Chapter 3 Chapter 2

I stiffened, my fingers curling into fists as the image flashed through my mind-her palm sliding up his arm, nails grazing his bicep like a slow, deliberate caress. He let out a laugh, but it sounded forced, hollow. "You really think I'd let that happen?"

Isabelle laughed softly.

"You bound yourself to Evelyn in a fake ceremony just to wait for me. The second I came back, you made me your mate for real. And those things you wrote in your journal-how you let Evelyn take my place to make me jealous, to bring me back."

Her words cut off with a muffled gasp. I heard a scuffle, then Alpha Theodore's voice, raw and fierce. "Yes, I never let you go. So tell me, Isabelle, how are you going to make this right?"

The air left my lungs. My body went cold, like I'd been plunged into icy water. I remembered Alpha Theodore holding me just days ago, kissing my hair, promising,

"Lila was a mistake, Clara. You're the one who matters now."

What a joke. His "care" was nothing but lies.

Our bond-the one I'd poured my soul into-was fake from the start.

I closed my eyes, fighting the tears that threatened to spill.

Hannah.

If this was Alpha Theodore's choice, then so be it.

I'd set him free to be with the she-wolf he truly loved. It was time to sever the bond and let them run together, as mates should.

With a trembling breath, I turned away from the door, my heart breaking but resolute. I'd walk away and never look back.

I stumbled into the elevator, my mind a fog of betrayal and heartbreak.

When I snapped out of it, the doors were opening to the basement level.

A young intern, all smiles and energy, approached me. "You're here for Isabelle's art exhibit, right? Follow me!"

It hit me then-I'd forgotten to press a floor.

Dazed, I let myself be led into the gallery, my feet moving like they had a mind of their own.

The intern chattered away, oblivious to the storm inside me. "This exhibit was funded by Alpha Theodore himself. It's going pack-wide next!"

My eyes landed on an watercolor painting, and my breath caught.

It was a wolf's bare back, muscles sharp and defined, a distinctive scar curling along his lower waist.

I'd traced that scar in the dark too many times to mistake it. That was Alpha Theodore.

Isabelle had painted him over and over, each canvas marked with dates that stabbed at my heart like claws.

May 19th: Alpha Theodore by the laundry room, his frame outlined by the soft glow of the overhead lamp, folding clothes with meticulous attention. That was the fifth day of my confinement, when I'd been refusing all sustenance in defiance, my vision blurring until I crumpled to the floor. He'd been sorting her dresses.

May 1st: A pair of strong hands folding an iris-embroidered silk nightgown, his bonding ring glinting coldly on his finger. That was the thirteenth day, when I'd sliced my wrist in desperation, blood soaking half my bedsheets. Meanwhile, he was tenderly arranging her clothes.

May 15th:

Alpha Theodore kneeling by a garden bench, tucking a blanket around someone's shoulders, their laughter drifting through the rain. That was the fourteenth day, when I lay chained to the wall, throat raw from screaming, fever spiking until I slipped into delirium. He was tending to Lila, wiping rain from her cheeks.

I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms, but the pain didn't register.

I couldn't bear to look anymore. I turned and walked out.

---

I booked an appointment to end my pregnancy a week from now, then headed to the old family den to collect my mother's keepsakes.

The moment I stepped inside, my father shoved a plane ticket into my hands.

"Lorraine and I talked it over," he said, his tone clipped. "We want Isabelle to spend her final days with Alpha Theodore, living as mates."

The ticket was for ten days out.

"Go on a trip, clear your head," he added, like it was a favor.

I gripped the ticket, my lips pressed tight.

I knew what this was-banishing me so Alpha Theodore and Isabelle could have their precious time alone, free of the she-wolf who'd been fool enough to believe in their bond.

"Evelyn, don't get the wrong idea," Lorraine chimed in, her eyes red with crocodile tears. "We just want Isabelle to go peacefully."

I cut her off, my voice flat. "I get it. I'll go."

Alpha Theodore? I was done with him. This family? I didn't need them either.

My father blinked, surprised I'd caved so quickly.

He probably thought he'd finally broken my spirit.

His tone softened.

"We're holding a farewell ceremony for Isabelle. Be there."

"Fine," I said.