Chapter 1The Moon Goddess gave me everything. My alpha. My fated mate. The wolf I grew up loving.
Then one night fucked everything up.
They found my sister at the pack's howling grounds. His brother's scent all over her. Bite marks on her neck. Claw marks down her spine.
I killed Dane for it. Drove a silver blade through his heart.
My alpha wanted to destroy me back.
At Mara's funeral, he sent my nudes to every wolf there. Every. Single. One.
That's when we went to war.
Destroyed each other. Shifted. Fought. Bled all over pack land.
The Council had enough.
Sent Alpha Reid Ashenfang north to the wastelands. Told him to prove he's worth keeping alive.
Me? I stayed. Rejected the mate bond in front of the whole pack.
Felt my wolf scream. Didn't care.
Five years later, Reid came back. Covered in war scars. Claimed a chosen mate.
My wolf felt it the second he did. Started dying faster.
The pack doctor told me I had weeks left. Maybe days.
I laughed.
Turns out rejecting your fated mate does more than break the bond.
It kills you. Slow.
---
I was closing up my flower shop when the screens in the square lit up.
"Alpha Reid Ashenfang back from the wastelands. The dead zone up north."
There he was. That scar over his eye—still ugly as hell.
I gave him that. Broke a bottle across his face.
He shot me with wolfsbane.
We're even. Sort of.
I put fresh flowers next to Mara's picture. My sister. Gone five years now.
The door opened.
Some she-wolf in a white dress walked in holding roses. Pointed at the cooler.
"I want everything in there."
Reid's Beta Jax stood behind her looking uncomfortable.
"Cara. Different shop. Let's go."
"Nope."
"I sent Reid flowers from here before. He loved them. Tonight's his homecoming. His victory feast."
She smiled at me. Tilted her head.
"You run this place? Can we hang here for a bit?"
I nodded. Too tired to fight.
Grabbed the ribbon. Hands wouldn't stop shaking. The pain was starting again.
"Jax, help me! Reid's almost here! Gotta make him happy."
Cara bounced on her toes.
Jax didn't move. He knew better. Reid stopped smiling the day Mara died.
On the screen, Reid touched his scar during some interview.
"She's watching. I'm looking forward to seeing her again."
Cara picked up a lily.
"Jax, didn't Reid have some she-wolf around here before?"
I kept my head down, trimming stems. Felt Jax staring at me.
"REID!"
Cara screamed and bolted outside.
I watched through the window.
Reid caught her. Pulled his jacket around her shoulders. Cara kissed his jaw.
Then his eyes found mine through the glass.
He grabbed the back of her head and kissed her. Long and slow. Watching me the whole time.
I cut the last piece of ribbon.
Jax came over.
"Sloane... it's his return. Everyone's here. Just don't start anything."
He dropped his voice.
"That she-wolf? Twenty years old. Lead dancer for the pack troupe. Smiles like you did. Back then."
I nodded. My fingertips went numb.
"She's prettier than I ever was."
The door opened.
Reid walked in. Rain still wet in his hair. Black umbrella in his hand.
"Talking about my she-wolf?" He sounded casual but his eyes were cold.
Jax went quiet.
Chapter 2
I held out the bouquet. "Your order, Alpha."
Cara's face lit up.
"Reid, smell them! These are your favorite champagne roses!"
He ran his thumb across a petal. Brought the flowers to his face.
"Too sweet. Don't like them anymore."
His voice softened for her. Playing nice.
She pouted. "You're just teasing me!"
The door banged open. Pack warriors poured in.
"Alpha! Congrats!"
They saw me and stopped laughing.
Their eyes went sharp and careful before they looked at Jax.
I brought out whiskey. They all backed up like I was handing out poison.
Old habits. From back when Reid and I still fought.
Someone nudged Jax. "Beta... what's she doing here?"
Jax just shrugged.
"Enjoy," I said and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Cara grabbed my wrist. "Take a picture for us?"
"No."
I pulled away.
A shadow fell over me.
Reid. Face blank.
"Everything's got a price with you." His voice went cold. "How much you want as a tip?"
I tried to step around him.
His hand locked on my forearm. Right on the old wolfsbane scar.
Pain ripped through me. Everything went dark.
I hit the floor.
Something sliced my cheek—his card flying past.
"Enough there to buy what's left of you."
I got up. Met his eyes.
One of his guys snorted. "Gold digger never changes."
Reid held out his phone.
I picked up the card. Wrapped it around a thorny stem.
Then grabbed his wrist and shoved the phone back into his palm.
Thorns went deep. Blood hit the air.
I grabbed two cups of whiskey off the table and threw them in his face.
"Your mouth's filthy. Let me clean it."
I slapped the guy who spoke.
"Shut it, mutt."
Dead silence. Just rain outside.
Jax leaned against the wall. Drank his whiskey.
"Told ya not to piss her off."
Cara's face flushed red. Pointed at me.
Then raised her hand.
"You can't just—"
I caught her wrist. Twisted it. Slapped her hard.
The sound cracked through the shop.
She started sobbing.
Reid wiped whiskey off his face. "You dare touch my mate."
He pulled Cara behind him.
"Tear this place apart. Make her happy."
Enforcers outside came in. Shelves crashed. Glass shattered.
Cold rain blew through the broken window. My white shirt soaked through.
Reid grabbed my chin. Forced my head up.
"You did this to yourself. She needs to feel better. Send me the bill. I'll pay."
I jerked free, coughed hard, fell to my knees.
Fumbled through my bag. A pill bottle rolled out.
He grabbed it first. Read the label.
"Painkillers? Six at once? You don't need these."
He tossed the bottle in a puddle. Put his arm around Cara and left.
I crawled over. Fished out the bottle. Twisted the cap off. Swallowed two more.
Used to take half that. Now eight barely touched the pain.
Pills running out. So was I.
Reid left three years ago. After that, everything fell apart.
My parents died in border raids.
My health went to shit. Got discharged from the pack warriors. Used everything I had to buy this shop.
Now it was destroyed.
I couldn't move. Just sat there in the street. Let the rain soak me.
By morning everyone knew: "Alpha trashed his ex-mate's shop for his chosen."
Morning came. I got ready to leave.
Someone grabbed me.
"It's just a shop," Reid said behind me.
I stood up. Turned. Slapped him three times across the face.
"My parents' medals were in there. Now they're gone."
He clenched his jaw. Cold smile.
"Three slaps for two medals. Fair trade."
I ignored him. Walked toward the door like he wasn't there.
"Sloane! I'm talking to you!"
He blocked my path.
"Stop the act. Look at you—you're barely standing. You still want me. I can smell it."
"It's an old injury. From the rejection." I forced a smile. "Makes me look like shit."
I knew why he came back.
He wanted to watch me fall apart. Wanted to make sure I was done for good.
Back when I was still a warrior, I would've ripped his throat out.
Would've made him bleed the way he made me bleed.
Now I could barely stay on my feet.
Chapter 3
The pack hospital reeked of antiseptic and despair.
Dr. Marcus stared at my latest scans.
"How much of that suppressant I gave you last week do you have left?"
"It's gone."
"GONE?!" His voice shot up. "That was a three-month supply!"
He'd been treating me from the start. The look on his face told me everything.
My time was up.
"Do you have family?" he asked quietly.
"My father died in service. My mother after that. Mara..." I stopped. "There's just me."
He took off his glasses. Rubbed his eyes.
"You were stable for three years. What happened last week?"
My phone lit up.
Photo of Reid with his arm around Cara at some banquet.
Reid hit me like a silver bullet to the chest.
"Without the suppressant, the sickness gets worse. Seven days, one month, three months—that's when you crash."
Dr. Marcus handed me a new bottle. "When it hurts bad, take three. Only three—"
I didn't let him finish. Twisted the cap off. Dumped pills into my hand. Swallowed them.
Seven days or three months. Didn't matter anymore.
After the pills, I slid down the hallway wall. Pressed my back against the cold tile. That freezing cold sometimes helped.
Sweat soaked through my shirt.
For ten minutes I sat there, listening to someone crying in the operating room next door.
"Mom, isn't that the she-wolf who was next to me? Should we say something?"
"Her sickness can't be fixed, honey. We shouldn't bother her."
"Poor thing. No pack. No one."
The pup's voice sounded confused. "Doesn't anyone in the whole world care about her?"
I blinked hard. Looked down at my phone.
Messages from Reid kept coming. Asking what I wanted as compensation.
Maybe no one did care. But at least someone could bury me. And I knew exactly who.
I called Reid.
He picked up right away. "Figure out what you want yet?"
I swallowed the blood pooling in my mouth.
"If you're so damn desperate to pay me back, Reid... bury me."
Silence. Then his cold laugh.
"Sloane, you're like a damn cat. Got nine lives. Fine. You die before me, I'll give you a proper send-off. Whole pack howls for you."
Good enough. I hung up.
Leaving the hospital, I spotted the she-wolf and her pup. They missed their bus.
On impulse I rolled down my window.
"Get in. I'll give you a ride."
Dropped them at pack housing.
As I was pulling away, that voice cut through the air.
"Well look at this. Sloane playing good Samaritan?"
Reid's crew coming out of some club. Cara wrapped around his arm.
I hit the window button.
Cara lunged forward. Pressed her hand against the glass.
"Sloane, I just heard about you and Reid. I hope yesterday didn't mess you up too bad."
I kept trying to close the window.
She grabbed the edge.
"Wait! I brought you something! I'm not trying to start shit!"
She pulled out a small wooden box.
"I heard your parents' war medals got trashed when the shop... anyway, I went back this morning and dug this up."
Sweet voice. Cold eyes. She shoved her hand through the gap. Flipped the box open.
Glass shards spilled all over my driver's seat.
"Oops!" She stepped back. "You still pissed at me?"
Wolves nearby started whispering. "She's trying so hard, even after everything..."
Cara smiled. Walked to her brand new sports car parked up ahead. Keys jingling.
I rolled my window back down.
"Cara!"
She turned. Arms crossed.
"What?"
I buckled my seatbelt. Stared straight at her.
"One-way trip."
Before she could process it, I floored the gas.
Crash!
My SUV slammed into her rear bumper. She jolted forward hard.
Then reversed. Hit her again.
Crash!
