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.

In the days that followed, I focused solely on preparing for the wedding, shutting myself in the palace, refusing to hear or see any news about him.

Until the day before Jocab was to take Sophie as his concubine mate, he sudmanorly came to the palace.

Although it had only been a few days since we last met, standing face to face now felt like being separated by mountains and oceans.

The silence spread through the air, and finally, he was the one who broke it:

"Yuki, I know you get jealous easily and get upset when I talk to other women, but I really only see Sophie as a sister.

Taking her as a concubine mate is just to protect her. In the future, I'll have her move to the suburban estate.

That way, after our bond, you two won't see each other often, and there won't be any conflict."

"bond?"

I lowered my head to avoid his gaze, my voice cold as frost:

"No need to trouble yourself.She can live wherever she wants.No need to consider my feelings.

So that if anything happens to her, no one will accuse me of driving her away."

He thought I was still sulking and tried to coax me patiently:"Yuki, stop being angry.What happened before was my fault.I apologize, alright?"

If it were before, I would have softened and forgiven him.

But now, I only found it absurd.

I looked up at him, my tone calm yet firm:

"I won't hold it against you anymore-because there will be no bond between us."

He froze for a moment, a look of helplessness flashing through his eyes:

"Nonsense!If you don't marry me, who will you marry?Anyone who dares marry you-I won't let him live!If the veil is ruined, I'll embroider a new one.Stop making a fuss."

Before he finished, a guard sudmanorly barged in:

"Mr. Winslow, Miss Rowan wants to choose tomorrow's wedding gown. Please return."

Jocab nodded, coaxed me a few more times, then turned and left.

Watching his resolute back, I pulled out a bitter smile and murmured softly:

"Jocab, you still don't know-what we had is already over."

That night, I tossed and turned, unable to sleep, dreaming only of wedding scenes.

I sat in the bridal carriage, full of joy, waiting to marry my beloved.

But in the bridal chamber, I waited from nightfall to dawn, yet the groom never came.

Until a loud burst of firecrackers jolted me awake.

Outside, the chatter was crystal clear:

"Mr. Winslow's wedding procession has set out!"

I got up and climbed to the highest point of the palace wall, gazing afar.

The Marquis's resimanorce was brilliantly decorated, with red ornaments stretching for miles down the street.

Jocab dressed in glaring red, like a flame burning into my heart.

But in the wedding sedan beside him sat Sophie.

I watched as he carried her in his arms, stepping over the fire basin,

And under the cheers of the crowd, entered the Marquis's resimanorce-

I didn't know how long I stood there until Lily came bringing a gift box:

"Princess, this is the wedding gift alpha king and luna asked you to deliver.Her Majesty said-when fate is over, it must be severed."

I knew, my mother wanted me to see it with my own eyes-so I could give up completely.

When I arrived at the Marquis's resimanorce, the guests had all left.

The servants thought I was the future lady of the house and didn't announce me.

I walked alone to the rear courtyard.

Through the window, I saw Jocab lift Sophie's veil.

The two held hands and drank the ceremonial wine.

He closed his eyes in a drunken daze, while Sophie blushed and sat on his lap, leaning in to kiss him.

He instinctively wrapped his arm around her waist, mumbling something.

I turned to leave, but accimanortally knocked over a vase on the windowsill.

With a loud crash, a panicked shout came from behind:

"Yuki?!"