Chapter 4

Lyra lowered her eyes shyly, her cheeks tinged with crimson, while Kael seemed completely unaware of the way others looked at them.

We met just outside the entrance of the healing lodge.

She was still cradled securely in his arms.

I intended to walk past them without a word, but Lyra shifted uneasily against his chest, her face growing even redder.

"Kael... you can put me down now."

He frowned.

"Your back is injured. Stop moving."

Only then did his gaze fall upon me.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his brows drawing together. "Are you unwell?"

I lifted the small pouch of sleeping herbs in my hand.

"I haven't been sleeping well."

He was quiet for a moment before saying, "I'll have one of the warriors bring fresh moon lavender to the den. Place it beside your sleeping furs. The scent should help."

It sounded almost like concern.

He looked as though he wanted to say something more.

Before he could, Lyra suddenly let out a soft whimper, clutching instinctively at the front of his tunic.

Just then, the enchanted stone platform carrying us through the healing lodge gave a violent jolt.

A deafening crack echoed overhead.

The moonstones embedded in the walls dimmed all at once, plunging the passage into complete darkness.

My breath caught.

Without realizing it, I crouched against the cold stone wall, every muscle in my body trembling uncontrollably.

I had always feared the dark.

Kael remembered.

"Selene?"

His voice echoed through the darkness.

"Selene... are you all right?"

"I-I'm..." My voice shook so badly I could barely force out the words.

For a brief moment, silence followed.

Then I heard him speak again.

"Lyra, let me set you down for a moment. Selene is afraid of the dark—"

Before he could finish, Lyra's frightened sob interrupted him.

"But... I'm frightened too, Kael."

Her voice quivered pitifully.

"Please don't let go of me..."

After that...

Kael never called my name again.

Every gentle word, every quiet reassurance, was meant for Lyra alone.

I hugged my knees tightly, my palms slick with cold sweat as my body continued to shake.

This was not the first time.

Years ago, Kael and I had become trapped together inside one of the mountain passages beneath the pack.

A cave-in had sealed the exit, extinguishing every moonstone around us.

Back then, terror had stolen my voice.

I could only shiver helplessly in the darkness.

Kael had wrapped me tightly in his embrace.

Though he hated dirt and disorder more than anything, he had never once complained about the tears soaking through his clothes.

He had only held me closer, gently stroking my hair until the rescue warriors found us.

Just...

As he was comforting Lyra now.

"Kael..."

The darkness weakened every wall I had built around my heart.

Warm tears slipped silently down my cheeks.

For one foolish moment...

I found myself longing for the warmth of his embrace again.

Instead, his quiet reply drifted toward me.

"Lyra is injured."

The tiny spark of hope inside me died without another sound.

I lowered my head into my folded arms and remained silent until the moonstones gradually rekindled, filling the passage with pale silver light once more.

When the stone platform finally reached the ground level, I stepped off without looking back.

Even after returning to the den, my heart had yet to steady.

Mother had already sent several enchanted memory crystals through the family moonstone, each containing a different ceremonial robe prepared for my mating ceremony with Lucian.

I never found the strength to look at them.

Instead, I sat quietly beneath the window, watching the sunlight slowly creep across the floor.

Only after night had fallen did Kael finally return.

He carried a bundle of freshly gathered moon lavender in one hand and a wooden food box in the other.

"I brought supper."

I opened it.

Inside was a bowl of creamy shellfish stew.

For a long moment, I simply stared at it.

Kael had forgotten.

I had been unable to eat shellfish since childhood.

Even the smallest bite would leave my entire body covered in painful rashes.

He noticed my silence only then.

A trace of embarrassment crossed his face.

"I forgot."

He rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you? Eat while it's still warm."

I lowered my gaze.

Without a word, I lifted the bowl and finished every last drop.

Not long afterward, angry red welts spread across my arms and neck.

I acted as though I felt nothing.

"Come home for supper tomorrow."

My voice was calm.

"It's your birthday."

He looked at me in surprise.

Then, after a brief pause, he nodded.

"I'll be back."

I rose quietly and fetched a packet of herbs from the medicine cabinet to ease the allergic reaction.

Cooking had never been one of my strengths.

The only meal Kael had ever truly praised was the long-life noodles I prepared for his birthday each year.

That evening, however, no matter how many times I started over, they never turned out right.

Rather than waste the food, I forced myself to eat every failed attempt.

As the night deepened, I watched the shadows creep slowly across the floor.

I had already decided.

Once Kael returned and finished his birthday meal...

I would leave.

This time, forever.

But he never came home.

Instead, the moonstone at my bedside glowed softly.

The instant I touched it, Kael's voice sounded in my mind.

"Lyra burned her hand while preparing supper. I'm taking her to the healers."

His voice remained as steady as ever.

"You don't have to wait for me. Eat first."

His lies...

Had never been convincing.

I quietly activated the memory crystal another packmate had secretly shared with me.

Within its silver light appeared the image of Kael and Lyra standing shoulder to shoulder before a birthday feast, their fingers intertwined beneath fluttering ribbons while smiles brighter than moonlight filled their faces.

"Selene?"

Kael's voice came again through the mind-link.

"Can you hear me?"

I closed my eyes.

"It's all right."

I smiled faintly, though no one could see it.

"Take your time."

The connection faded.

I crushed the long-life noodles in my bowl and scattered them into the fire.

Kael no longer loved me.

Perhaps setting him free would make us both happier.

I quietly picked up the travel bags I had prepared days ago and walked out of the den without looking back.

Before leaving the territory, I gathered every memory crystal that recorded Kael's years of intimacy with Lyra and released them into the pack's public moon pool, where every wolf connected through the Moon Goddess's blessing could witness them.

If I was leaving...

I refused to leave in silence.

As I stepped across the boundary of my birth pack's territory, I touched my moonstone one final time.

"Happy birthday."

After a long pause, I added only two more words.

"Farewell, Kael."

I never spoke of breaking our bond.

After seven years without ever completing the Moon Goddess's sacred mating rite, there had never truly been a bond to break.

Even the children I had silently returned to the Moon Goddess... had meant nothing to him.

Just as I was about to sever the connection between our moonstones forever, Kael's mind-link came through unexpectedly.

Before I could stop it...

The connection was established.