I Left After My Mate Chose My Sister

The morning light filtered through the curtains of my small room at the edge of the Blood River territory. I'd been gone for hours, but I knew Max would only just be waking up. Discovering I'd left.

I imagined him bursting into my room, his powerful frame filling the doorway, eyes wild with confusion. He'd see the empty bed, the open window. Then he'd spot the note I'd left on my pillow.

*Max, I can't be your Luna. Please don't look for me.*

Short. Sweet. Devastating.

---

"Alpha!" The Beta's voice echoed down the hallway outside Max's quarters. "You need to see this!"

I could picture Max's face—the initial confusion giving way to anger as he read my words. His jaw would tighten, that muscle in his cheek twitching the way it always did when he was barely containing his rage.

"Find her," he'd snarl, his Alpha tone vibrating through the walls. "Now!"

But then—then would come the real revelation.

The door to his quarters burst open with such force that it slammed against the wall. The Head Healer stood there, his face ashen, hands trembling.

"Alpha," he gasped, clutching a scroll identical to the one I'd received yesterday. "There's been a terrible mistake."

Max would turn, his eyes flashing dangerously. "What mistake?"

"The blood samples—" The healer swallowed hard. "They were mislabeled. I mixed up the Meyer sisters' tests."

The silence that followed would be deafening.

"What are you saying?" Max's voice would be deadly quiet.

"I'm saying that Tessa doesn't have Wolfsbane Rot." The healer's voice cracked. "Sasha does."

The realization would hit Max like a physical blow. I could almost see him stagger back, his hand gripping the edge of his desk for support.

"No," he'd whisper. "No, that can't be right."

"I retested both samples three times," the healer would continue, his voice heavy with guilt. "Tessa's wolf is perfectly healthy. But Sasha—" He'd shake his head. "She's been dying for years."

Max would remember all the times he'd dismissed me as strong, independent—not needing his protection. While he'd been coddling Sasha, treating her like delicate glass because he thought she was healthy.

And now I was gone.

---

"TESSA!"

Max's howl tore through the forest as he raced through the trees, his massive black wolf form moving with desperate speed. His paws bled from running on sharp rocks, but he didn't feel the pain.

Behind him, Marcus, his Beta, tried to keep pace.

"Alpha, please! We need a strategy! She's masked her scent—we can't just run blindly!"

But Max wasn't listening. His mind was fracturing under the weight of his mistake. The bond between us stretched thinner with every passing minute.

"Tessa!" His howl echoed across three valleys, the same howl he'd taught me during my first shift. "Come back!"

I imagined his powerful legs carrying him deeper into the forest, following a scent trail that was already fading. The Forest Mist potion would be working its magic, neutralizing my scent.

He'd run until his paws were raw, until his lungs burned with each breath. But the bond between us would go silent as I crossed into neutral territory where magic was dampened.

---

The cold bit through my thin clothes as I stumbled through the transition zone near the Northern Glaciers. My ankle throbbed from yesterday's injury, and exhaustion weighed down my limbs.

I'd been running for nearly twenty-four hours straight. The scent-masking potion had taken its toll on my system, leaving me dizzy and disoriented.

Just a little further, I told myself. Just make it to the Glaciers.

A low growl froze me in place.

Three pairs of yellow eyes watched me from the shadows between the trees. Rogues—wolves without packs, without honor.

"Well, well," the largest one said, stepping into the dim light. "What do we have here? A little Omega wandering all alone?"

I backed away slowly, my hand moving to the knife at my belt. "I'm just passing through."

"Nothing passes through our territory without paying a price," another rogue snarled.

They circled me, their movements practiced and predatory. I knew I couldn't outrun them, not in my weakened state.

When the first one lunged, I dodged sideways, using agility over strength. My knife flashed in the moonlight, catching one rogue across the shoulder.

"Feisty little thing," the third rogue growled, circling wider.

I fought with everything I had—kicking, slashing, dodging. But I was outnumbered. A heavy weight slammed into my back, sending me sprawling onto the frozen ground.

"Look at her," one of them sneered, standing over me. "Not so tough now."

The largest rogue raised his clawed hand for what would be a killing blow.

Suddenly, howls erupted from the trees. Five massive wolves burst into the clearing, their fur white as snow.

"Frost Fang Patrol!" one shouted through the mind-link. "Stand down!"

The rogues scattered like leaves in the wind.

A smaller wolf with kind eyes moved toward me cautiously. "Can you hear me?" he asked through the link.

I tried to respond, but darkness was closing in. The last thing I felt was a gentle touch as a wolf with warm brown eyes nudged my hand.

"Luna?" he whispered.

Then everything went black.