Abandoned for Another Mate

The antiseptic smell of the hospital clung to my clothes as I paced the waiting room, checking my phone for the hundredth time. Ryan was late. Again. My mother's time was running out, and all she wanted was to meet the man I'd loved for seven years, the future Alpha of Silver Moon Pack who had promised to make me his Luna someday.

I bit my lower lip nervously, a habit I couldn't shake. The doctors had given Mom days, maybe hours. The cancer had spread too far, too fast.

"Sarah?" A nurse poked her head through the doorway. "Your mother is asking for you... and your fiancé."

I nodded, swallowing hard. "He's on his way."

At least, I hoped he was. I'd been begging Ryan for weeks to visit, but there was always some excuse. Pack business. Training. Madison needed him for something.

Always Madison.

When my phone finally buzzed, I nearly dropped it in my haste to answer.

"I'm outside," Ryan's voice was flat, impatient. "Let's make this quick."

The winter air bit at my face as I hurried out to the parking lot. Ryan sat in his black SUV, engine still running, fingers drumming against the steering wheel. He didn't even get out to greet me.

"Thank you for coming," I said, sliding into the passenger seat. "It means everything to her... to me."

Ryan sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. "I don't see why we need to rush into a mating ceremony just because your mother is dying. These things take preparation, Sarah."

The casual cruelty of his words stung, but I'd grown used to swallowing my pain. "It's just a small ceremony. Just so she can see it before..."

"Fine." He cut me off, pulling out of the parking lot. "But we're not announcing anything to the pack yet. Not until I've spoken with my father and the council."

Seven years. Seven years I'd been waiting for him to acknowledge me publicly. Seven years of being his secret, his shadow Luna.

"Of course," I whispered, staring out at the snowflakes beginning to fall. "Thank you for doing this."

We were halfway to the hospital when it happened. Ryan suddenly stiffened beside me, his eyes going distant in that way they did when someone was using the pack mind-link.

"Madison?" he said aloud, his voice instantly transforming from reluctant to concerned. "What's wrong?"

I watched his face drain of color.

"Where are you? How many?" His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel as he pulled over to the shoulder of the interstate. "I'm coming. Hold on."

"What's happening?" I asked, dread pooling in my stomach.

"Rogues," Ryan snapped, already unbuckling his seatbelt. "They've attacked Madison near the eastern border. She's alone."

"But my mother—"

"This is pack business, Sarah." His eyes flashed with irritation. "Madison could die."

Before I could protest further, he was out of the car, stripping off his jacket. "Take the car to the hospital. I'll meet you there when I