The Alpha’s Forged Farewell,An Omega’s Bond Rejection

Everyone in the Northern Territories knew the Nightclaw Pack had one criterion for choosing a mate for their Alpha Heir: fertility.

With my naturally rounded frame and the wide, pup-bearing hips that marked a strong Omega bloodline, the Pack Matriarch Selene Nightclaw spotted me like a rare moonstone and paid a fortune in territory rights and trade agreements to bring me into the pack.

Outsiders mocked me for mating up on my curves alone. What they didn't know was that Kael Nightclaw held me close every night, his breath hot against my neck as he whispered that he adored every inch of my body, that my scent drove his wolf to madness.

Until the Winter Solstice of our fifth year of bonding, when his Omega Assistant accidentally sent me a ceremonial summons.

Alpha Groom: Kael Nightclaw. Omega Bride: Raven Thornveil. Mating Ceremony date: the eighth night after the new moon.

Half an hour later, he knelt in the frost-covered courtyard of the Alpha Estate, hands trembling as he pushed a healer's parchment toward me.

"Lyra Riverglen, I have been marked with wolfsbane poisoning... my wolf is dying. I cannot drag you and our pup down with me."

I suddenly remembered how he had stood in the hearth-kitchen that morning, coughing while preparing my bone broth, his usually powerful scent weakened and strange.

Then I looked at the healer's verdict in front of me.

Forged.

After a long silence, I picked up the Bond Rejection decree and signed it without hesitation.

I held my pup in my arms and smiled.

"From now on, my pup takes my birth-pack name—Riverglen. He will not be entered into the Nightclaw Bloodline Ledger. He will have nothing to do with your pack ever again."

——

The moment the words left my mouth, everyone around the great stone table froze in shock.

Selene Nightclaw slammed her elder's staff against the floor, her voice heavy with the authority of generations.

"Kael, the Nightclaw bloodline is thin enough as it is. We finally have a pup of pure Alpha descent. I will not let the pack line end with you."

I pulled my pup tighter against my chest and said nothing.

She was warning me.

Kael dropped to his knees with a heavy thud, pushing the healer's parchment forward.

"Pack Mother, this curse came without warning. I had no choice."

"The wolfsbane has already reached my heart. The healers say my wolf will fade before the spring thaw. I cannot burden Lyra—the only thing I can give her now is her freedom."

He pressed his forehead hard against the cold stone floor, leaving a red mark on his skin.

His words sent the den hall into an uproar.

The pack elders and relatives around the table immediately shifted their concern to Kael's health, their wolves whining in distress.

Selene rose to her feet, swaying slightly, and gestured for a servant to bring her the healer's parchment.

She took it and examined each marking and seal. With each line, her face grew paler.

"Is this verdict true?"

Kael nodded.

"It was discovered during my full moon examination a few nights ago. The poison has spread too far. The healers say I do not have long."

Then he turned to look at me.

"Lyra, I am sorry. I cannot keep my vow to run beside you until our fur turns silver."

The grief in his amber eyes looked almost real.

I let out a bitter laugh.

"Kael, you know the truth better than anyone. I have said what I will say—I will agree to the Bond Rejection, but I am taking my pup."

I turned to face Selene at the head of the stone table.

"That is my only condition."

Kael's brow furrowed. His lips parted as if to speak.

"Rowan Riverglen is not just your pup. He carries Nightclaw blood. I cannot agree to that."

Selene's expression hardened the moment she heard I wanted to take Rowan. Displeasure etched itself across her weathered face.

"Daughter of the bond, I do not want to hear such foolishness again."

My gaze turned cold.

"I have already spoken. That is my only condition."

Kael stared at me, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes.

He had not expected me to keep my composure, to not bare my teeth or let my wolf howl in rage.

He shuffled forward on his knees until he was beside me, close enough that I could smell the faint wrongness in his scent—the herbs he had used to fake the poisoning.

"Lyra, even if we break our bond, Rowan is still your pup. If he stays with the Nightclaw Pack, he will have access to the finest training grounds, the strongest hunting tutors."

"Should a mother not want what is best for her young?"

His argument was pathetic.

"Save your breath. Agree to my terms, and we go to the Ledger Keeper at dawn."

Kael straightened his back and lifted his head toward Selene.