For Noah, I chose to stay in this cursed ｗｏｌｆ territory. I learned to farm the barren earth. To hunt beneath blood moons. To survive in a world that wasn't mine. I gave everything I knew to the Shadowpine Pack, teaching them, guiding them—until I put Noah on the throne as Alpha. Then came the day his father died. And Noah brought a she-wolf home. "Aria," his voice had been careful, measured. "This is my father's widow. The late Alpha's... ｍａｔｅ." "According to Pack Law," he continued, not meeting my eyes, "I'm bound to provide for her." I watched the trembling she-wolf cowering behind Noah's broad shoulders. My smile felt like broken glass. "I don't accept her living with us." Noah's expression went cold. Distant. That was The first time he chose pack law over the promises he'd made to me. After that, every night, sounds carried through the stone walls. Her breathless moans. His low growls. The rhythmic thud of bodies against rock. And I would stare at the wall of my chamber, at the marks I'd carved in beast blood, counting down the days. The Blood Moon was coming again. The portal would open. And I will leave the Shadowpine Pack ,forever. --- Again. The sounds echoed through the cavern walls once more. The heavy, rhythmic impact of bodies—proof of how thoroughly he was claiming her on the other side of this too-thin wall. I pressed my palms over my ears, curling into the fur pelts that covered my stone bed. I don't know how long I lay there before a heated body settled onto the edge of my bed, the mattress dipping with his weight. The moment his hand touched my hair, I jerked away, burying myself deeper into the furs. "Don't touch me." Noah's jaw clenched. I could smell the shift in his scent—guilt mixing with irritation. He ran a hand through his dark hair, his voice cold. "Aria, you're being unreasonable again." "It's just breeding," he said, as if that made it acceptable. "Why do you keep holding onto this?" "You're the only Luna I've claimed. You know that." I gripped the fur tighter, refusing to look at him. Refusing to answer. Noah's expression darkened. He scrubbed his face with one hand, frustration rolling off him in waves. "When spring comes and Lydia bears the child, I'll send her away." "This satisfies the pack. Gives them an heir." "Stop being so stubborn. We'll raise the pup together—She will only call you Mother." He stood, his broad frame already turning toward the door. Toward her. He couldn't face my silence, so he'd return to Lydia's warmth. To her eager submission. This scene had replayed every night since he'd brought her home. I wiped the dried tears from my cheeks and sat up slowly. The fire still glowed in the hearth, but I felt frozen to my core. I'd been in this savage world for three years now. This realm—brutal, backwards, freezing—was never meant for someone like me. If I hadn't met Noah, I would have gone home that first Blood Moon. I wouldn't have stayed. But Noah had been the pack's fiercest warrior. And he'd offered me everything—his protection, his devotion, his soul. I pulled the wolf-tooth pendant from my neck, my eyes stinging. But he'd broken every vow. Betrayed every promise. I still remembered the day I chose to stay—how he'd placed this necklace in my hands with trembling fingers. "Aria... thank you." "I don't care if you can never bear children," he'd said. "I don't care about your Lunar Mark, or the fact that you don't have one." "You're the only mate I'll ever have." "Even if we're childless, I accept it. I accept you." Three years. That's all it took for him to bring home his father's widow. The pack had an ancient law: The son inherits the father's mate. And Lydia, who shared no blood with Noah, became his property by tradition. His obligation. He was supposed to care for her. She was supposed to bear him heirs, to repay the debt. I thought Noah had broken from those custom for me. How wrong I'd been. I laughed bitterly and threw the wolf-tooth necklace into the fire. Under the flickering flames, the bone charred and crumbled, mixing with the blackened ash below. A tainted gift. I wanted no part of it. A soft, feminine laugh drifted from the adjacent chamber. I rubbed my right wrist, feeling the bone ring I wore—the portal key. The way home. Then I looked at the wall. There, in dried beast blood, I'd marked symbols only I could understand. The countdown. The Blood Moon rises again tomorrow night.
I stared at the flooded seedling beds, my whole body trembling with fury. Every plant—drowned. Beside me, Lydia clutched a wooden bucket, her eyes wide and brimming with crocodile tears. "Aria, I didn't mean to," she whimpered. "I just wanted to help. I didn't know a little extra water would kill them all..." Her voice cracked into sobs. Her neck was covered in fresh marks—red and purple bruises from his mouth. From his teeth. I looked away, my stomach twisting. Anger and nausea warred inside me. I opened my mouth, then closed it again. What could I even say? The crops were ruined. I forced my clenched fists to relax, stepping forward to assess the damage— Lydia gasped. She swayed dramatically, then collapsed. Before I could even react, a brutal shove sent me sprawling backward. My knee cracked against a stone. Pain exploded up my leg, cold sweat breaking across my skin. When I looked up, Noah stood over Lydia's prone form. He must have just returned from a hunt—his clothes were still dusty, his hair windswept. His eyes burned with fury. He scooped Lydia into his arms, cradling her like precious cargo, and his gaze landed on me with open accusation. "Aria. Can't you tolerate her for even a moment?" My lips trembled. I forced myself to smile—bitter and broken. "What exactly did you see me do to her?" "Or do your eyes only see what you want them to see?" Noah hesitated. He glanced at the flooded field, his jaw tight. Silence stretched between us. Finally: "They're just crops, Aria. She was trying to help. Don't overreact." Just crops. I laughed—cold and sharp. With those three words, he'd dismissed everything I'd done for this pack. Before I arrived, they survived on hunting alone. They ate raw, poorly-prepared meat and suffered constant illness. Children died young, their bodies too weak. I found the seeds. I taught them to cultivate the land. I gave them a future. And because of that knowledge, Noah became Alpha. Now he stood here, belittling my work, defending the woman who'd destroyed it. "Noah..." Lydia's voice was a pitiful mewl. "My stomach hurts." She pressed her face into his chest, clinging to him like a vine. Her tear-streaked face gazed up at him with doe-eyed innocence. Noah's attention snapped to her immediately. Without a word, he placed his large hand on her belly, rubbing slow, gentle circles. Tender. Careful. As if she might shatter. Noah had never been a gentle man. Those soft touches, that patience—he'd learned it all for me. Piece by piece, over our years together. When I was in pain, he'd hover, stubborn and relentless, refusing to leave my side. Now he gave all of it to her. My chest ached. Blood seeped from my scraped knee, but the wound inside me hurt far worse. I dug my nails into the dirt, staring at the ground. They stayed like that for a long time—Noah murmuring to her, Lydia whimpering softly. Finally, Noah lifted her into his arms. He glanced at me, his expression unreadable. "Aria, I'm taking Lydia to the healer." "You—" "I'm hurt too." Noah froze. I met his gaze, my hand pressed against my bleeding knee. My fingers trembled. "I'm hurt too, Noah." Silence. Noah didn't answer me right away. After a while, maybe fifteen minutes, maybe longer,Noah's mouth opened, closed. He took a half-step toward me— Lydia's arms tightened around his neck. "Blood..." Her voice was barely a whisper. Red stained the inside of her thighs, dripping onto the ground. Noah's face went white. He didn't hesitate this time. He ran. I watched him disappear toward the healer's den, cradling her like she was the only thing that mattered. The last fragile thread of hope I'd been clinging to—snapped. I smiled.
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