Chapter 13
Leaving the crypt, Valdrin found young Ash lingering in the shadows. “Is she really gone?” the pup asked, his voice small.
“She’ll return,” Valdrin said, but the words rang hollow even to him.
Ash slipped past him into the crypt. When he lifted the ceremonial shroud, his composure shattered. One glimpse of his mother’s lifeless face sent him fleeing into the darkness.
In the healing den, Winter woke from her ritual sleep. Her fingers traced the fresh scar where her new heart beat. “Am I whole again?”
At Valdrin’s nod, tears spilled down her cheeks. “Father, Mother, my Alpha… you’ve saved me.”
Joy filled the chamber until Winter’s soft question cut through the warmth: “Where is my sister?” “She should share this moment. She must be happy I’m healed…”
Valdrin’s jaw tightened.
Their father’s contempt filled the air. “Probably skulking somewhere, showing how little she cares for her sister’s life.”
Understanding flickered in Winter’s eyes, though she pressed further: “Alpha, have I angered her?”
Valdrin retreated without answering. How could he explain that Ravenna’s form was gone?
That night, their father stepped out for the moon–prayer.
He noticed healers clearing the adjacent chamber.
“Where is the patient?” he asked.
The healer shook her head, handing him a forgotten scroll. “Perhaps you know them?”
It was a heart–bond compatibility ritual scroll.
showed Ravenna’s heart was perfectly matched to Winter.
His hands trembled in the cold night.
What is this?”
matching scroll. The donor and recipient – a perfect match.”
His hands shook as he read the names again and again.
Ravenna and Winter, written clear as moonlight.
Suddenly, all the pieces aligned – Ravenna’s endless rituals, the scattered scrolls, the body under the furs with that familiar moon–mark.
The scroll fell from his nerveless fingers.
He stumbled to the crypt, nearly falling in his haste.
When he saw Ravenna lying lifeless on the stone, all color drained from his face as he collapsed.
Valdrin caught him, trying to block his view, to explain-
Their father shoved him away. “What have you done?”
Silence answered.
“The heart donor… my daughter… YOUR MATE?”
His rage exploded in a blow that split Valdrin’s lip. Valdrin accepted it without flinching.
Wiping blood from his mouth, he spoke quietly: “Winter was dying. We had no choice.”
“No choice but to sacrifice my daughter? Your own mate?”
Valdrin met his eyes, unflinching. “It was the only way to save Winter. Tell me, in my place… would you have chosen differently?”
