[Elara's POV]
Even the one thing I had ever asked of him—to bid on my mother's ruby necklace, a piece of her past lost to another country—he had given to Seraphina.
If Seraphina hadn't thrown it on the ground in disdain, that collection of his would have one more ruby necklace in it.
"What is it, Kaelen?" Seraphina's voice was a soft murmur at his ear.
He snapped back to the present, his hand closing around a ruby ring. "This… this one. We'll pawn this one for now. Once the Pack is profitable again, I'll buy it back for you. I'll buy you something even better."
His hand trembled, the metal searing his palm like a brand marking his own failure.
He had never kept his promise to buy me a better ring, but he had showered Seraphina with them.
Even if she was his savior, I… I was his mate.
The one who had stood by him in his darkest moments, who had fought to build his Pack from nothing.
But he had given me so little.
"It doesn't matter." Seraphina's voice was a placid mask, hiding the jealousy that surely raged within her. "You know I've never cared for jewels."
"I know. You're a she-wolf destined for the skies. These are just trinkets to you," Kaelen said.
But his mind conjured another image—a different she-wolf, perched on the back of a griffin, soaring through the clouds, executing maneuvers of breathtaking difficulty.
Compared to Seraphina, the memory of me riding that griffin was somehow sharper, more vivid in his mind.
"Don't worry so much about the Pack's future," Seraphina continued, her voice pulling him back. "My mother's family is powerful in Stonewall Citadel. The city is developing its coastal region and needs technological support, especially from a company that specializes in the Moonshadow Defense System. You should look into it. I can help you."
Kaelen's eyes lit up.
The tech industry in the Eternal Sanctum was oversaturated, the competition brutal. A smaller, secondary city would be an untapped market, a new path to power.
"Seraphina, thank you," he said, his voice thick with gratitude. "You not only saved my life, but you continue to help me."
She offered a small smile. "There's no need for thanks between us. I only want what's best for you."
She needed to climb the ranks of the Stormcliff Pack, to prove her bloodline was superior to the Alpha's main line. She needed to make those who had once looked down on her bow at her feet. To do that, she needed Kaelen to succeed. Only then would she get everything she had ever wanted.
————
The next day, we stood before the Moon Goddess's Covenant Stone, the Elder Council bearing witness.
"One hundred and fifty-three Origin Crystals. I'm transferring them to you now," Kaelen said. "What is your crystal account number?"
I gave it to him. He made the transfer with his communication crystal, and a moment later, the funds appeared in my account.
I stared at the notification on my screen. 153 Origin Crystals. A wave of nostalgia washed over me.
This wasn't just money. It was the last tangible piece of my parents' love.
"I'm sorry," Kaelen murmured. "I didn't know how much you had given. If I had known…"
"If you had known, what? You would have cut ties with Seraphina? You wouldn't have gifted her a fortune in jewels? Or perhaps, after your mother and sister tried to have me assaulted in that castle room, you would have seen them thrown in the Blackrock Prison where they belong?"
Kaelen was silent.
A bitter, scornful laugh escaped my lips. "So what good is your apology? It's just words. And I have no need for them."
In that moment, he couldn't even meet my eyes.
The Elder began the ritual. We stepped forward, placing our hands on the massive, ancient stone.
The process was simple. As the Elder chanted the ancient words, a soft, lunar light emanated from the stone, enveloping our hands. The Mate's Mark on my left wrist, once a vibrant crimson, now a dull, ugly scar, began to burn. Then, slowly, it faded from my skin, vanishing completely.
The shackle that had bound my soul, the constant, needle-like pain that had been my companion for three years, was gone.
A weight I hadn't realized I was carrying lifted from my soul. I could finally breathe. I was free.
Just as I was about to leave, Kaelen's voice stopped me. "Wait."
"Is there something else, Alpha Kaelen?" I asked, turning to face him.
The title was a slap. He flinched. "I… I never paid my respects to your parents. I know it's late, but… could you take me to them?"
A laugh, sharp and sudden, burst from my lips. It was too absurd.
When we were mates, he had broken his promise to go with me, time and time again. Each broken promise another crack in my heart.
And now, after our bond was severed, he wanted to pay his respects? The irony was suffocating.
"Kaelen, my parents do not need your respects." With that, I turned and walked out of the Elder Council's hall without a backward glance.
Liana's Magi-tech vehicle was waiting.
I got in, taking the obsidian box containing my parents' Wolf Spirit Stone from the passenger seat and placing it on my lap.
"It's done?" she asked.
"Yes, it's done." I held up my unmarked wrist. "From now on, Kaelen and I are nothing to each other."
It was a small mercy. In three years, he had never truly claimed me, never marked me completely. We had no children. If we had, even this clean break would have been impossible. We would have been tied together forever.
"Did he give you the Origin Crystals?" Liana asked.
"He did."
"Well, at least he kept his word for once," she muttered, her anger at him still simmering. "When you get back from Stonewall Citadel, I'm taking you to the Temple for a full cleansing ritual. Mating with a male like that is the worst kind of bad luck."
I smiled faintly, my fingers tracing the crimson Pack flag draped over the box. "Let's go. To the Airship Port."
Today, I was taking my parents home.
Stonewall Citadel was their ancestral land. My mother, an orphan, had been adopted by the Silvermoon Clan and had mated with one of its warriors. They had always said that if they died, they wanted to be buried in the old country, to return to the earth from whence they came. I would lay them to rest in the Ancestral Den.
Liana drove me to the port.
"You should head back. I can board by myself," I said.
"Your flight isn't for a little while. I'll stay with you until you go through the gate," she insisted. "You're not going to deny me the chance to see your parents off, are you?"
"Alright," I agreed.
We found a quiet corner in the grand waiting hall. I cradled the Wolf Spirit Stone in my lap, a quiet sense of peace settling over me. Soon. Soon I would take them home.
Suddenly, a sharp voice cut through the air. "Elara, what are you doing here?"
I looked up. Seraphina, dressed in the immaculate, severe uniform of a War Master, was standing before me.