To Sever a Sacred Totem
For the past two years, I, Cerys Thorne, have endured Kiera’s torment. Kiera, the sister of my fated mate, Maddox Volkov, the Alpha of the Volkov pack.
Using the trauma from a rogue attack two years ago, she forced me to claw at the hard-packed earth. Later, she made me slap myself in front of the entire pack. She even made me kneel in the biting cold outside the territory on a full moon night. Each demand was more outrageous and vicious than the last.
"It's all your fault! If you hadn't been clinging to Maddox, I never would have been attacked!" Kiera stood on the cliff's edge, her wolf thrashing with agitation, a crazed glint in her eyes. "Now! Take this silver dagger and carve off that disgusting mark bonding you to Maddox!"
"Still not moving?" Kiera suddenly pressed the dagger to her own wrist. "Then I'll die right in front of you! Let's see how you explain that to Maddox!"
I closed my eyes, my shoulders slumping in defeat. "Don't move. I'll do it."
I took the gleaming silver dagger as Kiera's wolf watched me, a low growl rumbling in her chest. Under her menacing gaze, I pressed the blade to the mark on my arm. The searing pain of silver nearly made me pass out. I carved into my own flesh, forcefully erasing the sacred totem. Only then did Kiera leave, a satisfied smirk on her face.
I collapsed to the ground, panting in agony, staring at the mangled, blurry mark on my arm. I pulled out my phone and sent a message to Maddox: "Maddox, you need to take Kiera to see the healer. Today, she..."
The message was marked as read, but he never replied.
I stared at the screen for a long, hollow moment. Finally, I pushed myself to my feet and decided to see the pack's Elder.