Chapter 5

The next day, just as I stepped out of the West Tower, my phone rang. It was the company.

"Ms. Sophia, given that you've submitted a petition to sever your blood bond, the Council has decided to revoke all your positions and privileges at the corporation. Please come in today to complete the paperwork."

It seemed the Council was just as eager to find Sebastian a more useful mate.

I paused for a moment. "I'll be right there."

The third floor of the pack's administrative hall. My old office was now a hollowed-out shell.

"Luna... Ms. Ashford," the woman from the pack's administrative office corrected herself, her voice cold. She pushed a form across the desk. "Please sign here to confirm you've collected all personal belongings."

I looked at the paper. It listed, in dense print, every title that had been stripped from me: Vice Director of Strategic Planning, Investment Committee Member, Board Advisor... Every position I had earned, every accomplishment I had been so proud of, was now just a cruel mockery.

"Sophia Ashford, applying for termination of all contracts and duties for personal reasons..."

Personal reasons. The irony was a bitter taste in my mouth.

I picked up the pen, but just as the nib touched the paper, a wave of intense dizziness washed over me. The office spun, the familiar furniture blurring into a vortex.

My health had been declining for months, and the constant dizzy spells were exhausting me.

This time, because I had just initiated the severing of the bond, my body was in a state of extreme weakness. The dizzy spell hit me with unprecedented force.

Deep in my chest, I could feel my wolf core vibrating violently. The pain was like a red-hot needle being driven through my soul. An energy imbalance caused by severe psychological trauma—one of the most dangerous conditions for a werewolf.

"Ma'am? Ma'am, are you alright?"

The administrator's voice sounded distant and muffled. Then, the world went black.

When I opened my eyes again, I was on a cot in the pack infirmary. The sharp smell of disinfectant made me gag, but worse was the rage and accusation flooding through what was left of our mind link.

Sebastian's voice roared in my head:

"Sophia! What did you do to them? What kind of curse did you place on my children? Why did they start seizing with a fever the exact moment you collapsed?"

I struggled to sit up, trying to form a defense, but his fury was a tsunami that drowned me out.

"I knew you would seek revenge! I knew a spurned mate wouldn't simply accept being cast aside! But I never thought you'd be so vicious as to harm innocent pups!"

"I didn't..." I tried to fight back, but my weakened mind couldn't penetrate his wall of righteous anger.

"Enough! Sophia, if anything happens to my children, I will never, ever forgive you!"

He slammed the link shut, leaving me alone in an aching, silent void.

The pack healer walked in, his face a carefully blank mask. "Ms. Ashford, your wolf core is severely unstable. You need at least three days of absolute rest. But given your current status... I can only give you these stabilizers. Please vacate the infirmary as soon as you are able."

My status.

Always my status.

I took the bottle of pills with a bitter smile. "Thank you."

Three days later was the pups' naming ceremony.

According to pack law, every member had to attend to offer their blessings to the new lives. As the Alpha's mate in name, my presence was mandatory. A final, public humiliation.

The grand hall of the pack manor was filled with lavish decorations and forced, joyous laughter. I stood at the edge of the crowd, a ghost at the feast, watching Sebastian hold the two pink-cheeked infants, accepting congratulations from pack Alphas and allies.

He looked radiant, a perfect father and a proud Alpha. Elena stood by his side, glowing as she basked in the praise of being the mother who had saved their bloodline.

They looked so right together. So perfect.

"Sophia."

A cold voice spoke beside me. I turned to see Marcus, Sebastian's father, approaching with a crystal goblet.

"Since you're here, you might as well perform your final duty," he said, shoving the goblet into my hand. "Go offer a blessing to the children. Then have the decency to disappear."

I looked at the amber liquid. It was the pack's traditional blessing wine, offered to newborns by elders and important members.

But something about it felt wrong. The color seemed too dark, the smell too sharp.

"What, lost your nerve?" Marcus sneered. "Or are you planning to use more of your dark arts to get back at us?"

The chatter around us died down as everyone turned to watch. I could feel their stares—contempt, disgust, and a sick sort of anticipation. They were waiting for me to fail.

Taking a deep breath, I raised the goblet and walked toward Sebastian.

His smile vanished the moment he saw me approach, but he didn't stop me. He probably saw it as my final, unavoidable duty.

"May these children grow strong and be the pride of the pack," I raised the goblet, reciting the ancient blessing, then poured the wine into a small silver bowl placed before the infants.

As part of the ritual, the pups would touch the bowl with their tiny hands, symbolically accepting the blessing.

But the moment one of the pups' fingers grazed the silver, something terrible happened.

The child began to convulse violently. Her face turned deathly pale, and then... she started coughing up blood.

A dead, horrified silence fell over the entire hall.

"No!" Sebastian's scream tore through the night. He clutched the bleeding infant, his eyes wide with a terror that ripped my own heart apart.