News of the incident spread like wildfire through Crescent Moon, setting the entire pack on the edge. The Pack council and elders were demanding that the culprits be found swiftly. The attack wasn’t just a mere attack, it was an open challenge to the authority of our pack, and an attempt to break the unity Ryland and his Beta Ethan had worked so hard to maintain.
Beta Ethan was the one who relayed the message of the council with a deep sigh. “Alpha Ryland, the entire pack knows your autopsy skills are the best in the regions. The Elders and the council have given you 72 hours to find the culprits and deliver justice. Everyone is hoping for a quick resolution…”Beta Ethan trailed off, giving Ryland another sympathetic look.
"Your Joining ceremony with Elara is just around the corner, and we're interrupting your preparation time. I'm sorry for the inconvenience."
At the mention of the ceremony and my name, Ryland’s eyes darkened with disdain as disgust and contempt flashed in them. “There's no way I’m going through with the Joining Ceremony with Elara. Don’t ever mention that name to me again!”
My spirit hovered nearby, feeling the weight of his words sink into the very core of me. Even after death, I could still feel the ache of his rejection.
Ryland had changed the moment Selene returned to the pack. Once, he had been kind, and loyal, the man I thought I would spend the rest of my life with. But Selene’s reappearance poisoned his heart, turning him against me.
When Selene was first admitted to the pack hospital due to her pollen allergy, his disgust for me grew. He lost interest in our Joining Ceremony preparations. He took time off from his duties as Alpha, not for me, but for Selene. He spent every waking moment by her bedside, tending to her needs while our bond slowly fizzled out.
The night I was kidnapped, I received a breakup text from him and he had rejected me through our mind link. When my body was discovered, he was celebrating Selene’s discharge from the pack hospital. He didn’t even have the decency to reject me in my face and break up our bond. Throwing away years of friendship since childhood along with our relationship as if they had meant nothing to him.
If he knew the body he was about to piece together was mine, that I was the reason his Joy over Selene’s recovery was interrupted, he would despise me even more.