THE MOON DIED WITH ME

POV: Auren I, Kael of Obsidian Fang, reject you, Auren Duskbane, as my mate. The words cut through me sharper than any blade. He didn’t stutter He didn’t flinch. He said it like a command, like it didn’t matter. Gasps rang from the crowd gathered around the ceremonial stones, but Kael’s gaze didn’t meet mine. The bond that had once glowed between us, warm, familiar, snapped like dry kindling. I staggered back a step, breath caught in my throat. The priestess didn’t blink. The crowd waited for my collapse, but I didn’t give them the satisfaction. I held my ground even as the bond split inside me like a bone snapping clean through. My chest hollowed as if something vital had been yanked from it. I was no one. Nothing. Unclaimed. Rejected. He left the ring in my hand when he turned away. They whispered about a prophecy. That a child born of our bond would bring ruin. That my death was inevitable if I bore Kael’s heir. He rejected me because of a prophecy. A cursed future A child I hadn’t even conceived. He didn’t want to risk his throne for love. Or for me I didn’t cry I didn’t scream I just walked Past the stunned crowd, through the snowy woods, and into the dark where no one could follow. I didn’t remember how far I walked. The forest blurred around me. Snow numbed my boots. Trees passed like shadows. The cold didn’t bite, but I couldn’t feel anything anymore. Eventually, my legs gave out. I collapsed at the base of a pine tree, body trembling, heart too shattered to beat properly. That’s when I smelled smoke. The firelight glowed through the trees. I didn’t know it was Riven’s camp until I stepped into it. His back was to me, shirt half-unbuttoned, a long scar trailing down his spine. "Didn’t expect you," he said without turning, but I was not surprised. His voice was rough, not cruel. He glanced over his shoulder. You’re freezing I’m fine, I lied. You’re not You look like death. He handed me a flask. I drank The liquid scorched my throat, but I welcomed the burn. I sat near the fire, arms wrapped around myself. He rejected me. I heard, Riven said quietly. He said if I carried his child, I’d die. So he ended the bond. You deserved better. He was never strong enough to deserve you. I stared at the fire. You left the pack because of him. I left because I saw what he was becoming. I looked at him. And what would you have done? "I would’ve loved you anyway," he said, even if it had killed me. The ache in my chest cracked open again. Not from pain. From need. We sat in silence. The heat of the flames didn’t touch the ache in my chest, but Riven’s presence steadied it. He wasn’t safe, Hollow Moon wolves neverwerer, but he was real. I turned toward him. He didn’t pull away when our eyes met. The kiss wasn’t slow. It wasn’t sweet. It was desperate, two broken things clinging to warmth before they shattered completely. Are you certain you want to proceed? He asked, voice raw. "I need to feel something," I whispered—just tonight. He didn’t ask questions again. He didn’t try to heal me. "Don’t leave me alone tonight," I whispered. I won’t. That night, we crossed a line we couldn’t uncross It was never supposed to happen, but we did it completely. And after, he just held me through the night. Before sunrise, I dressed in silence. He was still asleep, one arm curled where I’d lain. I took the crescent moon ring from my pocket, the one Kael had given me at our bonding, and placed it beside Riven’s hand. Then I walked into the cold. I wandered for months. Aimless. Hollow. My feet carried me deeper into the woods, but I didn’t know where I was going. Snow crunched beneath me. The trees whispered things I didn’t understand. The ache between my ribs lingered. Then, a strange flutter low in my belly. A warmth. I stopped, my heart thudding. Magic pulsed inside me. Not violent, soft, new, ancient. My hand pressed over my abdomen, and for a moment, the cold disappeared. I didn’t know what it meant. But something had changed. I didn’t hear the guards until it was too late. Steel snapped around my wrists. Shadows closed in on every side. Obsidian Fang armor. Faces I recognized. Wolves I’d fought beside once. Auren Duskbane, the commander, said," You are under arrest for treason and consorting with the enemy. I was rejected, I whispered. I didn’t betray anyone. You crossed into Hollow Moon. You lie with a banished wolf. You abandoned your Alpha. I didn’t abandon anyone; I was left. They didn’t care. They dragged me back through the snow. The pack stones loomed like gallows. The priestess didn’t look surprised. "You left after the rejection," the priestess said. But you didn’t leave alone. My hands were bound. My legs bruised. My voice is ice steady. I did nothing wrong. You lie with the enemy. Kael didn’t speak. The crowd was smaller this time, mostly the elderly and enforcers. Just as the Elders raised the iron to finalize the brand, Eira broke through the crowd. "Stop this," she shouted, breathless and furious. You can’t do this to her. Kael turned, but his face didn’t shift. Cold, Decided. She betrayed the pack, he said. She bled for this pack. Eira shot back. Whatever she did, she doesn’t deserve this. She made her choice, Kael snapped. And so did I. Two guards restrained Eira before she could reach me. Her eyes found mine wide, desperate. Auren, forgive me, he choked, then they dragged her back into the crowd. They held me down while the brand seared across my collarbone. A mark that would burn through the afterlife. Traitor. A glowing sigil that marked me as a traitor I didn’t scream. Kael stood by, arms crossed, gaze unreadable. They led me to the execution post beneath the rising blood moon. My knees trembled, but I stayed upright. My heart pounded not with fear, but with rage. Rage that Kael was watching this. Rage that he didn’t stop it. Rage that I had once loved him at all. I looked at the sky. If the moon had ever cared for me, it would not show it now. The priestess raised her hand. The crowd went still. "The moon sees everything," she intoned. Let her light take what no longer belongs to this world. From the shadows of the cliffs, someone watched. A man cloaked in black. Eyes silver. Thorne. He stepped closer as the blade lifted high. As the blood moon turned crimson, he smiled. She dies bound in betrayal, he murmured. But I’ll bring her back. And this time, she’ll belong to me. The fire blazed. The moon blinked. And somewhere between breath and death, Auren Duskbane was claimed by something older than fate.