Chapter 2

"Open the door! Ivana!"

The frantic pounding on my door started at three in the morning.

I shot up in bed.

He actually came back.

But then the air hit me. A sickening mix of his scent and hers. Their wolf scents were tangled together, thick and intimate.

"I know you're in there!" His voice was laced with fury. "We need to fix this!"

I pulled on a robe and walked slowly to the door.

"Go away, Ethan. You have no right to be here anymore."

"I have every right! This is our home! You are my mate!"

"Soon-to-be ex-mate," my voice was pure ice. "Or did you forget the rejection?"

Silence from the other side.

Then, a click from the lock.

He was using his Alpha command to force it open.

The door swung inward.

Ethan stood there, a dangerous red glint in his eyes. The smell of Oliva on him was so strong it made me sick.

"We need to talk," he said, stepping inside and shutting the door. "About this little drama tonight."

"Drama?" I took a step back. "You think severing our bond is drama?"

"You're just pouting," he said, advancing on me. "Ivana, you've always been like this. You run away whenever things get hard."

My anger flared. "Run away? I put up with you and her for three years. You call that running away?"

"I never betrayed you!" he roared. "I was maintaining a political alliance!"

"Does a political alliance require you to caress her face?"

"I was comforting her!" He hit me with his Alpha command. "Now, you will withdraw that stupid rejection! And you will apologize to me!"

My knees felt weak. My body wanted to submit.

His command was forcing me to my knees.

But this time, I fought back.

My hand shot out, grabbing the silver letter opener from the coffee table. I pressed the cold metal to my own throat.

"Let's test just how much power your command has over me, shall we?"

The tip broke my skin, the silver hissing as it burned my flesh.

Ethan's eyes widened in horror. "Ivana! Put the knife down!"

"Why? Don't you want an obedient mate?" I whispered. "Then watch me die, and you can be with her, free and clear."

"I don't want you to die..." His command vanished.

Just then, his expression went distant.

A mind link. Not with me.

Ethan walked to the balcony, his back to me. His face softened.

"What's wrong, baby? Did you have a nightmare?... Don't be scared, I'll be right there... I won't let anyone hurt you again..."

I shouldn't have been able to hear his mind link with her. But the bond, in its final throes, broadcasted his betrayal loud and clear.

I just stood there, watching him soothe another woman with a tenderness he had never once shown me.

The silver knife slipped from my hand and clattered to the floor.

Not from pain.

From absolute numbness.

Three minutes later, he ended the call and spun around.

"I have to go," he said, not even looking at me. "Oliva needs me."

"Of course," my voice was terrifyingly calm. "She always does."

"It's not what you think. We'll talk tomorrow." He was already at the door. "The Luna ceremony will happen as planned. You'll change your mind by then."

The door slammed shut.

I heard his footsteps fade down the hall.

Then, a suffocating silence.

I walked slowly into the bedroom and started packing.

This apartment was filled with our memories.

When we first moved in, he was just the Alpha's heir. We lay in that bed and dreamed about the life we'd have when he took over.

"We'll be the strongest Alpha couple, Ivana. We'll rule this pack together. Our pups will have the strongest bloodline. And I will always be by your side."

The look in his eyes had been so sincere then.

We were mated for five years. The bond wasn't a lie.

For the first two years, he took care of everything for me. Any pack resource I wanted, he gave me first. Anything I desired would appear the next day.

But everything changed when Oliva appeared.

Her father had publicly declared his daughter's crush on Ethan, demanding he "take good care of her" to secure their alliance.

From that day on, I lost my mate.

An hour later, I was dragging my suitcase to the door.

Just as I stepped over the threshold, our dying bond pulsed one last time. It wasn't pain. It was a wave of gentle comfort, soft reassurance, and deep affection... all directed at her.

I closed the door and didn't look back.