Their engagement was celebrated warmly throughout the pack. The elders blessed their union, and many believed the two young wolves would bring prosperity and happiness to the territory in the years to come.
Everything seemed perfect.
But while Marcus was happily building his future, someone else had already begun watching him with growing resentment.
And that person’s jealousy would soon destroy everything.
Among werewolves, jealousy was often described as the most poisonous sickness that could infect a wolf’s heart.
Once it took root, it spread like wildfire—devouring reason, loyalty, and love until nothing remained.
And when that fire burned long enough, it destroyed everything in its path.
Even the one who carried it.
---
Weeks passed beneath the watchful gaze of the Moon Goddess.
Just as Caleb had declared during their final argument, a formal mate rejection decree was delivered to Aria at the packhouse. The parchment bore the Alpha seal of his family and the mark of the pack council, leaving no doubt that the process had already been set into motion.
Along with it came the official accusation against Marcus—an allegation that he had attempted to dishonor Clara.
Not long after, several pack warriors arrived at Aria’s home.
Under the authority of the elders and the Alpha council, Marcus was taken into custody to await judgment before the pack.
Neither Aria nor Marcus were surprised by the arrest.
They had known this moment would come.
The Wolfhart they had long feared—the formal trial where the truth of a wolf’s crime was judged beneath the law of the pack—had finally been called.
Even so, deep inside Aria’s heart, a fragile thread of hope still remained.
She believed her marriage could survive this storm.
In her mind, severing a mate bond was never meant to be the answer. A bond blessed beneath the sacred light of the Moon Goddess was not something to discard lightly. It was a sacred tie between two wolves—one that should never be broken without absolute certainty.
She believed she and Caleb should wait until the elders uncovered the truth before making a decision that could never be undone.
But Caleb refused to listen.
---
The mate rejection decree felt unusually heavy in Aria’s hands as she stood before the house that had once been her home.
The Alpha’s residence.