He Broke Our Bond, I Claimed His Love

I was sitting at the vanity in the Luna’s private chamber, stuffing the last silver-trimmed hat into my suitcase, when the familiar howl of a silver wolf drifted in through the window. Alpha Austinn’s escort team had returned. In my mind, my wolf spirit, Lila, grumbled irritably. “Three years. Three whole years, and he never even gave you a proper mate mark. Now that healer comes back, he kicks you to the curb? That’s beyond humiliating!” I ignored her and casually tossed the brooch bearing the Blood Moon Pack crest into the bottom of my jewelry box. Three years ago, shortly after Alpha Austinn inherited leadership of the pack, his true love, Healer Tessa, ignored everyone’s objections and left for the northernmost Ice Plains Pack to study advanced healing magic. Rumor had it that on the day she left, Austinn stood alone in the snow all night. By the time he returned, frost had frozen into his fur. Not long after, he found me. Beneath the moonlight at the Moon Goddess Temple, his signature crimson wolf eyes held not a trace of warmth. “I’ll provide you protection. To the outside world, you’ll be my Luna. You’ll attend all pack ceremonies by my side. But stay out of my personal affairs.” At the time, my grandmother was lying unconscious in the healing lodge. Years ago, she had been attacked by rogue wolves, and her wolf spirit had fallen dormant ever since. Only rare, high-grade healing herbs could awaken her. And Alpha Austinn was willing to provide those herbs. I accepted almost without hesitation. “One more thing,” he added, his voice as cold as the wind sweeping across the Ice Plains. “Don’t ever delude yourself into thinking you’ll become my real mate.” For the next three years, I played the role of the perfect Luna. At pack gatherings, I stood beside him with the appropriate smile and impeccable manners. Even the elders praised me. I never questioned where he went. Never checked his communicator. And whenever he video-called Healer Tessa, I voluntarily stayed in my own room. The closest thing to intimacy we ever shared happened during last year’s Blood Oath Festival, when he held my hand as we walked across the ceremonial altar. That brief touch left my wolf spirit giddy for three days. But I knew perfectly well it was only a performance for the pack. Everything changed three days ago. A message came from Healer Tessa. [I’ll be back tomorrow, Alpha Austinn. I’ve missed you so much.] Attached was a picture of her standing at the edge of the Ice Plains beneath a sky full of auroras. That very evening, Austinn knocked on my door. He wore a black wolf-fur cloak and carried the chill of the night air with him. “Tomorrow, I’m breaking our mate bond.” He didn’t even look me in the eye. His tone was as casual as if he were discussing a hunting trip. I was knitting a winter scarf for my grandmother at the time. The needles paused for a moment. Then I smiled and nodded. “Understood, Alpha Austinn.” He seemed surprised by how easily I accepted it. His brows furrowed slightly, as though he wanted to say something, but in the end he simply tossed me a gold card. “There’s two hundred thousand in it. Consider it compensation for the past three years.” “Thank you, Alpha Austinn.” As he walked away, Lila howled in my head like someone had stepped on her tail. “Demi! Have some pride! He’s your fated mate!” I touched the faint mark at the back of my neck. Three years ago, Austinn had bitten me to make our arrangement look convincing. The mark was so shallow it barely qualified as a mate mark at all. Breaking it wouldn’t hurt much. “Can pride buy Grandma’s medicine?” I shot back at Lila. “Stop complaining. Pack your things. We’re moving to Grandma’s town tomorrow.” Lila huffed and retreated into the depths of my soul. I packed until dawn, sorting away everything connected to my identity as Luna. I only took my own clothes and a photograph of my grandmother. The next morning, as I dragged my suitcase toward the pack gates, one of the guards looked at me in surprise. “Luna Demi, are you...?” Before he could finish, a frantic wolf howl echoed from the distance. Moments later, Gamma Liam came sprinting back. He was covered in blood. Large patches of purple liquid stained his fur. Wolfsbane. “Something happened to Alpha Austinn!” he shouted, his voice shaking. “We were patrolling the border when rogue wolves ambushed us. They shot him with arrows coated in wolfsbane!” My suitcase slipped from my hand and hit the ground. Wolfsbane? That poison could force a wolf spirit into dormancy. Or kill it outright. “Where is he?” I grabbed Liam by the arm, my voice trembling. “At the healing lodge. Healer Tessa is treating him. But...” Liam swallowed hard. “After he woke up, he didn’t remember anything.” My mind went blank. He had amnesia? Alpha Austinn had lost his memory? Lila practically exploded inside my head. “Demi! This is your chance! Get in there! He doesn’t remember a thing right now. Whatever you tell him, he’ll believe!” I looked down at my suitcase. Then at the healing lodge in the distance, white smoke curling from its chimney. My thoughts raced. Healer Tessa had just returned. Alpha Austinn had just lost his memory. If I walked in there right now and told him I was his Luna... That I was the woman he loved... Then Grandma’s medicine... The little house I’d been saving up for... Everything would finally be within reach. “But... isn’t that kind of wrong?” I hesitated. “What’s wrong about it?” Lila practically screamed. “He IS your fated mate! He’s the one who refused to acknowledge it! Besides, your grandmother still needs treatment. Do you want her to stay asleep forever?” My grandmother’s gentle smile flashed through my mind. I clenched my teeth, gathered my skirts, and took off running toward the healing lodge. Whatever. I’d figure out the consequences later. If he regained his memory, I’d just tell him it was his fault for putting me in that position while he was amnesiac.