To save my Alpha mate, Ronan Valerius, I took a silver-laced arrow for him, and my world faded to black as my senses failed.

To reassure me, he swore an oath before the entire pack to protect me for eternity.

His words moved me to my very soul.

When I discovered that the light of the Blood Moon could purify the silver poison in my body, I chose to keep it from him.

I wanted to give him a surprise.

Yet, on the very day my sight returned and my senses sharpened to a razor's edge, I heard Ronan in our bed, tangled in passion with his childhood sweetheart, Blair Davenport.

Taking longer than usual, aren't you? Is it because your little Omega is right outside?

What do you think? Her brokenness just excites my wolf.

I heard their private mind-link, every single word.

The blood froze in my veins.

Swallowing the soul-shredding nausea, I sent a clandestine message to the Moonwillow pack, who had been extending an invitation for some time.

I agreed to join them.

I would perform the rejection ceremony. And I would make him regret his betrayal for the rest of his life.

...

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1

By the time I sent the message, Ronan and Blair had vanished from the living room.

I thought they might show some restraint, but a moment later, muffled gasps echoed from the bedroom, followed by Ronan’s voice calling my name.

"Veronica, I left a box in the living room. Could you bring it in for me?"

His tone was as gentle as ever, but my newly restored senses picked up the distinct scent of rare aphrodisiac herbs sealed inside the box.

"Veronica?"

"Coming."

Swallowing the turmoil churning inside me, I picked up the box and pushed open the bedroom door.

Clothes were strewn across the floor, and the scent of another woman—her scent—hung heavy in the air.

And on our bed, Blair was entangled with Ronan, wearing my lingerie.

You have some nerve, making her deliver your toys. Aren't you afraid I'll scream just to watch her face crumble?

Blair's mind-link was dripping with mockery.

Ronan’s movements faltered.

Don't let her catch your scent.

So what if she does?

I'll throw you out.

Ronan gripped her chin, his Alpha dominance flaring.

Everyone in the Nightfall Dominion pack knew Ronan loved me.

He was an Alpha of noble blood, yet for two years, he had willingly confined himself to this small cottage to care for me after I lost my senses.

An Elder had once advised him to stop letting me drag him down.

But Ronan had declared, "Veronica is a gift from the Moon Goddess. If I hear those words again, you are exiled from my territory."

But seeing him now, marked by another woman's claws and scent, a wave of nausea crashed over me. I dropped the box and fled.

"Veronica, what's wrong?"

Outside the bedroom door, I leaned against the wall, dry heaving, as Ronan gently patted my back. I met his anxious gaze and summoned all my strength to say, "It's nothing. Probably just the aftereffects of the silver poison."

Ronan helped me to the sofa and brought me some water before leaving under the pretext of handling pack business.

I sat silently in the living room. If he would just confess, I thought, my heart aching, I could still forgive him.

But a minute, five minutes, ten minutes crawled by.

Ronan didn't come back. Instead, he slipped back into the bedroom.

I had my answer.

When I received no reply to my message, I contacted the Moonwillow pack directly. "Your offer for me to join your pack—is it still open?"

After a moment of silence, a delighted voice replied. "Veronica, are you coming? That's wonderful! But be warned, the ritual to join us requires absolute focus. It will sever all ties to your past."

"I'm ready. Three days from now. At moonrise."

"Excellent! We'll be waiting. The Moon Goddess will witness your rebirth!"

After severing the link, I glanced around the small cottage I had shared with Ronan for two years. It felt utterly alien.

Before, Ronan’s friends always said I was dragging him down.

Now, I was setting him free.

My bond with Ronan had been confirmed by the Moon Goddess herself at my coming-of-age ceremony.

Back then, I'd been infatuated with him for years, chasing him relentlessly until I finally caught the powerful Alpha's eye.

Two years ago, Ronan's patrol was ambushed. As arrows rained down, a terrifying fear for his life seized me. Without a second thought, I threw myself in front of him, shoving him aside just as a silver-laced arrow streaked toward his heart.

But the silver poison on the arrow ravaged my body, stealing most of my senses.

At the time, Ronan had stared at my broken form and howled in anguish, vowing to heal me no matter the cost.

He scoured ancient texts, consulted countless healers, and even started a foundation in my name, but nothing worked.

Until six months ago, when I felt the call of the Blood Moon—a new hope, a chance to purify the silver poison from my body.

But I wasn't certain, so I kept it from Ronan.

I planned to surprise him the day I was healed.

But what awaited me was not a surprise, but a sickening shock.

Late that night, Ronan sent Blair home. By the time I lay down, he had already changed the sheets.

After his shower, he slid into bed and pulled me into his arms, just like always. "My Veronica, you're so soft. Nothing feels better than holding you."

I stared numbly at the ceiling. "Have you ever held another woman?"

Ronan froze, then chuckled. "How could I? You're the only one the Moon Goddess gave me. My wolf will only ever embrace you."

The only one the Moon Goddess gave me.

The lie slipped so easily from his lips.

Ronan was a master of sweet nothings.

When I was blind and helpless, he would grow fiercely jealous if I so much as asked another man for help, his possessiveness flaring.

"I was just asking another wolf for directions."

"I don't care. You have me, Veronica; you don't need anyone else. I will always be by your side."

Such hypocrisy. And yet, for two long years, his sweet lies were the only warmth in my cold, dark world.

Now, the memory only filled me with disgust.

If he truly loved me, would he have used my blindness as a cover for his trysts for two whole years?

Ronan nuzzled into the crook of my neck. "Veronica, I've already spoken with the Elders. Once you're feeling stronger, we'll hold our official bonding ceremony. I'll make you the Luna of this pack."

I stared at the tell-tale red mark on his neck and said nothing. A flicker of bitter amusement coursed through me, and I nodded. "Alright. We'll hold the ceremony soon."

Ronan was overjoyed. His arms tightened around me as he whispered endlessly, "I love you, Veronica."

I was lying through my teeth.

I had already finalized the arrangements for my rejection ceremony.

In less than three days, I would vanish from Ronan's life completely.

I wanted him to feel the agony of a soul being torn in two.

But more than that, I wanted to find myself again.

The next day, Ronan was as considerate as ever, spoon-feeding me breakfast. But while he played the doting mate, he was exchanging a stream of lewd thoughts with Blair through their mind-link.

Our bond throbbed, a fresh, agonizing sting.

After the meal, he took me to an event at the charity foundation he'd established for me. It was a weekly ritual, meant to help me relax.

He supported me carefully along the way, treating me like a fragile, precious thing. The sight moved many of our pack members.

"The Alpha is so devoted to Veronica. I heard he even postponed the pack's expansion plans just to be with her. It's clear no one is more important to the Alpha than Veronica."

After a young wolf said this, Ronan just smiled. "I love Veronica. Nothing is too much to do for her."

He spoke with such saccharine devotion, but I just stared at the foundation's plaque, too disgusted to speak.

Blair's Light Fund

The foundation wasn't for me. It was for Blair. The truth of it was sickeningly obvious.

Ronan escorted me to a lounge and then left on some pretext. I couldn't stop the bile from rising in my throat.

For two years, in the name of love, Ronan had sacrificed pack interests and abandoned his Alpha ambitions. Even his closest friends whispered behind my back, calling me his burden.

Ronan's mother, an Elder in her own right, would often berate me. "You're blind, but Ronan is perfectly healthy. He's given up everything for you. Are you really going to hold him to that for the rest of his life?"

I loved Ronan, so I silently endured their scorn.

When they sneered and told me to leave him, I would always fight back, listing every proof of his love until they fell silent.

But now, staring at the name on that plaque, I could only imagine how pathetic I must have looked to them.

I couldn't stop the wave of revulsion. I shot to my feet and made for the door, but as I stepped into the hall, an intimate mind-link drifted from the next room.

"Why did you bring so many aphrodisiac herbs again?"

"I can't use them on her. Can't let them go to waste."

Ugh, you drained me last night, and you're already at it again. It's the same every time you bring her here…

The rest of their words blurred into a nauseating hum.