After that, everything changed. They became my shadows. My guards.
And over time, I fell for Alden, while Draven treated me as his she-wolf sister.
Until Selene entered the pack and shattered it all.
I sat there, clutching a bond cord with my name etched into its metal clasp. I had been blind.
My Alpha parents had warned me when I begged them to adopt Selene. “Are you certain, Liora? Not every she-wolf desires sisterhood. And what if she harms you? Trust is not given freely.”
I refused to listen. I believed pack love would be enough.
But now? Now I understand. She never wanted to be my sister. She wanted my place as Luna.
I packed the last of my belongings, then carried the memory coffer into the rear courtyard of the manor. I struck a flint.
The fire took hold quickly. Parchments curled and darkened. Bond cords twisted as their shine faded. Image crystals cracked and turned to ash.
“Liora!”
I looked up to see Alden running toward me from the hall, panic clear on his face.
“What are you doing?!” he yelled. “Those are our records! The bond cords!”
“Yes,” I answered calmly. “I am severing our shared past, ending our bond.”