Chapter 9
When I woke up, I found myself inside Richard’s ancestral fortress–his Alpha bloodline’s estate, built high in the northern plateaus.
I had been placed on the elk hide couch I used to love, the one where he and I once curled up together during tender nights. Sitting across from me were Richard’s parents.
It had only been half a year, but they looked like they’d aged a decade.
His mother, once the epitome of elegance with her impeccable grooming and lavish spending, now had deep lines across her forehead and bloodshot eyes.
I stared coldly at them, my voice sharp as frost.
“You really had me dragged back from the border in such a crude way? What the hell do you want??”
Richard’s father sat upright, silent and expressionless, making no move to explain.
After a long silence, his mother finally spoke. Her voice was weary, almost broken.
“Fiona, we didn’t know what else to do.”
“Yes, Richard was wrong. And it’s my failure as his mother. That night… what he did… I’m so sorry.”
“But we’re not here to force an apology out of you. We’re here to beg you to save him.”
Her throat tightened as tears welled in her eyes.
“He’s our only heir. After you left, he spiraled completely. He’s drowning in his own darkness, and no one can reach him anymore. He’s an Alpha… but he’s unraveling.”
“He gave up all his vices for you. Now, because of you, he’s fallen back into every last one.”
“His heart is still with you. No one else can bring him back.”
I slowly clenched my fists.
“Ma’am, you’re asking the wrong person.”
“I don’t have the power, and I sure as hell don’t have the will.”
“If you ever use werewolf enchantments, mind fog, or confinement to bring me back again–I swear I’ll be the one to drive your son insane.”
Her shoulders trembled, and she murmured, “I’m sorry… it won’t happen again.”
The air between us turned so thick, it was hard to breathe.
Then a voice–deep and dangerous–cut through the tension from behind me.
“Who told you to bring her here?”
I turned and met Richard’s eyes.
Bloodshot, unsteady, yet still standing tall.
Scarlet Alpha markings snaked across his neck and arms–a visible manifestation of prolonged emotional suppression and emotional breakdown.
His mother instinctively stood. “Richard…”
“Get out.” His roar exploded like a wolf’s cry, echoing off the marble walls.
I moved to leave, but behind me came the crash of a vase shattering, followed by his father’s furious outburst.
Chapter 9
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And then–the unmistakable sound of slaps. One after another, landing
chest.
on Richard
face like thunderclaps that slammed against my
He didn’t fight back.
Just screamed, again and again, “Get
All of you–leave! I don’t want
see any of you!”
I froze mid–step.
લેટેડ એકેય ક
There he was, all rage and ruin, howling like a beast cornered by grief. Something unfamiliar and painful stirred in my chest.
I turned to him and said quietly,
“Richard.”
The room fell into dead silence.
His parents looked at me. He stood frozen, like he was about to combust.
I stared at his disheveled hair, the bruises blooming across his face, and spoke slowly and clearly:
“Don’t yell at your mother like that.”
“From now on–live well. Take care of yourself.”
Six months later, I received a wedding invitation.
The cover read:
We’re Mated | John & Laura’s Bonding Ceremony
There she was–Laura–smiling radiantly next
to
a
tall Alpha I didn’t recognize.
That bright, carefree smile was just like the one she wore years ago, when she won gold at the tribal games and waved to me from the podium.
I stared at that photo for a long time.
I kept scrolling. Below was their love story–how they met at a Christmas party two years ago, bonded after a year and a half, and registered their mate contract.
Every photo showed Laura beaming, the kind of happiness that couldn’t be faked.
Her Alpha mate was handsome and imposing, his presence unmistakably dominant but grounded–exactly the kind of partner the Elders would approve of.
I remembered how we used to lie on the roof of the wolf lodge, dreaming aloud about
ideal
mates.
Back then I’d said, “Laura’s too wild. She needs someone steady–someone who can spoil her, handle her chaos, and still smile at her through it all.”
She had laughed so hard at that time.
“You think I’d go for someone boring like that? Please!”
“You don’t like?” I asked.
cool,
1x kind–better if he’s a little dangerous.
“When it comes to love, you’ve got to go for the exciting and passionate type! Th Even if the elders don’t approve, just one raised eyebrow from him and I can’t help but throw myself at him…”
I never told her that she was describing Richard to a fault.
Now, looking back… it is clear that the wild, mismatched attraction was just desire wrapped in flames, an illusion.
I closed the invitation and opened her social feed.
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She was doing well.
*
She had landed a role as a creative strategist at a media house in the Westwind Alliance. Surrounded by new friends, traveling with her mate to snowcaps and red deserts, every post radiated soul and purpose.
I sent her just two messages:
“Congrats on the wedding. I won’t be attending the ceremony.”
“Please don’t contact me again.”
Then I blocked her. Deleted her.
Truth be told… on the day of my wedding, I had hoped she’d show up.
Even after everything.
But she didn’t.
She broke our bond first.
So her new beginning… has nothing to do with me.
