Kael's gaze drifted to Rowan, who lay nestled against my chest, and something flickered in his eyes—a reluctance that cut through the cold air of the den.
"Grandmother, this bond must be severed."
"Please, just release her from it."
His words fell heavy, and he cast a shadowed look in my direction, his wolf barely contained beneath the surface.
Selene's composure shattered completely—the first time I had ever witnessed such a fracture in the Pack Matriarch's iron control.
"Have you lost all sense? The Nightclaw Pack commands territory, influence, alliances—no matter the cost, I will find a healer who can purge this wolfsbane from your blood!"
Kael remained on his knees before her, his spine straight despite the submissive posture, his gaze unwavering.
"Grandmother, the poison has taken root too deep. I am dying. I beg you—grant me this final mercy."
"Leave my sight! Get out! The Nightclaw bloodline has no place for a wolf who abandons his own!"
Without uttering another word, Kael rose and walked through the great archway into the frost-covered courtyard. There, beneath the pale winter moon, he knelt again on the frozen stone.
"Grandmother, whether you give your blessing or not, I will sever this mating bond!"
I watched his stubborn silhouette against the snow, and a hollow ache spread through my chest like a slow-bleeding wound.
I drew my pup closer to my warmth and walked past his kneeling form.
Kael's hand shot out, catching the edge of my cloak. He tilted his face upward, his dark eyes searching mine with an intensity that once would have made my wolf sing.
"Lyra, for the sake of everything we have shared through these seasons..."
I did not let him finish.
I turned my head and looked down at him, my voice steady despite the tremor in my heart.
"Kael, when you demanded this Bond Rejection—did you think about everything we shared?"
"When you cast Rowan aside without a second thought—did you think about it then?"
The questions struck him silent. His jaw tightened, and his hand fell away.
"Lyra..."
I shook free of his loosened grip and walked away without looking back.
That mating ceremony summons—his and Raven's—still lingered in my memory like a brand. The formal notice I had received, announcing their union to the pack.
Once, he had treated me with such reverence.
Even though we had never met before our own mating ceremony.
He had still shown me every respect a mate deserved.
A hand-inscribed invitation on ceremonial parchment. A gown he had commissioned from the finest weavers of the Northern territories.
Vows spoken beneath the full moon, witnessed by the pack elders.
"Lyra, now that our wolves are bound, I swear to honor you—to be the mate you deserve."
"I, Kael Nightclaw, desire nothing more than to run beside you until our final hunt."
So why had everything changed?
The snow fell through the long night hours. Kael was carried back inside by the pack guards, his face flushed red from the bitter cold, his wolf too weakened to regulate his body's warmth.
I was packing my belongings.
He lay half-reclined on the furs of our—his—sleeping chamber, watching me through lowered lashes. Even ill, his presence filled the room with the heavy scent of pine and something darker, something fading.
"Lyra, I am sorry. You are still young. Your wolf is strong. You have many seasons ahead of you."
"After the bond is severed, I will ask Grandmother to arrange a better match for you. With the Nightclaw Pack's endorsement, no wolf would dare treat you poorly."
"As for Rowan—Grandmother has agreed to release him from the bloodline ledger."
Every word dripped with apparent concern for my future. His eyes swam with what looked like genuine regret.
I let out a soft, bitter laugh.
"Kael, there is no need for this performance. We did not mate for love. Severing the bond now simply means everyone gets what they truly wanted."
I paused, then added with quiet finality: "And you need not arrange anything for me. I do not need the Nightclaw Pack's charity."
He blinked, clearly caught off guard by my composure.
Looking at that familiar face—the sharp lines of his jaw, the way his dark hair fell across his forehead—bitterness pooled in my chest like poison.
"Lyra..."
I looked away and did not answer.
I continued packing, focusing on the task with deliberate care.
Only five seasons of mating, yet somehow there was so much to sort through.
The entire den-chamber was filled with gifts Kael had given me.
Furs he had hunted himself. Jewelry crafted from moonstone and silver. Delicate carvings from every territory he had visited on pack business.
Each one a witness to whatever affection we had once shared.
But none of that mattered anymore.
I had arrived at the Nightclaw estate with little more than the clothes on my back and my birth-pack's blessing. I would leave the same way.
Selene swept into the chamber with the pack healer trailing behind her. The moment her sharp eyes landed on the traveling satchel at my feet, her expression turned to ice.
"Daughter of my son's bond, so eager to flee, are we?"
"I misjudged you. Wolves from common bloodlines like yours—you are only loyal during the peaceful hunts, never when the pack faces true hardship."
