"Drink this." Sarah shoved a mug of tea onto the kitchen island.

I stared at the steam rising from the rim. "My stomach is in knots."

"You slept on my couch and cried until dawn. We are going out." Sarah grabbed her purse from the counter. "The mall. Now."

I didn't have the energy to fight her.

An hour later, the noise of the shopping center buzzed around us. I kept my head down, hiding behind a rack of dresses in a high-end boutique while Sarah inspected price tags.

"This silk piece would look amazing on me."

The voice floated over the racks, freezing the blood in my veins. Nancy.

"Are you sure Jason won't slip up?" a second voice asked. Chloe, one of Nancy's loyal followers.

A sharp laugh rang out. "He didn't forget anything, Chloe."

My fingers crushed the velvet fabric of a gown.

"Wait, seriously?" Chloe gasped.

"He just got tired of Ava," Nancy bragged, her tone laced with pure arrogance. "When I came back, he realized he still loves me. He's wanted a new Luna for months. Faking amnesia just saves him the argument."

Ice flooded my veins. The past four weeks of brewing his tea, crying by his bedside, mourning our severed bond.

All a lie.

"You lying bitch!" I shoved the clothing rack aside, sending hangers clattering to the tile floor.

Nancy jumped. Her eyes widened for a fraction of a second before a nasty smirk took over.

"Spying, Ava? How pathetic."

"He's faking it?" My voice shook, vibrating with rage. "You both staged this entire nightmare?"

"It got you out of the Alpha suite, didn't it?" Nancy tilted her head.

My wolf, Lyra, slammed against my ribs. She demanded blood.

I let her out.

Fur ripped through my skin. Claws extended from my fingertips. I didn't fully shift, but the partial transformation gave me enough power to lunge.

Nancy snarled, her own eyes glowing yellow. She met me halfway.

We crashed into a jewelry display. Glass shattered into a thousand pieces beneath our boots.

She aimed a vicious swipe at my stomach.

My pup.

I twisted mid-air, taking her razor-sharp claws directly across my shoulder. Flesh tore. Warm blood spilled down my arm, staining my shirt.

"Ava!" Sarah screamed. She rushed forward, swinging a heavy metal purse stand at Nancy's head.

Nancy backed off, licking blood from her knuckles. "Consider that a warning, Luna."

The harsh fluorescent lights of the hospital room stung my eyes.

"Keep the gauze pressed tight," Sarah ordered, her hands trembling as she hovered over my hospital bed.

The door slammed open, rebounding off the wall with a loud crack.

Jason stood in the doorway. His chest heaved, his jaw set in a rigid line.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he barked.

"She attacked me!" I pointed to my bleeding shoulder.

"Nancy has three broken ribs because of your jealousy!" He marched to the edge of my bed. "I told you to leave the pack house. Instead, you hunt down my mate in public?"

"She isn't your mate!" I yelled, pushing myself upright. "And you aren't an amnesiac!"

Jason didn't flinch. His silver eyes remained entirely cold.

"You're insane. Dr. Miller diagnosed my brain injury."

"I heard her, Jason! I heard Nancy bragging at the mall!"

"Stop making up lies to cover your violence."

I stared into his face. The same face that found me at the border four years ago.

Rogues had cornered me in the mud. He had torn their throats out to save me. He was selecting a Luna back then. I pursued him, fighting for his attention, and he finally chose me. We built a life together.

I knew Nancy had fled during the blood moon crisis, abandoning the pack when we needed her most. I just never expected Jason to welcome her back. Let alone play a sick game to discard me.

"If you ever go near her again," Jason warned, his voice dropping an octave, "I will banish you from the territory myself."

"You're throwing away your unborn child," I whispered.

"I told you. That isn't mine."

He turned his back and walked out. The door clicked shut.

I slumped against the pillows. A hollow laugh escaped my lips instead of a sob. The sheer absurdity of the betrayal left me numb.

Footsteps paused right outside my door.

"Did he buy it?" Nancy's voice filtered through the thin wood.

"He tore into her," Chloe replied. "But what about the baby? What if she proves it's his?"

"Oh, I know it's his." Nancy chuckled softly.

My pulse hammered in my ears. I strained to listen.

"Jason needs a strong heir," Nancy continued, her voice dropping to a sinister whisper. "But he wants me to raise it. Once she pops it out, we're taking the pup and throwing her to the rogues."

"Did he really fall for it?" Nancy asked.

Her voice drifted through the crack in my hospital door. I froze, my hand hovering over the nurse call button.

"He didn't fall for anything, Chloe," Nancy laughed. "He planned it."

"Wait. He planned the amnesia?" Chloe asked, her voice rising in disbelief.

"Obviously," Nancy scoffed. "He needed a clean way to get rid of Ava. You think he just magically forgot his Luna?"

"But what about the last three years? You were gone."

"I was never gone. Look at this necklace."

"Wow. Are those real diamonds?"

"Custom cut," Nancy bragged. "Jason flew to Paris to give it to me last year. He told Ava he was at an Alpha summit."

My stomach plummeted.

"He visited you?" Chloe gasped. "While he was married?"

"Every month. He never stopped loving me."

"What did he say about Ava?"

"He told me she was just a placeholder. A duty to the pack. He said he was miserable waking up next to her."

I pulled my hand back from the call button. My fingertips turned numb.

Three years.

Thirty-six months of lies.

When he kissed my forehead before those fake summits, he was already thinking of her. I had fought so hard to win his heart. I cooked his meals, managed his pack, and bled for his people. I thought my devotion had earned his love.

I was a fool. I had been deceiving myself the entire time. He never loved me.

My phone buzzed on the bedside table, vibrating against the plastic tray.

I picked it up. A text glared on the screen.

*Jason: Come to the Pack House. Now.*

I stared at the words. Yesterday, I would have rushed over, eager to prove my worth. Today, I felt absolutely nothing.

I ripped the IV tape from my skin. A drop of blood welled up on my arm. I ignored it.

The heavy oak doors of the Alpha's office stood slightly ajar.

I pushed them open.

Jason sat behind his desk, shuffling a stack of territory reports. He didn't bother to look up.

"Close the door," he ordered.

I pushed the heavy wood shut. It clicked into place.

"You wanted to see me," I said. My voice sounded foreign. Flat. Empty.

He finally raised his head. His silver eyes met mine, cold and unyielding.

"We are severing the mate bond," Jason announced.

He didn't sugarcoat it. He didn't hesitate.

"I see," I replied.

"I have amnesia," he continued, leaning forward. "I don't remember you. I don't remember our wedding, and I don't remember mating you."

"You've made that clear."

"I love Nancy now. She is the only one I want."

"Understood."

"Okay," I said.

Jason blinked. His brow furrowed. "Okay?"

"Yes. I agree." I gave a single nod.

He shifted in his chair, his broad shoulders tensing. "You aren't going to fight me on this?"

"No."

"You aren't going to cry and tell me I'm making a mistake?"

"Would it change your mind?" I asked.

He clamped his jaw shut. A muscle ticked near his ear. "No."

"Then there is nothing left to discuss." I turned toward the door.

"Are you trying to manipulate me?" he snapped.

I looked over my shoulder. "Manipulate you?"

"This calm act," he accused. "You think if you play the victim, I'll suddenly feel guilty and stop the severance."

"I am not acting, Jason."

"You were screaming at Nancy in the mall yesterday! You claimed you were pregnant to trap me!"

"And you told me the pup wasn't yours," I reminded him. "You made your choice."

He stared at me, his silver eyes searching my face for a lie. He found nothing.

"Fine," he said, his voice dropping. "The Elders will prepare the paperwork."

"I will sign whatever you need."

"And your things?"

"I'll send someone for them."

"Ava."

I stopped, my hand on the brass doorknob.

"Leave the pack ring on the desk."

I slid the silver band off my finger. I walked back and set it on the wood. It made a hollow clink.

"Goodbye, Jason."

I walked out.

I didn't turn around to see his face, but the heavy silence radiating from his office spoke volumes. He got exactly what he wanted. So why did his scent suddenly shift with unease? Why did his Alpha aura retract, leaving the room feeling strangely empty?

The afternoon wind whipped across the Pack House lawn.

I walked past the training grounds. Several warriors paused their sparring to watch me. I ignored their whispers.

"Is she leaving?" a guard muttered.

"Good riddance," another replied.

I kept my eyes forward. My feet carried me toward the eastern border, away from the territory I had helped build.

Where would I go? I had no family left.

A sharp cramp suddenly seized my lower abdomen.

I gasped, stumbling forward.

My sneakers scraped against the dirt path. I wrapped both arms around my stomach.

"Ah!" I cried out.

Another wave of agony tore through me, sharper than the last. It felt like a knife twisting in my gut.

"No," I pleaded to the empty forest. I pressed my hands harder against my skin. "Please. Not my baby."

The pain flared again, blinding me.

Sweat beaded on my forehead. My breathing turned shallow and rapid.

I collapsed onto my side in the dirt. The tall grass scratched against my cheek.

I had to survive this.

I need to leave Jason behind. I must forge my own path, for me and my child.

That was my final thought.

The blue sky above me dissolved into a heavy, suffocating black.

"Luna!" a panicked voice shouted from the darkness. "Someone get the medic! She's bleeding!"