Ally Jones carries the unborn child of Alpha Cyrus, her destined mate who swore sacred vows before the ancestral stones. But when a lethal blood-rot sickness infects her body, Cyrus repeatedly ignores her deteriorating condition, obsessively doting on Emma, a manipulative pack member who feigns mild ailments to monopolize his attention. Ally's desperate physicians warn that only the singular sacred fruit of the Arbor Vitae tree can preserve her life.
When Cyrus finally obtains the mythical medicine from the mountains, he presents the fruit to Emma for a minor headache, leaving his dying mate to suffer in the cold infirmary. Ally realizes that the sacred bond was an empty illusion and severs her spiritual connection before slipping into silence. Cyrus is left holding a dead mate and an unborn child, shattered by an unforgivable sin.
