"What on earth is going on?"

"Why did Alpha Ryder visit Isabelle's family and even officially announce that she's pregnant?"

"But Alpha Ryder and Healer Lyra are supposed to have their bonding ceremony any day now."

The chatter outside my office gnawed at my nerves.

My phone buzzed. A coworker had sent a photo.

Ryder's hand rested gently on Isabelle's belly. His gaze was steady and protective. Around them stood the Morrison elders. Their faces were alight with joy.

A message from the coworker popped up in a tone laced with sympathy. "Why is Isabelle pregnant? They look like true mates. Are you okay, Lyra?"

I stared at the photo. Ryder had never looked at me that way. Five years in, he still hadn't formally introduced me to the Blackwood elders.

Whenever I brought up the subject, he'd say, "Your family still needs time to prove itself."

I saw it now for what it was—an excuse.

"I'm fine," I typed back, then tossed my phone aside.

Silverblood burned hotter in my veins, searing every nerve. Pain raked through me. I knew my time was running out. My life was ticking by with every second.

…

The next afternoon, I met a few friends at a cafe. I'd planned to invite them to my bonding ceremony. Instead, all I could do was tell them it was canceled. Their eyes went wide.

One of them blurted, "What? The ceremony's canceled? Why? You were so excited about your bonding ceremony with Ryder. Did you two have a falling out?"

The others crowded closer, and their faces were full of shock and confusion.

I stirred my coffee. "Ryder has more pressing matters to attend to. He has to have a pup with Isabelle. Even if it's through artificial insemination, I can't bring myself to accept it."

My friend frowned. "Isabelle? The she-wolf who says she saved him? But Lyra, you're his mate."

I managed a bitter smile. "So what if we're the Moon Goddess' chosen mates? In Ryder's eyes, the pack will always come before personal feelings."

My mind went back to the rainy night I first met Ryder. Rogues were on my heels, and he'd pulled me back from the brink of death.

From then on, I was deeply in love with this powerful, aloof Alpha.

For five years, I believed our love was unshakable. Only when Isabelle appeared did I realize how fragile my place in his heart was. I couldn't tell anymore whether what I felt for Ryder was gratitude or love.

One of my friends closed a hand over mine. "Lyra… this isn't fair."

I drew my hand back. "Fairness has nothing to do with it. I've stopped caring. Sorry, I'm tired. I'm heading home."

…

It was past 11:00 pm when I dragged myself home. I pushed the door open to find Ryder in the living room, still wearing the dust of the road.

His brows knitted the instant he saw me. His nostrils twitched. He stepped back, disgust turning his voice rough. "You smell of other wolves. Stay back."

I stopped cold. This was my home, and my mate was recoiling because my friends' scent was on me.

"You're worried it'll affect Isabelle?" I asked.

Ryder sounded as if it were only natural. "She's sensitive right now. She can't be exposed to anything that might harm the pup. From now on, tell me before you go out, and shower as soon as you get back."

I took in the angles of his cold profile, and the last warmth in me went out. I'd already become a potential threat in his eyes.

"Understood," I said, turning for the stairs.

"Wait," Ryder called after me. "I need you to do something."

I stopped with my back to him and waited. What would he want me to give up this time for the so-called greater good?

"Call off tomorrow's pre-ceremony photo shoot," Ryder said. His voice echoed through the living room.

I turned to him, keeping my face blank.

I nodded. "Fine. I'll let the photographer know."

He clearly hadn't expected me to agree so readily. He hesitated, as if whatever speech he'd prepped suddenly had nowhere to go.

"Aren't you going to ask why?"

I kept my voice even. "It doesn't matter. You're the one who makes the calls anyway, aren't you?"

Silverblood was making me weaker by the day. I didn't have it in me to argue anymore. I was dying anyway, so what did it matter if we did the photo shoot or not?

Ryder frowned and went on. "I'm not calling the whole thing off. I'm saying… someone else will take your place."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

Ryder's tone softened. "Isabelle has always wished she could be photographed in a bonding-ceremony gown. I want her to take your place in the shoot. Think of it as granting her that dream."

I looked at him in disbelief. My mate wanted another she-wolf in my gown, in our photos, and in my place.

"Won't that put a strain on her pregnancy?" I asked.

Ryder watched me with expectation in his eyes. "The photographer will be careful. Besides, it'll brighten her mood. I'll make it up to you later with a shoot that's better than this one."

Later? There was no later for me.

I nodded again. "Alright. I'll send the gown over."

Ryder went still again. He'd expected a fight, tears, or for me to make a scene. That was how I used to beg him to change his mind. Instead, I just let it stand.

…

The next morning, Ryder rushed through breakfast and made for the door.

While adjusting his tie, he said, "After the photo shoot, I'm taking Isabelle to Holy Moon Spring for purification and blessing to keep the pregnancy safe. I'll be gone for about three days.

"So you'll handle the ceremony arrangements. Just keep it simple.”

He'd told me not to worry about it. But now he dismissed the day we'd spent five years waiting for with nothing more than a throwaway "keep it simple".

I knew the bonding ceremony would never happen. Still, hearing him say it cut deep.

Ryder picked up his keys. "Once it's all over, I'll give you the prime territory as compensation. You've always loved the forest by Silvercrest, haven't you?"

Compensation? He was grinding my dignity into the dirt and dressing it up as generosity.

I only nodded. "Alright."

Ryder shot me a look, unsettled by how calm I was, but said nothing more. He made for the door.

"Wait for me to come back."

He threw the words over his shoulder and left.

As the door clicked shut, I slumped onto the couch.

Wait for him? For what? So we could go through a meaningless bonding ceremony while he watched me die by inches?

I stood and went upstairs to the bedroom. I opened the closet. There it was, the white gown I'd picked with such care. Every stitch of the hand embroidery held the hopes I'd had for that ceremony.

I took it down and eased it into a garment bag. Then I began clearing the room of everything that was mine.

Five years of memories filled three suitcases—photos, letters, little trinkets—each one a witness to what we'd once had. But to Ryder, they meant nothing apparently.

I packed it all and set the suitcases beside the bed. The room lay empty, no different from me.

…

In the afternoon, Isabelle called. Her voice was sweet with delight. "Thanks for the gown, Lyra. It's gorgeous. I felt like a true Luna when I put it on."

"You're welcome," I said.

She wouldn't stop bragging. "Ryder wouldn't stop telling me how beautiful I looked during the shoot. He said seeing me in the gown reminded him of everything beautiful."

I shut my eyes, unwilling to hear more. "Isabelle, is there anything else?"

Her tone turned serious. "Oh, one more thing. Ryder's taking me to Holy Moon Spring for purification and blessing to keep the pregnancy safe. It's the most sacred place in the Bluemoon pack, and only a true Luna may enter."

The true Luna? I was Ryder's mate, and I'd never been taken there.

"Enjoy yourselves," I said, and hung up.

The sun set. The house was empty except for me.

I sat in the living room, staring at a framed photo on the wall. In it, Ryder has his arms around me. His eyes were soft with love. That was three years ago.

When did the way he looked at me change? When did he start giving all that gentleness to someone else?

I got up and stepped onto the balcony.

The distant mountains lay ink-dark. The sky bled red. The world was beautiful. It was such a shame I didn't have much time left to take it in.

I heard footsteps behind me. It was the housekeeper, Susan Hale, drawing near.

"Luna, would you like me to prepare dinner?" she asked. Her voice was full of concern.

I turned to the older woman who had cared for me for the past five years. "No, it's fine. You don't have to look after me starting tomorrow."

Susan was taken aback. "What do you mean, Luna?"

I patted her hand. "Nothing in particular. I might be leaving for a while."

The look she gave me said she understood more than I'd said. Her lips parted, then closed.

It was late. I sat alone in the bedroom, staring at the packed suitcases.

Ryder would take Isabelle to Holy Moon Spring for a blessing. And I would begin the last leg of my life.

My phone buzzed with a text.

"We just saw such beautiful moonlight at Holy Moon Spring. I wish I could bring you here often."

That message wasn't meant for me. Ryder had sent it to the wrong person.

I deleted it, as though I was erasing us altogether.

It had been a week, and Ryder still hadn't returned.

News from within the pack reached me every day. Ryder and Isabelle moved as one, circling the territory and accepting each family's blessing, like a true pair.

And me? I wasn't even fit to stand in their shadow.

I scrubbed the place I once called home. Bit by bit, the marks I'd left were being wiped away. No corner of the room held my scent anymore. It was as if I'd never lived here at all.

That afternoon, I visited Elena, the elder who had looked after me since I was a pup. She was a well-respected healer in our pack, and she was Ryder's mother.

She was startled when she saw me. "You've lost so much weight, Lyra."

I took the seat across from her and managed a smile. "I'm leaving. I'll be gone for a while, Elena."

Her brows drew together. "Leaving? But what about the bonding ceremony?"

I kept my tone even. "It's been called off. Ryder and I couldn't make it work."

Elena's face hardened at once. As an elder among our kind, she understood how sacred a mate bond was.

She shook her head. "That can't be right. You were fated mates, chosen by the Moon Goddess herself."

"Even the Moon Goddess' will loses to reality. Ryder chose Isabelle and the pup she's carrying."

Elena's eyes widened. "Isabelle's pregnant? B-but… you're his mate!"

I rose. "Yes. I thought so too. Turns out I was wrong."

Elena caught my hand. "Lyra, you can't just give up like this. Go to the Elder Council. They'll see justice get served."

I ran my hand over her aged fingers. "It won't help. It'll be worse if I end up cast out as a rogue. I can still leave with some dignity for now."

Elena read the resolve in my eyes and let out a long sigh. "May the Moon Goddess watch over you."

I hugged her. "Thank you."

After leaving Elena's place, I went straight to Chloe Mercer's apartment. She was my best friend, the last tie I had to this world.

When Chloe opened the door, she nearly jumped. "Lyra? Oh my God, you look awful!"

I walked into the living room and set the boxes I'd packed on the floor. "Chloe, I need you to handle these for me."

She stared at me, confused. "What are they? Wait, shouldn't you be getting ready for the bonding ceremony? Wasn't that the thing you wanted most?"

I sank onto her couch. "The ceremony's off. I'm leaving."

"What? Why? What happened?" Chloe screamed.

I drew a deep breath, deciding to tell her everything that had happened over the past month. "Ryder is having a pup with Isabelle. She's already pregnant. They conceived through artificial insemination."

Chloe shot to her feet. "No way! You're his mate! The one chosen by the Moon Goddess!"

I managed a bitter smile. "But reality makes it clear that my place as his mate counts for almost nothing."

Chloe was shaking with anger. "That bitch! Who does she think she is?"

I repeated Ryder's words in a flat voice. "Three years ago, Isabelle stepped in front of a silver dagger meant for him."

Chloe came right up to me. "That's a damn lie! Lyra, you were the one who saved him three years ago! You!"

I froze. "What?"

Tears welled up in Chloe's eyes. "Don't you remember? You took a silver dagger for Ryder three years ago. It went straight into your heart. You almost died!"

But I couldn't remember any of it. All I recalled was being wounded in the attack and spending a month in a coma at the infirmary.

When I finally woke, Ryder told me Isabelle had arrived just in time and got us out.

"Isabelle—"

Chloe broke down sobbing. "Isabelle did nothing! She got there after it was over. You're the one who saved Ryder. You traded your life for his!"

"Then why would Ryder believe—"

Chloe gripped my hand. "Because the dagger carried Silverblood. The healers said the toxin kills slowly, and there's no cure. Isabelle must've taken advantage of that."

I slumped onto the couch. My mind was in chaos.

Was the Silverblood in me from three years ago, when I saved Ryder? If so, then I was the one who saved his life, not Isabelle.

Chloe's voice caught. "So… how much time do you have left?"

I closed my eyes. "Under a month. Maybe even less."

Chloe broke down, clutching me as she sobbed. "Why? You saved his life, loved him for five years, and this is what you get?"

I patted her back. "It's alright. I'll be free soon."

Chloe pushed me away. Her eyes were blazing. "No! I'm going to tell Ryder the truth! He needs to know who saved him!"

I grabbed her hand. "Don't. It won't do any good. He's already made his choice, and so have I."

"But, Lyra…"

I held her gaze. "Chloe, promise me you won't tell anyone about my condition. Let me go quietly, please."

She met my gaze and found only resolve there. At last, tears slid down her cheeks, and she nodded.

She pulled me into a hug. Her voice was breaking. "I can't bear to lose you. What can I do to help, Lyra?"

I patted Chloe's back.

One last trace of warmth stirred in my chest. At least someone still cared enough to cry for me in this unfeeling world.