On the third anniversary of our bond, I pushed open the private room door, my heart full of hope—only to see Chisel on one knee, leaning in to kiss Sylvia. In that instant, every thread of love and trust inside me snapped.
“What are you doing?” My voice trembled; tears blurred my vision.
Chisel looked up at me, eyes full of irritation. “Enough, Leah. Stop putting on that wounded look. We were just playing a game. I lost, that’s all. Why are you angry?”
I could no longer bear the betrayal. After losing our pup, something inside me died completely. I decided to break the mate bond, to end this painful, scarred union once and for all.
Even as Chisel kept apologizing, swearing he would change, I no longer believed him. My voice went cold:
“Even if I forgive you, our pup never will.”
I left the home that had once been full of love and hope, flying toward a new world that would be mine alone.
On the other end of the phone, Chisel’s voice trembled. “Leah, I was wrong. Please… give me another chance…”
I closed my eyes, inhaled deeply, and hung up. My voice was calm, final:
“I have nothing more to say to you, Chisel.”
I clenched the wolf rune necklace I had chosen with such care, the cool metal still warm from my touch as I stood outside the private room.
Today marked the third anniversary of my bond with Chisel. Before leaving home, I had touched the gentle swell of my belly softly in the mirror, full of hope. He’d said there would be a surprise tonight, that he had invited friends to celebrate with us.
But the moment I pushed open the door, everything shattered.
The room was wide and glowing with light that burned my eyes. Chisel was on one knee on the carpet, a velvet box in his hands, smiling at Sylvia.
Around them our packmates had formed a circle, voices rising with laughter and chants:
“Say yes! Say yes!”
“Kiss her, Chisel! Everyone knows Sylvia’s still in your heart!”
Someone called out with mock concern, “Stop teasing—if Luna Leah sees this, she’ll be furious!”
I froze at the threshold. Inside my head Ruby—my wolf—snarled and clawed, her rage echoing through my veins: How dare he betray us!
But I couldn’t even answer her. I could only see Sylvia lowered her lashes, her voice soft as silk:
“Will you?” she murmured, eyes sweeping tenderly over Chisel as she leaned closer. “Leah’s Luna. Obviously, she won’t mind a little fun…”
The chanting rose again. “Chisel, don’t hesitate! You lost the game—this is your chance; you got to kiss!”
Chisel looked at Sylvia with a warmth I had never seen in his eyes for me. His throat bobbed; the distance between them shrank until it felt irresistible.
Just before their lips met, my voice broke out, trembling with fury and heartbreak:
“What the hell are you doing?”
The room went silent. Every head turned toward me, annoyance flickering in their eyes at the ruined scene.
Someone tried to laugh it off. “Don’t be mad, Luna. It’s just a game. You are always gracious.”
“I see.” My heart felt as though it had been ripped in two, but I forced a brittle smile, pretending composure.
Perhaps the shimmer of tears betrayed me. One by one, Chisel’s friends began making excuses to leave.
“I have somewhere to be. Later.”
“Chisel, happy bond anniversary to you and Luna!”
In moments the room emptied, leaving only the three of us.
Chisel’s brow furrowed, his voice laced with irritation. “Enough, Leah. Stop wearing that wounded look. We were just playing a game. I lost, that’s all. Why are you angry?”
I felt as though the air had been knocked out of me. My hand drifted to my belly, feeling the faint pulse there, grounding myself in the reality I still had.
Sylvia stepped closer, still wearing her innocent smile. “Chisel, don’t be angry.”
She patted his shoulder lightly, never once looking at me, as if I had never existed at all.
Instinctively, I cradled my belly and turned aside, almost losing my footing.
“I’m fine, Chisel,” I whispered.
Sylvia leaned lazily against his chest, tilting her chin to look at me with open disdain. “Leah, you’re already Luna. Why do you insist on framing me? I’ve never fought you for Chisel.”
In my head Ruby howled, claws raking at my mind: We never brought the snake in! She did this on purpose!
“Leah, do you even know what you’re doing?”
Chisel’s head snapped toward me, his face filled with naked disgust. “If you’re angry, aim it at me. Don’t you dare harm Sylvia! We already have a pup on the way—do you want the Moon Goddess to withhold Her blessing because of your vile tricks?”
The words knocked the breath from my chest.
I stared at him, at the male I had loved for three years, carrying his pup in my womb—and he would rather believe another she-wolf than me, even curse our unborn pup with the Goddess’s wrath?
Chisel started to walk out with Sylvia in his arms. I lurched forward, grabbing at his sleeve without thinking. “Where are you going? Chisel, today is our third bond anniversary. You’re walking out holding another woman—what is this?”
“Let go!”
He tore my hand off with such force I stumbled back. Pain slashed across my chest like a claw. “Leah, if anything happens to Sylvia, I’ll never forgive you!”
I trembled all over, tears stinging my eyes, the same words spilling from my mouth: “It wasn’t me who brought that snake! Why won’t you believe me?”
But he no longer saw me.
His heart had always been with Sylvia. I, the Luna arranged by his family, and the pup inside me were nothing more than an unwanted tether in his bloodline.
I watched as he walked away holding Sylvia, my fingers numb. At some point the wolf rune necklace had slipped from my grasp and fallen to the floor, the sharp, clean sound echoing—but it could no longer call back the Alpha who had once sworn to protect me.
“You’re still lying! Get out of my sight!”
Chisel’s voice was harsher than I had ever heard.
A heartbeat later his palm slammed against my shoulder. My foot slipped. My body pitched backward—the edge of the stairs struck my bones, and agony ripped through me.
The pain surged like a tide. I lay sprawled on the cold steps, vision blurring, only able to see Chisel’s back as he turned to leave.
With all the strength I had left I reached out, clutching at his coat. My voice broke into a tremor. “Chisel… don’t go… my belly…”
He finally stopped—but when he turned, his eyes held no concern, only a cutting coldness. “Leah, I don’t have time for your games.”
His gaze swept over my crumpled body without a shred of warmth. “Sylvia just returned to the Pack. As Luna you should be more tolerant of her. Look at yourself now—how vile you’ve become.”
Then, without hesitation, he severed our Mate Bond.
The tears came harder.
But the sudden, sharp pain from below sent panic screaming through me, followed by the hot metallic scent of blood flooding my nose, confirming what I already feared.
“No…” I tried to scream, but no sound came out.
Warm, heavy blood soaked beneath me as my vision dimmed. I could feel our pup’s heartbeat, faint and fading, slipping away.
At last, the people around me noticed. Someone rushed over, panic lacing his voice. “Miss, what happened? Are you okay? I’ll call 911!”
The wail of an ambulance howled in my ears. I lay on the stretcher, pain swallowing me whole, but I clung to the Pack Doctor’s sleeve as if it were the only thing keeping me alive.
“Pack Doctor… please… save my pup,” my voice was a thin, broken whisper, “he’s only three months… please…”
The Pack Doctor patted my trembling hand. “Don’t worry, Miss. I’ll do everything I can. I’ll call your mate right now—he’ll be here soon to calm you.”
At the mention of Chisel, a flicker of hope flared in my chest. He was my mate. With his touch, with his presence, the pup would be safe.
The line clicked. I held my breath—
But the voice that answered wasn’t his. It was hers. “What do you want?”
The Pack Doctor hesitated, then hurriedly said, “Who is this? Where is Leah’s mate? Please, hand him the phone. Ms. Leah is bleeding badly, we’re on the way to the hospital—he needs to come now!”
Sylvia gave a small, sharp laugh. “Leah, can’t you grow up? You really found someone to help you fake this, just to drag Chisel back?”
“You think waving your pup like a banner will make him come running? Stop dreaming. He already made you his mate—what more do you want?”
My breath came shallow and weak. For the sake of the pup I forced out the words: “Sylvia… I’m not fighting you… I just beg you… let Chisel come to the hospital… my pup… he’s dying…”
“Do you think I’ll believe that childish act?” Her voice crackled through the speaker, every word cutting like a fang. “If you’re so desperate, then I’ll let you hear it yourself—who he really cares about.”
I heard her call out: “Chisel! It’s Leah. She says you need to come back, that something’s wrong with the pup.”
Then came his voice—the same voice that once swore under the Moon Goddess to protect me—now full of irritation. “Don’t listen to her. She’s probably lying again. Your leg is what matters now, don’t be afraid. The Pack Doctor is coming.”
Heat drained out of my body, my heart sinking with it.
The Pack Doctor tried the number again and again. Only the dead tone of “The number you have dialed is no longer in service” filled the air.
He sighed and gripped my hand tightly. “Ms. Leah, don’t be afraid. We’ll do everything we can!”
But I already knew. It was too late.
Inside me, the small flutter grew weaker… then vanished completely. My pup… was gone.
I don’t know how long I drifted before opening my eyes again. My fingers twitched. My whole body felt weak and hollow. My belly was empty.
The pup was gone.
The sharp scent of disinfectant stabbed my nose, my heightened wolf senses making it worse. The Pack Doctor stood beside my bed, his tone soft, almost pitying. “It’s alright, Ms. You’re still young. There will be other pups.”
Instinctively my hand went to my flat belly.
So many times I’d felt that tiny heartbeat, the shared blood of my lineage flowing in him.
Now it was gone. Nothing but silence.
Tears slid down my face unchecked.
Grief gave way to a cold, creeping terror. The Brady bloodline had never liked me. From the moment I entered their house they had pushed me to bear a Brady heir, warning that without a pup I could not remain Luna of the Vance Pack.
