“Just clearing out some useless things.” My smile felt brittle.
His eyes swept our bare quarters, noting the empty spaces where our life together had been.
“I’ll replace everything,” he promised quickly. “Buy you new treasures.”
I said nothing. In a few days, none of this would matter.
I worked faster after that, determined to erase every trace before my time ran out.
By cruel coincidence, my anniversary celebration fell on the same day the potion would take effect.
Damien arranged an elaborate party, but the highlight was to be a moonlight run – with Emily as the featured performer.
She emerged in her pure white wolf form, impossibly graceful. Moonlight turned her fur to liquid silver as she demonstrated her strength and speed.
But this was no simple display. Every movement was a seduction – the arch of her back, the fluid grace of her muscles, the way she’d pause to let the moonlight caress her fur.
1/3
25 BONUS
She locked eyes with Damien as she ran, her message clear This is what a real wolf looks like. This is what you’re missing.
I watched his face carefully. Though he maintained a neutral expression, his fingers dug into his chair arms. His pupils dilated tracking her movements.
The crowd gasped as Emily executed a particularly daring leap, shifting mid–air to land in human form. Her dress – barely more than silk shadows – clung to every curve.
“Magnificent!” someone called. The applause was thunderous.
“Rewards for everyone!” Damien announced, his voice rough. “Anyone who brings such joy to my mate deserves recognition!”
Emily’s laugh was pure silver. “Thank you, Alpha. Let me serve Lady Sierra some wine to mark the occasion.” Damien’s smile faltered as reality crashed back.
But Emily was already beside me, wine glass extended. My stomach turned seeing Damien’s custom–made moonstone pendant nestled between her breasts.
She leaned close enough that her lips brushed my ear. “Poor little broken wolf. How it must hurt, watching real wolves run free while you can barely maintain your pathetic form.”
My phone buzzed insistently. I opened it to find a photo – Emily in wolf form, sprawled across our bed, Damien’s hands buried in her fur. His expression was pure hunger.
“He loves how easily I shift,” she purred. “Such a change from his mate who can’t even hold her wolf form through one moon cycle. Would you like to see what else we did after this photo?”
She raised her glass in mocking toast. As she moved closer, her hand deliberately struck mine.
Red wine cascaded across her white dress. The thin fabric turned transparent, clinging to every curve. She gasped with calculated drama.
Damien’s expression darkened, his attention caught. I watched his throat work as his eyes traced the wine’s path down her body.
“You dare!” he snarled, but his dilated pupils betrayed his true reaction.
Emily fell to her knees, the perfect picture of submission. Tears sparkled in her eyes as she tilted her head to bare her throat.
“Forgive me, Alpha,” she whimpered. “I’m so clumsy…” Her wet dress slipped lower.
I sat in frozen silence, watching their performance play out. The bond between us screamed with his rising desire.
Finally, Damien ordered someone to take her away, though his eyes lingered on her retreating form.
He leaned close, guilt warring with need in his expression.
“Sierra, there’s a situation at the border…”
“Go,” I cut him off. We both knew where he was really going.
He hesitated, trying to maintain the facade. “Wait for me? I’ll hurry back.”
I met his eyes and laughed softly. No more waiting. Never again.
Something like unease crossed his face, but the pull of Emily’s scent was stronger.
2/3
+25 BONUS
As he vanished into the shadows, I felt the first cool tingles of the potion working through my blood. My hands were steady as I removed his necklace. Each step toward the airport felt lighter, freer. The first–class cabin was warm the first real warmth I’d felt since entering his frozen territory.
I opened my phone one last time, pulling up Emily’s messages. Every taunting text, every intimate photo, every cruel detail of their betrayal – I forwarded them all to Damien’s phone.
Let him see how thoroughly his mistress had documented their affair. Let him know I’d seen it all.
I turned off my phone and watched the territory lights fade into darkness below.
With each mile, our mate bond stretched thinner, like a silver thread about to snap.
Sierra McKnight was disappearing, and for the first time in years, I felt truly free.
As the plane broke through the clouds, I heard the distant echo of an anguished howl carried on the wind.
