Aurora POV
“Prepare the ritual to dissolve the bond,” I said, my voice steady. “I’m ending my connection with Alpha Alaric Hawke. This marriage is over, today.”
He froze in place, as if the weight of my declaration had pinned him to the ground. No Luna in Moonlight Pack history had ever demanded such a thing. Until now.
“Luna… are you sure about this?” his voice trembled, edged with fear. “You know the sacredness of the bond… the repercussions. If you go through with it—”
“I’ve made my choice, Elder Albert,” I interrupted, the words cutting through the air even as my chest ached with memories.
I remembered too vividly the night he left me in that frozen forest, poisoned. Poisoned by the man I loved.
He had promised he’d return. Sworn it on our fifth anniversary. We were meant to celebrate half a decade together. Instead… he handed me berries, fully aware of my allergy.
Did he just want me gone? Was Mirelle really worth more to him than my life?
He never came back. And I waited. I hoped. God, how I hoped.
But he never returned.
Tears stung my eyes as I swallowed hard, clenching my fists until my knuckles turned white.
“Perhaps you should speak to Alpha first—”
“No,” I snapped, sharper than I intended. “Just do it. This is exactly what he wanted. Have you forgotten he abandoned me right after the mating ceremony? Didn’t glance back once. He told me himself—Mirelle was the only one he’d ever love.”
Her name burned on my tongue: Mirelle. That perfect, golden-eyed impostor adored by everyone—even my parents. The Blackwood Pack had always favored her over me, the true daughter.
Elder Albert’s expression softened, tinged with pity. But he didn’t protest. Without another word, he began the preparations.
My phone buzzed. And, unsurprisingly, it was Alaric.
I answered.
“Where are you?” he barked, tone sharp and commanding, as though I were just another subordinate rather than his wife for the past five years.
“I’m on my way to the pack house,” I said, drained but resolute.
“I see… so Mirelle was right,” he muttered, voice low and venomous.
“She always is, isn’t she?” I replied evenly, letting no trace of emotion slip.
“Are you messing with me, Aurora? I thought—”
“Do you regret I didn’t die out there?” I cut in, voice steady but trembling just enough. “Is that it? Disappointed I survived?”
“What nonsense are you spouting?” he growled. “You’re the one twisting everything! Pretending to be on the edge of death… to guilt me? To earn pity? Aurora, I will never pity a liar!”
His words stung like fire, but I refused to let him witness the tremor of pain inside me.
“Don’t worry,” I murmured, soft but final. “I’m done.”
I ended the call.
The phone rang again, but I ignored it, walking straight toward the pack house.
Outside, everyone assumed Alpha Alaric and Mirelle were meant to be together—the perfect pair, destined. They believed Mirelle was the legitimate daughter of the Blackwoods, the rightful heiress.
No one cared about me—the real daughter, switched at birth because of Uncle Malrick’s resentment toward my father. Branded a rogue for trying to protect his honor, my father’s enemy raised me for a time, then returned me to my true family. But they only saw Mirelle.
Alaric and I had been close once, back when I returned. Our families’ packs were long-time allies, and he had been kind. But something changed. Suddenly. No reason. No explanation.
Perhaps he resented me because I married him instead of Mirelle—the girl who ran away two days before the wedding. I had been the stand-in, the replacement. Maybe that’s when his disdain began.
And me? I had been a fool, blinded by love, chasing a man who despised every part of me.
When he approached, my chest tightened. But I didn’t waver.
I handed him the papers.
“Sign this,” I said, voice firm.
