He Called My Sacrifice a Weakness, So I Let the Curse Consume His Pack

The Moonstone gave off a soft silver light in Alpha Kaelen’s hand. Our ancestors had made it for the Alpha’s mate, the Luna of the pack. It was meant for me. I stood on the ceremonial dais beneath the full moon. My legs shook, and the fresh bandage on my left wrist had gone warm with blood. For five years, I had hidden those cuts. Every drop fed the barrier that kept the shadow curse out of our lands. Kaelen never looked my way. He watched the human girl beside him. Lyla. He had found her shivering in the woods two months ago. Since then, my work had become another thing he took for granted. He took one step. The pack went quiet. I waited for him to turn toward me. Even then, some stupid part of me expected our bond to pull him back. He walked right past me. He stopped in front of Lyla and blocked the wind with his body. Then he lifted the Moonstone and fastened its chain around her throat. Someone in the front row gasped. The sound moved through the crowd. The Moonstone should have burned anyone except a fated mate. On Lyla’s skin, it gave one dim pulse and stayed there. Kaelen smiled at the weak glow. For a second, I forgot to breathe. Lyla looked at me with wide eyes and pressed a hand to her chest. Then she noticed my wrist. “Alpha.” Her whisper carried across the dais. “Serena is bleeding. Did she hurt herself to get your attention?” Five years of blood, reduced to a stunt in one sentence. Kaelen finally faced me. His gaze dropped to the stained bandage, and his mouth tightened. I knew that look. I had seen it whenever the bloodletting left me pale or too tired to speak through dinner. “Always so dramatic, Serena.” His lip curled. “This is a sacred night. For once, could you stop bringing your weakness in front of the whole pack?” Weakness. That was his name for the blood keeping him alive. Stone shifted under my shoes. A cold thread slipped through the warm night air. The barrier was thinning. “Kaelen, the sanctuary is unstable.” My throat scraped around the words. “You have to listen.” “Enough!” He crossed the dais. “I’m sick of your prophecies and your constant gloom. Lyla brings some joy into this place. You walk into a room and smother it.” He stopped close enough that I had to lift my chin to meet his eyes. Duty kept my feet planted. He shoved me. Hard. I struck the edge of the altar with the back of my head. White light burst across my vision, and my knees folded. The cold stone scraped my palms when I hit the floor. Kaelen stood over me without reaching down. “Stop playing the victim.” He turned away and put an arm around Lyla. “It’s pathetic.” The pack stared. Some looked embarrassed for me. Others looked away. My head throbbed against the stone, but one thought came through cleanly: I would never bleed for these people again. Five years of my blood, for this. For him. It was over. I pushed myself upright. The dais tilted, then steadied. Murmurs rose around me, but I kept my eyes off Kaelen and Lyla. The small silver ritual dagger was still tucked inside my ceremonial dress. I drew it for the last rite I would ever perform here. The blade crossed my palm instead of my wrist. Blood filled the cut and ran between my fingers. The pack fell silent again. Kaelen looked over his shoulder. “What are you doing now?” I raised my bleeding hand to the moon and spoke the old vow. “I, Serena of the Blood Moon Pack, by the blood in my veins and the magic in my soul, sever this bond.” Magic struck outward. Kaelen cried out and staggered back, one hand clamped over his chest. The bond tore free of me. Its pull, present every day for five years, vanished. Air reached the bottom of my lungs. “I revoke my vow. I revoke my protection. I revoke my sacrifice.” The dagger hit the stone between us. I walked down from the altar and passed through the pack without asking anyone to move. They moved anyway. Behind me, Kaelen called my name in the same tone he used for orders. At the northern edge of the territory, the sanctuary light between the pines blinked twice and went out.