Avelyn’s POV
When I opened my eyes, I thought I had crossed into the Moon’s afterrealm. Everything around me was glowing white — soft, weightless, otherworldly.
Then I saw Zayne sitting beside the healer’s cot. His head was bowed, his hands tangled in his hair. His aura — once bright and commanding — now flickered weakly, like a dying ember.
“You’re awake,” he said quietly, his voice rough with fatigue. “You were unconscious for two nights. The healers said your wolf almost slipped into stasis.”
I stared at him in silence.
He exhaled shakily and turned away. “I didn’t mean for it to go that far. I panicked. Vionne needed a blood offering to stabilize her wolf essence, and I... I wasn’t thinking. I didn’t mean for you to suffer.”
His words were hollow — drifting like smoke in a cold wind.
“I realize I’ve neglected you lately,” he continued. “I forgot our Binding Moon anniversary, and I’ve been... distant. I want to make it up to you.”
He reached for a parcel beside him and placed it on the bed. “There’s a gown inside. When you’re discharged, my driver will take you to the Silverfang Hall. I’ve reserved the Alpha’s table.”
I looked at the parcel without expression.
He forced a small smile. “Try to look radiant again, Avelyn.” Then he leaned in, brushed his lips against my forehead, and walked out.
The door shut behind him with a dull thud. The chamber felt colder. I slowly sat up, the ache in my body pulsing through every nerve. My wolf whimpered faintly inside me.
When I reached for my moonstone communicator, there was a message from my father:
“Your flight rune activates at the ninth bell. My sentinels will come for you. We’re tracking your scent signature. Come home, Avelyn.”
Two hours after dinner with Zayne. I almost laughed — but the sound came out broken.
The healer returned shortly after. “You’re being discharged, Luna Valloren,” he said softly, avoiding my eyes. “Alpha Zayne has already cleared the moon dues.”
“Of course he has,” I murmured bitterly.
He handed me the release scroll and left. Two handmaidens followed, carrying a crimson gown woven with lunar silk and a bouquet of white moonlilies — my favorite flowers.
“Alpha said these are your favorites,” one of them whispered nervously.
I looked at the bouquet. The petals shimmered faintly under the healer’s lantern — a cruel reminder of what love once felt like.
I dressed quietly. The gown fit perfectly, molded to every curve, as if Zayne still remembered the shape of my body — but not the weight of my heart.
When the driver came, I followed wordlessly. The carriage glided through Lunaris City, its crystal towers catching the dying light of dusk.
At the Silverfang Hall, the attendant led me to a secluded table overlooking the river of stars.
When I reached it, Zayne stood to greet me — and beside him sat… Vionne.
She looked luminous, her aura calm and smug. Her hands rested gently on her rounded belly, her wolf essence glowing softly beneath her skin.
Zayne’s smile faltered when he saw my face, but he masked it quickly.
“Avelyn, I’m sorry,” he began. “Vionne didn’t want to dine alone. Her pup stirs when she’s anxious, and I... couldn’t refuse her.”
“Of course,” I said flatly. “You never could.”
He cleared his throat and tried to soften his tone. “Let’s not argue tonight.”
From a small velvet box, he lifted two necklaces — crystal pendants shaped like crescent moons. He handed me one.
Inside shimmered an ethereal glow — the image of our lost son, sealed within a drop of moonlight.
“I had it crafted for you,” he said quietly. “So you’ll always have him close.”
For a fleeting moment, my heart ached. Then he turned and lifted the other pendant — brighter, rimmed with diamonds — and clasped it around Vionne’s neck.
Vionne smiled sweetly. “It’s beautiful, Zayne. You always know what suits me best.”
My fingers tightened around my pendant before I set it on the table. “I don’t need reminders of something I’ll never have again.”
“Avelyn—”
“I said I don’t need it.”
He fell silent. The rest of the meal passed in dull conversation — Zayne asking meaningless questions, Vionne filling the air with tales of their shared youth: running through moonlit meadows, playing the pack’s hymn together, sneaking into the training grounds.
Each word was meant to cut — and it did.
Then, before I could even stand, a sharp tang filled the air.
The ground trembled. A deafening roar split the night — BOOM!
The Silverfang Hall exploded.
The walls shattered in bursts of light, shards of enchanted crystal raining down. A wave of heat threw me backward, my body crashing into a marble pillar.
“AVELYN!” Zayne’s voice cut through the chaos.
“Zayne!” I gasped, coughing through the smoke. “Help me!”
Vionne clutched at him, fake tears glistening. “Zayne! The pup — I can’t move! Please!”
But she wasn’t hurt. Not a single scratch marked her skin.
Zayne hesitated — his eyes flickering between me and her. For one brief heartbeat, hope sparked in me. Then his face hardened.
“Hold on, Avelyn! I’ll come back for you!”
He turned — and carried Vionne away.
Through the smoke, I saw her look back, a small smile curving her lips before the flames swallowed her.
The heat seared my lungs. I tried to crawl, but rubble pinned my legs. My wolf whimpered weakly, her strength fading.
So this is how it ends, I thought faintly. Even at the end, he still chose her.
My head slumped forward as darkness spread.
Then — faintly — voices broke through the roaring flames.
“Lady Avelyn! Hold on! Your father sent us from the Wynclaw Pack!”
Four silhouettes pushed through the smoke — wolves cloaked in silver sigils.
“Please hang on, my lady!” one shouted.
And then everything went black.
