There was no sense of day or night in the basement.

Yuna only knew that time stretched unbearably slow after she was locked inside.

The cold seeped in from every wall, gnawing at her bones.

She curled up in a corner, listening to the faint, broken sounds from above.

When Damon carried Vera upstairs, she let out a soft, low laugh.

The sound came through the floorboards and stabbed at Yuna's ears like needles.

Late into the night, the iron door suddenly creaked open.

Yuna looked up to see Vera stepping in, holding a small lantern.

She wore a soft white dress tonight, her expression smug and impossible to hide.

"This place really suits you," Vera said, glancing around the basement with a light, mocking laugh. "After all, losers belong in the shadows."

Yuna stared at her, her gaze icy and unreadable.

"What are you doing here?"

Vera crouched down slowly, meeting her eyes at the same level.

"Just here to show you who Damon finally chooses."

As she said that, she pulled a tiny silver vial from her sleeve.

The moment she opened the stopper, a sharp, acrid smell spread through the air.

Yuna's face went pale.

It was silver dust.

For a werewolf, even the smallest amount was enough to cause excruciating pain and suppress their healing.

"Don't look at me like that," Vera said, voice soft but venomous. "I just want you to learn a lesson. You've always thought you were so high and mighty. Let's see if you can still hold that haughty air when silver burns your skin."

Before Yuna could react, Vera flung the silver dust onto her arm.

Pain exploded in an instant.

Yuna gasped and her face drained of color as her skin turned fiery red, blistering under the silver.

She jerked back instinctively, her back slamming hard against the cold wall. Cold sweat broke out across her skin.

Vera watched her tremble in pain, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

"Does it hurt?" she murmured, stepping closer, her voice low and cutting. "When I lost my pup, I hurt far more than this. Even if you die here, Damon won't turn back."

Yuna gritted her teeth, refusing to make a sound.

The quieter she remained, the more furious Vera became.

The next second, Vera suddenly pulled the wick from the lantern and threw it toward the corner of the basement, where old wooden crates and dry hay were stacked.

Flames shot up with a roar.

Yuna's head snapped up.

Vera stood before the fire, a twisted smile on her face.

She murmured, "Let's see who Damon will save when it counts most."

The fire spread fast.

The basement was already sealed tight, and the thick smoke filled the air instantly, making it hard to breathe.

Yuna forced herself to her feet and rushed toward the iron door, pounding on it with all her strength.

"Someone! Open the door!"

Above, she could hear the sound of hurried footsteps.

She even caught Damon's voice, low and heavy, sharp with sudden, taut anger.

"What's going on?"

Vera shrieked just then. "Damon! Save me!"

The basement door finally crashed open.

Through the rolling smoke, Damon was the first to reach Vera. He pulled her tightly into his arms.

"Are you okay?" His voice was strained.

Vera clung to him, trembling and crying. "Damon, I'm so scared..."

Yuna stood in the glow of the fire and the choking smoke, her arm raw and blistered from the silver dust, her breathing ragged.

She watched Damon hold Vera tightly against him, and the last flicker of hope inside her quietly died.

He carried Vera out of the basement almost immediately.

Outside the iron door, chaos erupted as everyone gathered around.

Yuna pressed herself against the wall, fighting through the burning pain and choking smoke, struggling to keep her trembling body upright.

Just as she was about to collapse, the sharp sound of hurried footsteps came from outside again.

Someone burst back into the room.

Yuna jerked her head up, her chest twisting as if something had yanked at it.

For a brief, ridiculous moment, she even thought Damon had returned for her.

But the next second, he strode past her and headed straight for the spot where Vera had just been standing.

On the floor lay the talisman.

He bent down and picked it up, gripping it tightly in his hand, not sparing her a single glance.

So that's why he had come back. It wasn't to save her.

He had come back for something Vera had dropped.

With the talisman in hand, Damon spun and rushed toward the exit.

It wasn't until he was nearly at the door that he seemed to remember someone else was still there. He cast her a look.

But it was too brief, a glance so fleeting it felt like an illusion.

The next second, he was gone, swallowed by the thick smoke.

Yuna stayed rooted to the spot and laughed.

She laughed softly, but the heat drove her tears from her eyes.

Nine years of love, promises as mates, the vow at the Frostveil Pack's cemetery... In the end, it wasn't enough to outweigh a single talisman hanging around Vera's neck.

The fire roared higher, the beams snapping and cracking.

Yuna let herself give up completely.

She no longer begged for help, and she no longer expected anyone to turn back for her.

She grabbed a half-damp scrap of burlap from the corner and pressed it over her mouth and nose, forcing herself to crawl toward the small side door where the meals had first been brought.

The basement was packed with junk, and that side door was rarely used. But the latch had long since loosened.

Yuna pushed against the door repeatedly, ignoring the searing pain in her arm and choking smoke.

The latch finally gave way, and a rush of night air poured in.

She crawled out, fire still raging behind her.

Yuna collapsed onto the stone steps in the backyard, her palms and knees raw and bleeding.

She hunched over the ground, coughing violently, her throat burning with smoke and the metallic taste of blood.

The basement behind her was still ablaze, the flames painting half the night sky red. The front yard was chaos. Everyone clustered around Vera and Damon, no one noticing that Yuna had crawled out on her own.

Then, frantic hands grabbed her.

"Luna!"

It was Amy.

Her eyes were red-rimmed, tears streaking her face. In her hands, she clutched a tiny glass vial tightly.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She dropped to her knees, trembling, and unlocked the handcuffs binding Yuna's wrist. "If I hadn't sent you into the basement, none of this would have happened."

Yuna leaned against the wall, her face pale and the silver burns on her arms still oozing blood.

But she lifted her other hand and gently pressed it against Amy's trembling wrist.

"I told you, this isn't your fault."

Amy sobbed, pressing the magical potion into Yuna's palm, her eyes desperate and full of tears.

Yuna lowered her gaze to the tiny vial, her breath catching slightly.

This was her last chance.

Yuna didn't hesitate. She twisted off the cap and swallowed the icy potion in one gulp.

The instant it hit her throat, the mark at her neck stung like a needle driven deep into flesh, making her fingers twitch.

Then, deep in her chest, the hidden tether that had always bound her to Damon began to loosen.

It was slow, but it was undeniably real.

Yuna closed her eyes, using nearly every ounce of strength just to keep her expression steady.

Selena had said the potion would take effect within half an hour. When it did, the psychic bond between her and Damon would be temporarily severed, and the mark's pull would be reduced to almost nothing.

She needed to get out of the main house and out of the pack's territory before it fully kicked in, or Damon could still track her.

Amy quickly pressed a cloak and a travel pass into her arms, her voice barely more than a breath. She forced a small smile.

"Luna, go. Don't look back."

Yuna's chest tightened, but there was no time to argue. She threw her cloak over her shoulders and slipped through the messy shadows of the backyard, heading for the back door of the main house.

The potion was starting to take effect. The mark at her neck burned hotter and hotter, as if something was being ripped away from her flesh.

At the same time, her whole body felt lighter.

The constant pull she had felt, the unrelenting tug of Damon's moods and emotions, was finally fading.

As she neared the back door, Vera's laughter floated down from the second floor of the main house. It was light, sweet, confident, like she had finally claimed the place she'd been waiting for.

Yuna's steps faltered as memories flashed through her mind.

At sixteen, Damon had confessed to her under the moon, his ears burning red.

At eighteen, he had knelt before the Frostveil Pack's graves and sworn his life to hers.

At twenty, he had bitten the mark into her neck, promising a lifetime together.

And now, after only a few short years, he had crushed it all with his own hands.

So promises could really change, and hearts could really turn cold.

Yuna exhaled slowly, refusing to linger any longer. She pushed open the back door and stepped into the night.

The western forest path was cold, the moonlight spilling over the stone road like a thin layer of frost.

She didn't move quickly. Her body hadn't fully recovered, and the silver burns on her arms still throbbed.

But with every step forward, the tether that had bound her for nine years loosened a little more.

When she reached the edge of the pack's territory, she cast one final glance back toward the Fendon Pack.

The main house shone brightly. From a distance, it felt like a dream she had lived for a long time.

But now the dream was over.

She tugged her cloak higher, covering the mark at her neck and hiding the last glimmer of moisture in her eyes.

"Let's go," she whispered to herself.

And with that, Yuna crossed the border without looking back, leaving the Fendon Pack behind for good.