The Alpha’s Silver Arrow
I took a poisoned silver arrow for my Alpha, Kaiden, during an assassination attempt.
In doing so, I lost my wolf forever, falling from a proud warrior to a disgrace to my pack.
Driven by guilt and duty, he kept me as his mate for thirty years, but our relationship was built on polite distance.
On my deathbed, I discovered that the 199 memory crystals I had filled with a lifetime of love for him had been tossed into a dusty corner of a storage room.
All the while, he kept another she-wolf's crystals locked away in a magically sealed safe, treasuring them above all else.
As I lay dying, all I felt through our bond was his chilling indifference.
Kaiden arrived late. The last words he whispered in my ear were,
"Next time, don't take the silver arrow for me."
I finally understood. He would rather have died than be shackled to me by a life debt.
When I opened my eyes again, I was back before the tragedy. The Moon Goddess had granted me a second chance.
This time, I would sever our fated bond before he could mark me.
But when the silver arrow flew toward me this time, he was the one who threw himself into its path.
"This time, let me protect you."