Chapter 3

Alpha Jack let her stay at the sanatorium.

“Where have you been?” he asked coldly, his brows creased in annoyance. “The housekeeper said you haven’t been home in days.”

I held up the small herbal sachet in my hand and gave it a little shake. “I found some rare evening primrose and made it into a poultice. It’s supposed to help ease nerve pain.”

His sharp gaze lingered on the sachet for a second too long before he let out a noncommittal grunt. “Hmm.”

I exhaled quietly in relief and handed it to Beta Ryan, then instinctively stepped forward to help Jack like I always had.

But the woman beside him beat me to it—and not gently. She shoved my hand away.

“Anna,” Jack said, completely unfazed, “this is Lily. Ryan brought her in to act as my Pack Doctor. She’ll be staying here from now on.”

He didn’t even glance at me as he added, “She’s in charge of my care. Whatever she asks of you, do it.”

I stared at him, wondering how easily the lies rolled off his tongue. My wolf, Annie, growled low in my head. “Pack Doctor? You mean his new mistress?”

I bit back a bitter laugh and stroked her fur gently through our mind-link. Stay calm, Annie. Just for a little longer.

“You must be Alpha Jack’s… sister, right?” Lily said, lips curling in a smug smile. “Please look after me.”

Sister.

That word hit like a slap. Jack had always introduced me that way. The orphan he rescued, the stray he raised out of the goodness of his heart. His “little sister.”

But no brother would kiss his sister the way he kissed me. No brother would whisper those things in the dark or pull her into his bed when the nightmares came.

I forced a brittle smile. “Yes. I’m his sister.” Then I turned to Jack, keeping my voice even. “I’ll go brew the herbs now.”

I made sure to emphasize sister as I spoke, watching his jaw clench ever so slightly. But he said nothing. Just waved me off like a servant.

As I walked to the kitchen, laughter floated down the hall, high-pitched and flirty.

“Alpha Jack, this is the Moon Glow Ointment I made just for you,” Lily purred. “Let me rub it on.”

“Oh, you're so bad,” she giggled. “I’m applying medicine. Why are you fondling me?”

“Maybe I don’t need medicine anymore,” he said, voice dropping an octave. “You want to check my body tonight?”

The laughter that followed shredded something inside me.

I turned the music on my phone all the way up, trying to drown out the noises coming from the other room. But it wasn’t enough. Nothing could block out the betrayal screaming inside my chest.

The tears came fast and hot, spilling over no matter how hard I tried to hold them in.

“Anna,” Annie said softly, her presence warm and grounding. “We’ve had enough. Let’s leave.”

“I’m trying,” I whispered, my voice breaking. “I’m trying, Annie. But it hurts so damn much.”

To muffle the sob lodged in my throat, I bit down on my arm until I tasted blood.

I was sixteen when my world fell apart. My parents were slaughtered by rogue wolves. I was dying too—until Jack found me. Despite his parents’ protests, he brought me home and gave me a second chance at life. I clung to him like he was my salvation.

He was the one who helped me through my first agonizing shift. He taught me how to connect with Annie, how to survive the nightmares that came after losing everything.

And I fell in love with him.

When I turned eighteen, I finally told him. I was ready to be his mate.

But I was already too late. Vivian—the white wolf beauty with a pure bloodline—had already claimed that place beside him.

Then came the accident. Jack was attacked and bedridden.

And everything changed.

He pulled me close again, whispered sweet nothings, kissed me like he meant it. For three long years, I nursed him back from the brink, convinced this was finally our time.

But now I see it for what it was.

A lie.

A cruel, twisted lie.

You never said I was your mate, Jack. Not once. That was just… me.

Me, deluding myself.

It was already past midnight by the time I finished brewing the medicine. The snow had started falling. With no safe way back through the mountains, I curled up on the cold couch in the sanatorium’s lounge and stayed the night.

Alone.