Werewolf

  Back at the Silvermane den, before Wesley could devise a strategy to placate the furious Elder, the night took a dire turn. The old wolf, overwhelmed by the shame and chaos of his ruined celebration, collapsed, his ancient heart faltering. He was rushed to the healers' sanctum.

  

      "Wesley, how is he?" Tanya arrived, her face a mask of feigned concern as she looked at the Elder, still and pale on the healing bed.

  

      Wesley stood and guided her out of the room. "The healers say he's stable. He's out of immediate danger."

  

      "Where's Starling?" Tanya asked, her eyes scanning the crowded hallway. Every relative and ally of the Silvermane Pack had come to pay their respects, except for one person. The Luna was conspicuously absent. Not a single message of concern had been received.

  

      Wesley didn't answer, his gaze dropping to the dark, silent screen of his p

  The day of the Silvermane Group's highly anticipated product launch arrived. After three years of development, they were making their first foray into the pharmaceutical industry, and the air was thick with anticipation. A throng of reporters and camera crews jostled for position, all eager to catch a glimpse of the project's lead.

  

      Wesley's gaze kept darting to the main entrance, then back to the stubbornly dark screen of his phone. A restless, gnawing agitation had taken root in him.

  

      His original plan had been simple. When Starling showed up, undoubtedly furious about being sidelined, he would explain everything. He would tell her that placing Tanya as the public face of the project was a final act of pity. The mind-healers had said Tanya's spirit was still crippled with inferiority from the fire that had claimed her family. This public recognition, he reasoned, 

  The force of Wesley's slap held no restraint. It sent me, Luna Starling, sprawling to the floor, the impact jarring my entire being.

  

      A fiery, throbbing heat instantly bloomed across my cheek. A sharp, stabbing pain deep within my ear made me fear my eardrum had burst. My vision swam with dark spots and shimmering stars, obscuring the hostile faces around me.

  

      Dazed, my hand rose instinctively, not to strike back, but to gently touch my wounded face. The moment my fingers made contact with the raised, burning imprint, the dam broke. Tears, hot and shaming, flooded my eyes, blurring the world further.

  

      As the cherished only daughter of my lineage, and later, the protected apprentice of a revered master, I had never been struck. Never been subjected to such a public, humiliating degradation.

  

      I could feel the weight of the remaining guests' stares from the hall below, their judgment a physical pressure. Swallowing the sob that threatened to escape, I pushed myself up from the cold floor, my body trembling with the effort.

  

      Before I could find my balance, a sheaf of papers was flung at me, scattering at my feet.

  

      "Even the Elder's ninetieth winter celebration wasn't sacred to you, was it? Is there any line you won't cross for your petty jealousy?" Wesley's voice was like shards of ice.

  

      "The Silvermane Pack has no use for a Luna like you. Sign it."

  

      The moment he finished speaking, a wave of murmured shock and agreement rippled up from the crowd below.

  

      My eyes fell on the documents, the words "BOND DISSOLUTION AGREEMENT" deliberately enlarged and bolded. The air left my lungs in a painful rush, catching in my throat.

  

      "Fine."

  

      The word was quiet, but clear. I bent, gathered the pages, and walked toward the study on unsteady legs, my head held high despite the storm raging inside me.

  

      Wesley hesitated for a fraction of a second, his gaze flickering toward me. But then he heard Tanya's soft, renewed weeping, and he turned away, moving to comfort her instead.

  

      By the time he entered the study, I had already signed. My name, Starling, was etched at the bottom with a finality that chilled my own soul.

  

      "Starling," he began, his tone heavy with reproach, "do you have any idea what this celebration meant? Do you know how long we planned for this? Tanya nearly dashed her own brains out on the sacred stones tonight because of the shame!"

  

      I knew what he meant. He was telling me I deserved that slap. But for crimes I did not commit, I would not apologize.

  

      Wesley said nothing more. He scrawled his own signature with a swift, angry stroke, then turned and left the room to manage the fallout, to clean up the mess I had supposedly made.

  

      I was the pariah. The weight of glares and scornful whispers followed me as I moved through the den. Needing escape, I headed for the rear exit, but as I passed the secluded tea garden, I heard Wesley's voice, along with his Beta, Kael's.

  

      Kael asked, low and cautious, "So you're truly pinning all of it on Starling?"

  

      There was a long pause. I could almost picture Wesley gripping his teacup, his knuckles white. "Tanya didn't mean it," he finally said, his voice weary. "She was in a fractured state when she posted those memory-crystals. She wasn't in her right mind."

  

      "Besides," he continued, conviction returning to his tone, "Starling isn't completely innocent. All those rumor-weavers and the coordinated online attacks? That was her jealousy, plain and simple. Tanya would never orchestrate something like that!"

  

      So, when faced with the Elder's fury, he had chosen to protect Tanya and throw me to the wolves. My hands clenched and unclenched at my sides. I opened my mouth to scream, to protest, but no sound emerged. Only a profound, chilling silence.

  

      I slowly ran my fingers over the fresh signature on the dissolution papers. The last ember of warmth, the final cherished memory of our bond, turned to ash and blew away in the cold wind of his betrayal.

  

      I left without a sound.

  

      A moment later, Kael's voice came again. "You haven't actually fallen for Tanya, have you?"

  

      Wesley's reply was immediate, laced with irritation. "I don't love Tanya. I love Starling. It's just... Tanya's healing is at its most critical stage. I need to see her through this, to get her stable."

  

      As for Starling... he must have thought, she's young. She's resilient, stronger than Tanya. Once Tanya is healed, we have all the time in the world to mend what's broken. She'll understand.

  

      "But Starling... she doesn't seem like the type who would take you back after this," Kael pressed.

  

      "Don't worry. The dissolution won't happen," Wesley said, and I could hear the arrogant confidence in his voice even from a distance. "The agreement is a fake. Even if she marched it down to the Hall of Ancestral Records, it would be void. The elders would never recognize it without my true, sealed consent."

  

      He was so sure. He didn't believe I would ever truly leave him. He remembered how much I had loved him, how I had left my home, learned his ways, and given up everything for him.

  

      She's proud, he likely told himself. She made a grand spectacle of choosing me. To slink back home in defeat now would be too humiliating. She has nowhere else to go.

  

      He was certain I was trapped.

  

      I returned to the mating chamber I had shared with Wesley. Looking around, the space felt suffocating, crowded with the ghosts of three people. I moved through the rooms, a spectral figure, discarding everything that carried the taint of pain and betrayal. I left behind the trinkets, the gifts, the memories of Tanya's encroaching presence.

  

      Four years ago, I had arrived with a single suitcase, my heart full of hope. Now, leaving, that same suitcase held all that remained of my life here.

  

      At the Hall of Ancestral Records, the officiant looked at me with pity. "Luna Starling, are you certain you wish to proceed with the immediate dissolution? Once the seal is struck, it cannot be undone."

  

      "I am certain," my voice was unwavering, a stark contrast to the turmoil he expected.

  

      The agreement before him was not the one Wesley had given me. In the moments he had been comforting Tanya, I had replaced it with the one my brother, Kaelen, had meticulously prepared for me—the one that included the full reclamation of my healing elixir patents.

  

      The ceremonial stone seal came down with a definitive thud. The sound echoed in the silent hall, a funeral knell for our four-year bond. It was over.

  

      While waiting for my transport off these lands, a message flickered on my phone. It was from Wesley.

  

      «I've secured passage for you. Go to the coastal city for a few days. Let the elders' anger cool. I will come for you when it's time.»

  

      «Send me your location once you arrive.»

  

      Come for me?

  

      No, Wesley.

  

      Never again.

  

      I did not reply. I simply turned, presented my token, and boarded the sky-ship. I did not look back at the territory that had been my prison, my paradise, and finally, my ruin. There was not a single thread of my heart left to tie me to that place.

Back at the Silvermane den, before Wesley could devise a strategy to placate the furious Elder, the night took a dire turn. The old wolf, overwhelmed by the shame and chaos of his ruined celebration, collapsed, his ancient heart faltering. He was rushed to the healers' sanctum.
  
      "Wesley, how is he?" Tanya arrived, her face a mask of feigned concern as she looked at the Elder, still and pale on the healing bed.
  
      Wesley stood and guided her out of the room. "The healers say he's stable. He's out of immediate danger."
  
      "Where's Starling?" Tanya asked, her eyes scanning the crowded hallway. Every relative and ally of the Silvermane Pack had come to pay their respects, except for one person. The Luna was conspicuously absent. Not a single message of concern had been received.
  
      Wesley didn't answer, his gaze dropping to the dark, silent screen of his phone. By his calculations, she should have reached the coastal city by now. She should have se

Chapter 8: The Unanswered phone