Chapter 3

At the same time, Emily's voice came through the mind-link from inside the pack house main hall. "Jason, Lena's weapons are far too dangerous. We should send someone to search her room."

"What do you think we should do?" Jason asked her.

"I'm just worried about everyone."

"Do as you say."

Another pack member spoke up. "What about the Moonlit Robe? It's supposed to be for the future Luna."

Emily's voice stayed gentle. "It would be risky to leave it in Lena's room. The rogues could use it against us."

Jason didn't argue with her.

My wolf let out a rough, pained growl deep inside me.

I had personally adjusted the shoulder lines on that Moonlit Robe.

I never did it to show off. I only fixed it so I could stand at his side with my sword at my hip the day he named me Luna.

Now the robe sat on Emily's shoulders, nothing more than a tool for her to soothe the pack.

Heavy footsteps echoed through the woods.

The rogue leader stepped forward with his remaining men, surrounding me.

He looked at me like I was a finished deal

"You're surprisingly hard to kill, Lead Warrior," he sneered.

I leaned back against the tree trunk. "How much did Emily pay you to take me out?"

"Only enough to end your life. Your wolf wasn't part of the deal."

"She sure knows how to cut corners."

The leader laughed mockingly. "She said your Alpha would never come save you. Turns out she was right."

I raised my blade, fresh blood from my abdominal wound running down my palm.

"Then you'd better finish this in one try," I said.

The rogue leader lifted his claw and signaled his men to close in. "She also said a living Lena causes more trouble than a dead one."

*****

"Jason, this is the last time I'm contacting you," I said.

As the mind-link connected, I heard faint medical noises coming from the infirmary.

Emily was leaning against Jason, her voice slow and sleepy. "Jason, my wolf is still so scared."

Jason whispered to soothe her, "I'm right here."

I pressed hard on my bleeding wound while the rogues closed in behind me.

"Emily made a deal with the rogues. I have all the proof. Her Moonlit Brooch, a secret note, the altered patrol map, and the stolen supply slip all tie back to her," I said.

Jason's breath faltered for a second. "Where are you right now?"

His question warmed my chest a little. I opened my mouth to answer, but Emily burst into tears before I could speak.

"She's doing it again, isn't she? Every time you comfort me, she uses the mate bond to pull your attention away," she whimpered.

Jason's tone dropped low and firm. "Don't be afraid, Emily."

I steadied myself against the rock face. "Jason, listen to me."

"Come back first," he ordered.

"The East Gate is locked. I can't get back in."

"Then wait until dawn."

"I won't last that long."

The sharp pain from my wounds flooded through the mate bond for him to feel, but he forced it away. I could sense him using his Alpha will to block out every trace of my suffering.

"Lena, you're the Lead Warrior. You know how to survive this," he said.

"So you're not sending anyone to help me?" I asked.

"The inner camp can't risk itself based only on your judgment alone."

"You heard me. I have proof."

"All I heard was an injured warrior attacking a frightened Omega."

Emily spoke in a soft voice, "I don't blame Lena. She just wants the Luna position too badly."

A bitter laugh caught in my throat, filling my mouth with the taste of blood. "So you're giving her the Luna position?" I asked.

Jason didn't deny it immediately. "We'll settle this once the fighting ends."

"What about my weapons?"

"They've been sealed up."

"And my room?"

"It's being cleared out."

"What about my warriors?"

"They stay safe as long as you obey orders."

A rogue's claw sliced across my shoulder.

I drove my blade straight into its eye socket, but the wolfsbane toxin coursed through my system and forced me down to my knees.

My wolf rumbled low inside my chest, sharp and urgent. 'Break the bond. If you don't, Jason'll keep hunting you. This mate bond will keep sending your pain to someone who refuses to acknowledge it.'

I pulled the stack of evidence from the hidden slot in my armor and tucked it under the moonstone my mother had left me.

A faint silver glow flickered to life the second the stone touched my blood.

The rogue leader narrowed his eyes at the sight. "What is that?"

"Something you could never possess," I shot back.

I propped myself up on my blade and stood, leading the entire rogue pack away from the side passage that led back to the pack house.

I wiped blood and mud over my tracks to erase every trace of the safe route behind me.

Jason's voice cut through the mind-link. "No warriors are to leave the inner camp before dawn. Lena will return on her own."

I finally understood the truth. He was aware of how much pain I was in, but he never believed I would walk away from him because of it.

"What if she never comes back?" Emily's soft voice cut in.

Jason answered without hesitation, "She will."

The rogue leader lunged forward and drove his claw clean through my side.

A wolfsbane spike jammed directly into my old wound, and I crumpled to the ground.

Heavy moonlight blurred over my eyes as my wolf spirit grew colder and weaker with every breath I took.

The mate bond still tugged relentlessly at me, trying to pull me back to Jason's side.

I pressed my palm firmly against the moonstone.

"Lena?" For the first time ever, Jason's voice held clear panic and sharp unease. "What did you do?"

I gave him no reply or explanation.

Everyone in the Lycan Kingdom knew the formal rejection words.

Each phrase tore through flesh and bone, and every syllable dealt its brutal agony to the mate who was rejected.

I lifted my hand, which was stained by my blood and dirt, and spoke to the cold, lifeless bond between us, "I, Lena Harrow, reject you, Jason Cole, as my mate."