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.

Following Freya's instructions, Rosalie reached into the territory's shared mindlink, where wolves often passed along news and rumors from one pack to another.

The first thing she saw was a message left by Arabella.

"No matter how far I wander, my heart will always find its way back to you."

Beneath those words was a memory crystal that preserved a fleeting image of Cassian standing beside a great iron cauldron, quietly preparing a bowl of medicinal broth with his own hands.

The responses beneath it were overflowing.

Many wolves rejoiced, believing the pair destined to be together at last. Others spoke even more harshly, insisting that Rosalie had stolen Cassian away years ago after driving Arabella from the pack. Now that Arabella had returned and Cassian stood faithfully at her side once more, they claimed it was nothing more than the Moon Goddess restoring what should have belonged to her all along.

Some even called it retribution.

As though the pain settling in Rosalie's heart were justice.

She read every word without changing her expression.

Only Freya's voice, carried gently through the communication crystal, finally broke the silence.

"Are you going to tell me what's happening?" she asked carefully. "Have you and Alpha Cassian separated?"

After a long pause, Rosalie answered with a faint smile.

"Not yet."

"Then why is he spending every waking hour with that woman?" Freya demanded, unable to hide her anger.

Rosalie let out a tired laugh.

"Calm yourself. I was actually about to invite you to supper before you contacted me."

"Are you at the manor?"

"I am."

"Good. I'll come for you."

"That sounds nice," Rosalie replied softly. "I wasn't in the mood to ride out alone anyway."

It did not take Freya long to arrive.

By the time she reached the Alpha Manor, Rosalie had already bathed, changed into a fresh gown, and braided her hair. Together they rode into the village at the foot of the mountain, where an elderly she-wolf kept a quiet tavern they had visited countless times since they were young.

Only after the meal had been ordered did Rosalie finally speak.

"Freya... I need you to recommend an elder well versed in pack law."

Freya looked at her in confusion.

"I've decided to dissolve my mate bond with Cassian."

The color drained from Freya's face.

Before she could ask why, Rosalie continued with a gentle smile that somehow hurt even more.

"The Moon Healer found a darkness growing inside my wolf. If the Moonstone Ritual fails... I may not survive it."

Freya's eyes immediately filled with tears.

"When did this happen?" she whispered. "What did the Moon Healer say? Do your parents know?"

"It was the same day Arabella was attacked."

Rosalie lowered her gaze to the untouched tea before her.

"The ritual required my mate to stand beside me before the Moonstone. The healer asked me to summon Cassian... but he had already left to find Arabella."

Her voice remained remarkably calm.

"The ritual is dangerous. If I must face it, I'd rather do so in my birth pack, with my family."

Unable to hold back any longer, Freya burst into tears.

"Forget Cassian," she choked out. "No mate is worth facing something like this alone. I'll return with you."

Rosalie reached across the table and gently brushed away the tears on her friend's cheeks.

"I'll be alright," she murmured. "Don't cry."

When she returned to the Alpha Manor that evening, Cassian was already waiting in the great hall.

He looked up as she entered.

"Where have you been?"

"I had supper with Freya."

She removed her cloak, set it neatly aside, and took her seat opposite him.

After a brief silence, she lifted her eyes to meet his.

"Cassian... do you remember the pilgrimage we always said we would make to the Sacred Moon Temple?"

Among wolves, it was said that mates whose bonds had begun to fracture could journey together to the ancient temple where the first Moonstone had fallen from the heavens. If they offered sincere prayers beneath the full moon, the Moon Goddess would grant them the wisdom to mend what had been broken.

Rosalie had spoken of making that pilgrimage many times over the years.

Cassian had always dismissed it as little more than an old legend.

This time was no different.

He sighed quietly before answering.

"You still believe those stories? The Moon Goddess doesn't solve every problem for us." He paused before adding, "Besides, Arabella still hasn't recovered. I can't leave the territory while she's in this condition. Perhaps after the Winter Moon Festival."

The answer did not surprise Rosalie.

In the past, hearing even that small promise would have filled her with excitement. She would already be thinking about the offerings they would prepare and the route they would take through the northern mountains.

Now she merely nodded.

"Alright."

Nothing more.

Her quiet acceptance left Cassian strangely unsettled.

She had become so calm that he scarcely recognized the woman sitting before him.

His gaze wandered across the great hall until it stopped on the empty stretch of stone above the hearth.

A slight frown crossed his face.

"Our mating portrait..." he said slowly. "Where is it?"

Rosalie followed his gaze before answering with practiced ease.

"I took it down to clean the frame. It had gathered quite a bit of dust."