But he had been ready to walk away, prepared to abandon me, to follow Adeline and pledge himself to the Phantom Moon Pack.
Then, my mother fell ill. And on her deathbed, she made Ronan swear an oath—to stay by my side, to protect me as his fated mate. Out of obligation to the woman who had raised him, he agreed. But in his heart, I knew he resented her for binding him to me, for forcing him to remain where he didn’t want to be.
And after my father’s departure, leadership of the pack fell to me. Even then, I knew how much Ronan craved power, so I willingly handed him the title of Alpha, content to serve as Luna in the background. Yet, despite our bond, despite everything, he never once announced me as his Luna.
One day, I confronted him. "Ronan," I had asked, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. "Why haven’t you acknowledged me as your Luna?"
His response was a dagger straight to my heart.
"Your mother forced me to mate with you. And now you expect me to make you Luna too? Keep dreaming, Anastasia. That title will always belong to your sister."