Nyroth “Are you sure he is inside?” “Yes, Mother, but he won’t open up.” The knock came again, but I ignored it, just as I had these past days, drowning in the same shock that had gutted me. Stunned. Blindsided. Humiliated. Regretful. All because of the one person I never expected to rise above me. Who would have thought? But then again, she had gotten away with it because Ash Pack members bear no scent. I had been a fool not to notice the hints. Back at the Lycan Kingdom, she shot arrows with skill, outmatching Kaela, the famed archer herself. During the duel, she slaughtered a rogue cleanly, never once trembling. That, too, I dismissed. And the worst, what tore me open, was the truth of who she really was the white wolf who once saved my life at the festival many years ago. The hairpin had been hers all along, and when I saw it in her possession, I called her a thief. I believed it was Kaela who had saved me. I loved and worshiped Kaela, blind to the fact that I loved the wrong woman. A shaky sigh left me as the knock echoed again. Still, I ignored it. The money she had gifted me to save Hue Pack… so it had come from the compensation offered after the last warlord and his wife’s deaths? I remembered the stories. I had not been there when the battle raged, but its aftermath was everywhere. Packs trembling in fear. Whispers of demons consuming our empire. No one dared step forward. Who in their right mind would? Only the Ashmere answered. Only they stood against demons. That was why Ash Pack was revered above all. And yet, the Moon Goddess fated me to their Alpha and I rejected her. Rejected Zeph. Shamed her under the ugliest of circumstances. She was never happy here. I gave her nothing but grief. I never respected her, never touched her. While others mocked and jeered at her, I turned away.If only I had known who she truly was. If only… “Nyroth, are you there?” My mother’s voice came again, but then Kai’s cut through. “Move aside, Mother. I have a spare key.” The lock clicked, the door opened. I sat on the bed, back turned, blanket pulled over me. I never imagined rejecting Zeph would cause this much ache, yet here I was drowning in it. “Alpha Nyroth, there is something you must know,” Kai said hurriedly, but I ignored him. Then my mother’s hand touched my arm gently. “Nyroth, sit up. Let’s talk about it.” Her words made my throat burn. Talk? What was left to talk about? The moment Zeph shifted and collapsed, she was carried away to the Lycan Kingdom and never came back. The answer was clear. She was recovering under Apex care. She and that cursed lycan king were already bound deep in love. gods. “Nyroth…” my mother urged again, but I stayed silent until footsteps neared the doorway. My younger sister, Olivia. “Is he still like this? What are we going to do?” No sooner had she spoken than the sound of the pack gate opening carried through. A carriage rolled into the courtyard. Olivia peered out the window. “Huh?” she murmured. “It’s Kaela.” At her name, I sat up sharply, jaw tightening. Kaela. She had been the architect of it all. Every deception. Every downfall. She seduced me, lied to me, and cost me my true mate. “Bring her here,” I said to Kai for the first time since the rejection. He obeyed.Soon she appeared, dressed to kill, beautiful and cold. No longer did her eyes seek to seduce me. No bow to my mother. No charm. Just steel. “Nyroth.” Her voice was curt at the doorway. “We need to go to the Lycan Kingdom.” My brow arched. “Why?” She lifted a parchment. “According to Princess Serena of the Lycan Kingdom, you and I have been summoned to the throne chamber. To apologize to the maid we insulted at the party.” Confusion struck. “Why me? You were the one who insulted her, poured wine on her face. Not me.” My mother nodded, turning to Kaela for an answer. But Kaela only shrugged. “You were summoned. You must answer, unless you want the Lycan King himself to come here. We all know how unpredictable he is. He once killed an Alpha openly. You could be next. I’ve said my piece for old time’s sake. Come, or perish.” With that, she turned and left. The sound of her carriage fading into the distance chilled me. No one spoke. We all felt it. The truth setting in like a stone in the gut. It seemed… Kaela was ready to abandon me. It seemed I was losing on both sides.