My fated mate, Robin Blackwood, the Alpha of the Black Moon Pack, announced his intentions a month before our bonding ceremony.
He was to perform a blood-oath ritual with Stella Vance of the Laurel Pack to sire a child—an arrangement to repay a debt and secure an alliance.
I refused.
But he raised the subject daily, his Alpha authority a constant pressure meant to bend me to his will.
Two weeks before we were to be bonded, a list of ritual artifacts from an anonymous source appeared at my door.
I discovered the blood-oath ceremony for Stella had been secretly in the works for weeks.
My permission had never been a factor. It was then I realized just how fragile our sacred mate bond truly was.
I canceled our bonding ceremony and purged every token he had ever given me of my essence.
On the day of our originally scheduled ceremony, I left for advanced studies at the Rune Heart in Laran.
I joined an ancient healing sanctuary, severing all ties with him.
The bond witnessed by the Moon Goddess was shattered. There was nothing left between us.
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1
A month before our bonding ceremony, my mate-to-be, Robin Blackwood, declared he would perform a blood-oath ritual with his childhood friend, Stella Vance.
I refused to consent, but he brought it up every day, stubbornly trying to convince me, wielding his Alpha authority like a command I was bound to obey.
Two weeks before the ceremony, I received a scroll from an anonymous messenger. Inside was a list of ritual artifacts for a blood-oath ceremony, sent from the Laurel Pack.
The list clearly noted that initial preparations had been completed five weeks and three days ago.
Only then did the chilling truth settle in. Robin had never intended to seek my consent.
He had already made his decision. He was simply informing me, his mate-to-be in name only.
I sat by the window, staring out at the guards patrolling the pack territory as a chill that had nothing to do with the night air settled deep in my bones.
The next day, I canceled our reservation at the Altar of the Moon Goddess. I tore up our bonding invitations and threw everything he had ever given me into a purifying flame—including the bonding rings engraved with our names and his handwritten vows.
On the day of our would-be bonding ceremony, I was nowhere to be found. Instead, I boarded a griffin bound for Laran. I joined the Rune Heart sanctuary and began my new life as a Rune Healer.
And just like that, I cut off all contact with Robin.
"I've explained this to you countless times! Stella's pack is on the verge of collapse. Their bloodline curse is in its final stages. The healer said she has a year at most," Robin Blackwood said, his voice maddeningly calm.
"Her last wish is to have a powerful heir to carry on her family's line. I owe her my life. Besides, this isn't just about repaying a debt. It will secure the alliance between our packs."
Robin stood before me, defending his decision as he always did, but every word he uttered was a silver-dipped dagger twisting in my heart.
Five years ago, a bloody battle had erupted between the Black Moon Pack and a rival in Chargo Gorge. Robin claimed Stella Vance had taken a fatal silver arrow for him, making her his savior.
Still, I couldn't grasp it. If I was the sacrifice required to repay this debt, then what in the Goddess's name was our bond?
Robin pressed on. "It's just a blood-oath ceremony. There are no feelings involved. It's just for a child."
He paused, his expression unreadable. "You love me, don't you? If you love me, you should understand my position and give me your blessing."
I shot to my feet, my voice trembling with fury. "We are supposed to be bonded next month, Robin, and you're planning to father a child with another woman behind my back! What does that make me?"
Robin fell silent. As he lowered his gaze, I caught a flicker of hesitation in his eyes. Maybe it was guilt. Or maybe it was just the same authoritative weight he used to command his warriors.
A second later, his composure returned, his voice low but firm. "Elara, this is bigger than just Stella and me. This arrangement involves both our packs.
"After extensive negotiations, the Black Moon and Laurel packs have an agreement. As long as Stella and I have a child, the decade-long feud between our packs will end. I cannot overturn a decision made by the entire pack."
I stared at him, and for the first time, I didn't recognize the man before me.
Robin and I had grown up together. I had been there from our days scavenging on the streets of Silveridge to my role as his pack's healer. I thought our love was pure, separate from pack politics. I thought we belonged to each other.
The truth was, when it mattered, he had never chosen my side.
He had only ever seen me as a suitable mate—nothing more. I was well-mannered, understanding, powerful enough, and I never caused him trouble. I was fit to be the Luna of the Black Moon Pack.
But I wasn't the girl from his childhood.
She was. The girl who, at five years old, would sneak away with him to play by the Moonlit River.
The daughter of his pack's greatest rival.
The girl from an enemy pack he had kept tucked away in his heart, even as their people waged war.
Did he love me?
Maybe.
But when it came to a choice between me and his pack, his power, his loyalty—or Stella—I would always be the one on the sacrificial altar.
Robin was about to say more, but the chime of a communication crystal cut him off. He answered, and the totem of the Laurel Pack glowed in his palm. His voice instantly softened as he strode toward the balcony.
I couldn't hear the words from the other side, but I could see the gentle smile that spread across his face. A smile I hadn't seen directed at me in a long, long time.