Chapter 1
Thalyn's POV
Lunar Depletion Syndrome. Seven days left.
That was all the time I had. Yet my Alpha mate, Kairo, was still ordering me to surrender what remained of my life force to save my sister.
For our third anniversary, he'd chosen two gifts: a surgical consent form and papers to dissolve our mate bond.
The irony was almost funny.
Once, he'd told me my eyes shone like stars. Now, he was asking me to close them for good.
Everyone said I'd finally learned what an older sister was supposed to do—that I'd grown up enough to make the ultimate sacrifice.
They were wrong about one thing. Love had nothing to do with it.
I was simply exhausted.
What was the point of fighting when death was already waiting for me?
If I had to die, at least the operating table offered a place to do it.
Better that than being left alone to die in the wilderness—and perhaps I could play the selfless sister they all wanted me to be.
"Sign it, Thalyn."
Kairo threw the surgical consent form onto the table.
I stared at the document, every word like a death sentence. Bone Marrow and Core Blood Transplant Consent Form. Recipient: Querida.
There was a metallic taste in my throat. I held back the cough, because what came up would definitely be blood.
The pack doctor's private words from yesterday still echoed in my ears: Late-stage Lunar Depletion Syndrome, seven days at most.
Ironically, that day happened to be the third anniversary of Kairo and me becoming mates.
"I can't."
"Can't?" Kairo laughed coldly, his amber eyes full of disgust. Those eyes that had once burned only for me.
"Querida is dying in the ICU. All because you pushed her. You're her sister, you're a blood match. You owe her this."
"I didn't push her." My voice grew weaker. "Kairo, do you really believe I would hurt her?"
"The evidence is right there." He turned away, unwilling to look at me. "The security footage shows you and her arguing, then she collapsed. What more is there to deny?"
I wanted to tell him the truth—that Querida had deliberately fallen to frame me. But I knew he wouldn't believe it.
In his heart, Querida was forever the angel who needed protection, and I was the wicked sister.
"Stop the act, Thalyn." He impatiently pinched the bridge of his nose.
"The pack doctors all say you're perfectly healthy. You healed from broken ribs during training in a week. Don't use excuses to cover up your selfishness."
What would he think if he knew that rapid healing came from burning my life force?
That every time he praised my "strength," I was actually dying bit by bit?
"What if I die?" I asked quietly, watching his back. "Kairo, if I die on the operating table, will you remember our good times? Or will you just celebrate finally being free of me?"
He whipped around, something unreadable flickering in his eyes before anger masked it.
"Are you threatening me? With your life? How can you be so selfish, Thalyn!"
Selfish. The word pierced my heart like a dagger.
"I loved you for three years." My voice trembled. "In your heart, is that love just selfishness?"
Alpha pressure suddenly exploded, forcing me to my knees.
"Don't talk about love!" he roared. "If you really loved me, you wouldn't make me choose between you and Querida! You know what she means to me!"
Yes, I knew. They were childhood sweethearts. If not for the mate bond, he would never have chosen me. I was just a substitute.
"Listen, Thalyn. If you don't sign, I'll have you exiled from the Briarhold Pack. You know what happens to lone wolves."
The door opened. My father Brenn walked in, holding a photo—a childhood picture of Querida and me.
"Alpha, Querida has fainted again. Heart failure." He placed the photo on the table.
"She was calling for her sister, saying she hopes Thalyn can forgive her for stealing sister's birthday cake when they were little."
I looked at the photo.
The me in the picture held Querida tightly, eyes full of love for my sister.
Back then I had thought we would love each other forever.
"She also said," Father's voice choked up, "if she dies, she hopes Thalyn can love the Alpha in her place. She said sister deserves this love more than she does."
Tears blurred my vision.
Even then, Querida was still acting. She knew those words would completely destroy me.
"Did you hear that?" Kairo turned to me, guilt flickering in his eyes. "She's still pleading for you, still thinking of you. And here you are, being stingy with some blood."
I looked at Father's cold gaze—he was playing along with Querida's performance. I looked at the guilt in Kairo's eyes—it wasn't guilt toward me, but fear of losing Querida.
The last light in my heart died out.
I only had seven days anyway.
Rather than let them live with guilt after learning the truth, it was better to become the perfect sacrifice in this story.
Maybe this way Kairo would occasionally remember me, remember that I had finally done one thing right.
"Fine." I used the last of my strength to stand up. "I'll sign."
As I signed my name, I remembered our first meeting. He had said my eyes sparkled like stars.
Now all those stars had gone out.
Kairo handed me another document. [Mate Dissolution Papers].
"Take the money and leave after the surgery." He avoided my gaze. "I don't want Querida to feel guilty when she wakes up and sees you. She's too kind-hearted, she'd blame herself."
Even at the end, he was still protecting her.
I signed my name again. I wasn't just signing away our mate bond, but my three years of love for him.
"Kairo." I called his name softly, for the last time.
He looked up at me.
"I never regretted loving you."
