The Alpha Who Broke Our Bond

The night I nearly died whelping my pup, Fenris Langford broke our mate-bond.

Throughout my entire recovery moon, he paraded his claimed consort across every territory in the realm, showering her with the finest pelts and rarest moon-blessed jewels.

When he finally returned to our den, he brought nothing but a bond-rejection scroll.

"Raven despises being called a bond-breaker, so I must sever our mating claim."

"Sign it. I waited until your healing moon ended before presenting this—consider it my final courtesy to you."

"The pup means nothing to me. Keep her as a memento if you wish. Raven will bear me proper heirs soon enough."

I said nothing. I took the quill and signed.

Any delay, even a single heartbeat, would keep me from reuniting with the one my soul truly longed for.

Three moons later, the Everwell Territory Infirmary summoned me urgently from a bonding ceremony.

A female patient had ruptured something vital during an overly aggressive mating encounter. Worse still, because this female had been sharing heat-cycles with multiple males simultaneously, her body had developed severe complications below. They needed me for emergency healing.

I pushed through the infirmary doors and stopped cold.

How fortunate. The one writhing on the healing table was none other than my former mate's intended consort.

——

I lowered my gaze to read the patient's name on the blood-scent record.

Raven Langford.

Before my bond with Fenris was severed, I had heard that name countless times from his lips.

He called her his precious Raven, his voice dripping with devotion whenever he spoke it.

I had believed he found some perfect destined mate in her.

So this was the truth of it.

My mind drifted to the night I birthed our pup. The labor turned dangerous—my body hemorrhaged badly.

The healers kept howling for my mate to come.

But Fenris's connection remained severed. No answer came through the pack-link.

Meanwhile, the howl-network carried images of him and Raven emerging from a pleasure den together, wrapped around each other like true mates.

The Langford Pack commanded enough territory and influence to suppress any rumor they wished. If word spread, it meant Fenris wanted it known.

He was done hiding her.

He intended to make her his Luna.

When I finally clawed my way back from death's edge, Fenris appeared at last.

His expression held only irritation. "Selene, why must you always make yourself look so pathetic?"

"You were a gifted student once, a trained healer yourself. Did you truly have to insist on bearing this pup for me?"

"I never wanted it. Your scheme to secure your position through a child is honestly laughable."

"I've been occupied with important matters lately. I have no time for your pitiful grieving—"

His words cut off as his pack-link hummed with an incoming call.

He answered without bothering to shield his thoughts from me. "Raven..."

Her voice sliced through immediately. "Fenris, my love, is my moon-day surprise ready yet?"

"You said you were just checking on that worn-out Omega at the infirmary. It's been half a turning already—why haven't you returned?"

"I heard she bled everywhere? How disgusting. The whole place must reek of her."

"Come back to me, my Alpha. Don't let her filth stain your fur."

Fenris chuckled softly. "My Raven always thinks of me first. I'm leaving now."

"Your gift is already prepared. I promise you'll be so thoroughly claimed you won't be able to walk..."

He strode out while still speaking, never glancing back at me.

Of course, it never crossed his mind to see our pup either.

Fortunately, I felt no great sorrow.

Once I confirmed my daughter was safe and healthy, I allowed myself a small measure of relief.

Relief that I could finally hold Elder Aldric Langford to the promise he made me long ago.

I reached out through the formal pack channels. "Elder Patriarch, the pup is healthy and whole. May I now be released from the Langford Pack?"

Years ago, when the Langford territory teetered on the edge of collapse, Aldric Langford himself had sought me out.

My scent-sign and moon-birth omens were said to bring fortune to the Langford bloodline. If I could bear even one pup for their pack, their prosperity would be secured for generations.

I was already training as a healer then. To any wolf with sense, such superstitions seemed absurd.

But the powerful always cling hardest to such beliefs.