"I want to resign."

I stood in the infirmary office and handed my resignation to my supervisor, Gordon Walsh. The room fell silent at once. Every coworker stared at me in shock.

Gordon's eyes went wide. "What? Lyra, you've got to be kidding. Your bonding ceremony with Alpha Ryder is just around the corner!"

I calmly gathered my things. "I'm not kidding. The ceremony has already been canceled."

The hush broke into a low rustle of voices.

"The invitations already went out."

"How could it be canceled so suddenly?"

"Did Alpha Ryder change his mind?"

I didn't explain. I packed in silence.

I'd treated countless injured werewolves here for five years, saving lives thanks to the rare healing gift I'd been born with. Now, it was all coming to an end.

Gordon came to my side. "Lyra, at least tell us why. We can help if there's any trouble."

I slung my bag over my shoulder. "There's no trouble. We're just… not right for each other. I've already withdrawn the invitations. I'm truly sorry for the trouble."

After leaving the infirmary, I went straight home.

The moment I pushed the door open, I saw two figures in the living room—Ryder, who hadn't been home in a week, and Isabelle.

They sat on the couch. Isabelle's hand lingered at her belly. Her smile was gentle with quiet contentment. Ryder was peeling an orange for her. His movements were so gentle that it seemed like he was handling a rare treasure.

His brows drew together when he saw me. "You're back. Why did you clear the room out like this?"

I looked around. My things were gone. Not a single trace of me left.

"I just did a little tidying," I said.

Isabelle cut in. Her voice was so cloying that it turned my stomach. "Oh, Lyra! I have to thank you for your generosity. Thank you for letting me bear Ryder's pup. I'm truly grateful."

She stood, deliberately angling her belly forward. "I know this is hard for you as Ryder's mate. Still, for the future of the pack and the alliance between our families, your sacrifice as Luna will secure what we all need."

She actually said "sacrifice".

"It's okay. I understand," I answered evenly.

Disappointment flickered in Isabelle's eyes. Clearly, she'd wanted me to rage, to break down, or to give her the scene she'd been waiting for.

She suggested, "Why don't we have dinner together now that everyone's back? We can discuss the plans for your upcoming bonding ceremony."

I looked at her in silence.

Isabelle's expression changed at once. Tears sprang to her eyes. "D-did I say something wrong? Lyra, I can leave if my being here makes you uncomfortable—"

Ryder cut in. His expression darkened. "Enough. What's with that attitude, Lyra? Isabelle is pregnant and physically weak. How can you be so rude to her?"

I looked at him. He'd once been gentle to me, yet now he was scolding me in that tone.

"I wasn't being rude," I said.

Ryder stood. His dominance as Alpha washed over me. "Then what do you call that silence? Come to the dining room and eat with us. That's an order."

An order? He was using his Alpha authority to treat me like an insubordinate underling.

I didn't resist. I went with them in silence.

At the table, Ryder directed the household staff with practiced ease, instructing them to serve Isabelle a selection of light, carefully balanced dishes. Each was perfect for a pregnant she-wolf.

He remembered that Isabelle couldn't stomach spicy food, her need for folic acid, every flavor she loved, yet somehow forgot my allergy to shrimp.

My medical report lay in plain sight on the dresser in our room, but he hadn't so much as glanced at it.

The staff set down plate after plate of seafood. I sat there without a word, touching nothing.

"Why aren't you eating?" Ryder asked.

"No appetite," I said.

Isabelle ate with care, glancing up now and then with triumph glinting in her eyes. She knew she'd won.

Once dinner was over, I stepped into the hallway to take Lucas' call.

"Did you book the flight?" he asked with concern.

I lowered my voice. "Yes. The flight leaves in three days."

"Do you want me to pick you up?"

"No. It's all set. I'm ready to go."

Lucas' voice was low and gentle. "Lyra… Take care of yourself."

I hung up and turned toward my room, only to find Ryder a few paces behind me. His brows were knitted, and his eyes were sharp with suspicion and confusion.

"Who's leaving?"

"It's my friend who's leaving," I told Ryder, keeping my voice steady.

He studied my face for a few seconds as if searching for a tell, and in the end, he just nodded.

Ryder's behavior made reality impossible to ignore over the next two days.

Two days before I left, he showed up with a stack of pictures. Those were the pre-ceremony photos of him and Isabelle.

He opened his laptop right in front of me, video-called her, and asked, "What do you think of these?"

On the screen, Isabelle had on my white gown, and happiness was written all over her face. She ran a hand over her belly. Her eyes were soft with maternal warmth.

"Ryder, these photos are gorgeous," she cooed into the camera. "Wearing the gown feels so special. It's like we're actually having a bonding ceremony."

"You'd look beautiful in anything," Ryder said. His voice was so tender that it made me gag.

I sat at the far end of the couch, as if I didn't exist. As I watched their saccharine display, something inside me simply died.

"Ryder, I want to place these photos at our families' ancestral shrine, so our forebearers can see our pup," Isabelle said.

Ryder agreed at once. "Good idea."

Their families' ancestral shrine? Their pup?

They spoke with such ease, as if I, Ryder's real mate, had never existed.

Ryder shot me a look after the call. My calm put him on edge.

He frowned. "You've been really quiet lately."

"What's there to say?" I asked.

He said nothing. He kept at his work as if I were nothing but air.

…

The day before I left, I went to the infirmary for my last dose of the toxin suppressant. Silverblood had crept to the edges of my heart, and every breath cut like a blade.

Even so, I held myself together, refusing to let anyone see a crack.

I ran into Ryder and Isabelle at the entrance. She'd just finished her prenatal checkup.

She spotted me and came running. Her eyes were brimming with tears. "Lyra! I've been meaning to apologize."

Isabelle seized my hand. She sounded choked up. "I know I've hurt you, but I had no choice. The healers say I have no more than three months left, and my only wish is to have Ryder's pup."

I watched her act and felt nothing.

"I know," I said evenly, already drawing my hand back to leave.

Isabelle went on sobbing. "Please forgive me, Lyra! I never meant to take what's yours!"

"It's fine," I repeated.

She saw my indifference, and annoyance flickered in her eyes. But she slipped back into that pitiful, helpless act almost at once.

She let go of my hand. "Thanks for understanding. I should head back. My stomach feels a little off."

I turned to leave, and as I set foot on the steps, Isabelle came up behind me.

"Lyra, wait!"

I turned. The sweet mask she'd worn was gone, leaving nothing but naked malice.

Isabelle sneered. "You think keeping your cool gets you anywhere? You just stand there while your mate has a pup with someone else and pretend you don't care. You're a pathetic excuse for a mate."

"Are you finished?" I asked.

She went on, taunting, "You'll never be Luna. Ryder's heart is with me and our pup now. You're just someone who doesn't matter."

I looked at her twisted expression and felt a flicker of pity.

"If saying that makes you feel better, then keep saying it," I said, turning to leave.

"You!" Isabelle spat, pissed at how calm I was, and shoved me hard.

I shifted aside and caught her by the arm without thinking to keep her from falling.

Right then, she let her wolf kick in and threw herself off balance on purpose, pitching backward. I tried to catch her, but it was too late.

"Help!" she screamed as she tumbled down the stairs.

Footsteps hammered the hall. Ryder was sprinting over from the far end. He saw me reaching for Isabelle as she was falling.

Time seemed to stall.

The moment she hit the floor, she clutched her belly. Real fear flooded her eyes. She hadn't expected the fall to be that hard.

"My pup…" she whispered, trembling.

Ryder's face went livid. The look he threw me was all fury and disappointment.

He bellowed, "Lyra! How could you do this? Isabelle's carrying a pup! How dare you? Apologize to her right now!"

I kept my voice even and met Ryder's eyes. "Check the security cameras. You'll see what actually happened."

Ryder scooped Isabelle up, worry blotting out everything else. "Not now! We've got to get her to the healers now!"

The healers rushed over and whisked her into the emergency room.

I stood in the hallway, watching Ryder pace outside the door.

He made call after call, calling in every top healer he could reach. I'd never heard that kind of panic in his voice.

Three hours later, a healer finally stepped out. "The pup's safe, but the mother needs strict bed rest."

Ryder let out a long breath and turned to me. Anger flared in his eyes again. His voice went cold. "Care to explain now? Why did you push Isabelle?"

"I didn't push her. She—"

"Enough!" Ryder snapped, cutting me off. "Spare me the excuses. Isabelle's carrying a pup. As Luna, you should be protecting her, instead of hurting her!"

I looked at him, the one who once swore he'd lay down his life for me. Now his eyes held nothing but suspicion and reproach.

"You don't trust me."

Ryder's voice grew colder. "The facts are right in front of us. What else do you want me to believe? Lyra, I'm disappointed in you."

"Then let's end this."

Ryder went still, as if he'd misheard. "What did you just say?"

"Let's end this," I said, my voice still steady. "If you think I'd harm an expectant mother, if you don't trust me, then there's no reason for us to go on."

Ryder frowned. "What are you even saying? Our bonding ceremony is tomorrow. And you want to break our bond now?"

I sneered. "Bonding ceremony? You mean the one you didn't lift a finger to plan, the one you told me to keep it simple and left me to handle alone?"

Ryder's expression tightened. "Lyra, I know you're emotional over Isabelle, but—"

"I'm not emotional." I cut him off. "I'm clear-headed. I know you care more for Isabelle and her pup than for me. And I know that, to you, I'm dispensable."

Ryder bellowed, "You're being unreasonable! As the Alpha's mate, you should see the bigger picture!"

I let out a mirthless laugh. "The bigger picture? So the 'big picture' means I'm expected to accept my mate fathering a pup with another she-wolf?"

Ryder was left speechless.

Then his phone rang. It was Isabelle.

He shot me a look before answering. "Isabelle, how do you feel? Don't be afraid. I'm on my way. Alright, get some rest. I'll stay with you."

After he ended the call, he said, "Isabelle needs someone to look after her. I'm going to stay with her."

"Just go," I said.

"The ceremony will still be held tomorrow. Don't worry about it."

When I didn't answer, Ryder frowned. He studied me for a beat and said, "Don't be late."

Then, he turned and left without looking back.

I stayed in the empty hallway, listening until his footsteps were gone.

…

Back home, I went to the calendar and picked up a pen.

"I reject you, Ryder Blackwood," I said into the empty room.

Then, I slashed a line through the date circled in red.

…

At dawn, I dragged my suitcases out of the house I'd called home for five years and caught a flight to the town on the coast.

Meanwhile, Ryder, who was unaware, was on his way to the bonding ceremony.

The church stood empty. He waited at the altar for ten minutes, then another ten, until a full hour had passed. Growing restless, he was about to go to the pack elders for answers.

The Chief Elder stepped forward. His face was grave. "Alpha Ryder, there's something you need to know."

"What is it? Where's Lyra? Why isn't she here yet?" Ryder asked. His voice was rough with impatience.

The elder's voice was grave. "The bonding ceremony was canceled two weeks ago. Lyra sent word by messenger. She rejected the mate bond."

Ryder went white. "She canceled the ceremony? That's impossible!"

"Her exact words were, 'I reject you, Ryder Blackwood.'"

Ryder stood in the empty church. His voice cut through the silence. "What? No way!"

Outside, hundreds of guests crowded the doors. A low murmur was building as they waited for an explanation.

Bluemoon Group executives exchanged uneasy looks. No one spoke up.

Elena was there too. She alone knew the truth. Remembering what I'd been through, she decided Ryder needed to hear exactly how wrong he was.

She stepped right up to him. Her voice was tight with fury. "She got a terminal diagnosis last month. She's dying, and you had no idea! You're too wrapped up in another she-wolf and her pup!

"You're unfit to be Lyra's mate. No wonder she rejected you!"

Elena's words hit hard, and pity threaded through each one.

Upon hearing I was dying, Ryder stilled. The floor fell away beneath him.