Chapter 6

My knees buckled, and I fell heavily onto the golden fragments. Their sharp edges instantly tore through my gown and my skin, a pain like lightning shooting through my entire body.

I could feel the shards embedding themselves in my flesh, every slight movement like a thousand needles scraping against bone.

Warm blood quickly soaked through the pure white skirt, blooming like desperate red flowers on the cold marble floor.

Kaelen had already lifted Cassandra gently into his arms. "I'll take you to get those cuts treated." With that, he carried her from the hall without a backward glance, leaving me to kneel on the stage, enduring immense humiliation in front of all the guests.

A sharp pain shot through the mate bond, as if my heart were being torn in two.

I closed my eyes, feeling the searing agony in my knees and the deep despair in my soul.

Kaelen, I hate you. I hate that I ever loved you.

I couldn't hold myself up any longer and collapsed onto the cold marble floor before the altar.

When I opened my eyes again, the acrid smell of antiseptic filled my nostrils. I was in the pack's medical wing.

"Miss Estelle, please wait a moment!" the pack's chief healer called out as I struggled to my feet, the wounds on my knees still throbbing.

"What is it?"

"The Alpha needs you for another patient. I believe it's… Cassandra," he stammered.

"What do you mean?" I had barely finished my sentence when Kaelen walked in.

"Estelle," Kaelen said, his voice devoid of warmth. "Give me your raw Soulstone."

My heart sank.

"Cassandra needs a precious artifact or talisman to stabilize her spirit," Kaelen said, not even looking at me. "Your Soulstone should have that effect."

"Why should I—?"

"Because you're the one who caused her injury," he cut me off. "This is your responsibility."

He was only concerned with using my Soulstone to heal Cassandra, without a single thought for my weakness, for my still-bleeding legs.

I looked at Kaelen, the man who had once sworn to protect me. Now he was demanding I pay the price for his mistress's little act. It was always the same. No matter the truth, he would always decide it was my fault.

"I… I can give you money, jewels, anything of value," I said. "But the raw Soulstone…"

"What good is money?" Kaelen interrupted. "Cassandra is lying in a hospital bed right now! Do you think money can fix that?"

"Estelle," Kaelen's voice turned to ice, "hand over the raw Soulstone immediately, or you know the consequences."

"Are you threatening me again?" my voice trembled. "Like you threatened my parents?"

His pupils constricted, as if my words had struck a nerve. But a second later, his cold command came. "Take her Soulstone."

Two guards immediately seized my shoulders.

"No!" I struggled desperately. "I poured my soul into that stone!"

It was a perfect Soulstone I had spent three years polishing, infusing it with all of my spiritual energy. If it were taken from me by force, my spirit would be severely damaged.

But Kaelen was unmoved.

He personally ripped the Soulstone from my necklace and handed it to the healer. "Use this."

"Don't!" I felt the spiritual link sever, and a tidal wave of pain washed over me. My wolf howled, my soul tore apart. My vision went black, and my body swayed.

"Estelle!" Someone was calling my name, the voice growing distant.

Then, I lost consciousness.

When I awoke again, night had fallen. The hospital room was empty. I pushed myself up from the bed, my body weak. My head throbbed, a dull ache as if it had been struck by a blunt object. It was the aftereffect of having my spiritual link forcibly severed.

"You were unconscious for three hours," a nurse said. "The spiritual trauma is severe. I recommend you get more rest."

"I'm fine," I said, pushing myself up. "I'm going home."

The nurse tried to protest, but I was already walking out. Every step felt like walking on knives, but I had to leave this place.

As I passed another hospital room, I heard Kaelen's voice from inside.

"I promise you, Cassandra."

"Your family's status will be elevated," his voice was gentle, nothing like the cold tone he'd used with me. "I'll give your father a position as an Elder."

"Really?" Cassandra's voice was a sweet purr. "Then we won't have to put up with the sneers from those Betas anymore?"

"Of course not. How could I let my love suffer any indignity?"

He had told me she was just a "diversion," but to her face, he called her his "love."

Kaelen, do you really think I'm a fool?

"Kaelen, I love you," Cassandra said. "Unlike some people, who are supposed to be your mate but do nothing but defy you at every turn."

"Let's not talk about her," Kaelen sighed. "You're the most important person to me now."

"Even the Moon Goddess's plans aren't always right."

He was questioning the Goddess's will. Questioning our sacred mate bond.

"You're right," Cassandra cooed. "Someone obedient and gentle like me is the one who deserves to be your Luna."

"Once I've handled a few things, we can make our relationship official."

He had once said the same words to me.

Kaelen, your vows are meaningless.

I bit my lip until I tasted blood, then turned and walked away.