Myrielle’s maid ran in, breathless. “Alpha Draven! Lady Molthaven just collapsed!”
Draven’s expression snapped. He dropped my hand and sprinted for the door.
“Draven!” I cried. “My father’s healing procedure—!”
But he shoved my wound-bindingsd hand aside, disgust twisting his expression.
Pain shot through me like a blade.
All the warmth he ever showed turned to ice shards slicing through my heart. He disappeared without a backward glance.
The world went white. A silent scream burned in my throat.
Draven… since you’ve chosen betrayal so ruthlessly—then in seven days, I will vanish from your life. And you will never see me again.
The one million moon-credits from the Blackspire Matriarch arrived sooner than expected.
I clutched the stamped lunar seal so tightly my fingers trembled as I sprinted toward the healer-sanctum, desperate to pay the deposit for my father’s moon-mending ritual. His shattered leg couldn’t wait any longer.
But moments after I handed the payment to the registrar and prepared to confirm the ritual time with the High Moon-Healer, a young maid stepped in front of me.
“All the bone-menders… every last one,” she whispered, eyes wide with fear, “have been reassigned.”
I blinked at her, stunned, thinking it must have been a clerical shift or ritual scheduling error.
When I asked for an explanation, she leaned in, voice barely above a breath.
“It was Alpha Draven’s command. The specialists were summoned to tend to Lady Molthaven.”
Myrielle Molthaven. The name hit me like a blow.
“Lady Molthaven hasn’t eaten in days,” the maid went on nervously. “She fainted this morning… and twisted her ankle when she fell. The Alpha was worried about long-term damage, so he ordered the entire bone-menders circle to examine her.”
A piercing ring filled my ears. The hallway warped and tilted.
I seized the girl’s wrist. “Please—my father can’t wait! His leg won’t heal on its own. He needs the ritual now!”
The maid swallowed, but her gaze slid away.
No one in the healer-sanctum dared defy an Alpha’s directive.
Half out of my mind with panic, I ran toward Myrielle’s recovery chamber, only to have two pack sentinels block my way.
From inside, I heard her fragile, airy voice.
“Draven… is that Lunessa outside?”
The door slid open.