The Price of a Silver Deception

I had already finalized the arrangements for my rejection ceremony.

In less than three days, I would vanish from Ronan's life completely.

I wanted him to feel the agony of a soul being torn in two.

But more than that, I wanted to find myself again.

The next day, Ronan was as considerate as ever, spoon-feeding me breakfast. But while he played the doting mate, he was exchanging a stream of lewd thoughts with Blair through their mind-link.

Our bond throbbed, a fresh, agonizing sting.

After the meal, he took me to an event at the charity foundation he'd established for me. It was a weekly ritual, meant to help me relax.

He supported me carefully along the way, treating me like a fragile, precious thing. The sight moved many of our pack members.

"The Alpha is so devoted to Veronica. I heard he even postponed the pack's expansion plans just to be with her. It's clear no one is more important to the Alpha than Veronica."

After a young wolf said this, Ronan just smiled. "I love Veronica. Nothing is too much to do for her."

He spoke with such saccharine devotion, but I just stared at the foundation's plaque, too disgusted to speak.

Blair's Light Fund

The foundation wasn't for me. It was for Blair. The truth of it was sickeningly obvious.

Ronan escorted me to a lounge and then left on some pretext. I couldn't stop the bile from rising in my throat.

For two years, in the name of love, Ronan had sacrificed pack interests and abandoned his Alpha ambitions. Even his closest friends whispered behind my back, calling me his burden.

Ronan's mother, an Elder in her own right, would often berate me. "You're blind, but Ronan is perfectly healthy. He's given up everything for you. Are you really going to hold him to that for the rest of his life?"

I loved Ronan, so I silently endured their scorn.

When they sneered and told me to leave him, I would always fight back, listing every proof of his love until they fell silent.

But now, staring at the name on that plaque, I could only imagine how pathetic I must have looked to them.

I couldn't stop the wave of revulsion. I shot to my feet and made for the door, but as I stepped into the hall, an intimate mind-link drifted from the next room.

"Why did you bring so many aphrodisiac herbs again?"

"I can't use them on her. Can't let them go to waste."

Ugh, you drained me last night, and you're already at it again. It's the same every time you bring her here…

The rest of their words blurred into a nauseating hum.