He Broke Our Bond, I Claimed His Love

Chapter 2

When I burst into the healing lodge, Healer Tessa was sitting beside the bed wiping away tears.

Dressed in her white healer’s robe, she looked fragile and heartbroken.

The moment she saw me, she jumped to her feet.

“Luna Demi? What are you doing here? Didn’t Alpha Austinn already—”

I ignored her.

I rushed to the bedside, grabbed Austinn’s hand, and burst into tears.

“Alpha Austinn! Have you forgotten everything? Have you even forgotten the woman you love?”

Austinn lay pale against the pillows, a bandage wrapped around his forehead.

His crimson eyes were clouded with confusion.

“Who are you?”

I cried even harder.

“I’m Demi! Your Luna! Your fated mate! You promised you’d love me forever!”

Tessa immediately protested.

“That’s not true! Alpha Austinn, don’t listen to her! She’s—”

“Not true?” I whipped around and glared at her. “Then tell me this. How did he get the scar on his chest? Did you know he likes honey in his deer-milk wine? Did you know he hates cooked rabbit meat?”

I’d learned all those things over the past three years.

Tessa had been gone.

There was no way she knew.

Sure enough, her face went pale.

Austinn’s gaze lingered on me, curiosity replacing some of the confusion.

I pressed my advantage.

“Just last month, you promised to give me that estate near the hot springs in the South as a birthday present! What am I supposed to do if you’ve forgotten?”

Austinn rubbed his temples, wincing.

His eyes held uncertainty.

“Demi,” he said weakly, “are you telling me... you’re my mate... and that we’re deeply in love?”

I nodded vigorously, tears still clinging to my lashes.

“Of course! You’re completely crazy about me!”

I wiped my eyes and deliberately revealed the moonstone bracelet on my wrist.

The elders had gifted it to the Luna during last year’s pack gathering.

I’d worn it ever since.

“See? You gave this to me for my birthday last year. You said only the most honored Luna deserved something like this.”

Austinn stared at the bracelet.

His frown deepened.

He seemed to be struggling to remember, but the effort only made him look paler.

Tessa stamped her foot in frustration.

“Alpha Austinn! Don’t listen to her! She’s lying! I’m the one who—”

“Enough.”

His voice was weak, but it still carried the unmistakable authority of an Alpha.

“I don’t remember anything right now. Let me think.”

Tessa’s eyes reddened instantly.

She bit her lip and looked at him with hurt and disbelief.

But she didn’t dare argue.

Instead, she shot me a venomous glare and stormed out of the lodge.

The moment the door closed, I secretly let out a breath.

Step one: success.

Lila was spinning circles in my head with excitement.

“Demi, you’re incredible! That performance looked more convincing than the truth!”

“Shut up,” I warned her internally. “Don’t get us caught.”

Austinn was still watching me.

Those crimson wolf eyes were as deep as a bottomless lake.

The intensity of his gaze made me nervous.

“You say you’re my Luna,” he said slowly. “Then tell me—how did we get together?”

My heart skipped a beat.

I hadn’t thought that far ahead.

But after three years of playing Luna, improvisation was practically my specialty.

I immediately lowered my head and put on a shy expression.

“How else? The Moon Goddess brought us together.”

I twisted the edge of my sleeve.

“We met on Matching Night when we were eighteen. The moment you saw me, you said I was your fated mate. That same night, you marked me and swore you’d love only me for the rest of your life.”

As I spoke, I secretly watched his reaction.

His expression barely changed.

But the skepticism in his eyes deepened.

“Then why is your mark...” he paused, staring at my neck, “so faint?”

A flicker of panic shot through me.

But I recovered instantly.

“That’s your fault!”

I shot him an annoyed look.

“Last year, when you were hunting at the border, I got injured by a rogue wolf’s silver dagger while saving you. It damaged the mark! You even promised that once I recovered, you’d mark me again—properly this time—so everyone would know I’m your Luna.”

The excuse was flawless.

Considering he’d just been poisoned by wolfsbane, a weakened mark was completely believable.

Apparently, he thought so too.

He didn’t question me further.

Instead, he rubbed his forehead again.

“My head hurts. There’s so much I can’t remember.”

“That’s okay!”

I immediately leaned closer and began massaging his temples.

“I’ll stay with you. Take your time. And if you never remember, that’s okay too. As long as you remember that I’m your Luna.”

The moment my fingers touched his skin, his body visibly stiffened.

But he didn’t pull away.

A thrill of triumph fluttered through me.

Looks like step one is going exactly according to plan.