Elsie did not remember falling.
One moment she had been standing beneath the cold silver light of the moon, her hand in Edward's as the elders spoke the ancient words that severed their bond. The next moment, darkness had swallowed her whole.
When her body hit the ground, she did not wake.
And she did not wake the next day.
Or the day after that.
For days, Elsie Whitmore lay unmoving in her bed, her skin pale against the white sheets, her breathing soft and shallow as if even the act of drawing air was exhausting.
The room remained quiet most of the time, the curtains pulled slightly open so sunlight could warm the space during the day while moonlight filtered in at night.
Her mother rarely left and slept.
Mrs. Whitmore sat beside the bed with tired eyes, her fingers often brushing gently through Elsie's hair as though the simple gesture could somehow call her daughter back.
The family healer stayed close as well, mixing herbs and tonics while checking Elsie's pulse several times a day.
"She's still fighting," the healer would say softly whenever the worry in the room grew too heavy. "Her wolf is wounded, but it is not gone."
Still, the silence stretched endlessly.
Every morning, Elsie's father arrived before beginning his duties as Beta. His large frame filled the doorway as he stood there watching his eldest daughter with a heaviness in his chest he could not hide.
He had seen warriors fall in battle.
He had watched wolves bleed and fight through unimaginable pain.
But seeing his daughter lying so still was far worse.
Sometimes he would sit beside her for a while, speaking quietly even though she could not hear him.
"You've always been stronger than you believe," he murmured one morning, his rough hand resting carefully over hers. "Stronger than any of us."
Sara visited too.
Every day.
She entered quietly each time, her expression filled with guilt she could no longer hide from anyone. She always blamed herself, she's the cause of her sister's suffering.
Her wedding band glimmered faintly on her finger as she approached the bed, her hand occasionally resting over the gentle curve of her stomach.
"Please wake up," she whispered once when they were alone. "You can hate me if you want. Just… wake up."
But Elsie did not stir.
Days passed.
The pack continued moving forward as if nothing had changed.
Yet inside the Alpha estate, an uneasy tension lingered.
Because everyone knew that the bond breaking ceremony had not gone the way it was expected to.
Edward Blackwood had felt the pain.
But not like Elsie.
For him, the aftermath had been brutal, but brief.
For three days after the ceremony, the young Alpha struggled to remain on his feet. His wolf had been restless and weak, the broken bond leaving behind a deep ache in his chest that refused to disappear.
He barely ate.
Barely slept.
Even standing during council meetings had been difficult.
The elders noticed immediately.
"This is normal after such a severing," one of them had told him gravely. "But the longer your wolf remains unsettled, the more vulnerable the pack becomes."
Edward understood what they meant.
An Alpha could not afford weakness.
Not with rival packs always watching.
Not with challengers waiting for any sign of instability.
So the elders gave their advice.
It was ancient.
Uncomfortable.
But effective.
"You must complete your bond with your Luna," the eldest elder told him. "Your wolf needs stability. The mating bond will restore your strength."
Edward did not argue.
Sara was already his wife.
His Luna.
And the child she carried only made the union more important.
Three nights after the bond breaking ceremony, the Alpha estate remained quiet as Edward and Sara retreated to their private chambers.
The elders believed the completed bond would settle his wolf and close the final wound left by Elsie's absence.
And for the most part… it worked.
By the fourth day, Edward's strength had begun returning.
His wolf no longer felt as restless beneath his skin.
The constant ache in his chest faded slightly, though it never completely disappeared.
But even as the pack celebrated the Alpha's recovery, whispers continued to spread through the territory.
About Elsie.
About how the rejected daughter of the Beta had not awakened since the bond severing.
Some wolves pitied her.
Others believed it was proof that the Moon Goddess had punished her for refusing her mate before the ceremony.
And a few wondered quietly if something far stranger had happened that night beneath the full moon.
Back in the Whitmore estate, the seventh day arrived slowly.
The healer checked Elsie again, placing gentle fingers against her wrist.
Her heartbeat was steady.
Stronger than before.
"That's good," the healer murmured, mostly to Elsie's exhausted mother.
Mrs. Whitmore looked up hopefully.
"Does that mean she'll wake soon?"
The healer hesitated.
"I believe so."
Her mother exhaled shakily and leaned forward, brushing a strand of hair from Elsie's forehead.
"You hear that?" she whispered softly. "It's time to come back to us."
The room fell quiet again.
Outside the window, the wind rustled through the trees as clouds drifted across the sky.
Seconds turned to minutes to hours.....
The sun slowly dipped lower, bathing the room in warm orange light.
Then.....
Elsie's fingers twitched.
It was small.
So small her mother almost missed it.
But when it happened again, she froze.
"Wait," she whispered urgently. "Healer… look."
The healer stepped closer just as Elsie's eyelids fluttered faintly.
For the first time in seven days, in seven goddess given days....
Her breathing changed.
A slow inhale.
A shaky exhale.
And somewhere deep within her chest, something stirred.
Not pain.
Not weakness.
Something unfamiliar.
Something… waking.
But Elsie Whitmore had no idea yet that the world she would wake up to was already changing.
And neither did anyone else.