The Price of a Silver Deception

To save my Alpha mate, Ronan Valerius, I took a silver-laced arrow for him, and my world faded to black as my senses failed.

To reassure me, he swore an oath before the entire pack to protect me for eternity.

His words moved me to my very soul.

When I discovered that the light of the Blood Moon could purify the silver poison in my body, I chose to keep it from him.

I wanted to give him a surprise.

Yet, on the very day my sight returned and my senses sharpened to a razor's edge, I heard Ronan in our bed, tangled in passion with his childhood sweetheart, Blair Davenport.

Taking longer than usual, aren't you? Is it because your little Omega is right outside?

What do you think? Her brokenness just excites my wolf.

I heard their private mind-link, every single word.

The blood froze in my veins.

Swallowing the soul-shredding nausea, I sent a clandestine message to the Moonwillow pack, who had been extending an invitation for some time.

I agreed to join them.

I would perform the rejection ceremony. And I would make him regret his betrayal for the rest of his life.

...

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1

By the time I sent the message, Ronan and Blair had vanished from the living room.

I thought they might show some restraint, but a moment later, muffled gasps echoed from the bedroom, followed by Ronan’s voice calling my name.

"Veronica, I left a box in the living room. Could you bring it in for me?"

His tone was as gentle as ever, but my newly restored senses picked up the distinct scent of rare aphrodisiac herbs sealed inside the box.

"Veronica?"

"Coming."

Swallowing the turmoil churning inside me, I picked up the box and pushed open the bedroom door.

Clothes were strewn across the floor, and the scent of another woman—her scent—hung heavy in the air.

And on our bed, Blair was entangled with Ronan, wearing my lingerie.

You have some nerve, making her deliver your toys. Aren't you afraid I'll scream just to watch her face crumble?

Blair's mind-link was dripping with mockery.

Ronan’s movements faltered.

Don't let her catch your scent.

So what if she does?

I'll throw you out.

Ronan gripped her chin, his Alpha dominance flaring.

Everyone in the Nightfall Dominion pack knew Ronan loved me.

He was an Alpha of noble blood, yet for two years, he had willingly confined himself to this small cottage to care for me after I lost my senses.

An Elder had once advised him to stop letting me drag him down.

But Ronan had declared, "Veronica is a gift from the Moon Goddess. If I hear those words again, you are exiled from my territory."

But seeing him now, marked by another woman's claws and scent, a wave of nausea crashed over me. I dropped the box and fled.

"Veronica, what's wrong?"

Outside the bedroom door, I leaned against the wall, dry heaving, as Ronan gently patted my back. I met his anxious gaze and summoned all my strength to say, "It's nothing. Probably just the aftereffects of the silver poison."

Ronan helped me to the sofa and brought me some water before leaving under the pretext of handling pack business.

I sat silently in the living room. If he would just confess, I thought, my heart aching, I could still forgive him.

But a minute, five minutes, ten minutes crawled by.

Ronan didn't come back. Instead, he slipped back into the bedroom.

I had my answer.

When I received no reply to my message, I contacted the Moonwillow pack directly. "Your offer for me to join your pack—is it still open?"

After a moment of silence, a delighted voice replied. "Veronica, are you coming? That's wonderful! But be warned, the ritual to join us requires absolute focus. It will sever all ties to your past."

"I'm ready. Three days from now. At moonrise."

"Excellent! We'll be waiting. The Moon Goddess will witness your rebirth!"

After severing the link, I glanced around the small cottage I had shared with Ronan for two years. It felt utterly alien.