After that, I cut off all contact with the outside world.

Seventeen missed calls from Slade. I ignored every single one.

At three in the afternoon, the door to my healing lab was violently thrown open.

Standing in the doorway was Lucas, Slade's most loyal Beta. Behind him were two stone-faced pack warriors.

"Miss Eloise," Lucas's tone was respectful, but his muscles were tense, ready for action. "The Alpha wants to see you."

I didn't look up, continuing to grind herbs with the pestle in my hand. "Tell your Alpha I'm not seeing patients."

"I'm afraid this isn't a request," he said. "It's an order."

I set down the pestle, wiped my hands, and stood up straight. "So, you plan to drag me back by force, like capturing prey?"

Lucas's gaze shifted, but he didn't deny it. "You know the Alpha doesn't like to wait."

"He said not to make him carry you. It would be undignified."

I was forced into an SUV that came to a stop before the gates of the Alpha's manor.

This place was once the home I dreamed of. Now, I only wanted to escape.

I was "escorted" to my herb garden behind the main house. But the moment I pushed open the gate, I froze.

The garden I had spent ten years cultivating, which held some of the rarest medicinal herbs in all of North America, was now a scene of utter destruction.

Life-saving Silverleaf plants had been ripped out by the roots, their damp stems tossed carelessly into the mud.

In their place, hundreds of garish red roses were being hastily planted by workers.

"Stop!" I screamed, rushing forward and cradling a trampled Moonlight Orchid. "What are you doing? These are for saving lives!"

"Rosalind found these weeds an eyesore," a familiar, lazy voice said from behind me. "So we're doing a little redecorating."

I turned to see Slade approaching, with Rosalind Thorne on his arm.

He wore a dark, tailored shirt, the sleeves rolled up to reveal his strong forearms.

Rosalind, dressed in an expensive silk gown, snuggled against Slade's powerful arm.

"Slade, darling," she cooed, "I don't like the smell. As your future Luna, I think this place should be a proper garden, not some common vegetable patch."

I looked at Slade, my nails digging into the dead orchid, mud and water seeping through my fingers.

"Slade, this orchid can neutralize wolf venom. I watched over it for three whole nights just to get one," my voice trembled. "You promised me this garden would always be under my care."

Slade didn't even glance at the flower. His gaze was fixed on Rosalind's satisfied smile.

He simply shrugged, indifferent. "Oh, stop being so dramatic, Eloise. It's just a few plants. I can buy you a whole greenhouse full of them later if you behave."

"Rosalind is the lady of the house now. We should let her have her fun, don't you think?"

"But..."

"Shh," Slade placed a finger on my lips, "Don't spoil the mood with that frown."

As if just remembering to introduce me, he turned his head. "Rosalind, this is Eloise. She's the Blackwood Pack's... most useful medical asset. As long as they have a pulse, she can pull them back from the brink."

He had called me... an asset.

Rosalind raised an eyebrow, her eyes sweeping over my mud-stained dress.

"I've heard so much about you. He says he'd be lost without you to handle all the common injuries. It must be so trying, being a little human. You look so out of place here, like a pet that wandered too far from home."

She deliberately stressed the word "human," a hint of pity on her face.

"It is my duty to serve the Blackwood Pack," I forced myself to remain calm.

Slade nodded, satisfied. He turned to Rosalind with a gentle expression. "Let's go, my love. The Elders are waiting for us."

He wrapped his arm around her waist, and I followed behind them like a servant.

The Elders were already waiting in the main hall.

One of them, Elder Marcus, stood up when he saw me.

"Last month, my son was attacked by rogues, his guts were nearly spilling out. It was Eloise who snatched him from death's door. She is so important to this pack, we all thought you would..."

Slade set his glass down, the sharp clink echoing through the hall. He laughed softly, shaking his head as if Marcus had told a funny joke.

"Elder Marcus." His tone was light, but dismissive. "You're getting sentimental in your old age."

"Eloise is a fantastic healer, truly a treasure," Slade smiled at me across the room, raising his glass in a mock toast. "But let's not get carried away. She's human, after all."

"The Luna needs to be a warrior, someone with... pedigree. You understand, don't you, Eloise?"

I lowered my eyes, forcing a flawless smile.

"Elder Marcus, you misunderstand. The Alpha and I have always maintained a strictly professional relationship."

Slade hadn't expected my easy compliance. He raised an eyebrow, looking pleasantly surprised.

The tension in the hall dissipated. Rosalind shot me a triumphant smirk.

Slade passed by me. He raised his hand, as if out of habit, to stroke the back of my neck.

But he stopped mid-air, turning instead to smooth a stray hair from Rosalind's head.

He leaned down, his warm breath ghosting over my ear as he whispered in a voice only I could hear,

"My healer, I knew you'd be sensible. I'll reward you later."

During the dinner, I sat alone at the far end of the long table, watching Slade and Rosalind in the seats of honor, accepting the pack's congratulations.

From time to time, Slade would turn his head and wink at me, his eyes holding the look one might give a well-behaved dog.

But I never once met his gaze.

Enjoy your victory, Slade.

Your most precious treasure has already planned her escape.

Two days later was the pack's traditional Hunt Under the Moon.

It was the pack's most important annual festival, and by tradition, the Alpha was required to participate personally.

I had no desire to attend, but Slade commanded my presence as the on-site healer.

"Eloise, keep up," he called from ahead, his voice cheerful and unbothered.

I hoisted my heavy emergency kit and stumbled along at the back of the party. At the very front, Slade and Rosalind stood side-by-side.

Rosalind had changed into a tight-fitting leather hunting suit that perfectly outlined her curves.

She would occasionally lean in to whisper in Slade's ear, and he would listen with a look of deep, tender focus.

The hunting party moved deeper into the dense forest.

The sacrificial stag, normally raised in captivity, was released.

But something was wrong with this stag.

Its eyes were blood-red, foam dripped from its mouth, and the muscles under its skin twitched uncontrollably.

Someone had tampered with it. It had been injected with a stimulant, or something worse.

"The stag has been drugged!" I yelled. "Stay back! It's rabid!"

But no one paid any mind to the warning of a breathless human.

The next second, the stag let out a roar unlike any herbivore and charged madly toward the most crowded area.

Right where Slade and Rosalind were standing.

It all happened too fast.

The stag's speed was terrifying. Rosalind stood frozen, paralyzed by the sudden, mad onslaught.

I was standing less than ten feet behind her. "Watch out!" I yelled instinctively, starting to lunge forward to pull her away.

A black shadow moved faster than I could. Alpha speed.

Slade threw himself in front of Rosalind. To guarantee her absolute safety, to create more distance, he shoved sideways with all his strength.

He didn't hit the stag. He hit me.

Before I could react, the impact sent me flying. My body slammed hard against the trunk of an ancient oak tree.

A burst of excruciating pain exploded through me. I heard the crack of my own left arm dislocating, and my medical kit crashed against my leg, shattering the glass vials inside.

I collapsed into the mud, a cold sweat instantly drenching my back.

But I ignored the pain, my eyes fixed on the scene before me.

Slade had already snapped the crazed stag's neck with one hand. It fell to the ground, limp.

He held Rosalind tightly in his embrace, his large hand cradling the back of her head, pressing her face into his chest to shield her from the bloody sight.

"It's okay," his voice was a low rumble. "I'm here."

"Slade, I was so scared," Rosalind's voice was choked with sobs, her hands clutching his shirt.

"As long as I'm here, no one can hurt you."

He gently inspected her arms, even though they weren't touched by a single speck of dust.

And me, I was just fifteen feet away, clutching my dislocated arm, my lips white with pain.

Slade turned, his gaze sweeping over the scene, confirming the threat was eliminated.

His eyes fell on me, lingering for a few seconds. He didn't look worried.

"You're tough, Eloise," he offered a lopsided grin, devoid of real concern. "Walk it off, yeah?"

When I managed a nod, he looked away.

"Burn the stag's carcass. We're returning to the manor." He lifted Rosalind into his arms and strode away.

I returned alone to the empty medical center.

The fluorescent lights of the lab were stark and blindingly white.

I sat on the edge of the operating table and used scissors to cut away the sleeve, now stuck to my skin with dried blood.

My left arm had already swollen to twice its normal size.

Without anesthetic, my hands trembled too much to hold a syringe steady.

"You can do this, Eloise," I told my reflection. "Compared to the hole in your heart, this pain is nothing."

I bit down on a towel, gripped my dislocated arm with my right hand, and took a deep breath. Then I shoved it back into place.

The agony of the bone resetting made my vision flash black. I bit down so hard I tasted the metallic tang of blood.

I leaned against the wall, panting and drenched in sweat, when my phone pinged. Lucas had forwarded the Alpha's "Pack-Wide Announcement" audio file.

Slade's voice rang out. "For the glory and future of the pack, and in light of the peace and prosperity brought by Rosalind Thorne..."

His voice paused.

"I will officially hold my bonding ceremony with Rosalind Thorne on the next full moon. She will be my Luna."

My hand, which was wrapping a bandage, froze mid-air. The bone I had just set screamed as if it had shattered all over again.

I looked at myself in the mirror. My face was pale, my lip was bleeding, and my left arm was in a sling.

But I couldn't feel the pain anymore.

I took out my phone and looked at the countdown app on the screen.

Five days left.

After that pack-wide announcement, I locked myself in the medical center for three whole days.

Aside from changing my own dressings, I spent my time organizing the documents I needed to take with me.

My left arm still ached, but I had learned to pack with one hand.

Bang.

The door was thrown open. A cloying scent of roses flooded the room, followed by the distinct, cold aura of an Alpha.

Slade walked in, with Rosalind clinging tightly to his arm.

She wore a pure white, high-end cashmere coat, and the black diamond ring on her finger glittered with a greedy light that nearly blinded me.

"Eloise," Slade frowned, his eyes landing on my sling with a hint of annoyance. "What happened to you? Did you fall down the stairs or something? You really are clumsy, always getting yourself hurt."

"Thanks to your Alpha," I said, my voice hoarse as I leaned against the bed. "The pack won't have to pay for my funeral expenses just yet."

Slade's brow furrowed, he clicked his tongue in disapproval. "Don't be morbid, it spoils your pretty face."

Rosalind let go of Slade and walked to my bedside.

"Oh, don't say that," she feigned concern, but her eyes were cold. "Humans are just so fragile. They break at the slightest touch. It really is a burden to have such weak creatures in a pack of warriors."

She always found a way to emphasize my human status, and always with such perfect, cutting timing.

"However," her gaze suddenly locked onto my collarbone, where a small moonstone charm glowed with a soft blue light.

He had given it to me ten years ago, not long after I first came to the pack. I was having nightmares every night after losing my mother and being thrown into a completely new world.

To soothe my nightmares, he had fastened it around my neck himself. "Wear this, Eloise," he'd said. "It carries my scent. No nightmare will dare come near you."

It was the first gift he ever gave me. A secret vow between us.

In ten years, I had never taken it off.

"Slade, this is so... cheap. This is the future Alpha's domain. Why is there a chipped stone reeking of low-level witchcraft here? Its energy feels like it will interfere with mine as the Luna."

Slade's body tensed for a moment, but he said nothing.

I instinctively raised a hand, my fingers closing around the warm stone. "This is my personal property."

"Eloise," Slade sighed, stepping forward, "Why are you so attached to that junk? I can buy you diamonds, pearls, whatever you want."

"Come on, let me see it," he murmured, reaching out.

That large, warm hand, which had caressed my cheek countless times, was now reaching for my neck.

He grabbed the moonstone and yanked.

A sharp pain shot through my neck as the leather cord bit into my flesh, leaving an instant red line.

The necklace broke.

"Slade!" I cried out, ignoring the pain, reaching for it.

But he stepped back, holding the stone up to the light and chuckling.

"It really is just a pebble. You're so sentimental, sweetheart."

Rosalind wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Destroy it, darling. It has a scent on it I don't like."

Slade looked at the stone in his hand. Then, right in front of me, his fingers closed.

I thought I heard the stone shatter.

An Alpha's strength could pulverize it in an instant.

When he opened his hand again, all that was left was a pile of shimmering white powder.

He let the white powder sift through his fingers, scattering onto the floor to mix with the dust.

"There," he smiled, dusting off his hands as if he had just done me a favor. "Now I can buy you something much nicer. A fair trade, don't you think?"

Just like our past, it could never be put back together.

Rosalind smiled with satisfaction. She walked over and stood on her toes to kiss his jaw.

"That's more like it. That's my Alpha."

Slade emotionlessly dusted the powder from his hands, his brow furrowed as he glanced at my empty, blood-streaked neck.

But he turned his head to speak to Rosalind. "Are you happy now, Rosalind?"

"Now, everything at my side belongs to you."

Watching them leave, I knelt and stared at the dust on the floor.

Two days left.

"Since you want such a clean break," I murmured, drawing a cross through the number, "then I'll grant your wish."