Chapter 7: Tamsin's POV

I don’t want to be here. Not in anyway possible.

The whole pack is buzzing with excitement, stringing up lights and tossing flower petals around like it’s some fairytale, but my chest feels like someone parked a truck on it.

Alpha Nox and Zara’s mating ceremony is tonight, and everyone’s acting like it’s the damn royal wedding.

I tried—really, really tried—to sit this one out. I figured if I just stayed tucked away doing laundry or scrubbing dishes, no one would notice. No one would need me to participate in anything remotely linked to the event.

But of course, someone did notice me. At this point, I've completely realized that the lady I looked up to as perfect all my life, is nothing but a low and petty bitch.

Pity I had to get my heart literally broken to figure that out.

“You’re requested in the Luna’s quarters,” someone had told me.

Requested.

Like I was being summoned to the Alpha's office for killing three random pack members.

Now I’m standing in Zara’s room, surrounded by silk, perfume, and giggling girls who’ve never had their hearts drop-kicked.

Zara’s perched on a velvet stool like she’s auditioning for a shampoo commercial. She’s in a white robe that’s way too fancy to be just a robe, and her hair is in rollers while two omegas paint her nails.

I'm in the corner, folding lace lingerie like my soul isn't actively leaving my body.

“So,” Zara says, twirling a strand of hair around her finger, “Nox says he wants to take me up to the Crystal Springs after the ceremony. A full week of just us, no distractions.”

“Goddess,” one of her friends coos. “He’s so obsessed with you.”

Zara beams. “He barely even remembers the pain of the rejection anymore. Honestly, he’s completely over it.”

And then—like she planned it—she turns to me with a sugary-sweet smile. "Tamsin, darling. Are you over it yet? You know, the severed mate bond? It's been quite a while already, hasn't it?"

Every molecule in the room freezes. I can't move. Can't speak. My brain is...buffering, literally.

I feel all their eyes on me, waiting for a reaction like it’s some sick reality show.

I clear my throat, but it’s like my voice has been vacuumed out of my lungs.

Kira growls in my head. "She’s a parasite! I wish I could claw her stupid face. Once the beauty is gone, I'm certain the stupid Alpha would see her for what she truly is."

Instead, I force a smile. “Of course. Ancient history.”

The girls laugh. One of them leans in with a smirk. “Sure doesn’t look that way, hon. You’re kinda… well, leaking. From the eyes.”

Oh. Crap.

I didn’t even notice the tears. I wipe them quickly and stand up, my hands shaking. “I—I need to check the—”

“You sit your little ass down,” Zara cuts in, voice syrupy but razor-sharp. “You don’t walk out on your Luna, remember?”

I freeze halfway to the door.

My hands clench at my sides, but I nod and sit back down. Of course she's the Luna as from tonight.

She's perfect for it. And I am not.

My body’s in the room, but my spirit? It’s floating somewhere far, far away, probably in Silas's cupboards of treats he gives to young pups when he has to clean their wounds out.

Finally—finally—the prep ends. I don’t even wait for permission. I just grab whatever is left of my dignity and bolt. Out of the house.

Through the trees. I don’t stop running until the noise of the pack fades away and all I can hear is wind.

I spot someone just a distance away and the closer I get, the clear the face becomes, and I slow down.

It's Lior.

He’s walking from the opposite direction, holding a bouquet of red roses. He stops when he sees me.

“Whoa,” he says, eyes narrowing. “You okay? You look like shit. And by shit, I mean absolute constipated shit.”

I wipe at my eyes. “I’m fine.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Yeah, and I’m a full-blooded fairy.”

“I just needed some air.”

“You mean away from the royal circus?” he says, stepping closer. His tone softens. “Tamsin, you don’t deserve this, you know. None of it.”

My breath catches.

“I mean it,” he continues. “Zara’s my sister, but even I know this whole thing’s messed up. Nox should’ve—”

“Please don’t,” I cut in, my voice breaking. "Please."

He pauses. Then quietly, “You’ll find someone better, Tamsin. You will.”

I don’t believe him, not really, but I nod anyway. He reaches into the bouquet and pulls out the single white rose from the center.

“This one’s for you. You’re too sweet to be broken.”

I blink at it, stunned. “You’re giving me Zara’s rose?”

He grins. “She won’t even notice. She’s too busy monologuing.”

I let out a laugh, small and shaky.

“Better,” he says. “That’s the sound I wanted to hear.”

I tuck the rose into my sleeve and glance back at the pack house. “I think I want to go back.”

He raises a brow. “Seriously?”

“Yeah. I want to see it. Just once. To remind myself I survived it.”

Lior nods. “I’ll walk with you. I make excellent emotional support wolf.”

We walk back together, and he cracks stupid jokes the whole way.

About how the moon goddess clearly had too many shots when pairing mates, and how he once tried to dye his fur pink and ended up looking like cotton candy.

When we get to the ceremony, he stops and bows dramatically. “Milady,” he says with a wink, “don’t let them dull your sparkle.”

I smile—an actual, real smile—and watch as he walks over to Zara, handing her the bouquet. She frowns.

“Where’s the white one?” she asks.

“I guess... it wandered off,” he shrugs, totally unfazed.

I clutch the rose tighter, tucking it even deeper into my sleeves.

The ceremony begins after a little while.

Lights strung across the trees, fire pits glowing, people clapping like this is some movie moment. I stand at the edge of the crowd, invisible. Just how I like it.

Until Nox turns and his eyes find mine.

I should look away. I really, really should.

But I don’t.

Not even as he leans down, bites Zara’s neck, and marks her for all eternity.

His eyes never leave mine.

And mine? They’re dry now.

Because somehow, I’m still standing.

Still breathing.

Still here.

I guess that's a plus...even though the only reason why I'm still standing here and my eyes are now dry is because the pain on the severed bond is so intense, it's left me dead on the inside.