For one terrible moment, everything went silent.

The ballroom.

The music.

The whispers.

All of it faded beneath the unbearable agony tearing through my body.

I stared at Enzo through blurred vision, waiting for him to feel it too. Waiting for even the smallest sign of regret.

But he barely reacted.

“No!”

Livia’s scream shattered the silence as she forced her way through the crowd, panic written across her face.

“How could you do this to her?” she cried, staring at Enzo in horror. “She’ll die!”

I tried to smile at her.

Tried to tell her I was fine.

But then the pain truly began.

It exploded through my chest like fire, spreading into every vein, every nerve, every inch of me until breathing became impossible.

My legs gave out beneath me.

“Gianna!” Livia dropped beside me instantly. “Guido, help her! Please!”

The healer’s face tightened with helpless sorrow.

“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “There is no cure for a broken mate bond.”

The pain worsened.

The wolfsbane had been torture, but this…

This felt like my soul was being ripped apart.

Heat burned beneath my skin until tiny cuts split open across my arms and legs. Blood soaked through the white fabric of my gown, staining it crimson.

Gasps echoed around the ballroom.

I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out.

Only silent suffering.

“Remove her before she ruins the celebration,” Alpha Fabio ordered coldly.

Hatred surged through me.

I forced my eyes upward toward him.

There was no pity in his expression.

Only annoyance.

As if I were nothing more than a stain on his precious ballroom floor.

Then my gaze shifted to Enzo.

And I saw him smiling.

Something inside me snapped.

A strange surge of energy suddenly rushed through my body, powerful and violent. The air around me trembled.

A hollow laugh escaped my lips, one that didn’t sound entirely human.

Fear flashed across Enzo’s face.

Dante stepped backward.

Even Alpha Fabio straightened in alarm.

Something ancient stirred inside me, pushing against the agony, trying to rise.

Trying to survive.

But it wasn’t enough.

The damage had already been done.

Darkness blurred the edges of my vision.

“No one touches my sister!”

Livia shoved the approaching guards away before dropping beside me and pulling my trembling body into her arms.

“Stay with me,” she whispered desperately. “Please, Gianna… don’t leave me.”

I looked up at her one last time.

At the tears running down her face.

At the fear in her eyes.

And somehow, despite everything, I smiled.

Then the darkness swallowed me whole.

---

Pain greeted me before consciousness fully returned.

Not the unbearable agony from before, but a dull ache buried deep inside my chest.

Voices drifted nearby.

Livia.

Niccolo.

And another voice I didn’t recognize older, rougher.

Slowly, I forced my eyes open.

A dimly lit wooden room came into view. Thick animal furs covered my body, and the scent of herbs lingered heavily in the air. Beside the bed sat a bowl filled with bloodstained cloths.

My blood.

I pushed the fur blanket aside weakly and noticed my elegant gown had been replaced with a simple cotton dress. Thin scars traced across my arms where the cuts had been.

I tried to sit up.

Pain stabbed through my chest instantly.

The door swung open.

“Gianna!”

Livia rushed toward me and wrapped her arms tightly around me.

“You’re awake,” she whispered shakily. “Thank the Goddess.”

Behind her stood Niccolo.

Tall. Broad. Quietly intimidating.

But the way he looked at my sister softened every sharp edge around him.

Love.

Real love.

“You found your mate,” I whispered.

Livia smiled through watery eyes. “I did.”

But the happiness on her face quickly faded.

“I’m sorry,” she said softly. “I should’ve stopped them.”

I shook my head weakly.

“You couldn’t have stopped Enzo.”

Even saying his name hurt.

Not because I still loved him.

But because I hated that I ever had.

“He never wanted me,” I whispered bitterly.

“All right, enough,” another voice interrupted firmly.

My attention shifted toward the older woman standing near the doorway.

She wore layered robes beneath a fur-lined vest, and her unusual violet eyes studied me carefully. Silver streaked through her dark hair, and there was something unsettlingly powerful about her presence.

“Give the girl room to breathe,” she muttered.

Livia reluctantly stepped aside, moving back toward Niccolo.

The older woman approached the bed slowly before sitting beside me.

“You possess remarkable strength,” she murmured while examining me closely. “Even with your wolf buried so deeply.”

My eyes widened.

“How do you know that?”

“Ms. Romano has gifts,” Livia explained quietly. “She’s part witch.”

The woman snorted softly. “Part wolf. Part witch. Entirely superior.”

Despite everything, I almost laughed.

“Niccolo and I brought you here after the rejection,” Livia continued. “Guido said Elena was the only person who might be able to save you.”

“Elena,” the woman corrected. “You’ll call me Elena.”

I nodded slowly.

“Where am I?”

“Near the summit of Cherry Mountain,” Niccolo answered.

Shock rippled through me.

“That’s impossible. It’s days away from pack territory.”

Niccolo exchanged a brief glance with Livia before Elena suddenly took my hands into hers and closed her eyes.

Silence stretched between us.

After a long moment, she sighed.

“Your wolf still sleeps,” she said carefully. “No matter what I try, she refuses to awaken.”

Disappointment settled heavily in my chest.

“Without your wolf,” Elena continued, “your healing will remain slower than normal. Weak.”

I swallowed hard.

“So what happens now?”

“You learn to survive without one.”

Confusion crossed my face.

“There’s someone nearby who trains wolfless rogues,” Elena explained. “A former Alpha named Alessandro.”

“A rogue Alpha?”

“A fallen one,” she corrected darkly. “His pack was destroyed by the Alpha King.”

Silence filled the room again.

“Elena thinks he can help you,” Niccolo added carefully.

I gave a weak laugh.

“I’m not even allowed to train.”

The room suddenly became too quiet.

A cold feeling settled in my stomach.

“What happened after I collapsed?”

Livia’s eyes filled with anger.

“They threw you out.”

I stared at her silently.

“Alpha Fabio ordered the guards to remove you before your blood stained the ballroom floor.”

A hollow ache opened inside my chest.

Then Niccolo spoke quietly.

“Enzo ordered guards to check whether you survived.”

My stomach twisted painfully.

“And if I had?”

His expression hardened.

“He wanted them to finish the job.”

For a moment, I couldn’t breathe.

Rejecting me wasn’t enough.

Humiliating me wasn’t enough.

Enzo wanted me dead.

“We got to you first,” Livia whispered. “But you were barely alive.”

“How did you leave pack territory?” I asked numbly.

Livia hesitated before answering.

“We told them we were taking your body to the mountains for cremation.”

The air left my lungs.

“What?”

“As far as Black Blade Pack knows…” Her voice trembled slightly. “You died the night Enzo rejected you.”

Silence swallowed the room.

Then she whispered the words that changed everything.

“Officially… Gianna Greco is dead.... you're dead."