CHAPTER 5

Chapter 5

Damian didn't budge from his position between us. Whatever Kian saw in his face made him take a step back.

“You’ve done enough damage,” Damian said. “Look at what your negligence has cost her.”

Kian’s eyes darted between my prosthetic arm and Damian’s face. “This is between me and my mate. You have no right to interfere.”

“Your mate?” Damian laughed. “You abandoned her at your own wedding ceremony. You destroyed her medication and left her to lose her arm. You allowed another woman to poison her with allergens. What kind of mate does that?”

I watched Kian’s face flush red with anger and embarrassment. For once, he had no excuse, no way to twist the truth.

“I never meant for things to go this far,” Kian muttered. “The arm was an accident.”

“An accident?” Damian’s wolf eyes flashed gold. “Destroying her life-saving medication was an accident? Leaving her alone during an allergic reaction was an accident? Every choice you made led to this moment.”

I found my voice, steady despite the emotions churning inside me. “It doesn’t matter anymore, Kian. The pack elders have approved my transfer. I’m no longer bound to you or this pack.”

Kian’s face went pale. “What? No, you can’t just leave. We can work this out. I’ll make it right.”

“How?” I asked, raising my prosthetic arm. “Will you grow my arm back? Will you erase the humiliation? Will you undo every moment you chose Vivian over me?”

“I choose you now,” he said desperately, reaching toward me. “Forget about Vivian. Forget about everything. We can start fresh.”

Damian caught Kian’s wrist before he could touch me. “She’s already made her choice. And unlike you, I intend to honor and protect it.”

I looked at my former mate - really looked at him. The man who had once promised to be my everything, who I had loved for six years, who had slowly destroyed every piece of my heart and nearly destroyed my body as well.

“You’re too late, Kian,” I said quietly. “I’ve been gone long enough. It’s time I went home.”

But as I turned to gather my single bag of belongings, I noticed Damian’s expression change. His confident smile faded into a frown as he took in how little I was taking with me.

“This is all you have?” he asked, concern replacing his earlier anger. “You’ve been with this pack for six years, and this is everything?”

I looked at my meager possessions - a few clothes, some personal items, nothing of real value. Kian had never bought me anything significant. Every gift had gone to Vivian instead.

“I lived differently here,” I admitted. “I wasn’t the priority.”

Damian’s jaw tightened as he processed this. “When we get to my territory, you’ll want for nothing. Whatever you need, whatever you desire - it’s yours.”

I gave a small smile. “I’m not interested in material things anymore. I just want peace.”

“Let’s go,” I said, stepping toward the door.

As I moved, my shirt pulled tight across my back, and I winced. The fall down the stairs during my allergic reaction had done more damage than just to my arm. My spine had been twisted, leaving a slight protrusion that ached constantly.

Damian’s sharp eyes caught the movement immediately. He reached out and gently stopped me, his touch careful and concerned.

“What happened to your back?” he asked, his voice tight with barely controlled rage. “Did that bastard hurt you there too?”

The protective fury in his voice reminded me of why I’d been drawn to him in the first place. Here was someone who actually cared about my wellbeing.

“It’s from the fall,” I explained quietly. “When I had the allergic reaction and they left me alone. I fell down the stairs trying to find my medication.”

Damian’s hands clenched into fists. “I should kill him for what he’s put you through.”

“He’s not worth it,” I said, meaning it. “And this is something I needed to handle myself. I needed to be the one to choose to leave.”

I met his gaze, steady and sincere. “Damian, I chose you. That means Kian has no power over me anymore. Can you trust me with that?”

His expression softened, the violent anger giving way to something gentler. “I trust you completely. And I swear on my Alpha blood - no one will ever hurt you like this again.”

Worried about my injuries, Damian carefully lifted me into his arms, carrying me toward his car like I was something precious.

The next morning at 9:30, Kian finally returned to the cabin.

One of the pack members approached him hesitantly. "Alpha, Violet left something for you. It's in your desk drawer."

Kian froze. After seeing her prosthetic arm yesterday and Damian's protective stance, a strange heaviness had settled in his chest. As if driven by some unseen force, he walked into the space he'd once shared with Violet.

Opening the drawer, the first thing he saw was her old journal.

Lines of writing leaped out at him.

Kian, I loved you for six years. When we first met, I thought I wasn't good enough to be your mate. Then when you chose me, I believed that meant you'd eventually love me back.

I remember the first time you defended me against the other pack members who said I wasn't Alpha material. You stood up for me when I needed it most. That's when I knew you were my everything.

But after Vivian came back into your life, you began to resent our bond. You believed I was keeping you from your true love. But I was your mate. Our bond was real—was honoring that so wrong?

I knew you loved her. I once thought I had no chance. But you marked me, and I believed that if I tried hard enough, you'd come to love me too. But I was wrong…

So I made a promise to myself. If you chose her over me 99 times, I would break our bond for good.

Kian's hands trembled as he turned the pages, his wolf howling in anguish.

Each entry chronicled how he had hurt her—all the way to the 99th time.

By the time he reached the final entries, his eyes were burning.

She had been keeping count all along. She had been enduring his rejection while quietly preparing to leave.

Then he saw the documents beneath the journal.

Pack transfer papers—signed and approved.

Bond severance request—processed.

Hospital report—amputation of left arm due to severe tendon damage and delayed treatment.

At that moment, Kian broke down, his Alpha composure crumbling completely. He had dismissed all of it as dramatics. All of it had been real.

And her arm… he had caused her to lose her arm.

A breeze from the open window flipped the journal to the final page.

100th disappointment: Lost my arm because you chose her over me.

I choose Damian now.

Kian, our bond is broken. We're done.

Kian's hands shook, and everything crashed to the floor.

He kept mumbling to himself, "Impossible… She loved me so much… Why would she really leave?"

Like a man possessed, he tore through every corner of the space they had shared, searching—desperately, hopelessly—but Violet was nowhere to be found.

The closet. Her side of the dresser. Even the silver bracelet he'd given her during their original ceremony.

Gone.

Every trace of Violet had vanished, clean and complete.

The pack members watched him spiral, wide-eyed and shaken, before one of them cautiously stepped forward. "Alpha… Is there something you're looking for?"

Kian didn't respond. He was completely lost in his own world.

"I lost her…" he mumbled to himself, "I lost Violet…"

The pack members didn't know what had happened, but one of them offered gently, "Alpha… Maybe try reaching out through the mindlink?"

That snapped Kian out of his trance. He desperately tried to connect to their mate bond—only to be met with empty silence.

The bond was truly severed. Violet was gone.

And suddenly, Kian couldn't breathe. His chest tightened, his vision blurred. Something was wrong—something was very, very wrong with his wolf.