Chapter 78

Dominic’s POV

A letter drops at dawn. The guard got the letter clamped tight in his jaws, that ugly red seal screaming trouble before I even got close

enough to see the Dark Storm sigil. Mira’s father, Alpha Luca.

I wave off the guards. I don’t trust anyone else with this. I opened the letter, and the words spilled out.

“My daughter, Mira Luca of the Dark Storm Pack, has been wrongfully imprisoned by you. Release her immediately, or consider this an act of war.”

—Alpha Luca.

My grip smashes the parchment. I can practically hear Mira’s smug little laugh echoing in my skull. She always knew her father would rescue her.

Thunder’s tearing up the skies outside, but inside? My chest is a warzone. Still weak from the poison, my muscles shake if I breathe too hard. But everyone looks at me like I’m supposed to do some magic and get strong. The hall was filled with whispers. By the time the council walks.

Kael opens his mouth first, and his grim face says it all. “We heard about the letter. Alpha Luca’s not bluffing. His pack’s about as strong as ours. He won’t talk it out. Say no, and we’re all dead men.”

I look at him. “So what...you want me to let Mira go? Let her try to kill me again? Betray us all again?”

Silence. Of course.

Mara, always the peacekeeper, chimes in. “We get it. But if you start a war now, when you’re barely standing, we won’t survive. Let her go, Dominic.”

Their logic grates, but what can I say? They’re not wrong. My wolf’s snapping inside me, furious and helpless, letting Mira go feels like stabbing myself in the back. Feels like betraying Elora, too.

“Does Alpha Luca know she was behind the poison?” I ask, voice rough.

Kael shakes his head. “Nope. Mira’s played the victim like an artist.”

Honestly, I almost laugh. Clever doesn’t even cover it. She’s got half the council wrapped around her finger, still thinking she’s some lost little lamb.

Meeting ends. I wave everyone out, but Elora hangs back, always does. She’s my anchor.

“She’s dangerous, Dom,” she whispers. “Let her go, she’ll just come for you again.”

“I know.”

“Then why...?”

I sigh. “Because I can’t get everyone killed over payback. Not for me.”

She just bites her lip, eyes heavy with the same mess I’m feeling, wanting to make Mira pay, but knowing what matters more.

I lean back, bones aching. “I’ll release her,” I say, voice brittle. “But I’m cutting the bond. Tonight.”

Elora’s eyes go wide, then soft, all pity and sadness. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” I breathed, my voice breaking. “She walks free, but she’s nothing to me. No more ties. Done.”

She leaves and I just sit there, staring at the letter, my heart beating fast. For all the shit Mira pulled, there’s still a piece of me that remembers who she used to be. The girl who laughed at sunrise, the one I thought was my soulmate.

Guess that part of me dies tonight.

By dusk, it’s all ready. Ritual circle drawn in ash and blood, candles sputtering. Elora’s at my side, quiet. Mira gets dragged in, wrists tied, eyes burning with that usual defiance.

She grins, all teeth. “So you’d rather be empty than admit you loved me.”

I don’t flinch. “I loved the mask you wore.”

And for once, she doesn’t have a comeback.

The priest starts chanting. I feel it, the bond between us shaking, like my soul’s being ripped apart. Mira’s screams mix with mine. I taste blood. The world goes red.

Then silence.

I open my eyes. She’s on her knees, tears falling down her cheeks, but it’s rage, not heartbreak.

“You’ll pay for this,” she yells. “Everything you love, Dominic… I’ll burn it all.”

I don’t say a word. I just watched as the guards dragged her away.

As soon as the doors slammed shut, I collapsed into the chair, hands shaking. Elora popped up at my side, pressing a rag against my palm, where the ritual had left me bleeding.

“You did the right thing,” she said, whispering.

“Then why does it feel like I’m falling apart?” I shot back.

Her eyes went all soft and sad, and she wiped my knuckles gently. “Because cutting out poison hurts, even when it’s necessary.”

I finally looked at her, and for a second, the pain in my chest eased up.

“Rest,” she said, almost like an order but softer. “You’re going to need it.”

She turned to go, but the words just tumbled out of me before I could clamp my mouth shut. “Elora…”

She stopped and didn’t look back.

“Don’t let her win.”

She nodded, slow and serious, then melted into the hallway shadows.

Mira's pov

The walk to Dominic’s rooms might as well be a parade for the dead. Or for me, anyway. Two pack goons, big, silent types, got such a grip on my arms, I’ll probably be purple for a week. Love that for me. Their boots click in sync, like they practiced, and I can’t catch even a hint of sympathy in their faces. The peanut gallery whispers as we pass. The Luna’s fallen. Poisoned her mate. Betrayed the Alpha.

Feels like their stares could smother me, but I’m not giving them the show they want. I hold my head up. Not for their sake, just so I don’t drown in all this shame.

The doors to Dominic’s chambers creaked open, and there he was, propped by the window. He’s thinner, he looks like a ghost of the man I used to… what? Love? Or just love the way he made me feel powerful? His skin’s lost that glow, but still, even now, he’s got this royal presence.

“Leave us,” he says, and the guards peel off, quick as anything. Now it’s just me and Dominic in the room.

I stare at him.

My mate.

My disaster.