Caelum’s mind betrayed him with images he had not called for.
Not of Aurora, the Bluemoon Beta’s daughter, whose delicate smile now sat across from him.
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But of another–Freya–seated in the cockpit of a roaring aircraft, steel eyes fixed on the horizon as the machine wed toward the clouds. The memory of her daring maneuvers, the impossible aerial rolls, the sharp pull of wings against the sky -it branded itself deeper into his mind than any of Aurora’s practiced gentleness ever could.
Aurora spoke, her voice steady, pragmatic.
“As for SilverTech Forgeworks, don’t let the burden weigh too heavy. My mother’s family is strong in the southern isles. They’ve begun developing the outer sea chains. They’ll need a technology house with aerial expertise–particrly in drone warfare. That’s where yourpany could break through. I’ll help you.”
Her words lit a fire in Caelum’s chest. In the Capital, the skies swarmed with rival firms–SkyVex Armaments and others—petition tearing at each other’s throats. But in the provinces, where development was only beginning, the field was far
clearer.
It could be their opening.
“Thank you, Aurora,” he said, his gratitude genuine. “Not only did you <b>save </b>me once, but you’ve never stopped helping me
since.”
Aurora’s lips curved in a soft smile. “Between us, why should we keep count? I only want to see you rise.”
But beneath herposed grace, ambition zed. She wanted her branch of the Bluemoon Pack–the second house long dismissed—to stand higher than the first. She wanted every wolf who once sneered at her bloodline to bow their heads. And she would do it through Caelum, through his sess<b>. </b>
Only then would she im what had been denied her.
The next night, the Moonstone Ceremony.
<b>Freya </b>and Caelum waited in silence among the other wolves gathered on the cliffside teau. The great Moonstone stood at the <b>center</b>, glowing faintly with the silver blessing of Luna. It was here that mates dered their bond… or severed it.
Freya’s hands <b>were </b>steady as she stepped forward, voice carrying through the chill night air.
“Caelum Grafton, Alpha of Silverfang<b>–</b>under Luna’s witness, I release you. I <b>reject </b>our bond.”
Her words <b>cut </b>sharper <b>than </b>any de.
Caelum’s <b>jaw </b>tightened. For a moment he wanted <i>to </i><b>resist</b><b>, </b>to fight the pull <b>of </b>finality. But then his shoulders sank with the <b>weight </b>of inevitability. <b>He </b>bowed his <b>head</b>.
“…I ept.”
The Moonstone red briefly, then dimmed. Their bond <b>was </b>broken.
Freya did not falter. She stood straighter, lighter than she had in <b>years</b>. From this moment <b>on</b>, she was no longer the <b>wife </b>bound to the Alpha <b>of </b>Silverfang–she was only Freya Thorne,
Caelum’s voice <b>halted </b>her as <b>she </b>turned to <b>leave</b>.
“Wait”
<b>She </b>stopped<b>, </b>cold <b>eyes </b>meeting his.
“Lady Thorne<b>,</b><b>” </b><b>he </b>said, the formal address cutting him even as it left his <b>lips</b>, “I never once paid respects to your parents<b>. </b><b>I </b>know it iste but may Ie, and honor them <b>now</b>?”
Freyaughed<b>–</b><b>a </b>bitter<b>, </b>incredulous sound. How absurd. When they had been bound, he had promised again and again to
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stand at her side before her parents‘ graves. Each time he had broken that promise, leaving her alone in her mourning.
And now–after rejection–he asked to go?
“My parents,” she said, voice sharp as ice, “do not need your pretense of honor.”
She did not wait for his reply. She walked past him and out into the night.
Outside the ritual grounds, a sleek ck car waited. Lana leaned against the door, her expression hard but her eyes softening as she saw her friend emerge free.
Freya slid into the passenger seat, her hands curling around the urn on the seat beside her. The urn was draped with the crimson–stitched g of honor.
“It’s done?” Lana asked quietly.
Freya nodded, a small smile touching her lips. “Done. From tonight on, I have nothing to do with Caelum Grafton.” She held up the small shard of broken bondstone that nowy in her palm–the mark of rejection.
Lana exhaled, relief and fury mingling. “Good. Three years wasted on a male who never truly imed you. Thank the Moon there was no pup, or he’d still have a chain around your heart.”
Freya’s thumb brushed the urn’s cool surface, eyes softening. “He returned the sum–1.53 million. But to me, it isn’t coin. It’s thest gift my parents left me.”
“At least he did that much,” Lana muttered, still scornful. “When you return from Ironfangnds, I’ll take you to the temple, cleanse away this curse. Being tied to him was misfortune enough for ten lifetimes.”
Freya chuckled faintly, her gaze steady now. “Let’s go. To the airport.”
Tonight she would carry her parents back to their homnd–back to the soil of the Iron Fang Recon Unit where they had once fought and bled, to rest in the honored stones of the warriors‘ cemetery.
It was their wish. And she would <b>see </b>it fulfilled.
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