Chapter 4

After Andrew left, I sat alone at the dining table.

Suddenly, a searing pain exploded in my chest.

"Ah—!"

I clutched my chest, feeling as if something was tearing my very soul apart.

It was the backlash from the ritual, far more violent than I had anticipated.

Waves of agony crashed over me. My vision blurred, and my body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Deep inside, I could feel my wolf whimpering.

Instinct took over. I reached out to Andrew through our mate bond, a primal cry for help from the depths of my soul, like a drowning person grasping for a lifeline.

【Andrew… help me… It hurts so much…】

The connection opened.

But what I found on the other side was a vision that made my heart turn to ice.

In a lavish presidential suite, Andrew was on top of Crystal, pounding into her with fierce intensity.

Her nails raked across his back as she let out shameless moans.

Andrew's face was completely lost in a sea of lust.

My cry for help, my agony, was nothing in the face of their carnal feast.

The moment he severed the mental link, a cold, profound despair washed over me.

That feeling of being utterly abandoned cut deeper than any physical pain.

I don't know how much time passed, but when I woke up, I was in a bed in the pack hospital.

White ceilings, the sharp smell of antiseptic, and the hum of complex medical equipment.

"You're awake," a gentle voice said.

I turned my head to see Dr. Wilson, the pack’s head physician, standing by my bed, his face etched with worry.

"Lucia, your wolf's spirit is extremely weak. You need your mate’s presence and the nourishment of his spiritual energy. The Alpha's vitality can be channeled through the mate bond to help your spirit stabilize."

I couldn't help but give a bitter smile.

Andrew's presence?

When I was on the brink of death, he was screwing another woman.

When my wolf's spirit was fading, he cut me off without a second thought.

And now I was supposed to rely on his presence to save me?

It was a cosmic, cruel joke.

"Don't worry too much, Lucia," Dr. Wilson said, mistaking my despair for fear. "Alpha Andrew will be here soon. With him by your side, you'll recover in no time."

I stared out the window as the sky began to darken, thinking that Andrew was probably still enjoying himself with Crystal.

Maybe they were finished and were now playfully splashing in a bathtub together.

"It doesn't matter," I said calmly, still looking outside. "He won't be my mate for much longer."

Just as the words left my lips, the door to the room swung open.

Andrew stood in the doorway. He had clearly rushed here; his hair was a mess and his shirt wasn't fully buttoned.

He frowned, looking at me with confusion. "What do you mean, not your mate?"