Crowned in Ash and Silver

That afternoon, at the Elders' council meeting, I dropped a bombshell on the pack's leadership.

"The Blight in the southern forest is spreading." I tossed a handful of corrupted, blackened soil onto the conference table. "The source is in the mining territory you manage, and you are completely unaware."

Chief Elder Marcus slammed his fist on the table. "Sienna! You have no place to speak here! Are you trying to get the Alpha's attention with these scare tactics again?"

"Attention?" I sneered, presenting more evidence: preserved bodies of dead animals, mutated plant samples, and a report on the poisoned water supply. "Look at this! This corruption... it preys on those with gifts first. It will destroy our home!"

The room fell silent. Everyone knew I possessed the gift of Earth Empathy.

"Nonsense!" Marcus's face flushed red.

Just then, the door was thrown open.

Horton strode in, his icy gaze sweeping over the council before landing squarely on me.

"Sienna, what are you up to now?" His tone held no warmth, only a thick layer of impatience. "What is this about a Blight? Have you stooped to fabricating lies like this just to get my attention?"

I looked at him, my heart aching as if it were being torn from my chest.

In my past life, he had disbelieved me in the exact same way, right up until it was too late.

"I'm not lying." I pushed the soil sample toward him. "Have the pack doctor run his own tests. Horton, while you've been busy hating me, our home has been dying."

His jaw tightened, his golden eyes filled with disappointment. "You think a stunt like this will make me look at you? Sienna, you're beyond saving."

My heart sank to the floor.

I turned to leave, but my eyes caught a poster on the wall for the "Starfall Festival Blessing Ceremony."

On that night in my past life, Horton had danced with Chloe under the moonlight. That was the softest I had ever seen him.

"You should take Chloe to the Starfall Festival," I said, my back to him, my voice as still as a frozen lake. "She is so pure and kind. Perhaps her prayers can move the Moon Goddess to bless our lands."

I could feel every eye in the room on me, especially Horton's, which was boring into my back with suspicion.

"What are you planning to do to her now?" he asked coldly.

I turned, a brilliant but hollow smile on my face.

"Do to her? I'm simply suggesting you should be with the one you truly love. After all, in three days, I'll no longer be your mate."

"…What are you talking about?" Horton’s pupils shrank to pinpricks.

"I said," I enunciated each word, delivering the final blow, "in three days, you're free, Alpha. You can be with Chloe, openly and without guilt."

I saw a crack appear in the icy mask on his face. He watched me warily, as if trying to decipher what terrible new scheme this vicious woman was plotting.

"Goodbye, Alpha." I gave a slight bow to the entire council. "I just hope you all realize the danger before it's too late."

I strode out of the room, shutting the door on all the shock and suspicion behind me.

On the eve of the Starfall Festival, the pack hall was aglow with shimmering lights.

The moment I stepped inside, the whispers swirled around me like a foul wind.

"Look, the jealous shrew."

"I heard she's breaking the mate bond with the Alpha. It must be another one of her games to get attention."

I ignored them and made my way to a corner. The head ranger, Jake, handed me a glass of champagne and murmured, "Sienna, you were right. The soil contamination is severe, but the Elders are suppressing the news."

I nodded. It was what I expected.

Just then, the main doors opened, and all heads turned.

Horton stood there, breathtakingly handsome in a dark blue suit.

And on his arm was Chloe, dressed in a pale pink gown, looking ethereal in the moonlight. He leaned down to listen to her, a look of tenderness on his face I had never seen directed at me.

A violent, twisting pain seized my chest.

Even though I was prepared, seeing it with my own eyes still felt like my heart was being flayed.

I turned away sharply, unable to watch.

The ceremony began. Chief Elder Marcus held up an ancient box and removed a necklace made of a wolf's head carved from moonstone.

"This is the sacred relic 'Heart of the Land,' passed down by our ancestors! It enhances the wearer's connection to the Moon Goddess and amplifies their gift!"

A wave of awe rippled through the crowd.

My friend Jake, standing beside me, couldn't help but say, "If your Earth Empathy was amplified by that, you might actually be able to purify the forest."

My heart gave a sudden, painful lurch.

Yes, if only...

Before the thought could finish, a figure strode toward the stage.

It was Horton.

In front of everyone, he walked directly to Marcus and took the necklace from his hand.

My heart was threatening to hammer its way out of my chest.

He heard us! He heard what I said to Jake!

He crossed the room, the crowd parting for him. He came straight for me, his golden eyes burning with a focus and intensity I couldn't decipher.

"You need it," he said in a deep and powerful voice, but he didn't hand me the necklace. "For the tribe."

The entire hall fell silent.

I stared at the necklace in his hand, my heart feeling like it would explode.

He... for me...

No.

I snapped back to reality.

I followed his gaze and saw Chloe in the distance, tears welling in her eyes, her face a mask of wounded expectation. She must have thought Horton would give the relic to her.

And Horton, bound by his duty as Alpha, couldn't show her public favoritism. So he was using "for the pack" as an excuse, intending for me to pass it to her.

Sienna, stop deluding yourself.

"Thank you, Horton." I took a deep breath and accepted the necklace from his hand.

Then, under his cold, stunned gaze, I turned and walked to Chloe.

"Chloe, this is from Horton." I fastened the necklace around her neck, smiling. "He wants you to wear it and pray for the pack."

Chloe's eyes lit up instantly. She touched the necklace in joyful disbelief before turning a loving gaze to Horton. "Horton, thank you! I... I'm so happy!"

I turned around and met Horton's complicated expression.

I couldn't understand the emotions in it. He must have thought I was teasing him again, humiliating him with such "generosity".

"I need some air," I muttered, fleeing the hall.

I had done the right thing.

So why... did it feel like I had just made the biggest mistake of my life?

Tomorrow, our mate bond would be officially broken.

He would be completely free.

And I would begin my third wish, and my final offering.

The moment I left the hall, a sharp pain shot through me from my Earth Empathy gift.

The sacred altar!

I ran like a madwoman to the hidden cave on the mountainside.

The spring at the entrance now flowed with water as black as ink. The surrounding plants were all dead, and the air reeked of thick decay.

The Blight had completely corrupted the altar!

"Sienna!"

Horton burst into the cave, his face just as pale. He had clearly felt the disturbance in the energy too.

"I told you, the Blight is spreading!" I yelled in despair.

"Sienna! Horton!"

Chloe ran in, clutching her dress, the 'Heart of the Land' necklace glowing with an eerie light against her chest.

"I... I came to pray, but the altar started shaking, I was so scared—"

Before she could finish, the entire cave began to tremble violently. Rocks rained down from the ceiling.

"The cave is collapsing!" Horton roared. "Get out!"

But I saw something worse. The energy core deep inside the cave was imploding, forming a massive black vortex. If it erupted, the entire pack's territory would be poisoned beyond recovery.

"No, I have to stop it!" I ran deeper inside.

"Are you insane?!" Horton grabbed my arm. "Come back!"

"Let go! If I don't, the entire pack will die!"

As we argued, a terrifying cracking sound came from above. A massive stalactite cracked loose from the ceiling—hanging like a dagger directly over us !

"Chloe!" Horton cried out in terror, instinctively moving to rush toward her.

His first instinct was always to save her.

But I was faster.

I used every ounce of my strength to shove both Horton and Chloe toward the entrance.

"Go!"

BOOM—!!!

In a deafening roar, the world went dark.

A searing pain erupted from my back. I felt my bones shatter as my consciousness rapidly faded.

I did... everything I could.

Horton, you have to live... with Chloe...

I'm fulfilling all three of your wishes.

But it hurts... so much...

Just before I blacked out completely, Horton's gut-wrenching cry echoed in my ears.

"No! Sienna!"