Too Late, Alpha. Our Bond Is Already Broken.

Chapter 4

At 6:05 p.m., Cedric was still outside the examination room.

The healer handed him the results.

"She has no fractures and no signs of drowning. Her breathing has settled. She can be discharged."

Cedric called me. When I didn't answer, he contacted my assistant.

"Where's Irene?"

"At the clinic. She has a laceration below her ribs and lost blood. Didn't you see that piece of steel?"

His grip tightened abruptly.

He remembered the blood. But I'd stayed on my feet. I'd still been giving orders.

He'd assumed I couldn't be hurt that badly.

Lydia came out of the examination room. "Let's go home."

She walked without any difficulty.

Cedric stared at her feet. "The attendant told you to come back three times. Why didn't you?"

"I only wanted to release a lantern for my husband..."

"Didn't you hear the tide warning?"

Her eyes reddened. "Are you blaming me? I'm upset that Irene was hurt, too."

He called over the staff, arranged for her discharge, and left.

On his way to the clinic, the instructor sent an update on the investigation.

The lock on the maintenance passage had to be lifted and turned. It couldn't have been engaged by accident.

Ollie admitted his mother had told him that if Lucy missed the assembly, he could lead the team instead.

In the recording, the boy was crying. "If I open the door now, can we still say it was an accident?"

Cedric stopped walking.

He'd kept his daughter waiting for 2 days, yet he'd been so quick to give another child the sash.

Lydia called again.

"You promised to take care of us!"

"Your survivor benefits will continue. All special privileges are suspended. Cooperate with the investigation."

He hung up and hurried to the clinic. The bed was already empty.

A nurse told him the Royal Court's physician had taken me away.

"I'm her mate. Where did she go?"

"Please contact the Royal Court."

At 6:19 p.m., he made the call.

After verifying his identity, the clerk said, "Regarding Ms. Whitmore's application to dissolve her contract..."

"What application?"

"The notices were delivered to your personal document inbox."

He opened it.

The initial notice, the copy served on him, and the final reminder were all there.

All three were unread.

He'd been busy overseeing changes to the guesthouse and accompanying Lydia to follow-up appointments. He'd even told his deputy to hold off on family paperwork. There couldn't be anything urgent.

"The contract is about to be dissolved by order of the Royal Court."

Pain seared through his neck.

Cedric slammed into the wall, desperately reaching for the mate link.

"Irene!"

His wolf let out a long howl.

For 7 years, he'd needed only to reach for that familiar presence to know someone was waiting for him to come home.

Now there was nothing.

The window reflected the fading mark on his neck. He pressed hard against it, but his skin soon became smooth again.

His phone lit up. Lucy had sent a message from the childcare worker's phone.

Lucy: Dad, Mom says I didn't do anything wrong. When you finish finding out what happened, please tell me that, too.

He called back immediately.

The childcare worker had already returned to the pack. Lucy and I had left in another car.

"Whose car?"

"It belonged to the Alpha of the Whitecliff Pack."

Cedric went still.

Adrian Ellery had asked me to be his mate 7 years earlier.

I'd turned him down and chosen Cedric.

Cedric called the Whitecliff Pack's direct line. A moment later, a man answered.

"Put Irene on."

"She's resting."

"I'm her..."

He stopped.

Lucy's voice came through the phone. "Mom, can I leave the light on in this room all night?"

"Of course," Adrian answered. "And the door won't be locked."

Cedric tightened his grip on the phone.

"I want to see her."

"You can come in if she agrees."

"Adrian!"

The other man's voice stayed calm.

"She chose you 7 years ago. I stepped aside. This time, ask her whether she'd still choose you."