Chapter 4
Seven days had passed since I lost the baby. I spent them on a narrow cot in the junior medic’s quarters, staring at the cracked ceiling. Nobody came to see me.
Today was the day of my discharge. It was also the Clan’s Annual Sacrifice Ceremony.
Lachlan showed up at my door just as I was lacing my boots.
"Get dressed," he ordered, leaning against the doorframe. He checked his watch, impatient. "We’re flying to the temple on wolfback. Just keep your head down today. Don't cause a scene in front of the elders."
I didn't say a word. I just followed him out.
I thought he would at least give me the basic dignity of standing by his side as his Luna.
I was wrong.
When we reached the grand steps of the temple, his mother, Morrigan, blocked the doors.
"Stop right there," she snapped. "A half-blood carrying the stench of a dead pup cannot cross this threshold. You'll bring a curse upon our ancestors and bad luck to Liora’s baby."
She turned to the head butler. "Bring a stone slab. She can kneel outside in the rain and repent for her heavy sins."
My hands curled into fists. I looked at Lachlan. Five years ago, when an elder insulted my bloodline, Lachlan broke the man's jaw.
Today, Lachlan just frowned. He leaned in and whispered, "Just bear with it, Ellie. Don't make this harder than it needs to be. I'll take you home when the ceremony is over."
He walked into the temple. The doors slammed shut in my face.
The butler dropped a jagged slab of unpolished granite at my feet.
I slowly dropped to my knees onto the stone. The sharp edges sliced right through my thin pants, biting into my skin.
Four hours.
I knelt in the freezing downpour for four straight hours. My lips turned blue. My freshly healed stomach began to cramp violently. My vision blurred into a gray haze.
Suddenly, a massive howl ripped through the valley.
The temple doors burst open. Guards shouted. Five massive, mangy rogue wolves charged into the courtyard, their eyes wild with hunger. They bypassed the armed guards and headed straight for the easiest targets—the clan members spilling out of the temple.
Panic erupted. People screamed and scattered.
"Lachlan!" Liora shrieked from the top of the stairs, clutching her stomach.
Lachlan didn't look for me. He shifted into his massive black wolf mid-air, leaping over my kneeling body. He tackled a rogue that got too close to the stairs, firmly planting his massive frame right in front of Liora, shielding her entirely with his own back.
A gray rogue locked its eyes on me.
I tried to roll away, but my frozen legs wouldn't move. The wolf lunged. Its jaws clamped down hard on my forearm.
"Ah!" I screamed. Hot blood sprayed across the wet stones.
The guards finally swarmed the courtyard, driving spears into the rogues.
I collapsed backward, clutching my shredded arm. Blood poured down my fingers, mixing with the freezing rain.
Lachlan shifted back into his human form. He quickly checked Liora for injuries before walking down the stairs toward me.
He tossed a roll of medical gauze at my chest.
"Wrap it up," he said, out of breath. "I need to get Liora back to the castle right now. She’s terrified and having contractions. The medic will come for you later."
He turned around.
That was when I saw it. His bare neck.
For five years, he wore a braided leather bracelet I made for him around his neck. It was our mating token. He swore on his life he would never take it off.
It was gone. Replaced by a shiny golden chain. Liora's chain.
Five years of love, devotion, and sacrifice. It couldn't even beat a ghost from his past. I was a fool.
I didn't wait for the medic. I wrapped the gauze tightly around my bleeding arm, walked back to the castle, grabbed my single bag, and left.
Mist Valley cliff.
The wind howled violently. The black waves of the North Sea crashed against the jagged rocks hundreds of feet below.
I knelt on the edge of the cliff and opened Maggie’s journal. I set up the Shadow Meld ritual. I crushed the rare wormwood and nightshade. I mixed it with the fresh blood dripping from my arm. Finally, I tossed my ripped, bloody shawl and the Celtic knot pendant Lachlan gave me on our wedding night into the pile.
I chanted the lost Celtic words.
The magic flared, burning the items into ash.
In his study at the castle, Lachlan was pacing.
He suddenly gripped his chest, stumbling forward. "Ah..." he grunted, rubbing his heart.
The head butler rushed in, pale and shaking.
"Alpha?"
"Where is Elspeth?" Lachlan demanded, his voice laced with annoyance. "Did she come back from the temple? Tell her if she behaves and helps Liora through her pregnancy, she can keep the Luna title. I'm not going to argue with her anymore."
The butler's voice broke. "My King... the border guards just returned from Mist Valley."
"And?"
"They found the Madam's shawl and her Celtic pendant at the bottom of the cliff. The North Sea is right below it. She... she is gone."
Lachlan froze for a second. Then, he scoffed. A harsh, mocking laugh.
"She's faking it," Lachlan sneered. "Another cheap trick to make me feel guilty. She threw a tantrum because I protected Liora today. Let her freeze out there. She'll come crawling back by morning."
"But Alpha..." The butler stepped forward, holding out a tray.
Lachlan's heart physically skip a beat as his eyes landed on the tray. His fingers trembled as he picked up the cold, blood-soaked Celtic knot. The edges were already turning white from the harsh seawater.
Right on cue, the Clan Communication Stone on his desk chimed. The official search and rescue report popped up.
[Massive wolf-blood loss found at Mist Valley cliff edge. No body recovered. North Sea currents highly lethal. Zero chance of survival.]
Panic finally slammed into him. "No. No, no, no!"
He desperately shoved his consciousness into our mind-link.
“Ellie?” his voice screamed in my head. “Ellie! Answer me! Where are you?!”
“Please, Ellie! Talk to me!"
I stood on the edge of the cliff, looking down at the violent black water. I took a deep breath of the freezing air.
With a final, forceful push of my magic, I grabbed the mate bond.
And I snapped it.
The connection shattered like glass in my mind. Lachlan's screaming was instantly cut off.
Only absolute, dead silence remained.
I turned my back to the sea and walked into the darkness.
