Chapter 4
A soft knock echoed through the hospital room, followed by a young beta’s scent. “Alpha, Silvana’s condition is worsening. She’s calling for you.”
My heart clenched at the interruption. Of course she would call for him now right when I needed
my mate most.
Thorne tucked the blanket around me with practiced care, his touch lingering longer than necessary. His scent marked me unconsciously–an Alpha’s instinct to protect their mate even when leaving.
ly Luna, her moon is setting.” he murmured, voice rough with barely contained emotion. “I need to be there”
“Need?” I whispered, my voice hoarse from crying. “Just like you needed to take our pup’s life for her son?” The words tasted like poison on my tongue.
He flinched, his Alpha composure cracking. “Rayne, please understand-”
“Understand what?” My wolf’s grief turned to ice in my veins. “That your Luna, your mate, lies here bleeding from losing your pup, but you run to comfort an outside beta? Tell me, Alpha, what should I understand?”
Thorne’s eyes flashed gold with pain. “You’re my heart, my Luna. But as Alpha-”
“As Alpha, you chose her over your own blood. Over your mate. Over your pack’s future.” Each word- fell like frozen rain between us. “Go then. Your beta calls.”
།
He reached for me, but I turned away, curling deeper into the cold hospital sheets. After a moment’s hesitation, he left with swift, urgent strides, his Alpha presence diminishing with each step.
I opened my eyes to watch him go, noting how his shoulders carried a tension I’d never seen before not even when challenging for his position as pack Alpha. His scent disappeared around the corner, replaced by the harsh bite of wolfsbane and silver from the medical wing.
The mate–bond stretched painfully between us, growing thinner with each of his steps toward her. I stared at the empty doorway until my vision blurred, feeling something inside me crack and splinter. This wasn’t just about losing our pup anymore. With every choice he made, every time he put her before us, another piece of my love for him died.
The room felt suddenly colder, emptier. I curled into myself, seeking warmth that only pack could provide, but finding none. The truth settled over me like a funeral shroud – I was losing more than
hapter 4
our pup today. I was losing the mate I thought would stand beside me through every moon.
bitter laugh escaped my throat. How fitting that the medical wing’s silver burned in my lungs – it couldn’t possibly hurt more than this betrayal.
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