Chapter 1

I'm the strongest warrior of the Silvermoon Pack. For ten years, I've been secretly in love with my Alpha, Aiden. The only wolfless Alpha.

We grew up with nothing but each other. I bled for him. I cut down his enemies and searched for a cure to awaken his wolf.

He promised me a place at the top—always by his side.

The fated mate bond never snapped into place for us. It didn't matter. I loved him anyway.

Then I found out the truth. His heart belonged to someone else. A she-wolf named Gianna.

When a rival pack kidnapped her, Aiden sent me to get her back.

I did, but I died. And so did my wolf.

He welcomed Gianna home with open arms, ready for their Mating Ceremony, but he refused to believe I was dead.

He thought I was just jealous, hiding in a fit of rage. He even ordered my banishment.

But on the night of the full moon, as the entire pack gathered for their Alpha’s ceremony, my second-in-command crashed the altar in his war truck.

He walked toward Aiden, carrying my blood-soaked body.

Aiden’s body trembled. He collapsed to his knees, clutching his chest in agony.

"I can feel it. The mate bond…it’s breaking. Rhea was my fated mate... How can she be dead?!"

Chapter 1

I died saving the woman my Alpha loved. Now, the Moon Goddess has turned me into a ghost, tethered to his side. I'm trapped watching his happily ever after.

I was in the great hall of the Silver Moon Pack's headquarters.

Pack members walked past me, but no one saw me.

I looked down at myself. A translucent, flickering form.

"Alpha! Alpha!"

The sound of hurried footsteps cut through my thoughts.

A warrior burst into the hall, gasping for breath.

Aiden came down the stairs, his handsome face etched with worry.

"What is it?" he demanded.

"Lady Gianna is back, safe and sound!" the warrior reported excitedly. "She's in the infirmary now, just for a check-up. She's fine!"

A grin split Aiden’s face. It was radiant, breathtaking. A smile I’d never seen on him before.

"Thank the Goddess... She's okay..." He let out a long, heavy sigh of relief.

The warrior opened his mouth to say more, but Aiden had already turned, rushing toward the infirmary.

"Wait, Alpha!" the warrior called after him. " Rhea… she went missing after the mission!"

"I heard him," Aiden snapped, not even turning around. His voice was sharp with annoyance. "She'll be fine. She's just throwing a fit. I'm seeing Gianna first."

My spirit trembled. So that's it. In his mind, me going missing was just an inconvenient tantrum.

The door to the medical wing flew open.

Gianna was sitting on a bed, wrapped in a blanket.

She looked shaken, but she didn't have a single hair out of place.

"Aiden!" she cried, throwing herself into his arms.

"It's okay, Gia. You're safe now," he murmured, holding her tight.

A spike of pain went through my heart.

I tried to pull my spirit away, to go anywhere else. But I saw Aiden's body go stiff in the hug.

His suppressed Alpha blood churned with a strange irritation, a primal rejection.

He frowned and gently pulled away from Gianna.

"What's wrong?" she asked, her voice sharp with suspicion.

"Nothing." Aiden forced the feeling down, his voice softening. "Rhea got you out. Where is she?"

Gianna's eyes flickered. She looked down, putting on a perfect show of being hurt and scared.

"Rhea… she got me to the edge of the safe zone and just left." Gianna bit her lip, her voice a timid whisper. "She seemed so angry… maybe because you sent her to get me. She said she couldn't stand to see us together and… I don't know where she went."

Lies. All of it.

I took a dozen silver blades to the gut so she could run. My insides were shredded.

Aiden was silent for a few seconds, then shook his head. "Forget it. With her skills, she'll be fine. She's probably just angry with me."

He stroked Gianna's cheek, his smile returning. "You just rest. Tomorrow, we'll hold a feast in your honor. The alliance with the Creek Valley Pack is ready. Soon, I can give you the grandest mating ceremony in the world."

I watched them, my soul twisting like a knife.

Ten years ago, he was the pack's shame: the wolfless, bastard son. We had no one but each other.

When the elders denied his birthright, I found the proof he needed.

When other wolves sneered at him, I won the victories that earned him respect.

When he needed power, I cleared his path of every obstacle.

The day the healers finally cleansed the poison from his system, the day his Alpha blood made him the true heir, he held me close and whispered how he couldn't have done it without me.

He promised that once he was Alpha, I would never have to suffer again.

He would raise me to the highest place in the pack, right by his side.

I thought he meant the Luna's throne.

Even without a mate bond, I knew he was the one for me.

But the moment his power was secure, he made a different choice.

He made me his General—a title created just for me—and announced his union with Gianna, the daughter of the Creek Valley Alpha.

He was even willing to send me to my death to rescue her.

And now, Aiden leaned down and kissed Gianna's forehead before turning to leave, a look of pure satisfaction on his face.

An invisible force pulled me along with him.

I stared at his back as he walked away, so satisfied.

One thought consumed me.

If he knew I died for her, would he still look so relieved?

Chapter 2

My body was still in enemy territory.

I knew the pack's laws: no body, no funeral.

I knew how Aiden would see it. He wouldn't believe I was dead.

To him, I was just his scorned warrior, sulking in a corner. Not until my second-in-command, Liam, finally slammed my body bag on the council table would he know the truth.

It would take a few days for Liam to bring my body back in one piece.

Maybe, just before the full moon, Aiden would finally know I was dead.

What would his face look like? Shock? Sadness?

Or... relief?

After all, without me in the way, he could finally dote on his precious Gianna.

I followed him down the familiar hallway.

Portraits of past Alphas lined the walls, with his hanging at the very end.

I won him the eastern mines. That victory forced the Elders to finally recognize the bastard son.

"Alpha," his aide greeted him with a respectful bow. "Will you be escorting Lady Gianna to her room personally?"

"Of course," Aiden nodded. "She's been through a trauma. She deserves the best care."

I let out a cold, silent laugh.

Two weeks ago, the Elders had been furious about this rescue mission.

"The Red Fang Pack are our mortal enemies!" Elder Elias had slammed his fist on the table. "Sending warriors into their heartland is a suicide mission!"

"Gianna is the daughter of the Creek Valley Alpha," Aiden had countered calmly. "We can't just leave her to die."

"Then send a diplomat to negotiate!" another Elder had roared. "Why must we use force?"

Aiden's eyes had found mine across the room.

For a moment, I thought he was asking for my opinion.

"Rhea is our strongest warrior," he said. "She can get Gianna back."

I remember feeling a surge of pride at his trust in me.

How ridiculous.

He just needed a powerful tool to retrieve his prize.

The elevator stopped at the top floor.

The Alpha’s den took up the entire level.

Floor-to-ceiling windows revealed a breathtaking, glittering cityscape.

I'd never set foot in here.

My place was a stark cell in the sub-basement. A warrior's due.

Gianna looked around in awe.

"It's so beautiful..." she breathed.

Aiden walked to a wall and pressed a switch. Hidden lights glowed to life, illuminating an entire wall of professionally shot photographs.

All of them were of Gianna.

Dancing under the moon, smiling in a field of flowers, gazing into a stream... each one a work of art.

"You... you did all this for me?" Gianna covered her mouth, her eyes filling with tears.

"Do you like it?" Aiden asked softly.

"I... I'm so moved..."

They embraced.

My soul shuddered.

He had been preparing this for her all along.

And me? Ten years of fighting and dying for him, and we didn't have a single picture together.

"Gianna," Aiden said, taking her hand and dropping to one knee. "At the next full moon," he said, his voice low and intense. "Be my mate, Gianna."

"Aiden..." Tears streamed down Gianna's face. "Yes."

The news spread like wildfire, and the pack was ecstatic.

The Elders called an emergency meeting that night.

"This is against protocol!" Elder Elias slammed his fist on the table, his face red with fury. "General Rhea is still missing! She risked her life for that girl! To hold a mating ceremony now… it will break the morale of every warrior we have!"

"Her father is the Alpha of Creek Valley," Aiden said from the head of the table. His voice was ice. "The alliance benefits this pack."

Other elders started to protest, but Aiden rose to his feet. "My decision is final. No one will stand in my way."

The elders exchanged nervous glances. They knew exactly how ruthless the bastard Alpha could be.

"What about… Rhea?" one asked timidly. "She's been gone for over a day. Shouldn't we send a search party?"

"She's my warrior, not a pup," Aiden cut him off. "She's probably sulking in some tavern, waiting for me to apologize. It doesn't matter. She'll be back."

As he spoke, his hand instinctively pressed against his chest. A strange tightness seemed to squeeze his heart.

I knew that feeling. It was his suppressed Alpha blood, protesting a decision that went against his very soul.

But my own heart had already shattered.

After the meeting, Aiden returned to his study, exhausted.

He rubbed his temples and closed his eyes.

Then, almost unconsciously, he spoke.

"Rhea..."

Chapter 3

He only thought of me at times like this. Alone. Deep in the night. When his wolf was restless.

Only then did he remember the draught I made for him.

I watched the exhaustion etched on his face, and a bitter taste filled my mouth.

When the healers told him his wolf would never awaken, he shattered. He was hopeless.

So I went behind everyone's back. I journeyed to the Forbidden Forest to find the Moon Witch.

I traded half of my life force for a single, desperate chance: a potion to nurture his dormant wolf.

It wasn't just a calming draught. It was the hope of a cure, bought with my own life. A chance for him to one day become the Alpha he was born to be.

I still remember the shock in his eyes the first time he drank it, the way he felt a flicker of raw power surge through his veins for the first time.

His wolf wasn't awake, but for a moment, it wasn't completely dead.

He held me so tight, his voice trembling in my ear. "Rhea, only you… only you would do this for me."

The aid knocked, entering with a cup of tea. "Alpha, you should rest."

"Is Rhea back yet?" Aiden asked, rubbing his temples. His voice was raw.

The aid paused. "Not yet, Alpha. Lieutenant Liam's unit is on its way back, but there was no mention of the General's location in the comms."

Aiden's bloodshot eyes snapped open. His tone was sharp with absolute certainty. "She'll be back. She can't stay away from me. Now go prepare for the ceremony and stop bothering me with her drama."

The aid stared, stunned, before silently backing out of the room.

I just hovered there, frozen.

He's right. I took blades for him. I killed for him. I sacrificed my own life force for him.

After all that, of course he believed I would never leave.

---

Later that night, Aiden tossed and turned in his bed.

Gianna slept peacefully beside him, her breathing soft.

But he couldn't find sleep.

Flashes of a woman's back kept appearing in his mind.

A pair of cold, determined eyes.

A blood-stained silver blade.

He got up, threw on a robe, and began to wander the headquarters. His feet carried him, aimless, until he found himself in the sub-basement.

The warrior's quarters.

Damp, cramped, and smelling of antiseptic.

He stopped in front of a door.

The nameplate read: Rhea. Lead Warrior.

He heard a faint noise from inside.

Aiden frowned.

Who would be in Rhea's room this late?

He pushed the door open.

A young omega was inside, gently folding clothes.

When she saw Aiden, she gasped and fell to the floor.

"A-Alpha..." she stammered.

Aiden's eyes scanned the spartan room.

A bed. A simple desk.

Nothing else.

No decorations, no personal items, not a single trace of warmth.

It looked less like a home and more like a barracks cell.

His gaze fell on the omega.

Aiden asked casually, "What are you doing in here so late?"

Chapter 4

The maid's voice shook. "Rheal… she can't stand strong smells, and the air in these apartments is stale. She suffered from terrible nightmares. I'd hear her calling out names… I just wanted to wash the smell of stale blood from her things before she returned…"

The color drained from Aiden's face.

This was the room he had assigned her. She never said a word about any of it.

He had no idea she was tormented every night. What names? Whose names?

"What names?" his voice was low and dangerous.

"Marcus, Vincent, and... and Kane..." The omega's voice grew quieter. "She also says 'I'm sorry,' over and over..."

I saw Aiden's hands begin to shake.

Marcus—the political rival he'd ordered me to assassinate three years ago.

Vincent—the pack traitor who threatened his position two years ago.

Kane—the former Beta who tried to overthrow him last year.

They were all obstacles he had personally ordered me to remove. Wolves I had personally killed.

He never knew about my nightmares.

He never knew the weight of the sins I carried for him.

"What else do you know?" Aiden advanced on the omega, his eyes flashing.

The omega was terrified. "I... I don't know anything else... I just wash her clothes and brew her calming tonic..."

She scrambled to get away, but her feet got tangled in a pile of clothes.

Clink.

Something small fell to the floor.

A wolf fang necklace, gleaming faintly in the dim light.

Aiden's eyes went wide.

It was the token he gave me when he secured his claim as Alpha.

Made from a fang he lost during his first shift, carved with the Silver Moon sigil.

It was supposed to represent his trust... his promise.

He knelt, his hand trembling as he reached for it.

The fang was still smooth, as if it held the last of my warmth.

"This is mine," Aiden snarled, his voice dangerously low. "Where did you get it? Did you steal it from her?!"

He lunged forward, grabbing the omega by her collar and yanking her up. His eyes were feral.

"No! No!" the omega sobbed, hysterical. "Rhea gave it to me! She... she said she didn't need it anymore..."

Aiden went rigid, his grip slackening as if the strength had been stolen from his body.

The omega crumpled to the floor, crying into her hands.

"She gave it to me the night she left... said it was a keepsake... I was going to give it back when she returned... I didn't steal it... She said she didn't need it anymore."

Didn't need it anymore.

The words were a blade twisting in his gut.

I watched his face drain of all color, a bitter storm brewing inside me.

I had worn that necklace for ten years.

I never took it off, not even to sleep or bathe.

It was the only thing he had ever given me.

The proof, I had thought, of his love.

But before I left on this last mission, I finally understood.

It was never a promise. It was a collar. A mark of ownership for his most loyal pet.

The Red Fang Pack had started countless border wars with us, and rumors said their Alpha was in league with a witch, all to absorb other packs.

They took Gianna to bait Aiden, and to eliminate his greatest threat: me.

Since I was about to die for him—for the woman he loved—the necklace was meaningless.

He wouldn't need his obedient pet anymore.

Aiden's hand shook as he picked up the necklace, clenching it in his fist.

"She... she really said that?" he rasped.

The omega nodded. "She also said... from now on, she was going to do what she wanted... and never live for anyone else again..."

Aiden staggered backward.

He stared at the fang in his hand, a hurricane gathering in his eyes.

Didn't need it?

The woman who would crawl back to him no matter how broken she was, the woman who treasured his slightest praise, had casually given his only gift to a maid?

It could only mean one thing.

A clean break.

Even if she came back alive, she had no intention of ever coming back to him.

No wonder she had someone spread the news of her death.

"Fine," Aiden laughed, a horrifying sound, twisted with the raw fury of betrayal. "Just fine."

He squeezed the fang so hard its sharp tip pierced his palm, and blood dripped between his fingers.

"Rhea," he snarled, his voice a guttural growl. "How dare you."

Chapter 5

Aiden stormed out of the room, the necklace still clutched in his bleeding fist.

My soul was dragged along behind him. I watched, helpless, as he staggered into the room and swept everything off his desk in a single, violent motion.

"Doesn't need it?!" he repeated, his voice a low, guttural snarl. "DOESN'T NEED IT?!"

He raised his arm and hurled the blood-stained wolf tooth against the wall.

CRACK.

It shattered, the pieces scattering across the floor.

"I'll give you what you want," Aiden roared, his eyes shot with crazed, bloodshot veins.

The crash brought guards running, with Elder Elias right behind them.

"Alpha!"

The door flew open. Elias stared at the wreckage, his face instantly pale. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"She betrayed me!" Aiden jabbed a finger at the broken fragments. He rounded on the Elder, his voice a raw scream. "She threw away my necklace! She's leaving me! The traitor!"

"How can you say that?!" Tears streamed down the old wolf's face. "Rhea would never betray you! Ten years ago, when you were just a bastard son, who was by your side? When this council refused to acknowledge your blood, who found the proof?!"

Aiden froze for a second.

"When Kane tried to assassinate you, who charged into his war party alone to shield you?!" Elias pressed on. "When Vincent conspired with our enemies, who went into the Shadow Mire and brought you back the traitor's heart?!"

I saw a flicker of doubt in Aiden's eyes.

Those bloody nights. The endless killing.

How many had I killed for his safety? How many sins were on my soul for his throne?

"She has eighty-seven scars on her body!" Elias shrieked, his voice breaking. "Every single one of them was for you! She has PTSD so severe she needs a draught just to close her eyes at night! And she never once complained!"

A flash of pain crossed Aiden's face.

But the rage of being abandoned burned hotter. It twisted into a furious snarl. "Enough! Whatever she did, she's the one who chose to throw me away!"

Aiden lunged for his desk, snatched a pen and paper, and began writing furiously, right in front of the horrified Elder.

"What are you doing?" Elias gasped. "Alpha, don't be rash!"

Aiden stopped.

He lifted his blood-red eyes and read the words aloud, each one a hammer blow.

"Effective immediately, Rhea is exiled for desertion and betrayal of the pack. Her name will be struck from the records. She will be denied all honors. And upon her death… she will be barred from the Tomb of Heroes."

Elias collapsed to his knees, shaking uncontrollably. "No… you cannot do this…"

Aiden signed his name with a vicious slash of the pen and slammed the decree onto the desk.

"From this day forward," his voice was ice, "Rhea and I are done."

---

The full moon had not yet arrived, but the pack's wishing pool was already adorned with flowers, lanterns, and champagne.

The altar was ready.

Everyone was waiting to celebrate their Alpha's Mating Ceremony.

Aiden and Gianna stood before the statue of the Moon Goddess, hand in hand.

They were rehearsing for the ceremony.

The crowd applauded. All except for the members of my unit who had been on the mission with me.

I stood in the crowd, a ghost at their rehearsal. And I remembered his promise, whispered in the dark when we had nothing but each other. I’ll make you happy, Rhea. Forever.

Now, I was just a ghost, forced to watch him pledge his life to another woman.

Aiden lifted Gianna into his arms and made a wish before the Goddess.

He closed his eyes, his voice ringing with false conviction. "Before the Goddess, I bind myself to you. Forever."

Chapter 6

"I accept," Gianna cooed, standing on her toes to kiss Aiden's lips.

Aiden closed his eyes and kissed her back.

But I saw it clearly. A tiny, almost imperceptible frown creased his brow.

I was standing right between them, a ridiculous third wheel.

I closed my eyes, unable to watch anymore.

I couldn't imagine the pain I would feel on the actual night of the ceremony.

"Pup."

An ancient voice whispered beside me.

I opened my eyes to see the Witch of the Moon Temple standing before me.

She could see me?

"A spirit bound by such attachment becomes a restless thing," the Witch said, her eyes seeing right through me. "Let go, pup. He has chosen another."

"I can't," my voice was choked with a sob. "I've loved him for ten years."

"To love what you cannot have, to cling to what is gone... it will only deny you peace for eternity," the Witch said, reaching a withered hand toward me. "The Moon Goddess will guide you."

"The Moon Goddess?" A bitter laugh escaped my lips. "If she's real, why? Why let me love a man who would never love me? Why make me die for his happiness, only to haunt it as a ghost?"

The Witch didn't answer.

Suddenly, a wild gust of wind tore across the pool, as if summoned by an unseen force.

The stacks of wishing stones on the altar tumbled and scattered.

Guests cried out in alarm.

Gianna clung to Aiden's arm. "What's happening? The weather was perfect..."

Aiden frowned, looking around.

The wishing stones had rolled across the ground, some of them cracking into pieces.

He bent down and picked one up.

He knew that jagged, determined handwriting instantly.

May Aiden be safe.

Aiden froze. It was mine.

He picked up another:

May Aiden be healthy and never know pain.

And another:

May Aiden achieve his dreams and become the strongest Alpha.

Aiden's hands started to tremble.

He dropped to his knees, clawing at the scattered stones like a man possessed.

May Aiden never be looked down on again.

May Aiden find his true love.

May Aiden be happy, even if he forgets me.

Every single stone held a wish I had made for him.

We grew up together.

When his identity as the old Alpha's bastard was revealed, the pack's Luna was forced to take him in, but she was always wary of his power. She even tried to kill him once with silver poison.

Every year, on the full moon, I would come here and wish for Aiden's health, for his success.

He never knew.

"Aiden?" Gianna noticed he was acting strangely. "What's wrong with you?"

Aiden didn't answer. He kept searching the ground as if hunting for treasure.

The pack members watched, confused.

"What's the Alpha doing?"

"Is he... picking up rocks?"

"Picking up rocks on his rehearsal night. How strange..."

Aiden heard none of it.

He found the last one. It was the largest wishing stone of all.

The carving on this one was faint, the edges worn smooth as if by a thousand silent tears.

He held it close to his face.

Under the moonlight, the words burned into his eyes:

Moon Goddess, bind my soul to Aiden's. Let us be fated mates.

Aiden went rigid, the air knocked from his lungs.

Chapter 7

Fated mates.

Such a naive wish.

I watched him on his knees, scrambling for broken rocks. Pathetic. So pathetic it was almost funny.

For ten years, I stood by his side and he never gave me a second glance. Now he was getting sentimental over a few broken rocks?

"What... What is this?"

Gianna's shrill voice cut through the silence.

She had clearly seen the words on the stone, and her beautiful face twisted into an ugly sneer. "Aiden! Did Rhea carve this? Is she trying to curse our Mating?"

Aiden didn't speak.

He just kept staring at that stone.

"Throw it away!" Gianna shrieked, lunging for the stone. Her nails raked across the back of his hand. "Get rid of it! How can you do this to me, for her—"

"Shut up."

Aiden looked up.

The cold fury in his eyes silenced Gianna instantly.

He slowly stood, gathering the stones one by one and placing them carefully inside his suit jacket pocket.

He handled them as if they were precious jewels, as if he wasn't the one who had just banished me.

"I'm tired."

He turned and walked away, leaving his future mate and all his guests standing there in stunned silence.

...

Late that night, candles flickered in the dining room of the pack house.

Gianna was smart, I'll give her that. No more scenes. Instead, she slipped into a whisper of silk that passed for a nightgown and served him a steak dinner.

With a subtle flick of her silk slipper, she "accidentally" kicked the offensive wishing stone into the shadows.

"Aiden, try this," she said sweetly, cutting a piece of steak and holding it to his lips. "Don't think about unpleasant things. Rhea was probably just confused when she said she wanted to leave the pack... We still have each other, don't we?"

Aiden opened his mouth mechanically, his eyes unfocused.

He was still thinking about the stones.

He was thinking about why I had so many wishes, but had never told him a single one.

He was wondering why he never knew the strong, unshakeable warrior he saw had such a soft, vulnerable side.

"Oh, and I made dessert."

Gianna presented a small silver platter like she was revealing a grand prize.

On it were several perfectly golden-brown cookies. A sweet, familiar scent filled the air.

Maple cookies.

Aiden's vacant stare snapped into focus the moment he saw them.

It was his favorite flavor.

The only sweet thing that could ever make the stoic Alpha smile.

"I know you like them," Gianna said, her smile gentle and wifely. She handed one to him. "I learned how to make them just for you. I want you to know I'm willing to do anything for you."

Aiden took the cookie.

The familiar shape, the familiar color, even the slightly browned edges were exactly as he remembered.

His hand trembled slightly.

He took a bite.

The crisp texture exploded on his tongue, and the rich maple flavor filled his mouth.

But... something was missing.

The texture was right. The sweetness was there. But the soul of it... the soul was gone. It was an echo, a ghost on his tongue.

"What's wrong?" Gianna watched his face, her own expression tense. "Is it not good?"

Aiden put the cookie down. His gaze drifted past her, out the window into the dark night.

There was nothing out there but an empty void.

Just like his heart at that moment.

"It's nothing," he said flatly, his voice hollow with a strange exhaustion. "I was just remembering something."

Something.

I floated above the table, watching the ghost of a bite mark on the cookie. A phantom ache echoed through my soul.

Of course it was wrong.

That wasn't the taste of a princess. It was the taste of my burnt fingers and secret smiles.

How could a pampered princess like Gianna ever replicate that?

She'd probably just bribed one of my omegas for the recipe and had the pack chefs make them.

But even with a recipe, some things can't be stolen.

Like love.

He stared at the plate, but he wasn't seeing cookies. He was seeing a memory.

"Maybe..." he murmured, so low I could barely hear.

"Maybe it's her I miss."

Chapter 8

"Miss who?"

The gentle mask on Gianna's face finally cracked.

She slammed her fork down with a clatter.

"Aiden, what is wrong with you tonight?"

She stood up, walked around the table, and slid onto his lap. She cupped his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her.

"Look at me, Aiden. I'm your Gianna. The woman you swore to love for the rest of your life. Your chosen mate."

Her tears came on command, perfectly pitiful.

"The Mating Ceremony is almost here. I'm so excited for our life together."

She lowered her head, pressing a kiss to the column of his throat. Her hand slid under his shirt, seeking the warmth of his skin. A blatant, desperate seduction.

But Aiden grabbed her hand and pulled her off his lap. The movement was almost rough.

"Stop," he said, his voice quiet but laced with steel. "Not yet. Our first time should be sacred, under the full moon."

Gianna froze.

"Why?" Her voice trembled, her eyes filled with suspicion. "Is it really about the ceremony? Or is it because... you don't actually love me?"

Aiden sighed.

He seemed truly exhausted, too tired to even argue properly.

"Don't be ridiculous." He reached out to smooth her hair, his eyes glazing over as he drifted into a memory.

"Bella, do you know why I chose you? Why it had to be you?"

Gianna blinked. "Because... I'm the princess of the Creek Valley Pack?"

"No." Aiden shook his head. "It was because of the candy."

The candy?

My ghostly form jolted.

"That snowy night, after my first shift," Aiden's voice grew low and distant. "The Luna had poisoned me with wolfsbane, and I was left for dead in the manor's garden. I was burning up, so delirious I couldn't even see who you were."

"Just when I thought I was going to die, someone pushed a piece of candy into my mouth."

His eyes softened with a reverence I had never seen before—a look reserved only for the memory of his savior.

"It was a piece of candy. Lemon. So sour it made my eyes water, but it cut right through the fever. It saved me."

He looked at Gianna, his voice thick with emotion. "When I woke up, the only thing I had was a handkerchief with your family's crest on it. From that moment, I swore I would spend my life repaying the girl who saved me in the snow."

Gianna's expression froze.

It was a complex mask of guilt, panic, and then a flicker of triumphant relief.

But I felt the spirit blood in my veins turn to ice.

Eight years ago, on that snow-swept night, I had knelt at the old Alpha's door for three days, begging for the antidote.

My knees were numb with cold, my forehead was raw and bleeding from kowtowing.

The old Alpha still refused.

In despair, I went back to the mountainside and found Aiden, barely breathing.

I had no medicine. No water.

All I had was a single piece of candy a witch had given me out of pity.

I held him in the snow all night, forcing my own warmth into his freezing body, whispering his name like a prayer.

Only after the fever broke did I realize the witch's 'pity' had been a dose of the antidote.

As for the handkerchief...

Gianna had walked by, disgusted by the sight of us. She had dropped it after using it to cover her nose from the "stench of poverty" she claimed we had!

So that was it.

That was the truth behind his love for her.

It wasn't love. It wasn't destiny.

It was a lie. A decade-long lie built on a single, stolen piece of candy.

A silent scream tore through my soul. I wanted to claw at his face, to howl the truth until it made his ears bleed.

IT WAS ME! IT WAS ALWAYS ME!

But I couldn't.

I was a ghost.

"Aiden..." Gianna had clearly recovered.

Her eyes darted around for a split second—a flicker of panic—before they filled with manufactured tears. "Aiden," she breathed, her voice thick with emotion. "You remembered."

She threw her arms around him, burying her face in his chest to hide the cunning in her eyes.

"I just couldn't bear to see you suffering... I never thought you'd remember it for so long."

"Even without a fated mate bond, I love you, Gianna."

I started to laugh, a hollow, rattling sound only I could hear.

Oh, Aiden. You absolute fool. You gave your heart to a thief.

Chapter 9

Three days later. The full moon.

Aiden stood on the highest platform of the Silver Moon altar.

He should have been smiling, waiting for his Luna, but his eyes were glued to the main gates of the headquarters.

They were empty.

He didn't know what he was looking for. He just knew someone was missing.

The one person who always had his back. His warrior.

Even though he had banished her, even though he knew she would never return.

He was waiting for a miracle.

Or maybe just a reason to finally let go.

"Alpha?" an Elder prompted from behind him. "The Luna is waiting."

Aiden snapped back to reality. He glanced at Gianna, dressed in her ceremonial robes, looking at him anxiously.

He took her hand, ready to turn back to the altar.

Just then, a roar of an engine shattered the peace of the ceremony.

A moment later, a war-battered truck, caked in mud and grime, smashed through the main gates. Guards scattered like bowling pins.

"The ceremony is under attack!"

Guards yelled in panic as the crowd descended into chaos.

Gianna screamed and hid behind Aiden.

But Aiden didn't move.

He stood on the high platform, his pupils shrinking as he stared at the familiar vehicle.

It was my truck.

The truck screeched to a halt at the foot of the altar.

The door opened.

It wasn't an assassin who stepped out. It was my second-in-command, Liam.

He had fought by my side through hell and back. Now his face was unshaven and streaked with tears.

He ignored the weapons aimed at him. He ignored Aiden's shocked expression.

He turned to the truck, and with a reverence that silenced the chaos, he lifted a figure from the passenger seat.

Not a person. A body.

It was wrapped tightly in a black body bag, the face hidden.

But from the limp, dangling arm, the dried bloodstains, the fingers still clenched into a fist even in death...

Everyone knew who it was.

The entire pack fell silent.

Liam held me in his arms and walked up the steps, one by one. Each footstep was a heavy thud that echoed in the silence.

He stopped before the altar. He didn't bow to the Alpha. He didn't even glance at the woman who was about to become Luna.

He gently laid my body down on the sacred altar.

"Liam! Are you insane?!" Gianna shrieked, snapping out of her shock. "This is my mating ceremony! How dare you bring a corpse—"

"Shut up!"

Liam spun around. His gaze locked on Aiden, the hatred in his eyes burning free.

"You wanted Gianna," he spat. "Rhea paid for her with her life."

He took one step back and dropped to one knee.

And then, one by one, the warriors I had saved, the pack members whose lives I had touched… they all dropped to their knees, bowing their heads.

A single, mournful howl of grief echoed across the plaza.

Aiden's face was chalk white. He stared at the still form on the altar.

And then he felt it. An invisible hand wrapped around his heart, squeezed, and ripped.

A strangled cry of agony tore from his throat. His body began to shake violently. He clutched his chest and collapsed to one knee.

A raw power he had never known exploded inside him.

His wolf.

The wolf that had been sealed away since his puphood by the former Luna's poison and witchcraft. The soul that should have grown with him was now breaking its chains in the most brutal way imaginable.

"Aiden!" Gianna screamed in terror.

But Aiden couldn't hear her. His world had collapsed into nothing but pure, searing pain.

His wolf was howling.

In the first second of its awakening, it reached out for its other half—its fated mate—and found only the cold, silent void of a dead soul.

All those days of restlessness, the sleepless nights, the tightness in his chest… it was never anger.

It was his wolf, crying for the mate it was about to lose forever.

The fated bond hadn't just broken.

The moment he finally felt it, it was already a pile of cold ash.

Aiden lifted his head. His bloodshot eyes were fixed on the body wrapped in black cloth, his entire frame threatening to shatter.

He reached out a trembling hand, his voice a raw, shredded whisper.

"No… impossible… Uncover her…"

Tears streamed down Liam's face as he reached forward and slowly pulled back a corner of the shroud.

Her familiar face. Lifeless.

Aiden's pupils shrank to pinpricks.

A silent, soul-shattering scream erupted from his wolf.

He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. Huge, scalding tears fell from the cold Alpha's eyes.

He finally understood.

"Rhea," he choked out, "She's my… fated mate…"

He forced the last, impossible question from his ruined throat.

"How… how could she be dead?!"