Lavinia’s POV
After the Moon Court issued our mating bond decree, I went to the Silverforge Hall to retrieve our ceremonial rings. Only then did I discover the set contained two.
One bore my name, engraved with lunar runes. The other belonged to Syrelle Feralwood—Alpha Ryke Silverfang’s childhood mate, the she-wolf he had once sworn his first moon to.
I carried the rings back to the pack manor, ready to confront him. Instead, I walked in on Ryke escorting a pregnant Syrelle across the threshold.
The moment I stepped inside, the two of them acted as if they ruled this territory. Ryke spoke with the ease of an Alpha issuing commands.
“Syrelle needs protection now,” he said flatly. “Prepare her meals every day—moon-balanced food only. She’s delicate, so she’ll take the Alpha chamber. Pack your things and move out.”
I didn’t respond. I didn’t even want to ask about the rings anymore. I turned and headed toward my room.
Before I could take three steps, my communicator rang.
My mother’s voice shook like leaves before a storm. “Your father… he was attacked. His legs are shattered. Come to the infirmary—now.”
I rushed out of the manor. When I arrived at the Moon Healer’s Hall, I learned the truth.
Ryke had done it.
All because my father had accidentally looked at Syrelle while passing through neutral territory. Ryke lost control of his wolf and struck him down, accusing him of filthy intent, crushing his bones beneath Alpha force.
I called him, rage burning through my veins. His voice, however, was calm—almost bored.
“Your father frightened Syrelle,” he said. “His gaze was impure. What if it startled the pup? How can you be so cold-hearted? She carries my heir, and you still defend him?”
I bit down hard, swallowing every word. When the call ended, I dialed another number.
“The mating bond is void,” I said quietly. “Withdraw the pack shares. In seven days, I want them stripped of everything.”
***
When I returned to the manor, I hadn’t even removed my boots before Ryke’s voice fell from behind me.
“Lavinia, leave your moonstone bracelet. Syrelle’s been plagued by nightmares. She needs its blessing more than you.”
My body stiffened.
That bracelet was the last thing my younger sister left me before she died—her wolf core shattered under a blood moon.
I turned slowly. My fingers were numb. Ryke saw the crimson in my eyes and showed no hesitation, no remorse.
“Name your compensation,” he said coolly.
Nine years.
Nine years of bowing my head in a bond without warmth, loving him down to the bone.
And to him, all of it could be reduced to a price.
I didn’t even want to know what value he placed on my heart.
When I met his gaze, there was only disdain looking back at me. Memories surged without mercy.
There was a time when I had been cherished. A time when the man I loved still lived beneath the same moon.
My body had always been frail. Whenever moonfire food upset my stomach, the pain would leave me curled and shaking. He would cook herbal porridge infused with lunar warmth, testing every spoonful before feeding me himself.
When I grew petulant, he would pull me into his arms, his warmth steady against my back, whispering that the ache would fade.
When sorrow weighed me down, he would sit beside me from dusk to dawn, waiting patiently for a single smile.
Now, I lowered my head and slowly pushed the bracelet down my wrist.
Its jagged edge cut into my skin. Pain flared sharply. When I lifted my hand, blood welled in a thin line.
Tears fell before I could stop them, darkening the stone floor.
Was the pain truly only flesh-deep?
I exhaled slowly and placed the bracelet onto Syrelle’s wrist. I even managed a calm, composed smile.
“May the pup you carry be born safely under a kind moon.”
Ryke looked at me with what he clearly thought was approval.
“As long as you’re obedient,” he said, “my heir will be yours as well.”
Ridiculous.
Before his words fully settled, the bracelet slipped from Syrelle’s wrist and shattered against the floor.
Moonstones cracked apart, fragments scattering like frostbitten glass. One shard grazed her leg, drawing a thin streak of blood.
Ryke moved instantly, panic erupting. He swept her into his arms as if she were made of spun crystal.
“Why are you standing there?” he roared at the steward. “Summon the Moon Healer—now!”
Every gaze in the hall turned toward me, sharp with mockery, as though I were the culprit.
Honestly, I nearly laughed.
Syrelle’s voice trembled softly, fragile as mist. “It’s my fault… the bracelet Lavinia gave me slipped. I’m so careless.”
Ryke clasped her hand, his tone gentler than moonlight. “Don’t blame yourself. That thing carried bad omen anyway. It’s better that it broke.”
I went still.
The only thing my sister had left me—dismissed as cursed.
My grip tightened around the handle of my travel case, fingers icy. I couldn’t bear to look at them any longer. Another second, and I would vomit.
I turned to leave.
Then my communicator vibrated again.
“Lavinia,” my mother sobbed, “come back to the infirmary. Your father… he’s been crippled…”
The hall fell silent.
Ryke and Syrelle heard everything. Neither of them spoke. Not a trace of guilt crossed their faces.
I didn’t look back.
I ran straight out into the night, beneath a moon that no longer felt like mine.
