"Sign them."
The words came without greeting, without even a glance at the cake.
Rain tapped the tall windows of the Luna's chambers in a steady, tired rhythm. Five white candles burned low around a simple anniversary cake, the frosting already soft from the heat of the room.
Tessa had spent the afternoon arranging everything herself. She had wheeled to the sideboard for the good plates, chosen the lace cloth from the bottom drawer, and set the candles with careful fingers that still remembered how to be gentle. Part of her still hoped he might notice, part of her still waited for the man who once promised she would never face the world alone.
Ravyn Blackwood, her husbands Beta pushed her wheelchair in from the balcony and stepped back near the door. His face stayed blank, but his hands flexed once at his sides, as if the papers on the table already felt heavy. He did not meet her eyes.
Kyle Hamilton stood just inside the room, coat still damp from the walk across the grounds, he did not look at the candles, he did not look at the cake but his eyes went straight to the black folder resting beside the plates.
Tessa's hands rested in her lap and she lifted them and signed, slow and clear.
Why?
Ravyn's voice came quiet. "She wants to know why."
Kyle's mouth curved without warmth. "I've already told you. I don't love you anymore. You can't give me an heir and very well you know the pack needs a real Luna."
Each sentence settled deeper than the last. Tessa felt them press against the quiet place behind her ribs where Maeve used to sleep. She remembered another anniversary, three years ago, when Kyle had carried her to the balcony so she could see the moonlight on the lake and he had pressed his forehead to hers and whispered that silence was enough. That memory tasted like ash now.
She reached for her wedding ring without thinking as the thin gold band sat loose on her finger, turning it once, then let her hand fall.
Kyle stepped closer and placed the pen in her lap, with this, the plastic felt cold against her palm.
"Sign it."
She looked at the paper as the blank line waited. A strained sound rose in her throat, half breath, half attempt at a word and died there, the frustration burned behind her eyes and she signed again, sharper this time.
No.
Kyle's jaw tightened as he turned without another word and left and immediately, Ravyn followed, the door clicking shut behind them. For a moment Ravyn hesitated in the doorway, his shoulders tight, before the latch caught.
The candles continued to burn as Wax dripped onto the lace. The rain kept its steady rhythm against the glass.
Night settled heavier this made Tessa stayed by the table long after the flames drowned themselves, the cake sat untouched, the frosting collapsed in soft peaks as she wheeled herself closer and ran one fingertip along the edge of a plate, remembering the first anniversary when Kyle had fed her a forkful of cake and laughed when the icing stuck to her lip. That laugh felt like it belonged to someone else now.
When she finally wheeled toward the bed, a soft sound drifted from the hallway it was Laughter but instead, it was feminine and somewhat familiar enough to make her chest tighten.
She pushed the wheels forward, careful not to let them creak.
The study door stood slightly ajar with two shadows moved inside, close enough that their outlines blurred together. A woman's hand rested against the front of a dark shirt. Before Tessa could see the face, the door closed with quiet finality.
She returned to the bedroom and sat in the dark until the rain slowed. The perfume reached her first when Kyle came back, light, floral, not her own. He knelt in front of the chair, hands resting on the armrests as if the gesture still meant something.
"Tessa. Please. Just sign this paper for once… stop making this difficult."
She met his eyes, is this the man who once held her hand through nights of pain looked back with something colder than impatience. She shook her head again with a slow yet Certain look.
His face emptied and he stood and walked out.
In the corridor, Ravyn's voice drifted low. "What if she never signs?"
Kyle answered without pause. "Then we'll make sure she never has another choice."
Morning arrived too quickly and Tessa had not slept. The knock on her door came soft, almost cheerful as her stepsister stepped inside carrying a tray—toast, tea, the kind of careful breakfast meant to look kind and another black folder tucked under one arm. The smile on her face was sweet enough to hurt.
"Morning, Tessa. I brought you something to eat. Kyle asked me to stay with you today. He's busy with pack matters."
She set the folder on the bedside table as if it weighed nothing. Then she poured the tea, the steam rising between them.
"Drink this. It will help you feel better."
Tessa did not reach for the cup but she watched her stepsister move around the room, straightening the blanket, adjusting the curtain.
The woman's eyes lingered a moment too long on the anniversary photo beside the bed—the one of Tessa and Kyle on their wedding day, her smile small and hopeful even in the wheelchair. Quietly, almost absently, her stepsister turned the frame face down.
Tessa's fingers tightened on the armrests.
The tea sat untouched and her stepsister's smile flickered, then returned. "You should rest. Everything will be clearer soon."
She left with the same soft steps she had entered with. The door closed. The tea cooled. The photo stayed face down.
Tessa wheeled herself to the table and righted the frame with careful hands. Her own younger face looked back at her, eyes still full of a trust she no longer recognized. She set the photo down again, face up this time, and stayed there until the gray light outside began to shift.
Outside the bedroom, Kyle waited in the hallway. He did not ask if Tessa had signed. He already knew the answer.
Ravyn lowered his voice. "She still refused."
Kyle let out a slow breath. Then he said, "Tomorrow."
Ravyn looked at him. "Are you certain?"
Kyle's eyes hardened. He glanced toward Tessa's door.
"Whether she signs willingly or not… by tomorrow night… she will no longer be my Luna."