"Fine. I'll go for the peace bond."

My words hung heavy in the air, shattering the tense silence of the Imperial Pack's Great Hall.

Every pair of glowing wolf eyes snapped towards me, and my father, the Alpha King, bared his fangs in a silent snarl. As his favored daughter, I, Yuki Carrington, should have been the last to be sacrificed in this political union.​

"Preposterous!" His growl reverberated through the hall.

"I said the candidate would be chosen differently! You and Jocab are fated mates-how could I separate you? And Greyfield? Caleb Morgan is a bloodthirsty Alpha!"​

I stood my ground, my inner wolf pacing restlessly.

"You decreed that the bride must be of royal blood. I am your daughter, and I accept my duty." The mention of Jocab sent a pang through my chest.

"You set today as the deadline. He didn't come. He lost his chance."​

My eldest sister grabbed my arm. "Yuki, Greyfield wolves eat their own kind! Let us go instead!" The second sister howled in agreement.​

I dropped to my knees, baring my neck in submission.

"I've made my choice. The rumors about Caleb may be lies. If not, I'll survive."​

Just as the Alpha King signed the decree, a thunderous howl split the air.

Jocab burst into the hall, his red cloak billowing, his wolf form barely contained. "Yuki! I'm here to claim you!"​

"It's too late," I said flatly.​

He laughed, confimanort. "The Alpha would never send you to Greyfield."​

"Why are you late?" I demanded.​

He shifted uneasily.

"Sophie... she's being persecuted. I want to take her as a secondary mate first."​

My wolf howled in agony.

Our childhood chases, his gentle dominance, the Festival when he howled my name to the moon .

His secret guard's dying howl still echoed in my ears.

"Protect... Sophie..." Those words shattered the bond we'd built.

Once, Jocab's wolf would have torn the world apart for me.

Now, his loyalty bled into another.​

During my fever, his wolf whined beside my bed for three days.

But when Sophie's weak "my chest hurts" reached his ears, the medicine bowl crashed to the floor. His thundered down the hallway, leaving me shivering alone.​

On Night, I waited on the tower. Beneath me, Jocab's laughter mingled with Sophie's.

Their shadows danced as they set paperboats afloat, the flames reflecting off his adoring gaze.​

"Promise you'll claim me tomorrow," I'd begged three days prior. His growl rumbled through our bond. "My mate, I'll be there before the first howl."​

But the Great Hall filled with courtiers, and his scent was missing.

Only later did I learn his wolf had stayed up all night, nuzzling Sophie back to health.​

I gripped the bond decree. Then, a cold smile curled my lips.

If he wanted her so badly...​

"Father," I snarled, meeting the Alpha King's shocked gaze.

"I'll marry Caleb Morgan. Let Jocab have his precious Sophie."​

"Yuki-what made you accept that cursed union?"​

My lips curled into a bitter snarl.

"Does it matter?"

Memories flashed: the time I'd tried to send Sophie away with gold and a safe manor. Her forehead bleeding as she howled, "I'd rather die!" while Jocab's growl ripped through the air.

His accusing gaze branded me a villain.​

"Don't be mad. The pack got a rare Direwolf stallion. And I baked your favorite pear - blossom mooncakes."​

"Fine," I snapped. "I need something from my chambers."​

But as we loped into the manor, a guard's terrified howl cut through the air.

"Mr. Winslow! Miss Rowan was attacked by a Shadow Panther! She's bleeding out!"​

Jocab's face turned ashen.

He seized my wrist in a vice - like grip and dragged me towards Sophie's manor, his wolf whining in distress.

"She can't die-"​

Inside, the royal dripped sweat.

"Miss Rowan's lifeblood is draining. Only the Moonlit Requiem Elixir can bind her broken spirit!"​

Jocab ripped through his gloves as he whirled on me, eyes glowing with primal desperation.

"Yuki! Your Alpha father gave you that vial!"​

My wolf snarled in my chest, the scent of Sophie's fading life - force clashing with Jocab's pleading pheromones.

"If I give it up, who guards my throat in Greyfield?"​

His fist slammed against the stone wall. "I'll howl my protection across all packs! Her brother sacrificed his wolf for me-"​

"Name your price!"​

I uncorked the vial, watching silver liquid catch the moonlight.

Its glow pulsed like a dying heartbeat.

He lunged, snatching it from my grasp. "Pour it down her throat!"​

As his nose buried in Sophie's hair, crooning soothing growls, I met my maid's knowing gaze.

I snatched a quill, scratching the parchment.

Sophie's sickly - sweet scent mingled with Jocab's desperate pheromone.​

"Mr. Winslow," she whimpered, her weak voice a siren's call,

"I only ventured out to find moon - herbs for your wound."​

Jocab's wolf - like growl softened into a tender croon as he lapped at her tears.

"Hush, little wolf. You're safe now."​

My own wolf raged within, but I held my ground.

Shoving the paper into his chest, I hissed, "Read this in half a moon."​

He reached for the note, but Sophie's pained whine stopped him cold.

"Thirsty." she gasped.​

Without a second glance, he stuffed the decree into his belt and bounded for the water basin.

I watched him nuzzle her neck as he tilted the cup.​

The moment his back turned, I let out a silent howl of goodbye.

As the setting sun painted the sky blood - red, I knew the words on that parchment would sever our bond forever: Jocab Winslow and Yuki Carrington shall never meet again in this lifetime.

I tore through the chest of gifts, each item unleashing a tidal wave of memories:

the wolf-tooth necklace, the moon-blessed cloak woven, the carved totem that once pulsed with our shared bond.​

"Burn it," I hissed.

Flames erupted, devouring the relics in a pyre of broken promises.

Mother's gift of Bloodsilk lay on the altar, its weave thrumming with Alpha blessings. The double moonlotus design mocked me, I once tender from learning to stitch for Jocab, now honed to razor points.

Each petal I embroidered was a stab:​

"This veil is cursed,".

"Let me rip it to shreds."​

"A true mate weaves her own bond," I'd teased, nuzzling his scarred palm.​

Three moons later, he'd presented a lopsided veil stitched with his battle-rough hands, pinpricks dripping silver blood. "See? Your wolf bleeds for you," he'd boasted.​

Now, that same scent clung to Sophie's sickly-sweet trail.

As I pierced the final thread, a guard's hushed snarl carried on the wind:​

" No pack claims her, the concubine mate Jocab is going to mated,-Jocab had to beg the High Priestess to perform a blood-adoption.

"That's nothing! Her dowry alone cost tens of thousands in gold, with over ten carts of jewelry. They even tore down a temple to expand her courtyard. It's more lavish than a proper mate!"​

The whispered gossip sliced through the air. My fingers shredded the embroidery hoop, and the needle plunged into my palm.

Wolf - blood, thick and coppery, spilled onto the moonlotus petal.

Before I could regain my composure, a howl of fury echoed through the corridor.

I burst into the courtyard to find Lily, pinning Sophie against the wall.

"You mangy wolf!"

"You dared desecrate the princess's Bloodsilk veil? That fabric carries the Alpha's blessing!"​

Sophie cowered. "I - I only wanted to see..."​

"Silence!" I stalked forward.

I snatched the tattered veil from Sophie's grasp.

Sophie's sobs echoed through the courtyard.

"She took dagger to it!"

Lily bared her teeth. "This is a direct insult ! By pack law, she deserves twenty lashes with silver - coated ropes!"​

I stared at the ruins. The moonlotus embroidery now lay in tatters.

A strange calm washed over me; my wedding to the Greyfield Alpha loomed, and I couldn't afford a pack feud.

"Lily, leave it."

Just as Lily turned, a snarl ripped through the air.

Sophie lunged, her eyes wild, the scissor blades glinting with a strange, enchanted silver.

Lily's defensive howl shook the ground as she kicked out, sending Sophie sprawling.​

In an instant, Jocab's Alpha roar split the sky.

He materialized like a shadow, snatching Sophie into his arms.

"Yuki, what have you done to her?"

His voice was a low, menacing growl.​

"You smell the blood on her hands-literally-and still defend her?!"

I snarled.

"Is your bond with this wolf stronger than the years we spent howling at the moon together?

My wolf howled in despair as his words confirmed the worst.

Before I could unleash a word, Sophie's shrill whine cut through the air.

"It's my fault!"

"I only touched the Bloodsilk to... to give it my blessing, and then she attacked me!"​

Jocab's eyes bled from gold to crimson as he took in the handprint on Sophie's cheek.

"Lily," his growl vibrated, "You know the law. She's my concubine mate, why do you lay your hands on her."​

"Look at the enchanted silver dagger!"

Lily kicked the weapon forward, its edges still stained with my blood.

"She aimed for the princess's heart! This is attempted regicide-a crime punishable by the moonfire ritual!"​

In a flash, Sophie lunged for the dagger.

Her howl split the air as the blade plunged into her shoulder.

"I meant no harm!"

"Let my blood atone for the desecration!"​

Blood gushed from the wound, staining the ground in a macabre pattern.

Jocab's roar shook the courtyard, shattering the stillness.

He snatched the dagger away, he pressed down on the wound. His eyes, now blazing with a feral crimson, locked onto mine.​

"It's just fabric!"

"You, the daughter of the Alpha King, reduce yourself to bullying a defenseless she wolf? I've shielded you from court gossip, told her to bear your jealousy, and this is how you repay me?"​

My wolf whimpered.

Lily stepped forward.

"Open your eyes, Alpha! She staged this! Her wound barely grazes the muscle-"​

"Silence!"

His growl rumbled through the air.

"I would've torn my own throat out for her! But when I merely asked her to show a shred of mercy to Sophie-the defenseless she wolf-what had she done? "​

Jocab's eyes, once a warm amber, now glowed with a menacing scarlet hue.

He didn't spare me a second glance.

With a tenderness that made my heart ache, he scooped Sophie into his arms.

The little she wolf whimpered, her tiny form trembling against his broad chest.​

Lily's wolf was in a frenzy.

"A concubine mate who dares to offend a princess must face the ultimate punishment! Mr. Winslow, are you willing to betray the ancient pack laws written in the blood of our ancestors?"​

Jocab froze.

When he slowly turned, his face was contorted into a terrifying snarl.

"If punishment is what the law demands," he hissed"then as her true mate, bound by the sacred moonstone vows, I will bear the full brunt of it. "

The first strike shattered the silence like thunder.

Jocab's back arched. T

he scent of his blood-rich, earthy,exploded in the air. Yet he remained silent.​

With each subsequent blow, the staff carved deeper, drawing rivers of crimson that dripped onto the ground.

Sophie's wails echoed. "Stop! It's my fault!" she shrieked.​

As the punishment ended, Jocab's body trembled.

But the moment Sophie threw herself into his arms, his eyes-still glowing with residual fire-softened.

"Shh," he crooned.

"You're safe now."​

I watched, my own wolf howling in silent agony.

The bond that had once been a lifeline now throbbed with a pain worse than any physical wound.

My knees buckled, and Lily caught me just in time.

"Your Highness,"

"his wolf has chosen. Let this dead bond rest."​

Closing my eyes, I let the scent of his blood wash over me one last time.

I made a vow to my wolf.

No longer will I pine for a shadow.

I am the daughter of the Alpha King, and I will face the Greyfield Alpha as an equal, not a broken - hearted mate.