Chapter 4

Thalyn's POV

I thought I was going to die on that operating table.

After the bone marrow extraction ended, I lost consciousness for what felt like an eternity.

When awareness crept back, I found myself still in the operating room, just moved to a different position.

So cold. This time they wanted my blood. I could feel it flowing through the tube toward Querida in the adjacent room.

The bone marrow procedure had already left me devastatingly weak, and now my body had no strength left at all.

Like a used-up container, still being squeezed for every last drop of value.

Kairo's gentle voice drifted through the wall: "How are you feeling, baby?"

"So much better," Querida said sweetly. "You're so good to me, Kairo. Doing all this for me."

"Don't be silly. You're my Luna—of course I have to protect you."

Their laughter carried through the walls, making my already fading consciousness slip further away.

I began struggling to breathe, my vision blurring. Then suddenly, a tearing agony ripped through my chest.

I felt the mate bond connecting Kairo and me beginning to snap. Each invisible thread that broke drained my life force faster than the blood loss—more lethal than anything physical.

Next door, Kairo suddenly stopped talking.

He clutched his chest abruptly, his face going deathly pale. An unprecedented panic swept over him, like something vital was being torn away.

"Kairo? What's wrong?" Querida asked with concern.

Kairo gasped for breath, his gaze unconsciously turning toward the door connecting the two rooms. His wolf was howling frantically inside him.

She's dying! Our mate is dying! his wolf screamed internally.

"Impossible..." Kairo muttered, forcibly suppressing the panic. "She won't die. That woman is tougher than nails."

He turned to look at Querida's now-rosy complexion. "I'm fine. Probably just tired."

"Then rest a little more," Querida said, gently stroking his chest. "Once her blood completely purifies my system, we can hold the mating ceremony."

"Right." Kairo took a deep breath. "She's just a donor. She won't die."

He chose to completely ignore his inner warnings.

Meanwhile, I had no strength left.

The machines suddenly began emitting long, shrill alarms.

The healer removed his mask, glanced at the monitors, then shrugged indifferently. "Heart stopped. Her body was too weak, as expected."

He didn't even attempt any resuscitation measures.

Querida's surprised voice came from next door: "What's that sound?"

"Nothing," the healer said into the intercom. "Probably just equipment malfunction. The procedure was very successful—you can rest easy."

"Wonderful!" Querida exclaimed happily. "Kairo, we can finally be together!"

As I drew my last breath, I heard their celebration.

The doctor removed all the tubes and called for the cleaning crew. "Dispose of this. Don't let the smell affect Luna's mood."

My consciousness floated upward. I watched as my thin, scarred body was roughly stuffed into a black bag.

The moment the mate bond completely severed, my heart stopped beating.

In the adjacent room, the champagne glass in Kairo's hand shattered without warning, golden liquid splashing across him, glittering under the lights.

"What happened?" Querida gasped.

Kairo stared at the fragments in his hand, inexplicably feeling a hollow emptiness, like a piece of his heart had been carved out.

But he quickly shook his head: "Nothing. Poor quality glass."

My soul drifted in mid-air, but I discovered I couldn't leave.

Some invisible force bound me above the Briarhold Pack's territory, forcing me to float there, silently observing everything.

The celebration continued. Querida's procedure had been very "successful"—her complexion was noticeably improved, and though she still looked weak, she could sit up to receive congratulations.

Kairo held her waist, but I noticed he kept rubbing his chest, as if something important was missing from that spot.

I watched my parents rush to the operating room, watched their panicked expressions when they found the empty room. Watched that healer fabricate lies, claiming I had safely returned to my room to rest.

No one knew the truth. No one cared about the truth.

"Where's Thalyn?" Kairo finally asked after the celebration ended.

It was the first time he'd mentioned my name all evening.

The healer wiped sweat from his forehead, his eyes shifty.

"Oh, she... she was too exhausted after the procedure. She's already gone back to her room to rest."

Kairo frowned slightly: "Have her see me tomorrow morning. Even though she donated blood, the matter of breaking the sacred relic isn't settled. She needs to apologize to the Lodestar Alliance."

Floating in mid-air, a chill ran through me.

Even though I was no longer among the living, he was still plotting how to continue humiliating me.

The night passed. The next morning, Kairo sat in the dining room, his breakfast long cold.

He'd been waiting for me, but I would never appear again.

"Go get Thalyn," he told Beta Favian, his tone impatient.

Ten minutes later, Favian returned with a pale face: "Alpha... Thalyn isn't in her room. Her room is empty."