My Alpha Erased Me for His First Love

The Great Hall of Ashenmoor had never felt so suffocating. I pulled my hood lower and adjusted the medical mask covering the lower half of my face, grateful for the shadows cast by the massive stone pillars. The ceremonial candles flickered throughout the hall, their warm light dancing across hundreds of upturned faces—faces filled with joy and anticipation for a union I couldn't bear to witness.

Yet here I was, tucked into the furthest corner like a ghost haunting her own funeral.

The elixir had been working on me for hours now, creating gaps in my memory like missing puzzle pieces. I'd almost forgotten Nadia's phone number twice, and the barista at the coffee shop this morning had looked at me with confusion when I couldn't remember my usual order. But this—this moment—burned through the chemical fog with crystal clarity.

Ryker stood at the altar in his ceremonial black suit, the one I'd helped him pick out for our own mating ceremony four years ago. The silver embroidery caught the candlelight, making him look like some dark prince from a fairy tale. Beside him, Lux glowed in flowing white silk, her hand resting protectively over her still-flat stomach.

The pack elder raised his voice, and the hall fell silent. "We gather tonight under the full moon to witness the sacred bond between Alpha Ryker Mills and Lux Devereaux."

My chest tightened. The scar on my neck—the faded mark where Ryker had once claimed me—began to throb like an old wound in a storm.

"Alpha Mills," the elder continued, "do you take this woman as your mate, to protect and cherish through all seasons of life?"

Ryker's voice carried across the hall, strong and unwavering. "I vow to be your mate, Lux. In sickness and in death, until the moon reclaims us."

The words hit me like silver bullets. Those exact words. He'd spoken them to me once, his lips against my ear in the quiet aftermath of our own ceremony. I'd believed them with every fiber of my being, had built my entire world around the promise they contained.

Now they belonged to someone else.

Lux's response came through tears that sparkled like diamonds in the candlelight. "I promise to love only you for the rest of my life. No one else will ever have my heart."

The pack erupted in cheers and applause, everyone rising to their feet in celebration. I remained seated, my hands clenched so tightly in my lap that my nails drew blood from my palms. The pain was nothing compared to the fire spreading across my chest, radiating outward from the fading mate mark.

This was it. The moment my bond with Ryker would be severed completely.

The elder lifted a ceremonial silver blade, its edge gleaming in the flickering light. "Now we seal this union with blood and moon-blessed vows."

I should have looked away. Should have left. Should have spared myself the sight of what came next.

But I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe. Couldn't do anything but watch as Ryker cupped Lux's face in his hands with infinite tenderness—the same tenderness he'd once reserved for me.

"Are you ready, my love?" he whispered, loud enough for the supernatural hearing of the pack to catch.

Lux nodded, tilting her head to expose the smooth column of her throat. "Make me yours."

Ryker's canines elongated, gleaming white in the candlelight. He lowered his head to her neck with ceremonial precision, and then—

The bite.

The moment his teeth pierced her skin, my world exploded into agony. The mate mark on my neck felt like it was being burned away with acid, every nerve ending screaming in protest. I bit down hard on my tongue to keep from crying out, tasting copper as blood filled my mouth.

Tears streamed down my cheeks, soaking into my mask. Around me, the pack's celebration grew louder, but all I could hear was the sound of my own heart breaking—literally breaking, as the supernatural bond that had connected me to Ryker for four years finally snapped like a severed rope.

The pain was indescribable. Worse than the silver blade that had scarred my abdomen. Worse than learning I'd never bear children. This was the death of everything I'd thought I was, everything I'd believed about love and loyalty and forever.

Through my tears, I watched Ryker pull back from Lux's neck, his lips stained with her blood. The fresh mate mark on her throat glowed silver in the moonlight streaming through the hall's windows—beautiful, perfect, eternal.

With trembling hands, I pulled out my phone and began recording. The camera shook as I captured Ryker wiping the blood from his lips, Lux touching her new mark with wonder, the pack's joyful faces surrounding them like a living constellation.

I had to document this. Tomorrow, when the elixir finished its work, I might not remember any of it. Might not remember him at all. These images would be all that remained of the life I was leaving behind.

The ceremony concluded with traditional pack songs and more cheering. I stayed in my corner until the crowd began to disperse, then slipped out through a side door into the cool night air.

The parking lot was mostly empty now, just a few stragglers heading to their cars. I was almost to the street when I saw it—Ryker's black SUV parked in the shadows behind the building.

It was rocking.

I froze, my breath catching in my throat. Through the tinted windows, I could see silhouettes moving together in the back seat. Urgent. Passionate. Celebrating their new bond in the most intimate way possible.

The sight broke something inside me that I didn't even know was still intact. I stumbled toward the building, my vision blurring as nausea rose in my throat. The bathroom was mercifully empty, and I barely made it to a stall before I was violently sick.

When the retching finally stopped, I found Nadia waiting for me by the sinks. She didn't say anything, just handed me a damp paper towel and pulled me into her arms.

"It's done," I whispered against her shoulder. "It's really over."

"I know, honey." Her voice was thick with unshed tears. "Come on. Silvervale's car will be here in a few hours. We need to get you ready."

I pulled back to look at her face, this woman who'd been my anchor through everything. "The iron box," I said urgently. "Make sure you bring it with us. And if I wake up tomorrow not remembering any of this—"

"I'll tell you not to look back," she finished. "I promise."

I wiped my eyes and straightened my shoulders. "Good. Because I never want to remember loving someone who could throw me away so easily."

We walked out of Ashenmoor together, leaving behind the sounds of celebration and the life I'd thought would last forever. Behind us, the great house blazed with light and laughter, but I didn't turn around.

I was already forgetting.