Chapter 2

I pressed the end-call button.

On the other end was my contact from the Rogues. Every detail was confirmed—the night after tomorrow, our mating anniversary, the Rogues would stage a fake attack. I'd swallow an herbal concoction I'd brewed myself, one that would sever the mate bond between me and Cain completely. He'd feel me die. Then the Rogues would pick me up at the meeting point, and I'd vanish.

Two more days, and it would all be over.

The door clicked. Cain walked in, tossed his car keys on the entryway counter, and noticed the phone still in my hand.

"Who were you calling?"

"Checking on an herbal formula. There's a new strain I want to try."

He didn't push it. He came up behind me, leaned down, and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

"I'll take you shopping tomorrow. Get whatever you like. The day after is our mating anniversary—I booked an island getaway. We'll spend a couple of days there."

I leaned into his arms and said nothing.

Three years. This was how he always came to me. Gentle. Attentive. Like a husband no one could find fault with.

But I already knew. It was nothing more than a routine he repeated every day.

The next morning, Cain got dressed and stood at the bedroom door to tell me shopping was off.

"A few Packs' Alphas organized a healer symposium. Someone's presenting a new antidote for silver poisoning—supposedly revolutionary for battlefield treatment. I have to be there."

"I want to go too."

He frowned. "You haven't been sleeping well lately. It'll be loud and crowded—not good for you. Stay home and rest."

I didn't say anything else.

For three years, every time the Pack needed healers to show up for something, he'd blocked me out.

When I applied to set up an herbal lab in the Pack, he said, "No need—Serena already has one." When I wanted to register for the regional healer certification, he said, "You're not strong enough. Healing takes too much out of you."

At first, I actually believed him. I thought he was being protective.

Looking back now, he just couldn't let me show up anywhere Serena would be. If anyone saw my talent, her path to chief healer wouldn't be so smooth.

Cain grabbed his jacket, walked to the door, then turned back.

"On our anniversary—nowhere else. Just the two of us."

I nodded.

After he left, I started packing the things I'd take with me.

Passing the study, I noticed the safe in the corner.

I stared at it for a few seconds, then crouched down and tried a passcode.

Cain's birthday. Wrong.

My birthday. Also wrong.

My hands trembling, I tried Serena's birthday.

The lock popped open.

Inside, stacked in neat piles, were photos—all of Serena. Some were taken without her knowing. Others looked like she'd sent them to him herself. Beneath the photos was an old phone. I opened it. The gallery was full of videos of Serena.

In that moment, something inside me died for good.