Chapter 2

Before I could pull my hand away, his phone rang.

The screen read Serena ?❤️.

Kael opened the car door and stepped out to take the call—away from me.

He never used to do that. In the early days, he'd answer on speaker so I wouldn't worry. Afterward he'd mock Serena's theatrics through the bond, let his wolf rumble with amusement so I could feel it in my own chest. You're the only one, little wolf.

Now he leaned against the door, and something softened in his face that I hadn't seen directed at me in over a year. Through the bond—that silver thread I used to feel humming warm beneath my sternum—came a flicker of tenderness that wasn't mine.

His voice carried back, sharp with concern: "Your ankle's still swollen—don't come down here."

A beat later, a tall figure appeared at the mouth of the garage ramp.

Serena hobbled toward us with the careful theatrics of someone who wanted every eye on her suffering. Kael rushed to catch her before she could stumble.

Her eyes found me through the windshield. That slow, cruel smile.

She yanked open my door and hauled me out by my jacket. Her grip was stronger than any omega's should have been.

"Naia. Who said you could sit in his car?" Her lip curled. "Let me guess—begging him for money again. Have you got no shame at all?"

She reached into Kael's coat pocket like it was the most natural gesture in the world. Pulled out his phone—unlocked it with her thumbprint. He'd added her thumbprint.

The transfer history glowed on the screen.

She hurled the phone at the concrete.

"Kael. I trusted you." Her voice cracked—perfectly calibrated to trigger every protective instinct an Alpha possessed. "You told me she was done. But here you are, sending her pack funds behind my back. Forget the ankle. I hope my leg rots off—at least then I'll know where I stand."

She limped away with the dignity of a wounded saint.

And through the bond, I felt it: Kael's wolf lurching after her. Not out of strategy. Longing.

He remembered I existed. Grabbed my wrist, gave it a brief squeeze.

"Naia. Two more days. Just hold on."

Before I could shake him off, he was jogging after her—his wolf practically dragging him forward.

I stood alone in the garage, wiping my hand against my coat where he'd touched me.

Two more days, Kael. That's exactly how long you have left too.

I sold the bonding cuff to the buyer, used the cash for Rowan's cremation rites, and carried her urn home in the dark.

Kael wasn't there. He sent a single message through the pack link—Serena's ankle was bothering her, so he was staying at the healing ward overnight.

I didn't flood the bond with hurt. I simply submitted my formal pack withdrawal.

The approval never came.

I started packing. Seven years of my life fit into a single suitcase.

The next morning, Maren appeared at my door with two enforcers behind her.

"The Alpha requests your presence."

The destination was the ceremonial chamber in the old wing of the packhouse—vaulted stone, white sage, racks of gowns blessed under seven moons.

Kael held up a mating gown—ivory wolf-silk, silver-beaded, the kind worn by Luna lines when they bonded beneath open sky. He helped me into it himself. Knelt to fasten the crescent-moon clasp at my waist.

Looking down at his dark head, I felt nothing. Not love. Not grief. Just distance.

His fingers paused at my bare wrist. The skin where the bonding cuff had lived for seven years was still pale—a ghost of silver.

"Where's the cuff?"

He chuckled. "Sent it back to the smith again, didn't you? You baby that thing."

He stepped back to admire me, wolf surfacing—amber, satisfied.

"I've locked down the eastern ridge for the ceremony. Rowan loves moonflowers, right? We'll build the whole arch from them. She can carry the garland in her little wolf form."

Every word warm. Every word a claw across an open wound.

I thought of Rowan gasping, her wolf flickering like a dying candle. Why isn't he coming, Naia? You promised.

"Kael, about the ceremony—"

He pressed a finger to my lips. "Almost over. Tonight's the Blood Moon. I'll strip Serena's rank in front of every wolf in the territory. All of it clawed back."

The curtain was ripped aside.

Serena stood in the doorway, eyes glowing an unsettling gold.

"Kael. I thought you were fitting my Blood Moon outfit." Her gaze found the mating gown. "Turns out it's her bonding dress."

"If Naia hadn't tipped me off, I'd still be sitting there like a fool."

She flung the ceremonial wristband at his chest. Then ripped the Luna pin from her lapel and flicked it at my face.

The clasp caught my cheekbone. Blood welled—iron and salt flooding the room. Both their wolves reacted. Kael's nostrils flared. He didn't look at me. Not once. His eyes were locked on Serena—wide, stricken, desperate.

I recognized that look. He'd worn it for me once, the year I'd turned down the Silverpeak Alliance to help him rebuild his pack from nothing.

That look belonged to Serena now.

"Kael!" Her voice cracked. "We're done. I sever every tie."

She buckled, clutching her chest. Kael dropped beside her, producing her inhaler from his own pocket.

"Serena—breathe. Take the medicine. Please."

She shoved him off and staggered out.

I caught his sleeve. "That wasn't me. I didn't tell her—"

He wrenched free. The look he gave me could have frozen the bond solid.

"Naia, you couldn't wait one day? If anything happens to her—fated mate or not—I will make your life a living hell."

My fingers hung in the air, empty.

Seven years. His bed, his bond, his silence.

And for Serena Vale, he'd break me without blinking.

I let my hand fall.