Chapter 1

Seven days before my heart would stop beating, my husband, Lucian Vale, gave the only medicine that could save me to my sister, Cassia Hartley.

I was lying on the examination bed in the next room when the glass syringe was emptied.

The silverthorn venom crept through my veins and into my heart. The pain was so bad I couldn't even twitch a finger, but I could still hear Lucian's voice, clear as day: "Save Cassia first."

Simon Ravenscroft, the doctor, was trembling as he held the empty syringe, his face drained of color.

"Alpha, that was Elena's Moonfir serum. Without it, she won't make it through the next full moon," Simon said.

Lucian shot me a look.

We'd been together for eight years. I knew those gray-blue eyes better than anyone else, yet they always felt distant to me.

"Cassia is carrying my heir. We can't risk it," he said. "Elena is strong. She'll make it through."

My father immediately stepped in front of Cassia's bed, like I'd actually try to snatch that already-empty syringe from her.

"Cassia has always been frail, and this child is important to both families. As her sister, and the lady of Ashpine Territory, you should know what matters most," he said.

My brother, Austin Hartley, leaned in and whispered, "Just wait a few more days. Lucian will find a way to get another dose."

I looked out the window.

The Moonfir in Shadowwood only bore fruit once every thirty years. The last batch of serum had already been carved up by the territories a month ago.

They all knew there wouldn't be another dose.

Cassia stirred in Lucian's arms, her eyes fluttering open, pale and weak.

She whispered, "Elena, I'm sorry. I didn't realize it was your medicine."

She said this while cradling her belly, but the movement bared a Sapphire Bond Bracelet on her wrist.

That was the token Lucian had placed on my wrist with his own hands on the day we bonded.

Three months ago, it suddenly disappeared.

So they'd already gotten together back then.

Suddenly, pain pierced my heart like a blade. The monitor let out a shrill, unbroken alarm, and thin silver veins rose on the back of my hand.

Lucian stepped forward instinctively.

But Cassia just let out a soft breath. Lucian froze and just held her tighter.

Lucian said, "Elena, now's not the time for drama."

Suddenly, I remembered that eight years ago, when we became mates, he'd whispered in my ear that mates could feel every bit of each other's pain.

In these eight years, I'd taken silver bullets for him, quelled rebellions in his territory, and even carried him for seven miles through an avalanche.

He had been in pain so many times that he had long grown used to it.

I slipped the black diamond ring off my finger and placed it quietly beside me on the bed.

"Lucian," I said.

"What?" he replied.

"I don't want you anymore," I said.

He frowned, as if he thought I made a childish joke.

"You're not clear‑headed right now. Let's talk about this at home, once Cassia's safe," Lucian said.

"Fine," I said, closing my eyes. "Then we'll talk in seven days."

Seven days from now, my heart would stop beating.

That would be the day I'd be preparing their funeral.

But I wouldn't be the one lying in the coffin.

I was poisoned by the silverthorn venom four years ago.

That year, a wildfire swept through Ashpine Territory, trapping twenty-seven Lycan pups in an abandoned silver mine. Lucian had been held up by the Council, so I went in alone and carried the pups out one by one.

During the final collapse, a rusty silverthorn pierced my chest.

My wolf spirit, Nora, had fallen into a deep sleep since that day.

Simon said the poison would slowly eat away at my heart. As long as I got the Moonfir serum before those silver veins crept over to my heart, there'd still be hope for me.

Lucian held my hand and swore he'd get the cure.

For four years, I never doubted a single word he said.