Chapter 4 No.4

Elara POV:

The ''carriage'' screeched to a halt in the village square. A crowd had already gathered at the base of Alpha's Bluff, their faces turned upward in alarm. I followed their gaze. There, standing on the very edge of the cliff, was Seraphina. She was wearing a flimsy white nightgown, her dark hair whipping around her face in the wind, making her look like a tragic heroine from some poorly written play.

The moment she saw Kaelen leap from the ''carriage'' with me right behind him, her performance began. "Sister, you've returned!" she cried, her voice carrying on the wind, laced with a convincing sob. "Now that you are back, there is no place for an outsider like me. It is better this way!"

With a final, dramatic flourish, she threw herself from the cliff.

A collective gasp went through the crowd. My parents, who had just arrived, screamed her name. Kaelen let out a guttural roar and started running towards the bluff.

It was all for show. Alpha's Bluff overlooked the Deep Pool, a body of water so profound that no one had ever found the bottom. A fall from that height would be a shock, but not fatal for a werewolf. It was a classic Seraphina move: maximum drama, minimal risk.

Still, the entire pack leadership, Kaelen included, scrambled down the path to the pool's edge. The pack's Healers, their bags of herbs and remedies already in hand, were right behind them. Within minutes, they had pulled a sputtering, shivering Seraphina from the water and wrapped her in warm furs. My mother was weeping, my father was shouting orders, and Kaelen was hovering over her, his face a mask of raw terror and relief.

No one noticed me. I was left standing alone at the top of the bluff, a forgotten ghost in the midst of their chaos. With a sigh that felt like it came from the depths of my soul, I turned and began the long, painful walk back to my shack.

I glanced up at the full moon, its silver light bathing the world in an ethereal glow. Kaelen had promised me a night at Moonstone Lake. He had promised me a moment of peace, a return to what we once had. And once again, he had broken his promise.

But this time, it didn't hurt. There was no sting of betrayal, no ache of disappointment. There was just... a quiet emptiness. A calm acceptance of the truth I had been avoiding for years. He was not my Kaelen anymore.

I reached my hovel, closed the door, and lay down on the straw mattress. I fell asleep almost instantly, my mind blessedly blank.

In my heart, a silent countdown continued. Eight days left.

The next five days passed in a strange, muted quiet. The pack leadership was entirely consumed with Seraphina's "recovery." She was being kept in the healing ward, doted on by my parents and visited constantly by a guilt-ridden Kaelen. My own existence seemed to have been completely forgotten, which was a relief. I worked in the kitchens, ate my meager meals, and returned to my shack, marking off the days on a hidden corner of the wall.

Three days left.

On the fifth day, as I was walking through the square, I saw a crowd gathered around the Announcement Stone. A new decree had been magically etched onto its surface, the glowing runes impossible to ignore. I pushed my way through the onlookers, my heart sinking with every step.

The message was clear.

"In light of her fragile state and to soothe her troubled spirit, Alpha Kaelen has announced a symbolic bonding ceremony with Lady Seraphina, to take place in three days' time, under the watchful eye of the Moon Goddess."

A symbolic bonding. A ceremony that stopped short of the final, permanent marking, but was a public declaration of commitment nonetheless. He was tying himself to her, in front of the entire pack and the Goddess herself.

My breath hitched. The quiet emptiness inside me was suddenly filled with a roaring, icy wind. This was a betrayal I hadn't anticipated. This was a public humiliation.

And it was the final nail in the coffin of a love that had died long ago.