2. The Night He Broke Me

POV: Mira

Just as I screamed, they both shot up.

Kevin scrambled off the bed, yanking his pants up, hands fumbling. Bella clutched the duvet to her chest, backing against the headboard, eyes darting between us.

“Mira—what are you doing here?” Kevin said, breath uneven.

Bella’s brows knit. Blanket tight around her, chin lifted, eyes sharp. “What’s going on, Kevin? Do you know her?”

“It’s complicated, Bella. I’ll explain,” he muttered, zipping up.

Then he looked at me.

His face hardened.

“Mira,” he said coldly, “what are you doing here?”

The question didn’t make sense.

He knew I was coming.

Inside me, my wolf, Sky, began to pace, claws scraping against my ribs, wild with fear.

Mate betrayed us.

Before I could think, Kevin strode toward me, face dark with anger. Not guilt. Not shame.

Anger.

He grabbed my wrist and yanked me forward. Pain shot up my arm.

“Leave me alone,” I whispered. “You’re hurting me…”

He ignored me, dragging me down the hallway and toward the stairs. My feet stumbled trying to keep up.

“Kevin, stop!” I cried, tugging back. “You’re hurting me!”

Step after step. The crowd of the party began noticing. Music blared, but heads turned. Voices dropped. Phones lifted.

By the time we reached the main hall, half the party was watching.

“Kevin, let go!” I screamed, pulling with all my strength.

He released me suddenly.

Because I had been pulling back with all my strength, my body flew backward, and I fell the moment his grip disappeared. My head slammed into a table.

The glass bowl tipped. Cold liquid drenched me — blouse, hair, skin — sticky, sweet, reeking of fruit and alcohol.

Laughter rippled through the crowd. Phones rose. Flashes. Whispers. Recording.

Chloe’s voice cut through the noise. She lifted my shoulders, brushed hair from my face, wiped liquid from my eyes with the hem of her sleeve.

“Mira, Mira, look at me. Are you hurt?”

I was. Just not where anyone could see.

When I looked up—

Kevin stood above me.

For a heartbeat, I saw it — a flicker of guilt in his eyes.

Then it vanished.

His gaze hardened, jaw tight, hands in pockets. Calm as if nothing was wrong. And I was nothing.

“Why are you making me look like the bad guy?” he said, voice shaking. He hit his chest.

I opened my mouth. Nothing came.

The music stopped.

Every head turned.

“What?” he snapped, pointing at me. “Nothing to say now? Because we have witnesses?”

My stomach twisted. Heat rushed through me. I saw red.

“I just caught you cheating on me with Bella White!” I shouted, voice breaking. Tears poured down my face. “And this is how you treat me? You jerk!”

“There it is!” Kevin yelled, louder than me. He turned to the crowd, not me. “I knew she would say that. I knew it.”

He looked at me slowly. “I knew you would say that.”

My chest tightened. I tapped Chloe. “What is he talking about?”

Chloe shook her head. She looked as lost as I felt.

Kevin raised his voice again. “Everyone! Come closer. I need to…” He paused like it hurt to speak. “…I need to clear my conscience. I can’t keep this inside anymore.”

People moved closer.

“For those of you who don’t know,” he said, scanning faces, “Mira Vale is my mate.”

Gasps spread.

My knees shook. “Kevin, stop—”

“Yes,” he said loudly. “I found out two months ago.”

More whispers, not shocked — excited.

Beside me, Chloe went stiff.

Kevin nodded slowly. “I rejected her. Right away. Politely. Respectfully. I don’t lead people on. I don’t play with feelings.”

He pressed a hand to his chest. “I didn’t love her.”

“I still don’t,” he added.

“That’s not what happened—”

“She wouldn’t accept it,” he continued softly. “At first, I thought she just needed time. I tried to be kind. Patient.”

A girl whispered, “That’s so sad…”

Kevin’s eyes shone in the light.

“But she didn’t stop.”

He stepped toward the crowd. Not me.

“She waited outside the chemistry lab last Thursday. Sat on the steps for two hours just to see me leave. Then she sent me messages — one said, ‘I know you’ll come to me eventually. Don’t fight it.’ I told her again and again it wasn’t going to happen.”

“You’re lying,” I said.

No one looked at me. Not one person.

Kevin swallowed like my words hurt him. “I didn’t want to say this. I didn’t want to embarrass her. But she kept pushing. She kept… sending things.”

A boy frowned. “Sending what?”

“…Pictures,” he said. Silence.

“She sent photos. Messages. Things I never asked for,” he continued, rubbing his neck like he was ashamed. “I told her to stop. I told her she deserved someone who actually wanted her. But she wouldn’t listen.”

“That’s not true!” I cried. “Kevin, stop—”

“And last week,” he said, voice tight, “she drugged me.”

The room shifted. Even Chloe’s grip loosened.

“I woke up in her hotel,” he said softly. “I didn’t remember how I got there. She told me we had… been together.”

“You’re insane,” I whispered. “You’re actually insane.”

Kevin looked at me. “I didn’t want to expose you. I just wanted it to stop. Today I told her again that I reject the bond. That she should move on. Heal. I thought she finally understood.”

His eyes flicked to my soaked clothes. “But… I guess not.”

A boy frowned. “Wait… she attacked him?”

“I didn’t attack him!” I shouted. “He dragged me down here!”

Kevin sighed and faced the crowd. “You see? She twists everything.”

A girl near the staircase whispered, “That’s so sad…”

Another leaned to her friend: “Drama queen much?”

Someone in the back scoffed quietly, shaking their head.

My fingers trembled on Chloe’s sleeve. “He’s lying… he’s lying…”

No one looked at me.

Kevin tilted his head. “If that’s what you think, if you really believe I’m a liar… and heartless…”

He lowered his eyes. “Then I’m sorry you feel that way, Mira. I really am. But I can’t make myself love you.”

A few people sighed softly. “Poor Kevin…”

Somewhere behind them: “She’s obsessed…”

My vision blurred.

“Lies!” I screamed.

“It’s the truth,” Kevin said firmly. “Yesterday I told her I have a new girlfriend.”

On the staircase, Bella stood like royalty watching a performance. Calm. Elegant. Amused.

Kevin held out his hand toward me. Not to help. To show mercy.

“You don’t have to fight anymore,” he said softly. “You can let go now.”

He turned back to the crowd. “That’s why I’m saying this here. So everyone can witness it.”

Silence fell. Phones lifted higher.

He looked at me with gentle pity. “I, Alpha Kevin Cornell, reject you, Mira Vale. As my mate. And my future Luna.”

Pain detonated in my chest.

My knees buckled. Fingers clutched my shirt as fire tore through the mark on my neck.

“Kevin…” I whispered. “Why?”

“Because I don’t love you,” he said simply. “Don’t you get it?”

He pressed palms together as if pleading. “Accept it.”

“Accept it! Accept it! Accept it!”

Somewhere in the crowd, someone laughed. Not kindly. Not nervously. Cruelly.

I laughed too — weak, shaking, alien.

I turned to Chloe. “Is this a dream? Tell me this is a dream…”

Her eyes filled with tears.

Kevin stepped closer, voice low: “If you don’t accept, I’ll make sure you and your pack suffer. You will regret it.”

My blood ran cold.

Chloe squeezed my hand. “Mira… please.”

I wanted to fight. But I knew the truth. His pack was huge. Mine was small. I was alone.

My throat burned. “I… Mira Vale…” My voice trembled. “…accept your rejection.”

Something inside me shattered.

Sky let out a single, fractured howl — then silence swallowed it whole.

The room blurred. Faces melted together. Flashes from phones lit the air.

And the worst part? They weren’t looking at him like he destroyed me. They were looking at him like he survived me.

The bond snapped.

I didn’t faint. I don’t know how.

With the last strength I had, I pulled out of Chloe’s arms.

“Mira! Wait! Where are you going?” she cried.

I didn’t answer.

I stumbled out, barely feeling the cool night air. Legs burning, chest aching, tears blurring vision. I didn’t care where I went — I just needed away.

Voices, laughter, music — distant, muffled, underwater. I tripped on sand, scraped my hands, but kept moving. Kevin’s words twisted inside me, heavy and sharp.

I didn’t stop until I smelled the ocean. Salt hit my nose. Calm. Quiet. My wolf, Sky, stirred — claws itching, instincts humming. Something old, raw. My chest tightened as if the water itself was calling me, warning me, daring me.

The moonlight danced on the waves, like nothing had broken inside me — but everything had.

My phone buzzed. I ignored it. And again. And again. Like a mosquito whining in my ear.

Slowly, I pulled it out. Notifications flooded the screen: messages, tags, mentions, videos. My hands trembled.

It was me. On the floor. Covered in punch. Crying. Begging. Breaking.

The video had thousands of views already.

Comments:

“Don’t ever come back to school, psychotic bitch.”

“You dumb bitch. Hang yourself.”

“Mira, how could you do that to Alpha Kevin? He’s basically an angel. You drugged him and forced yourself on him? Disgusting.”

“Slut. Freak. Die.”

My vision blurred.

The ocean roared louder. Or maybe that was just the sound inside my head.

I stepped forward. Cold water curled around my toes. Another step — I stopped. Teeth clenched.

Why… should I die?

I didn’t do anything wrong.

Hands curled into fists. Anger burned through veins, hot and sharp, stronger than the pain.

“Kevin,” I hissed. “I hate you.”

The wind carried my words away.

“I hope something bad happens to you.”

“I hope someone hurts you the way you hurt me.”

“I hope you get a taste of your own medicine.”

A broken laugh slipped out. “You know what? I hope you drop dead.”

“That can be arranged.”

The voice came from behind me.

My whole body froze. Even the wind seemed to stop, like the night was holding its breath.

Slowly, I turned.

Shadows shifted.

And there he was.

Half hidden. But real.

Sky growled softly. Not anger. Recognition.

Heart slammed against my ribs. No. No. No.

He stepped forward. Moonlight touched his face, showing every sharp line, every dark strand of hair, every steel-grey eye shining like glass.

I couldn’t breathe.

The waves, the wind, the whole world — nothing existed except him.

Klaus.

Knees gave out. I dropped onto the sand, staring, mouth open, as a broken laugh slipped out.

“Fuck,” I whispered hoarsely. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”