“He remains unpaired,” Father said. “And so his influence has grown more.”
My nails dug into my palms. The irony of it all stung—running from an arranged mate only to circle right back to him.
I walked to the window, pressing my forehead to the cool glass.
Five years ago, I wanted love. I believed in it.
Now?
My heart ached with the fresh wound of betrayal. Love had only destroyed me.
“Isolde, if you don’t want it, you don’t have to,” Mother whispered. “We’ll find another path.”
But how?
The merged Wintermoon-Rageclaw force was tightening around us.
Our land, our allies, our future—everything on the verge of collapse.
What did I have left to lose?
My dreams? Already shattered. My heart? Already broken.
But my pack? They were worth any sacrifice.
“I’ll do it.” The words tasted like iron.
“Isolde—” Mother started.
“No.” I turned to them. “I’m not that frightened girl anymore. If this is what it takes to save the Rustpire, then I’ll bond with Marcellus Ashenfell.”
I lay in my childhood den, surrounded by the familiar scents of cedarwood and moon lilies that once meant safety. The enchanted silk pelts whispered against my skin as I stared at the carved ceiling, tracing the same lunar sigils I’d memorized as a pup.
Everything felt different now—sharper, more defined. Agreeing to bond with Marcellus no longer felt like surrender. After Axton’s betrayal, it felt like reclaiming my power.
My moonstone communicator pulsed. Axton’s name glowed red. My stomach tightened, but I answered.
“Enjoying your little pity party?” His voice was thick with ale. “Or did you already find some stray wolf to rut with?”
The disgust rose like poison. This was the male I’d abandoned my birth-pack for? The one I thought cherished me?
“Where I roam is no longer your concern.” My tone was ice. “We meet tomorrow before the Elders. Don’t be late.”
I cut the link before he could snarl another word and immediately contacted our pack’s legal envoy.
“Isolde Rustpire speaking,” I said evenly. “I need the separation bond prepared at once. Yes, I know the hour. They must be ready with first light. Make it done as soon as possible.”
When the call ended, I let the communicator fall to the bedside table. Moonlight spilled through the window, casting shifting shadows across the den. For the first time since learning the truth, a strange calm settled into my bones.
***