Nine months heavy with pup, I ran into my mate-holder, Alaric Blackthorn, and his claim-seeking she-wolf at the Moon-Healers' Hall.
The moment I picked up my report, I saw the two of them celebrating the upcoming arrival of their own pup.
Ravenna pretended to be concerned. "Alaric, you really shouldn't be here with me. If Selene finds out, she'll be upset. She's carrying too. Aren't you worried she'd be upset?"
Alaric let out a cold chuckle. "If she causes a scene, I'll just sever the bond."
Since Alaric didn't want us anymore, I'd rather raise the pup without a father than stay in this farce of a mating.
I called my dad, who was living across territories in Valmoria.
"Dad, I've made up my mind. I'm rejecting the bond. I'm taking the pup and coming to live with you."
After I hung up, I booked the earliest flight available. Two weeks. That's all I needed. Two weeks and I'd be out of Alaric's life for good.
But then why... did that man show up at my mating ceremony with red eyes, begging me to take him back?
Nine months heavy with pup and the moment I received my prenatal report, I saw my mate-holder attending a healer's appointment with his first love, Ravenna Veilcroft.
"Alaric, you coming with me to this appointment… if Selene finds out, she'll be really upset. She's due soon, too. Aren't you worried?" Ravenna said with a voice full of pretend concern, but I caught the smugness in her eyes. Her scent, night jasmine laced with copper, curled through the corridor like something territorial.
Alaric kissed her belly gently and replied with chilling indifference, "She doesn't know about this and I'm not planning on telling her. Maybe it's the hormones, but her mood's been all over the place lately. I don't want her making things difficult for you."
"But we can't keep sneaking around like this. Selene's heavily pregnant, too. If she finds out, I'm afraid she—"
"There's nothing to be afraid of. It's my duty to be here with you for this appointment. After all, the pup is mine, too. If Selene wants to cause trouble, I'll just reject the bond."
The coldness in Alaric's voice when he spoke about me made my blood run cold. My wolf, who had been restless for weeks, went perfectly still inside me, as though something had finally broken past repair.
If Alaric had already decided to toss us aside, then I would beat him to it. I would leave him and raise this pup on my own.
I let out a bitter smile as my heart finally gave up. I pulled out my communicator and called my father in Valmoria.
"Dad, I've made up my mind. I'm rejecting the bond. I'll bring the pup and come live with you."
"I'm glad you finally came to your senses," came his voice through the line. "The Blackthorns might come from an elite bloodline, but ours isn't lacking either. If staying there only brings you pain, then yes, leave him and raise the pup on your own."
"You're right, Dad."
After hanging up, I immediately booked the next flight out.
I thought back to this morning, when I asked Alaric to come to my healer's appointment with me. He said he had pack business. Turns out he was just accompanying Ravenna to hers.
Nine months of carrying his pup and not once had Alaric ever come with me to the Moon-Healers' Hall.
Ravenna had her declared courtship called off three moon cycles ago and ever since she came back to our territory, Alaric had been meeting her over and over again. From the moment she returned, Alaric and I had barely shared any time alone.
Whenever Ravenna called, even if it was just a message through the communicator, Alaric would drop everything and rush to her.
He even held her affectionately right in front of me. His scent, cedar and cold iron and storm ozone, would come home carrying traces of her night jasmine, and my wolf would flinch every time.
It wasn't like I hadn't confronted him about it. But every time I did, he brushed me off with the same excuse, that Ravenna was going through a hard time and needed support.
According to him, everything he did was to help Ravenna back on her feet. She was carrying, he said, and he had a moral obligation to be there for her.
But Alaric seemed to forget one crucial fact: Ravenna wasn't the only pregnant she-wolf in his life. I was, too. And I was even further along than she was. If anything, I was the one who needed care the most.
For the longest time, I thought the pup Ravenna was carrying was Alaric's.
I tried to ask indirectly. I even told him that if he no longer wanted me as his mate, he needed to tell me outright.
But every single time, he'd shut me down, impatient, dismissive, evasive. And the one time I dared question whose pup Ravenna was really carrying, he got furious.
He kept reassuring me, over and over again, until I finally chose to trust him.
I told myself he was just being kind. That he hadn't fallen out of love with me.
But now, it was all so clear. Ravenna's pup had always been his.
They'd been sneaking around behind my back for Moon Goddess knows how long and I was nothing more than their cover story.
When Alaric mentioned rejecting our bond, I caught the way Ravenna's eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of satisfaction slipping through her carefully composed expression.
"I never meant to take you from Selene," she said, her voice trembling ever so slightly. "It's just... if my intended mate hadn't broken things off, none of this would've happened. I needed to protect my dignity. And thank the Moon Goddess you were there, Alaric. I honestly don't know what I would've done, where I would've gone, after coming back to this territory without you."
Her eyes filled with tears. And Alaric, full of tenderness and concern, gently wrapped her in his arms.
"I told you, I'll take care of you, Ravenna. If it weren't for you back then, I would've…" He trailed off.
"Anyway, it's only right that I look after you," he continued. "Selene is my bonded mate, so she should understand why I'm doing this. And so what if she finds out? I'll still be here for you, no matter what."
Alaric patted Ravenna gently, comforting her.
As the moon-healer came out of the examination chamber, she glanced at them and said with envy, "You're one lucky she-wolf, Luna Blackthorn. Your mate never misses a single check-up and he treats you with such care and affection."
Ravenna blushed, smiling bashfully and Alaric nodded like it was only natural.
I stared at the sickening scene in front of me, nails digging into my palms. Somewhere deep in my chest, my wolf let out a sound I had never heard from her before, low and wounded and quiet, like something curling in on itself to die.
Two more weeks and I would be gone from Alaric's life forever.
