Chapter five
791 Words
Selena perched on the edge of Ezekiel’s desk, her calm, composed demeanor a sharp contrast to the storm raging inside him. The letters lay between them, their damning words glaring up at him. She tilted her head, studying him with an almost amused expression.
“This is what has you so worked up?” she asked smoothly. “A handful of old letters? You’re accusing me of treason over this?”
Ezekiel paced the room, every muscle in his body coiled tight. His wolf snarled beneath the surface, torn between fury and doubt. “These letters are in your handwriting, Selena,” he bit out, his voice low and dangerous. “They prove you framed Alexa’s parents.”
Selena’s lips quirked into a faint smile. “You’re trusting her? A rogue who’s been nothing but trouble since the day she left? Ezekiel, think. This is exactly the kind of stunt she’d pull to get back at us.”
He stopped pacing, leveling her with a glare. “Why would a rogue hold on to letters like this? Why keep evidence?”
Her smile didn’t waver, but there was a flicker of something in her eyes—annoyance? Worry? It was gone before he could be sure. “Rogues lie,” she said simply. “They play games. And Alexa? She’s desperate enough to fall for anything that makes her look innocent.”
Ezekiel’s jaw tightened. Her words made sense—too much sense. But the letters, the phrasing, the damning line “The traitors will take the fall”—it all matched Selena’s own words from years ago.
“What about that line, Selena?” he pressed. “The same thing you told me when we sentenced Alexa’s parents. Did you think I wouldn’t notice?”
Her mask slipped for the briefest second, a flicker of irritation crossing her face before she regained control. “You’re twisting things. That phrase—if it’s even real—was probably planted. Don’t let this nonsense distract you from your responsibilities.”
He gripped the desk, his knuckles white. “My responsibility is to the truth, Selena. To the pack. And if you’ve been lying—”
“Enough!” she snapped, stepping toward him. Her voice softened immediately, almost pleading. “Ezekiel, you’re the alpha. You can’t afford to second-guess yourself. Alexa is manipulating you through that bond. You need to see that.”
Her words landed like blows, each one chipping away at his resolve. His wolf growled in protest, the bond with Alexa burning faintly in the back of his mind—a connection he wasn’t ready to sever. But Selena’s voice was insistent, her logic undeniable.
“You need to let her go,” she said, her hand brushing his arm. “She’s poison to this pack. You know it.”
---
Miles away, Alexa sat in the shadows of a crumbling cabin, her knees pulled to her chest as she stared into the crackling fire. Her fingers traced the edges of a worn photograph, her vision blurring as tears streamed down her face. It was the two of them—her and Ezekiel—smiling by the lake, the world brighter, simpler back then.
Her wolf whimpered, the mate bond thrumming faintly with Ezekiel’s turmoil. The pain in the connection was unbearable. He was deciding. She felt the weight of it crushing her from the inside out.
“He won’t,” she whispered, clutching the photo tighter. “He wouldn’t.”
But her wolf’s silence told her the truth.
---
Under the pale light of the moon, Ezekiel stood in the ceremonial grounds, the air cold and heavy around him. Selena watched from the shadows, her gaze unyielding, her presence a reminder of what he was about to do.
The words lodged in his throat, but he forced them out. “I, Ezekiel Thorncrest... reject you, Alexa, as my mate.”
The bond snapped like a taut wire, the backlash hitting him like a physical blow. His wolf howled in agony, the severance leaving him hollow and broken. He dropped to his knees, clutching his chest, his breath ragged.
Miles away, Alexa screamed, the pain ripping through her as the bond shattered. She collapsed onto the floor, sobs wracking her body. The emptiness left behind was suffocating, her wolf’s cries echoing in her mind.
Ezekiel’s vision blurred as he knelt on the frozen ground. Selena stepped closer, her voice soft but triumphant. “You did the right thing,” she murmured, her hand resting lightly on his shoulder.
Ezekiel didn’t respond. He couldn’t. All he could feel was the unbearable silence where the bond had once been—and the crushing weight of what he had just lost.
- Writer
