Chapter 5
Third Person’s POV The mark still tingled on Lucas’s neck, faintly warm from the magic shared—but unfinished. Rebecca hadn’t let him bite her back. From her hidden vantage point behind the silver-leaved willow, Rebecca’s eyes flickered as she watched Maurine slide into the waiting car with a satisfied smirk on her face. Lucas stood behind, alone for a moment—until Beta Cyrus emerged from the trees, his scent sharp with agitation. “You’re telling me,” Cyrus growled, voice low, “that you let her mark you, and you didn’t bite her back?” Lucas’s voice was calm, too calm. “It’s what she wanted.” “She’s not even your mate, Alpha,” Cyrus hissed, brows furrowed. “You’re not thinking straight. You’re the Alpha of Silvana. She won’t even bear your mark.” “I don’t need her to bear it,” Lucas replied, turning his eyes up to the stars. “She wanted it her way. I gave it to her.” Cyrus scoffed, pacing. “You’d give her the moon if she asked.” Lucas didn’t deny it. Rebecca turned away before she could hear more. Her heart ached in her chest—not just from what she heard, but from what she felt. Something about the marking had hollowed her out. Like a wound she’d stitched shut herself, only to feel it tear again with every word Lucas spoke. She refused to follow them after that. She returned home and remained silent. Meanwhile, within hours, Lucas had brought Maurine back to their territory. Later that night, the wind carried another scent—blood, smoke, and moon magic. Outside Aethon territory, deep in the woods of Silvana, Lucas had gone alone. His mission? Retrieve the red lotus moonstone—a sacred artifact sealed away generations ago. Maurine wanted it. And Lucas obeyed. It was among the things she blurted out when asked about the man she would allow herself to mate with earlier in the exhibit. Cyrus had argued again, of course. “That stone belongs to Silvana. The elders sealed it for a reason. You want to rip it out of the earth for some she-wolf’s fantasy?” “I’ll do it,” Lucas had said, eyes glowing dimly. “Even if I bleed.” “The Red Lotus Moonstone isn’t just some gift you toss at a she-wolf to earn her attention!” Cyrus snapped. “Even if she is the key… That thing is sealed for a reason—our ancestors bled to lock it away. The entire forest is cursed to guard it.” However, it seemed like Alpha Lucas had no intention of stopping. “Those wards will tear your flesh apart. The forest has a will of its own. The Moonstone has one too. You might not come out.” “I will,” Lucas murmured. “Because she wants it. I am willing to bleed.” He did bleed. Rebecca’s POV That night, I opened the front door to the scent of pain and pine. Lucas stood there like a storm that had been dragged through the mud—ribs fractured, blood crusting his brow, his boots caked in wet earth. He didn’t have a flower in hand this time. He’d already sent it ahead to Maurine, probably through Beta Cyrus. Of course. “There was a rogue attack,” he said, voice low, eyes avoiding mine. I tilted my head. “I see.” He nodded once, stiffly. “I’ll be gone for a few days. Maybe a week. I… need to rest.” “Sure,” I said softly. “Take your leave.” His eyes narrowed slightly, as if he was trying to read something deeper. “You’re not going to ask more?” A faint smile touched my lips. “It’s fine. I won’t need guarding where I’m going.” He looked confused. Good. He had no idea what I meant. No clue that I was saying goodbye. He just nodded again and walked away toward his quarters, probably to collapse in some bruised, self-important heap. The next day, the skies were too clear. Still. Off. I sat with my closest friends in a private room at the VIP club. It was supposed to be a farewell party of sorts—though no one but me knew that. Laughter filled the space, sharp and bright, but to me, it hurt more than any goodbye. “To Alpha Maximus!” someone toasted, raising their glass high. “May his wedding with Rebecca be peaceful!” Lindsay rolled her eyes. “Honestly, Becca, if he ever wakes up and realizes he’s married to you, he might just faint again.” I smiled, but it was hollow. None of it felt real. Or maybe too much of it did. Lindsay leaned closer, her voice dropping. “This isn’t fair. Maurine? Really? After everything she’s done? And Alpha Rowan—he’s treating you like a pawn in a war he doesn’t even fight.” “It won’t matter soon,” I whispered. Her smile faded. “We’ll still see you, right?” I just raised my glass. “Of course, silly.” But I think we both knew that was a lie. Later, I returned to the Aethon Pack House. I planned to speak to my father—no, Alpha Rowan—one last time. My heels clicked softly against the polished stone floors. This house never felt like home, just a place with too many echoes. Before I reached his study, I heard Maurine’s voice floating from one of the side rooms. “…He actually let me bite him! Can you believe that?” she laughed, slurring slightly from wine. “I own him now. Like a puppy offering a stick.” Laughter followed. “He must be in love,” someone gasped. Maurine scoffed. “Please. He’s a backup. He does what I want when I want it. If I’m bored, I call. If not—he stays useful.” A pause. Then, “And you still want to marry that sleeping Alpha?” She laughed again, shameless. “No! The heck! If I had the choice, I’d marry the Alpha of Silvana himself. He’s hotter, richer, and easier to control. Can you believe he sent me the Red Lotus Moonstone?” I blinked slowly, a dry smirk tugging at my lips. She didn’t even know Lucas and the Alpha she wanted to marry were the same person. Lucas—loyal, stupid, bleeding Lucas—had no idea he was being treated like a chew toy. A second option. A convenient pet. I turned away, abandoning both my father and that cursed house. I didn’t need to hear more. Instead, I went where I always found peace: the graveyard. My mother’s stone stood beneath the yew tree, bathed in silver moonlight. “I won’t be like you,” I whispered, laying a single white rose at the base. “You waited your whole life for love that never came. I’ll survive—even if it means without love.” At dawn, I received a message. A gold deposit. Massive. Half of the Aethon treasury. The price of my silence. Of my goodbye. Of my hand in a marriage no one thought I’d see through. I accepted it. Then I severed every last tie to Aethon Pack. My father. Lucas. Maurine. All of them. The next morning, while packing the last of my belongings, I handed Lucas a box. “Give this to Maurine,” I said simply. He stared at it like it might explode. “What is it?” “My old art supplies,” I replied. “She wants to be me so badly. Might as well let her have the scraps.” He didn’t know it yet, but I’d already filed the paperwork to reassign him as her wolf knight. She could have him. He was never really mine anyway. “What about you?” he asked, gripping the box tightly. “I can handle fine,” I said with a small smirk. “Moving out isn’t that hard.” It meant nothing. But it was the last thing I would ever ask of him. When he turned to face me, blood crusting his bandages, he frowned. “Where are you moving? Give me the address so I can follow after giving this to Maurine.” I gave him a look, unreadable. “I’ll just tell you later.” There was no later. He stood there, confused, searching my face for an answer that wasn’t coming. I didn’t give him one. And once he was gone, I pulled out my phone, snapped the SIM card in half, and tossed it out the window of the moving car. The wind caught it, carrying it far into the trees. By the time he returned… I was already gone.