Chapter 3 No.3

KAELEN POV:

As I turned my back, I heard a theatrical cry of pain. I glanced over my shoulder to see Lian sprawled on the wet gravel, clutching his ankle.

"He pushed me!" he whined, looking up at Seraphina with wide, innocent eyes.

Seraphina rushed to his side, helping him up and glaring at me with righteous fury. "How dare you, Kaelen! I told you, he's my mate now! You will show him respect!"

I didn't bother to argue. The lie was so transparent, so pathetic, it wasn't worth the breath. I watched them go, her supporting his fake limp as they disappeared into the house. The last ember of warmth I might have held for the memory of her flickered and died, leaving behind nothing but ice.

That night, sleep wouldn't come. I lay staring at the ceiling of the small, impersonal room I'd taken in the Pack's common lodge. Just after midnight, a searing intrusion jolted my mind. It was a forced video link, crude and invasive. Lian.

My mind was flooded with an image I couldn't block in time. Lian and Seraphina, tangled together on that bearskin rug in our-in my-former bedroom.

Then, Seraphina's voice, a sultry whisper pushed through the link, meant for me to hear.

"...this is so much more thrilling, isn't it? Kaelen was always so... considerate. Always worried about my pleasure. So gentle." The unspoken end of that sentence hung in the air: So boring.

With a roar of pure mental force, I shattered the connection. The psychic feedback probably gave Lian a splitting headache. I hoped it did. My own head was pounding, my heart a block of ice in my chest. So, she wanted wild? She wanted freedom? Fine. I would give it to her.

The next few days were a barrage of petty provocations. Lian sent a constant stream of taunting messages through the Mind-Link, detailing his exploits with Seraphina. I simply blocked his mental frequency, casting him into a silent void.

My Beta, Axel, was having his Mating Ceremony. He was my closest friend, my most loyal second-in-command. The ceremony was a sacred, joyous event. Standing beside him as his best man, I felt a pang of what I had lost, or rather, what I had never truly had.

"I heard about the Rite of Severance," Axel mind-linked me before the ceremony began, his mental voice tight with concern. "Are you sure about this, Kaelen? Maybe her memory will come back."

"It's over, Axel," I sent back, my tone leaving no room for argument. "She made her choice."

My words were proven true moments later when Seraphina arrived, with Lian clinging to her arm like a designer accessory. They took their seats in the front row, a place of honor reserved for the Alpha and his Luna. The irony was suffocating.

Axel's inner wolf let out a guttural snarl, a sound that rippled through the Mind-Link. I saw his knuckles turn white, his body tense as if to launch himself across the aisle and tear the Omega apart.

A single, cold command shot from my mind, imbued with the residual power of my former rank. "Stand down."

The Alpha's Command, even a faint echo of it, was absolute. Axel froze, his body rigid, a low whine escaping his throat. He hated it, but he obeyed.

I sat down next to Seraphina. I could feel her eyes on me, searching my face, but I kept my gaze fixed on the altar. Throughout the sacred ceremony, I was acutely aware of her and Lian. His hand wandering over her thigh, her leaning in to whisper in his ear. They were turning a holy rite into a cheap spectacle.

And I felt nothing. The part of me that would have been ripped apart by jealousy and rage was gone. In its place was a chilling, silent calm. The heart she had broken had been frozen solid.