Chapter 2

Something occurred to me. "Who brought me in?"

"Your mate," one said. "We gave him an earful."

I froze and bit my lip.

The door opened. The healer added, "He's here. Take better care of her next time. You're young, but you can't treat her body like that."

I looked up. It wasn't Damon.

It was Julian Hartwell — my stepbrother. Ten years gone.

I was uncomfortable. "Julian. It's been a while. Why are you back?"

He gave a quiet sound of acknowledgment. "Cross-territory council meeting. I saw you on the road by Sterling's cellar estate."

Then I understood. The headlights I'd seen before I passed out had been his.

A warm hand came down over my head. "Evelyn, if you're tired, come back to me. My mother is gone now. Nothing's stopping you anymore. You don't have to stay with an Alpha you don't love just to keep your distance from me. I told you. I'll wait."

I spoke softly. "Julian. When I chose Damon, it was because I loved him."

He let out a quiet sigh and set a flight pass on the table by my bed.

"Evelyn. This pass never expires. Whenever you bring this to the airfield, my private jet will bring you to me."

"You remember my number. Anytime you call, I'll come."

After he left, I gripped the pass tight. Then I set it down.

I bought the next available flight on my phone. I called the Moon Council of the Hollow Realm, where we'd signed our bond.

"If the severance is filed unilaterally, you forfeit all shared assets to the Alpha, and you serve one year of Pack-sanctioned confinement. We urge you to reconsider."

I said quietly, "This bond is already a prison. As long as I can be severed from him, I'll accept anything."

"In one week, your Mate Bond will be dissolved."

Someone — I don't know who — sent me screenshots of Serena's feed.

From the night I collapsed in the snow until now: more than a dozen posts.

Damon had taken Serena to the Coastal Isles.

A floor-to-ceiling window with two pairs of interlaced fingers. Two tangled shadows reflected in the glass.

Damon holding Serena's hand as they cut a cake, announcing the pup's sex. Perfect-couple smiles.

In the comments, someone who knew us asked, "Damon hasn't severed yet. What does a mistress have to brag about?"

Serena didn't reply. Damon did.

"The one who isn't loved is the mistress."

A dull pain hit me. Despair emptied me out until all I had left was a tired laugh.

I checked myself out. While they were still away, I went back to pack my things and leave.

The moment I opened the door, a rotten smell hit me, and pills rolled across the floor.

I went pale and climbed the stairs. The master bedroom and the walk-in closet had been converted into nurseries, covered with photos of Damon holding Serena with her bare pregnant belly. Their sweetness blurred my vision.

My things had been dumped in the trash pile out back. Including our mating portrait.

He had once hung it carefully above our bed. Now it was rotting in filth.

My face in the photo was slashed apart, stamped over with the prints of Damon's shoes.

I drew a breath.

Fine. There was nothing worth collecting here.

I grabbed my passport and identification papers and turned to leave.

The door opened.

Damon came in carrying Serena — the way he had carried me across this threshold the day we bonded.

Even the words he said were the same.

"A mate's feet must not touch the ground, so the union stays happy."

Serena giggled.

Then they both saw me, and the joy on their faces stalled.

Damon's face was smug and mocking. "You were so proud, weren't you? I told you not to come back, and you ran off. Why are you back now? Don't tell me you saw our honeymoon posts and got jealous."

"Too late. Even if you kneel and beg, I'm not letting you off."

Serena's face went pale and poisonous. She forced a smile and tried to climb down. "Damon, please put me down. I'm not really your mate yet. You can't hold me like this in front of the Luna."

Damon didn't move. He stared at me, stubborn, and said coldly:

"I was clear. Even if I Mark her, so what? The one who isn't loved is the outsider. She doesn't deserve to bear my pup. Isn't that right, Evelyn?"

I was worn through. I took out the severance document and held it out. "Sign this. Serena can be your mate in your heart and by Pack law."

Damon let go of Serena without warning. Ignoring her panic, he strode over and snatched the document from my hand.

He tore it to pieces and threw the shreds in my face.

I closed my eyes and heard him grind out, "You want to sever? In your dreams."

"You wasted all these years of mine and you think you can walk out?"

There would be no reconciling.

I laughed at myself and moved to step around him. He seized my wrist, stunned and furious.

"Where are you going? Running off again? Julian's back, so there's not a minute you want to stay here, is that it?"

"What does Julian have to do with this?" I finally snapped. "Am I supposed to stay and watch the two of you be happy?"

I looked at him with contempt. "Do you get off on being cheated on? Does it only excite you when I'm in the room?"