That night, he braved the storm to buy me cakes and sweets, piling them on the table with a grin. When I still wouldn’t smile, he pulled out a music box he had won at a festival. “Here,” he said, placing it in my hands. “Don’t cry anymore, okay? You’re stronger than this.”
The boy who gave me that music box was gone. In his place was an Alpha who saw me as nothing more than a shadow of another woman. I clenched my fists, ignoring the sting of the broken shards. My wolf stirred within me, howling in pain and anger.
If Ronan couldn’t see my worth, then it was time for me to find someone who could. And under the next blood moon, I would prove to him—and to myself—that I was more than a stand-in.
“No matter how others treat you in the future, I, your unofficial brother, will always protect you. Let this talisman be the proof.”
The young Ronan’s words rang in my ears, echoing in my memory like a haunting melody. Back then, he had handed me the small wolf-shaped talisman, its etched runes a symbol of protection. A boy’s attempt to offer comfort had completely won over my broken heart. From that moment, Ronan became my anchor, my moon in the dark night.