Twenty-four hours had passed since Arabella's accident, yet the whispers spreading from pack to pack had only grown louder. What had begun as idle gossip among scouts and merchants had reached every territory by sunrise. Around countless fires, wolves spoke of Alpha Cassian Ironclaw leaving his own lands without hesitation to remain at Arabella's bedside, and with each retelling, Rosalie's place as his Luna seemed to fade a little more.

If the rumors had not died by now, it was because Cassian had made no attempt to silence them.

The Ironclaw manor was unusually quiet. Seated alone before the cold hearth, Rosalie stared at the parchment resting in her trembling hands while the Moon Healer's solemn words echoed endlessly in her mind.

"Luna, the darkness has already spread deep into your wolf's core. The Moonstone Ritual may still save you, but every passing day weakens your chances. If the corruption reaches your mind, it will steal your memories, your senses... perhaps even your life. Send for your mate. The ritual cannot begin without the Alpha beside you."

She had reached for the mindlink immediately, saying nothing of her condition, asking only that Cassian come to the healing grounds. He had agreed without hesitation, telling her to wait for him.

She waited.

The sun crossed the sky, and still he never came.

When she reached for their bond again, all she found was silence. Unable to bear the uncertainty, she sought out one of Cassian's warriors, who lowered his head before answering.

"Alpha Cassian rode east at first light, my Luna."

"Why?"

The warrior hesitated only briefly.

"Lady Arabella Blackwood was gravely wounded during a rogue attack."

Rosalie understood everything before another word was spoken.

Drawing her cloak tighter around herself, she stepped out of the healing grounds. The mountain winds carried the bite of winter, yet they felt colder than she had ever remembered. Instinctively, she reached through the mindlink for her brother, Evander, only to stop herself. His pack lay beyond the northern ranges, and he would still be resting beneath the moon after his own border patrol.

By the time she returned to the manor, she had tried to reach Cassian through their mate bond again and again, but each attempt vanished into empty silence.

She had never been the kind of woman to demand his attention. As Alpha, his responsibilities always came before everything else, and she had long since accepted that. Yet for the first time in years, she found herself wishing he would answer only to grow impatient with her, to scold her for interrupting his duties—anything that would remind her she still occupied a place in his heart.

Instead, there was nothing.

Leaning back against the sofa, Rosalie closed her eyes as an overwhelming weariness settled over her.

The Nightshade and Ironclaw packs had been allies for generations. She and Cassian had grown up beneath the same moon, trained together, and presented only months apart. When the Moon Goddess revealed them as fated mates, no wolf questioned it. Their union had seemed as inevitable as the rising of the full moon itself.

She had mistaken his quiet reserve for the comfort that came with years of familiarity, believing that true mates no longer needed grand gestures to prove their love.

Now she understood how foolish that belief had been.

For Arabella, Cassian had crossed territories without a second thought.

For his own Luna... he had not come at all.

The mindlink stirred against her consciousness before she could sink further into despair. She had ignored the first few attempts, unwilling to speak with anyone, until another voice gently reached her.

"Rosalie?"

It was her mother-in-law, Adelaide Ironclaw.

"Have you been able to reach Cassian?"

No one can take your place. I'll speak with Cassian myself and have him return at once. He owes you an explanation.”

Rosalie managed a faint smile, though Adelaide could not see it.

She wanted to tell her that an apology would change nothing. Whatever had gone wrong between her and Cassian belonged to them alone. Her in-laws had never once treated her with anything less than kindness, and she refused to burden them with the disappointment she carried in her heart.

“Thank you, Mother,” she said gently. “But you don't need to worry about me. I'll be alright. I just... don't think I'm ready to face the rest of the pack tonight.”

“Then don't,” Adelaide replied at once. “Leave the elders and the pack members to your father and me. You should rest. Everything else can wait until tomorrow.”

Not long after the mindlink faded, another presence brushed against her consciousness.

It was Cassian.

Rosalie accepted the link almost immediately.

His voice reached her through the mate bond, distant and indifferent, carrying none of the warmth she had once believed belonged only to her.

"It's late. Why have you been trying to reach me?"

“It's nothing important,” she answered quietly.

Silence lingered between them.

Then another feminine voice drifted faintly through the bond.

"Alpha... Lady Arabella has awakened. She's asking for you."

"I'll be there."

The connection disappeared before Rosalie could utter another word.

She remained standing in the quiet room, staring at nothing as the emptiness left behind by the severed mindlink spread through her chest.

Cassian and Arabella had once been together before either of them had found their fated mates. Throughout their younger years, nearly every wolf had believed they would one day become Alpha and Luna together. Rosalie had loved Cassian since she was barely old enough to understand what the mate bond meant, though she had hidden those feelings deep within her heart, choosing instead to watch from afar as he remained at Arabella's side.

Everything changed during the Moon Blessing Festival.

When the sacred Moonstone recognized Cassian and revealed Rosalie as his fated mate before the entire pack, he had crossed the ceremonial grounds and asked for her hand in front of the elders.

Too stunned to refuse—and unwilling to disgrace him before the Moon Goddess herself—Rosalie accepted.

That night, she had tried to confess that she had loved him for years, but Cassian had simply begun courting her as though the bond alone were reason enough. Their mating ceremony followed soon after, and the entire territory celebrated what everyone believed was a union blessed by fate.

She had entered their marriage believing the Moon Goddess had finally answered her prayers.

Instead, she found herself living beside a mate whose heart always seemed just beyond her reach.

She had convinced herself that this quiet distance was simply Cassian's nature, that wolves who had spent years together no longer needed tender words or lingering affection.

Only now did she realize that his gentleness had never disappeared.

It had simply been reserved for someone else.

A dull ache settled over her chest as tears clouded her vision. Drawing her cloak around herself, she sat beside the window until the trembling in her hands finally eased.

Then she reached through the mindlink to the one wolf who had never failed her.

"Evander... I'll be returning to the Ashford Pack in a few days."

Her brother was silent for a heartbeat.

"Is Cassian coming with you?"

"No. Just me."

Concern immediately filled his voice.

"Did something happen between you two?"

Rosalie looked beyond the window where pale moonlight covered the forest in silver. Her throat tightened, but when she spoke, her voice remained steady.

"No. Do you remember when I told you I wanted to continue my studies with the Moon Sages? I think it's finally time. Cassian has many responsibilities as Alpha. Perhaps he'll visit once the Winter Moon Festival arrives."

Evander's worry eased, though it had not disappeared completely.

"Very well. Tell me when you're leaving, and I'll be waiting for you at our borders."

After speaking with her brother a little longer, Rosalie finally withdrew from the mindlink.

The room fell silent once more.

She lowered her gaze to the Moon Healer's parchment resting on the table beside her. After a long moment, she folded it with great care and tucked it away in a wooden chest, as though hiding it from sight could somehow postpone the fate written upon it.

Cassian returned to the Ironclaw Pack a week later.

He did not return alone.

He brought Arabella back with him and settled her in the manor beside theirs—a residence that had once been Evander's mating gift to Rosalie. Although the estate had belonged to her ever since her wedding, she had never moved into it, sending only servants from time to time to keep it clean.

Now, another woman would be living there.

In all the years she had been Cassian's mate, Rosalie had rarely opposed him. Whenever disagreements arose, she was always the first to yield, believing that preserving peace was worth more than winning an argument.

For the first time, however, she wanted to ask him whether he truly believed this was appropriate.

The question rose to her lips...

...only to fade away before it could be spoken.

She had already decided to leave.

What purpose would those words serve now?

Turning away from him, she resumed placing the books from the shelves into neatly stacked wooden crates.

Perhaps noticing the distance in her eyes, Cassian spoke after a long silence.

"It is only until Arabella recovers. The Moon Healers asked that she remain close while they continue treating her. It will be easier for everyone."

Rosalie smiled faintly, though there was little warmth in it.

"She is welcome to stay," she replied without looking at him. "Just let her know that I intend to put the manor up for transfer. Elders from neighboring packs have already expressed interest in the land, so there may be visitors from time to time."

Cassian frowned.

"Why would you give it away? Have you fallen into difficulty?"

She placed another book into the crate before answering.

"No. It was a mating gift from my brother, yet it has stood empty for years. It deserves an owner who will actually live in it."

Cassian studied her quietly.

Between the wealth of the Nightshade and Ironclaw Packs, countless estates lay unused across their territories. He knew perfectly well that the manor was not the real reason.

Still, when he saw the calm expression on her face, he understood she had no desire to continue the conversation.

As he turned to leave, his attention drifted toward the wooden crates.

"I thought you were only cleaning. Why are you packing your books?"

Rosalie closed the lid of one crate before answering.

"They have gathered dust. I thought I'd leave them beneath the moonlight for a few nights."

Cassian accepted the explanation with a nod before another thought occurred to him.

"I almost forgot. How did your visit to the Moon Healer go? Everything happened so suddenly that day. I never had the chance to ask."

For the briefest moment, Rosalie's hand tightened against the edge of the crate.

The healer's warning returned to her with painful clarity.

The darkness spreading through her wolf...

The ritual that could no longer wait...

The mate who had never come.

She lowered her eyes and gently shook her head.

"It was nothing serious."

Cassian gave a quiet hum, accepting her answer without question.

"Arabella's injuries are worse than we first believed. Her wolf is unstable, and she has been frightened ever since the attack. I'll be spending most of my time at the neighboring manor until she recovers."

Rosalie simply nodded.

"Then take good care of her."

There was no accusation in her voice, no resentment, not even disappointment.

Her indifference unsettled him far more than anger would have.

Yet Cassian said nothing else before walking away.

Rosalie remained where she was, watching through the window as his figure disappeared toward the neighboring estate.

A faint, bitter smile curved across her lips while tears slowly clouded her vision.

Every corner of the Alpha Manor held traces of the future she had once imagined for them. The carved furniture in the great hall, the curtains that danced with every mountain breeze, the paintings adorning the stone walls, even the spare cloak and boots waiting beside the entrance had all been chosen by her own hands, each carrying a quiet hope that they would someday build a warm home together.

Now those memories mocked her more cruelly than any enemy ever could.

After sealing the last crate, Rosalie reached for the communication crystal resting on the table, intending to contact Freya and ask her to share the evening meal.

Before she could channel her wolf's aura into it, however, the crystal glowed with Freya's presence.

"Rosalie," Freya's anxious voice echoed through the link. "You need to listen to the pack's whispers."

Rosalie closed her eyes and extended her senses toward the territory's shared mindlink.

The gossip spreading through the pack struck her almost immediately.

Everyone was saying the same thing.

Alpha Cassian Ironclaw and Arabella Voss had rekindled the love they had once shared.