Chapter 74: A Purpose Lost
Lily POV
I dropped the healing herb bundle and watched it spread across the nursery floor.
My hands wouldn’t stop shaking. Three times now I’d tried to mix the simple cough medicine that every omega learned by age twelve. Three times I’d failed at something I used to do with my eyes closed.
"It’s okay, Lily," Jenny said softly, kneeling to help me gather the scattered leaves. "You just need more time to recover."
But I knew it wasn’t about time. Ever since the ritual two weeks ago - the one that had apparently saved our pack from the Great Gathering - something fundamental had broken inside me. The Triple Moon Mark on my wrist was gone, leaving only pale lines. The mate bond that once connected me to Caleb had vanished totally. And with them, all the confidence and purpose I’d fought so hard to build.
"Maybe I should go," I said, backing away from the flowers. "I’m not helping anyone like this."
Jenny’s face filled with worry. "You saved us all, Lily. You’re a hero."
Hero. Everyone kept using that word, but it felt hollow. Yes, I’d completed the Memory Restoration ritual that broke the dark magic affecting our pack. Yes, I’d traded my own powers to free the other Triple Moon bearers. But what was I now? Just a broken omega who couldn’t even make cough syrup.
I left the nursery and walked through the pack grounds, trying to ignore how different everything felt. Before, I could feel the emotional state of every wolf around me through the pack bonds. Now, I moved through them like a ghost, cut off from the connections that made pack life important.
"Lily!" Aiden called out, running to catch up with me. "I’ve been looking for you. We’re having a party feast tonight to honor your sacrifice."
My stomach twisted. "I don’t want to be honored."