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994 Words
I watched the falling leaves through the car window. For a brief moment, I actually wanted to reach out and catch one. Henry's voice cut in, reminding me not to stick my hand out the window.
By the time we reached central Sicily, the place was already crowded with couples. Watching them act so lovey-dovey made me think of when Henry and I had bonded here.
That day had been brutally hot.
I'd been teasing Henry relentlessly because he—that perpetually cool and collected Alpha—was so nervous he kept tugging at his collar.
"Nervous, huh?" I'd stood on my tiptoes, whispering in his ear, my voice full of barely contained laughter.
He'd glared at me, but those amber eyes held no anger. Just overwhelming tenderness.
"This is forever for us. Of course I'm nervous," he'd muttered, his voice rough.
When Henry finally left his mark on my neck, the entire world melted into a whirlpool of sensation—pine, musk, and that oakmoss scent that was uniquely his, which made me feel safe. It wasn't pain. It was completion. A searing, perfect brand declaring my belonging, making my wolf sing with joy deep in my soul.
"Look at you," he'd laughed softly, his chest vibrating against me, "grinning like an idiot."
"You're not much better," I'd shot back, poking his chest with my finger. "That whole 'I finally got her' look on your face isn't very Alpha-like."
He hadn't argued. He'd just pulled me tight against him, burying his face in my hair, wrapping me completely in his scent. "I did get you. You're my Luna, my everything. From now on, forever."
These memories still felt like yesterday, crystal clear in my mind. But our mate bond was already at its end.
We stood before the ancient Moon Goddess altar—the place where countless mates had sealed their sacred bonds. Today it would be the grave of our relationship.
Henry took a deep breath before speaking. "In the presence of the Moon Goddess, I, Henry Bacchus, formally reject you, Clara Grayson, as my mate."
Each word was like a silver dagger dipped in poison, stabbing straight into my soul. The moment the words fell, I felt something in my chest violently tear open. That thread connecting our souls was being brutally ripped apart.
"Ah!" I couldn't stay standing. My knees slammed hard onto the cold stone. The taste of blood filled my throat.
I saw Henry's stoic face twist with pain, too. He staggered back a step, catching himself against the stone pillar behind him to keep from falling.
I used every ounce of strength I had, my nails digging into the cracks in the stone, to force myself to lift my head. I looked at him. His eyes held no tears. Only relief.
I made my voice as steady as I could. "I, Clara Grayson, accept your rejection, Henry Bacchus."
The mate bond shattered completely.
Pain ten times worse than before tore through both of us. I coughed up blood, spattering it on the stone in front of me. Henry finally couldn't hold himself up either. He dropped to one knee, his face white as a corpse.
The ritual was over.
He stood up, walked over to me, and held out a tissue. "Are you okay?"
I laughed bitterly in my head.
He'd just killed everything between us with his own hands, and now he was asking if I was okay with that fake concern?
I didn't take the tissue. I just pushed him away coldly. "There's nothing between us anymore, Mr. Bacchus."
My distant tone caught him off guard for a moment. But only for a moment.
"About this..." He cleared his throat, seeming unsure how to say it, but finally forcing it out. "Before we get the dissolution papers signed by the Council of Elders, can we keep this from the rest of the pack?"
I almost laughed out loud.
My wolf was screaming in my head. "Kill him! This coward! He betrayed us and now he wants to use us!"
He was scared. Scared that the scandal of his betrayal would get out and damage his glorious Alpha image.
I wiped the blood from my mouth and looked up at him. "So what you're saying is, you want me to keep playing your Luna in front of everyone, to keep up appearances for you?"
He looked away awkwardly. Pathetic and laughable.
"Clara, this is about pack stability. The Council of Elders won't approve this easily. Until we find the right moment, we need to maintain the status quo."
"Status quo?" I laughed—a dry, harsh sound. "You really think I don't know anything, Henry?"
His body froze.
I could see his muscles tense beneath that expensive suit. Those amber eyes flashed with panic.
"When you were screwing that woman, did you think about me? When you were holding your bastard child, did you think about our vows?" I demanded.
His face went deathly pale, but he still tried to deny it. "I... I don't know what you're talking about."
"Stop pretending!" I screamed. Thirty-nine days of humiliation and pain exploded in that moment. "Stop performing for me! Thirty-nine days ago, that night with the pouring rain—I saw everything! You were holding her hand, and the little girl next to her carries your blood! You dare tell me you don't know what I'm talking about?"
That thread connecting our souls was already severed, leaving an empty void that ached in my chest like a wound that would never heal. But seeing his panic now gave me a sick sense of satisfaction.
My wolf wanted me to bare my claws and tear off his fake mask. "Her name is Emily. From Red Moon Pack. Your daughter with her is already two years old..."
"Clara..." Seeing that I was about to continue, he finally gave up resisting, his voice hoarse. "I can explain all of this."
- Writer
