the flowers. “Black roses? Are you provoking us?”
I looked at them. Their faces, angry, defensive, blind. Always ready to guard her. Always ready to turn me into the enemy.
Again.
I slowly removed Draven’s hand from my arm.
“No,” I said quietly.
Then I smiled.
Not the smile they knew.
The smile of a Luna who had already walked away.
“I wish death upon you all.”
