Chapter 3

All night long, Graeme's phone never rang once. The mate bond stayed silent too.

The next morning, back at the office, he stared at our chat log like he was waiting for something. My name on the screen. No messages. Nothing.

When the nanny's report came through about the estate fire, his jaw tightened. "Darius—is the estate on fire? Where's Evelyn? Take me back. I need to see if she's finally learned her lesson."

Darius's face went pale. He nodded and pulled up photos of the basement. "Alpha, the basement door was forced open. Looks like the fire started inside. Luna probably got herself out already."

Graeme let out a breath. Relief flickered across his face. Then his eyes turned cold. "So she shifted and ran. She's a brown wolf—fire wouldn't even touch her. I can't believe she'd burn down our estate just to dodge punishment. No remorse at all. Seal the place. Don't let her escape. I'll deal with her myself."

Darius swallowed hard. "Yes, Alpha."

Graeme was right. I was a brown wolf. Fire never scared me. But the spell had stripped everything away. I couldn't shift. Couldn't fight. Could only lie there and burn.

In that moment, I knew—I regretted ever loving him.

Three hours passed. Darius came back with nothing. No sign of me. No trace.

Graeme was about to head to the estate himself when Ayana's ringtone sliced through the silence. Her voice was frantic. "Alpha, Lucien's burn got infected. He's burning up with fever!"

He rushed to the hospital. Ayana collapsed into his arms, sobbing. "It's all my fault—I should've protected him that day. I gave Evelyn the chance to hurt him. Lucien is all I have. I can't lose him."

Graeme rubbed her back, his voice soft. "Ayana, calm down. Lucien will be fine. I'll make Evelyn apologize. I swear."

Every word out of her mouth, he swallowed like gospel. But when I cried and begged him—told him I was carrying his child—he called it a lie.

Lucien went into seizures from the fever. They rushed him to the ER. Ayana's sobs grew louder.

Graeme's face went dark. He dialed my number, ready to force an apology out of me. It rang and rang and rang. No one picked up.

His composure cracked. He called the nanny, his voice sharp with panic. "Lucien's wound is infected. He has a fever. She needs to take responsibility. Tell Evelyn—if she comes out and apologizes, I'll let this slide."

The nanny's voice broke on the other end. "Alpha... Luna... she's dead... She burned to death..."

His knuckles went white around the phone. His voice shook. "Impossible. She's a brown wolf. Fire can't kill her."

But the answer didn't change.

He hung up. And at that exact second, Darius's spell shattered. The mate bond snapped back into place. And the agony of losing his fated mate hit him like a bomb going off inside his skull.