The End Of Con. Book 5 of the royal series

“Why are you doing this, Con? I’m the one who found you in the middle of the woods. I’m the one who marked you so you could get your wolf back. I told you I would help you get your revenge…. and instead,you treat me like this? I’ve done nothing to you.”I don’t know what’s wrong with Con. For years, we’ve been planning his revenge against his ex-mate, Jasmine. Years of careful plotting. Years of building power in the shadows. He gathered rogues one by one. I helped him create his company under a new name…. Cody Stars. We hid in the human world for over ten years, rebuilding him from nothing….And now? His business has skyrocketed to the top. He’s untouchable. Powerful. Respected.And suddenly… It feels like he doesn’t need me anymore.2@wŵwq“, it’s not like that,” he said coldly. “I still want my revenge. I have twenty rogues lined up. They’re working here ,h v . They’re part of our pack, so they don’t smell like rotten eggs anymore.”He smirked like that was supposed to impress me.“ need over two hundred. Twenty isn’t enough. And you need to remember something…. you’re here to make me stronger. That’s all. I told you, I don’t believe in this mate thing. Not after what happened  me.” The words felt like a blade sliding between my ribs.He doesn’t want me as his mate. For 17 years I stood beside him. 17 years I pushed him, supported him, built his empire with him. I  him rise from nothing into the number one man everyone wants to do business with….And now that he’s on top…He wants to throw me away….I don’t need this. Not now.23“So what are you saying, Con?” My voice barely trembled, even though my wolf was clawing inside me. “Are you rejecting me?”He laughed. He actually laughed at me..The sound echoed through the office like a slap across my face. I was about to say something else…. something I knew I wouldn’t be able to take back….when a knock sounded on the office door. I moved to open it.“Don’t,” Con said sharply. “Let them knock.” And the way he said it…It wasn’t just cold. It was cruel.“Penny, you can take it however you want, but I can’t just settle down right now. Just go home. I’ll be there shortly. Have dinner ready…you know what I like.” I stared at him like he’d finally lost his mind. Go home?...Wait for him?....Cook for him?..The audacity.Something inside me clicked into place right then. Calm. Cold. Clear….I slowly put on the sweetest, fakest smile I could manage.“Of course, Con. I’ll have it ready when you get home.” His ego was too big to notice the shift in my eyes. I walked out of his office without another word, heels clicking against the floor, heart pounding…but not from heartbreak….From freedom.Once I got home, I didn’t hesitate. I grabbed my suitcases and started packing. Clothes. Shoes. Important papers. The small things that actually mattered to me. I moved fast, tossing four bags into the back seat of my car..No tears…No second thoughts…No note. Let him come home to an empty house and a cold stove.I slid into the driver’s seat, started the engine, and didn’t look back.He didn’t know about the cabin….My cabin.Hidden deep in the woods, tucked away where no one would think to look. I bought it quietly, paid in cash, planned for a day I prayed would never come. ... .….Turns out, I was smarter than I thought.As the city lights faded behind me and the trees swallowed the road, I felt something I hadn’t felt in a long time…Peace.This wasn’t running. This was choosing myself.And Con? He was about to find out exactly what life looks like without me in it.It had been far too long. I was exhausted, emotionally and physically, and all I wanted was to be home.The moment I stepped through the front door, everything inside me went still. My bags slipped from my hands and hit the floor with a dull thud. There was a man lying in the middle of my living room.Blood everywhere.,The scent hit me instantly…Vampire.My heart slammed against my ribs. What the hell was a vampire doing in my house? And worse… Why was he bleeding out on my floor? I should walk away. I should call someone. I should protect myself. Instead, I found myself dropping to my knees beside him.His skin was pale…too pale. His chest barely moved. There was a deep wound across his side, torn open like someone had tried to gut him.“Who did this to you?” I whispered.As if he heard me, his hand twitched. His fingers brushed mine.And that’s when it hit me….The bond….Not faint…Not distant.Not mistaken…Second-chance mate….My breath left me in a broken gasp.“No… no, this can’t be happening,” I muttered, shaking my head.A vampire? The Moon Goddess has a cruel sense of humor.And then the truth settled in like ice in my veins.There was only one person strong enough… vicious enough… bold enough to attack a vampire and leave him alive as a warning.Con. If Con did this, then he knows.If he knows… he’ll come looking. And if he finds us? He won’t hesitate to finish,he started