Ryder's POV
I threw up blood for the third time that morning, and my father didn't even flinch.
"Weakness," Alpha Kane said, standing over me while I collapsed on the bathroom floor. "This is what happens when you let emotions control you instead of controlling them."
"It's not emotions." I wiped my mouth with shaking hands. "It's the bond. The rejected mate bond is—"
"I know what it is." His voice was ice. "What I don't know is why my son, my heir, my future Alpha is dying over some worthless—"
"Don't." The word came out as a growl, my wolf surging forward despite how weak I felt. "Don't finish that sentence."
My father's eyes flashed gold. "You're giving me orders now? In your condition?"
I forced myself to stand, even though my legs barely held me. Three days since Ember rejected me. Seventy-two hours of pure agony—my wolf howling nonstop, my chest feeling like someone was carving out my heart with a dull knife, my body shutting down piece by piece.
But the physical pain was nothing compared to knowing she was out there somewhere, hating me. Scared and alone because of me.
"We need to talk," I said. "All of us. Now."
Ten minutes later, I stood in my father's office facing the three people whose opinions used to matter: Alpha Kane, my mother Luna Rhea, and Vivian.
Vivian looked perfect as always, but there was something sharp in her eyes. Dangerous. She'd been trying to see me for three days, and I'd refused every time.
"Ryder needs medical attention," my mother said, worry creasing her face. "He's deteriorating too fast—"
"He needs to stop being weak," my father interrupted. "Whatever this is, he needs to snap out of it. We have the Alpha ceremony in two months. The merger with the Ashford family depends on his engagement to Vivian. He can't fall apart now."
"The engagement is over," I said.
Silence. Complete, suffocating silence.
Vivian went very still. "What?"
"I can't marry you." The words hurt, but they were true. "I'm sorry, Vivian. You deserve better than—"
"Better than what?" Her voice was too calm. "Better than the future Alpha? Better than the mate I've been promised since we were children?"
"Better than someone whose heart belongs to someone else."
My father slammed his hand on the desk. "This is about that girl, isn't it? The one you've been asking about. The Ashford omega who disappeared."
"She's not an omega." My wolf snarled, making everyone in the room take a step back. "She's my fated mate. Ember Ashford is my true mate, chosen by the Moon Goddess herself."
Vivian laughed. It was the worst sound I'd ever heard—broken and sharp at the same time. "Ember? Little invisible Ember who couldn't even shift until three days ago? That's who you're dying over?"
"She rejected the bond," I admitted, and saying it out loud made the wound in my chest tear wider. "She rejected me. And she was right to do it."
"Of course she rejected you!" Vivian's perfect composure cracked. "She's hated you her whole life! You made sure of that!"
The truth of it hit like silver bullets. Every cruel word I'd said, every time I'd made her feel worthless, every moment I'd used her as my target to prove my dominance—it all came crashing back.
"I know," I whispered. "I know what I did. And I deserve this. I deserve every second of this pain."
"You're not dying over some rejected bond," my father said firmly. "You're going to accept Vivian's mark, complete your engagement bond, and forget about the Ashford girl."
"I can't." My voice broke. "My wolf won't accept anyone else. The fated bond is too strong. If I try to mark Vivian, it'll kill us both."
My mother gasped. "Is it really that severe?"
"Ancient bloodline," I said, finally understanding what my wolf had been trying to tell me. "Ember's not just any late bloomer. She's from the original lunar bloodlines. That's why the bond is so powerful. That's why rejecting it is killing me."
And killing her too, according to the healer I'd consulted. Ancient bonds worked both ways. Even rejection couldn't fully sever them.
Which meant Ember was out there somewhere, suffering because of me. Again.
"Where is she?" Vivian asked, her voice strange.
"I don't know. She left pack territory. I can't feel her through the bond anymore—she's too far away." The admission felt like failure. "I have to find her. Have to make sure she's safe, even if she never forgives me."
"You're not going anywhere," my father ordered. "You're staying here, completing your engagement to Vivian, and learning to live with your choices."
"No." I met his eyes, and for the first time in my life, I didn't back down. "I'm going after her. I'm going to spend the rest of my life—however long that is—proving I can be better than the monster who hurt her."
"If you leave, you're no longer my heir," Alpha Kane said coldly.
"Then I'm no longer your heir."
I turned to leave, but Vivian's voice stopped me.
"Ryder." She sounded odd. Too calm. "Before you go chase after the girl who rejected you, you should know something."
I looked back.
Her smile was beautiful and terrifying. "Ember's rejection didn't just hurt you. Ancient bloodline bonds are connected to the pack's power structure. When she rejected the future Alpha's mate bond, she weakened the entire pack's foundation." Vivian tilted her head. "Some might say she committed treason. Some might say she deserves to be punished for that."
Ice flooded my veins. "Vivian, what did you do?"
"Nothing yet." Her eyes glittered. "But there are laws, Ryder. Ancient laws about bloodline wolves who reject their fated mates. Especially when those mates are Alpha heirs." She pulled out her phone, showing me a screen I couldn't quite read from this distance. "I've been researching. And according to pack law from 1847, still on the books, Ember Ashford can be charged with—"
My mother snatched the phone, her face going pale. "Vivian, no. This law was abolished—"
"It was never formally abolished. Just forgotten." Vivian's smile widened. "Which means it's still enforceable. Which means I've already filed the complaint with the Pack Council."
The room spun. "What complaint?"
"Treason against the pack. Endangering the Alpha line. Willful rejection of a sacred bond." Vivian counted on her fingers. "The punishment is death. And the Council hearing is tomorrow morning."
I lunged for her, but my father caught me. "You can't kill her for this!"
"I'm not killing anyone. I'm following pack law." Vivian headed for the door, then paused. "Of course, there's one way to cancel the complaint. If you complete our engagement bond tonight, I'll withdraw the charges. Ember lives, you become Alpha, and everything goes back to normal."
"You're insane," I breathed.
"I'm practical." She met my eyes. "You have until sunrise to decide. Your mate's life, or your precious fated bond. Choose wisely, future Alpha."
She left, and I collapsed, the bond-wound tearing wider with my rage and fear.
"I have to warn her," I gasped. "Have to get to Ember before—"
"The Council will send hunters if she runs," my mother said quietly. "They're probably already tracking her."
My phone buzzed. Text from Jace: Found her. She's in Lunar City. Sanctuary on 5th Street. She's with Kieran Cross.
Relief and terror hit simultaneously. I knew where she was. But so would the Council.
And if Vivian had filed that complaint, Ember had less than twelve hours before pack hunters came for her head.