A moon cycle later,sunlight streamed through the gauze curtains of the Pack’s private Healer’s Den,casting a deceptive warmth on the sterile cot.
Elara put down her comm-link.The screen still displayed Lyra’s latest video log,widely shared across the allied Clan channels.In the visual,Ryder was kneeling,his powerful frame contorted as he meticulously adjusted Lyra’s laced combat boots,his focus entirely on her.They shared a laugh—a sound of genuine,unbound joy.
Expressionless,Elara locked the screen.She felt no shock,only the dull,steady ache of acceptance.
Suddenly,the door swung open with a heavy thud.
“Elara!”Ryder,the Alpha King,rushed in,his face etched with a fleeting,unfamiliar panic.“How are you—”
As he got closer,he noticed the alarming pallor of her skin.Her lips were almost devoid of natural color—the color of a wolf who had lost too much blood.
His brows furrowed,the instinct of the Alpha Mate finally kicking in,albeit belatedly.“Is it the irregularity in your heat cycle again?Why did you keep this from me?”
Elara had long grown accustomed to managing her own human ailments.Since she had fiercely instructed the servant to never mention the lost pup,Ryder simply assumed she was recovering from a usual,minor health crisis.He took the convenient excuse for granted.
Elara looked at him quietly.
In the past,whenever she felt weak,she would use the opportunity to demand his presence—to ask him to share her cot.
But this cycle,she hadn’t even tried to call.
Seventeen unanswered calls.To the bond,it was no different from calling zero times.Why should she continue to set herself up for the bitter taste of his dereliction?
“I assumed the Pack’s affairs held the Alpha King too busy,”Elara said softly.“Besides,I did not wish to disrupt your patrol.”
Ryder’s chest tightened,a momentary flicker of guilt hitting his Alpha core.
He stepped forward,the heavy scent of his authority and his territory closing around her,and pulled her into his arms.“I am your Claimed Mate,Elara.You have the right to summon me,always.”
Elara did not push him away,but neither did she return the embrace.She leaned against his shoulder,her body a dead weight,and suddenly asked,“Is the bond of duty the same with Lyra?”
The moment the words left her lips,she regretted them.It made her sound like a jealous she-wolf fighting for a better scent mark.Ryder stiffened slightly against her,then offered a practiced,reassuring smile and stroked her hair.“Of course,it is the same.She is family;the connection is primal.”
Just then,Elara’s comm-link chimed.
It was Elder Weston.She answered the call briefly in front of Ryder,keeping her words short and transactional before hanging up.Ryder frowned,his expression hardening.
“Come to think of it,I encountered Beta Felicia’s Mate a few cycles ago.They did not seem to be progressing toward a severance.”
“It was Felicia’s solitary decision to initiate the decree,”Elara said calmly,sealing her inner emotions.“Her Mate has not yet been served the official documents.”
Ryder looked genuinely confused.“But is a severance not a decree that requires both wolves to consent to the fracture of the bond?”
Elara met his gaze with a deliberate,meaningful intensity.“Felicia sensed that her Mate was secretly scenting his first love—a wolf from his youth.She could not endure the lie,so she chose to file for severance without telling him.If she had raised the matter,he would likely have used his authority to deny the claim.”
Ryder’s powerful face darkened.“Then she must sever the bond!A wolf who violates the sanctity of the claim is worse than a rogue!”
Elara lowered her eyes.Ryder clearly knew the Beta’s Mate well.Given his Alpha insight,he surely knew whether the man carried the lingering scent of an old love.Yet,without hesitation,he immediately condemned the man.
Ryder was not as calm as he pretended to be.
“How much longer is Lyra’s severance cooling-off period,Alpha?”Elara asked suddenly,throwing the focus back on him.
“Fifteen more days,”Ryder answered without thought.It was clear he had been counting down every single cycle.
Elara looked outside at the sharp sunlight cutting through the trees and whispered,“Then it will be nearly simultaneous.”
“What will be?”Ryder was puzzled,failing to follow the subtle shift in her meaning.
“Nothing,”Elara replied.
She smiled faintly—a ghost of her former self—and said no more.
Just then,Ryder’s personal comm-link vibrated.The same Alpha who had ignored Elara’s seventeen missed calls immediately answered,his voice dropping to a velvet whisper of deep concern.
“Hello,Lyra?”
On the other end,Lyra’s voice was strained and wet with tears.“Ryder…I feel so exposed being alone in this territory den…”
“Do not be afraid,my dear.I will be back to reinforce your scent barriers soon,”Ryder reassured her,oblivious to the fact that his eyes had flickered towards Elara,gauging her reaction.
Elara watched quietly.She no longer felt the sharp sting of disappointment,only a cold,clinical understanding.So,this was the truth of the Alpha King’s priorities.
When Lyra was with him,Ryder ignored his comm-link because he knew Elara’s presence wasn't important enough to disrupt their private alliance.But when Lyra was absent,he was terrified of missing a single word from her.After hanging up,Ryder hesitated.
It might have been guilt.Or,it might have been the chilling echo of Elara’s phrase:‘A man who violates the sanctity of the claim is worse than a rogue’.For once,he didn’t rush to leave.
“Return to your Alpha duties,”Elara said first,dismissing him.“Do not let the Pack’s logs pile up.”
Ryder looked relieved,the pressure lifting from his shoulders.“When will you be cleared by the Healers?Send me a chime,and I will personally collect you.”
With that,he left the private Den without even a backward glance.
A moon cycle later,Elara packed her sparse suitcase,preparing to leave the Healer’s den for good.She called Ryder three times.No answer.
At the same time,Lyra’s latest video log was trending across the Clan networks,boasting over 100,000 positive scent markings(likes).
In the video,Lyra proudly displayed the‘Alpha’s efforts’:limited-edition human trophies(handbags),enormous financial transfers(money),pictures of her global scent-marking travels,and close-ups of Ryder performing mundane human tasks—cooking,washing dishes,and massaging her feet.
The comments section was full of admiration.
[What an absolutely perfect,devoted Alpha!]
[What a powerful and caring Mate!I’m so jealous of her claimed bond!]
Lyra made no effort to clarify her true relationship with the Alpha King,allowing the wider wolf community to believe whatever they wished.
Finally,Ryder called back.
His voice was casual,dismissive,the sound of an Alpha interrupted.“I was occupied by a border patrol and missed the calls.What is the urgent matter,Mate?”
Sure enough,Ryder had completely forgotten his promise to collect her.In the background,Lyra’s melodic laughter was clear as day.Yet,Ryder still lied calmly.“I am finalizing a business contract.If the matter is not critical,perhaps we can discuss it once I return to the Keep?”
Elara’s voice was gentle as she delivered the final blow.“It is of no consequence,Ryder.I merely needed to confirm your current Pack location.”
After hanging up,she opened the calendar on her comm-link.
Lyra’s official severance cooling-off period had one cycle left.Elara’s own Separation Decree would take effect in fifteen cycles.Soon.There was no need for Elara to feel the pain of his betrayal anymore.
