She crossed her arms, the robe slipping lower. “So what? They chose me. You can’t accept that.”
There it was. Her truth. Simple and cruel.
“You envy me,” she said.
“Once, perhaps,” I answered without flinching. “Not now. I didn’t come to argue. I came to say farewell.”
Her brow twitched. “Farewell?”
“You can keep them,” I said plainly. “Alden. Draven. All of it. I’ve already moved forward. I have another bond waiting.”
She burst into laughter, sharp and mocking, the kind that once tore at my confidence.
“Don’t tell me you’re truly entering a Moonbond Ceremony,” she sneered. “You?”
Her words dripped poison. “Who would claim you as a mate? You are cold. Hard. Demanding. You are not Luna material. You are wearing around the neck.”
I smiled. Small. Controlled. Burning.
“Maybe,” I said. “But I remain a she-wolf with an Alpha blood of Obsidian Fang Pack. I still carry a bloodline. A name. A pack that wanted me, not one that took me out of pity.”
Her color drained.