Chapter 3

Rainey's POV

Six days.

I'd been stuck in bed for six days while my body slowly remembered how to work. My wolf was there, present but diminished, like someone had wrapped her in layers of thick blankets that muffled everything she used to be.

Mason had visited exactly three times. Each visit lasted maybe ten minutes before he'd check his watch and say he needed to handle pack business. The festival preparations, he'd explained. So much to coordinate.

On the seventh day, I forced myself out of bed.

My legs shook and I had to grip the bedpost to stay upright. A week ago, I could have run for hours without breaking a sweat. Now I could barely stand without wanting to collapse.

But I needed to move, needed to do something other than stare at the ceiling and wonder why my mate spent more time everywhere else than with me.

I made it to the doorway and paused to catch my breath. Everything looked normal, peaceful. So why did my chest feel so tight I could barely breathe?

Voices drifted from around the corner and I recognized them immediately, Donny and Natalia, two of our younger pack members.

"Luna's wolf is permanently damaged," Natalia said, her voice dropping to a whisper that still carried. "Dr. Morrison told my mother it'll never fully recover."

"That's rough." Donny sounded genuinely sympathetic. "But what about the festival?"

"Alpha won't let that happen. He's been working with Yvonne nonstop to make sure everything goes perfectly."

My hand tightened on the doorframe until my knuckles went white.

"Yvonne's handling the Luna duties now?" Donny asked.

"Not officially, but yeah. She's been organizing everything while Luna Rainey recovers. Makes sense, I guess. Someone has to do it."

Their footsteps faded down the hall and I stood there with my heart pounding so hard I thought it might crack my ribs. Someone has to do it. Like I was already irrelevant, already replaced, already nothing.

My wolf whimpered weakly. We should rest.

No. I needed to see this for myself.

The walk to Mason's office took forever. Every step required concentration and twice I had to stop and lean against the wall just to keep standing. Pack members passed me with careful nods, their eyes sliding away too quickly. Some looked sympathetic. Others looked uncomfortable.

Mason's office door was slightly open and I heard voices before I reached it. His voice, deep and focused. And hers, light and attentive.

I stopped just outside with my hand hovering over the door handle.

"The seating arrangements need to reflect pack hierarchy," Yvonne was saying. "I've placed the elders closest to the bonfire, with the warriors forming the outer circle. Does that work?"

"Perfect." Mason sounded pleased. "You've really thought this through."

"I just want everything to be perfect for the pack. This festival means so much to everyone."

Through the gap in the door, I could see them. Yvonne sat in the chair beside Mason's desk, the chair I always used when we worked together. Papers spread across the surface between them, covered in notes and diagrams. Festival planning documents. My festival planning documents that I'd been working on for months.

"What about the ceremonial hunt?" Yvonne leaned forward slightly. "Should we adjust the route given the recent rogue activity?"

"Good catch. Let's extend the northern boundary patrol and shift the hunt southeast."

"I'll coordinate with the scouts." Yvonne made a note with handwriting that was neat and efficient across the page. "And I've already spoken to the kitchen staff about the feast preparations. Everything's on schedule."

She looked up at him and smiled. Not the careful, respectful smile she used around other pack members. This one was warm, almost intimate, like they shared something private. "I know you were worried about getting everything done in time. But we're going to make this the best Harvest Moon Festival BirchCreek has ever seen."

Mason smiled back at her. "I don't know what I would have done without your help these past few days."

I must have made a sound because Mason's head snapped toward the door. Our eyes met and for one second, I saw something that might have been guilt flash across his face. Then it was gone.

"Rainey." He stood up quickly. "You're out of bed. Should you be walking around?"

I pushed the door open fully and stepped inside even though my legs trembled with the effort. "I came to discuss the festival preparations."

Yvonne rose gracefully from my chair. "Luna Rainey, you should be resting. You've been through so much."

"I'm fine. And I'm still Luna. The festival is my responsibility."

"Of course." Yvonne's expression remained perfectly sympathetic but her eyes held something else, something that looked almost like amusement. "I was just helping Alpha Mason with some of the smaller details. Nothing important."

Nothing important. My months of planning reduced to "nothing important" while she sat in my chair and made decisions about my festival.

I looked at Mason and tried to keep my voice steady. "Can we talk? Alone?"

He glanced at Yvonne, then back to me. That glance, that tiny moment of hesitation where he checked with her first, told me everything I needed to know.

"Actually," Mason said slowly, "I've called a pack meeting for tonight. We can discuss everything then. With everyone present."

"A pack meeting." My voice came out flat and dead. "About what?"

"About arrangements moving forward." He still wouldn't quite meet my eyes. "Given your current condition, we need to make some temporary adjustments."

Temporary. The word should have been reassuring but the way he said it made my stomach drop straight through the floor.

"What kind of adjustments?"

"Let's discuss it at the meeting." Mason's tone had shifted into his Alpha voice, the one that didn't allow for questions or argument. "You should go rest. Save your strength."

Yvonne gathered the papers on the desk with quick, efficient movements. "I'll have these organized for the meeting, Alpha."

I watched her walk past me with steps that were light and confident, everything mine weren't anymore. She paused at the door and looked back with the sweetest smile. "Take care, Luna. We all want you to recover fully."

The door closed softly behind her.

Mason and I stood in the office with space between us that felt like miles instead of feet.