The Consequences

Meanwhile, inside the Nightveil Pack mansion, Adrian paced restlessly across the sitting room, his footsteps echoing against the tiled floor.

He had been doing it for several minutes, running a hand through his hair each time he reached the other side of the room. He had told himself that he had made the right decision. Blair was no longer his mate, no longer his wife, and no longer his Luna. He had chosen Sienna, and with Sienna carrying his child, the future of his pack should have been clear.

Yet something about the way Blair had walked away from him refused to leave his mind.

Margaret sat comfortably on the sofa, watching her son pace with growing irritation. Eventually, she folded her arms and said, “You need to stop pacing. Blair is gone, Adrian. There is nothing you can do about it now.”

Adrian stopped and turned toward her. “You shouldn’t have thrown her out.”

Margaret raised an eyebrow. “You divorced her.”

“I divorced her. I never told you to throw her onto the streets.”

“She was no longer your Luna,” Margaret replied coldly. “There was no reason for her to remain in this house.”

Adrian’s jaw tightened. “That doesn’t mean she deserved to be thrown out with nowhere to go.”

Margaret’s expression hardened as she leaned back against the sofa. “When she came back, she accused me of everything that I asked you to divorce her and she tried to attack me. I had no choice but to have her removed from the pack house.”

Adrian stared at his mother for several seconds.

He knew she was lying.

Blair might have been emotional after the rejection, but she had never been the kind of woman to attack his mother without reason.

During all the years they had been married, Adrian had watched Blair swallow countless insults from Margaret without retaliating. She had always been patient with her, even when Margaret made it clear that she didn’t want her as a daughter-in-law.

“You’re lying,” Adrian said quietly.

Margaret’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” Adrian’s voice hardened as he looked directly at her. “Blair wouldn’t attack you.”

Margaret scoffed and looked away. “I never liked Blair, and I never pretended otherwise. She was never good enough for this pack. She was too soft, too weak, and she couldn’t even give you an heir. On top of that, she let herself become fat and—”

“Stop.” Adrian’s voice cut through the room.

Margaret fell silent.

Adrian looked away, his jaw clenched.

“She eats too much, she isn’t attractive enough, she’s barren…” Margaret continued bitterly. “You know very well that Sienna is far more beautiful and—”

“I said stop, Mother.”

Margaret studied him for a moment before letting out a frustrated sigh.

“You’re finally free now,” she said. “Sienna is carrying your child. You can make her your Luna and give this pack the heir it deserves.”

Adrian didn’t answer.

Those were the things he had told himself he wanted. He had wanted freedom from a marriage that no longer satisfied him. He had wanted Sienna. He had wanted an heir, and now Sienna was carrying his child.

So why couldn’t he shake the image of Blair standing in front of him?

Her face had been wet with tears, yet she hadn’t begged him to stay with her and not reject her.

She had simply accepted his rejection.

Adrian had expected her to fight for their bond. He had expected her to plead with him, perhaps even fall apart in front of him. Instead, she had looked at him as though something inside her had died and walked away without giving him the satisfaction of hearing her beg.

He reached for his phone.

Before he could make the call, it began vibrating in his hand.

Adrian glanced at the screen. Silas Cross, his Beta.

“Silas, what is it?” Adrian asked the moment he answered.

“Alpha, you need to check the pack network immediately,” Silas said, his voice unusually tense.

Adrian’s brows drew together. “Why?”

“There’s a video circulating through the pack channels. You need to see it, Alpha. I’ll send you the link immediately,” Silas said urgently.

The call ended.

Adrian frowned as a link appeared on his phone. He opened it, and the moment the video loaded, the color drained from his face.

A crowd had gathered beside a road near the edge of the territory.

People were standing around someone lying motionless on the ground.

Adrian’s eyes fixed on the woman in the middle of the crowd.

Blair.

His breath caught.

She was barely recognizable. Her clothes were torn, her hair was disheveled, and bruises were visible across her skin. Blood stained parts of her clothing, and she appeared almost lifeless as several pack members crowded around her.

“Goddess,” Adrian whispered.

His fingers tightened around the phone as he watched someone kneel beside her.

“What happened to her?”

Margaret rose from the sofa and moved closer when she noticed the change in her son’s expression. She looked over his shoulder at the screen, and her face changed when she recognized Blair.

“Is that Blair?”

Adrian slowly turned toward his mother, anger flashing in his eyes.

“This is your fault.”

Margaret immediately scoffed. “How is this my fault?”

“If you hadn’t thrown her out, she wouldn’t have been alone on the streets in the first place. She wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

“You’re blaming me now?” Margaret demanded.

Adrian looked back at the screen. His chest tightened as his eyes remained fixed on Blair’s motionless body.

“I shouldn’t have let her leave. I should have been there to protect her!”

Margaret rolled her eyes. “Don’t start acting like you’re innocent or suddenly care about her. You divorced her, rejected her, slept with her sister, and got Sienna pregnant. You even ordered her boss to fire her. So don’t stand here pretending you care now just because something happened to her after she left.”

Adrian’s expression hardened.

“I know what I did.”

“Then stop blaming me for it.” Margaret folded her arms across her chest. “I only made things easier for you and Sienna.”

Adrian turned toward his mother again. “I had a plan.”

Margaret frowned. “What plan?”

“I was going to handle everything myself. I wasn’t going to humiliate Blair in front of the pack,” Adrian explained.

Margaret gave a bitter laugh. “You were still going to hurt and humiliate her. Sleeping with her sister and getting her pregnant is a humiliation too.”

Adrian’s jaw tightened. “That doesn’t matter now.”

He pulled out his phone and immediately dialed Silas’s number. The moment the call connected, Adrian spoke without waiting for a greeting.

“Find out exactly where Blair was found.”

His Beta answered immediately. “Yes, Alpha.”

“I want every patrol searching the territory. Find out who attacked her and where she was taken. Check every road leading out of Nightveil territory and speak to everyone who saw her.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

Adrian ended the call and stared down at his phone again.

Margaret watched him with growing disbelief. “I honestly don’t understand why you’re suddenly so concerned about her.”

Adrian slowly lifted his eyes toward her. “Because she was my Luna.”

“She isn’t anymore,” Margaret replied coldly.

Adrian’s expression darkened. “She’s still a member of this pack.”

Margaret shook her head. “After everything that happened, perhaps it’s a good thing if she dies anyway.”

Adrian stared at her, anger flashing across his face. “Don’t say that again.”

Margaret stared back at him, caught off guard by the sudden change in his tone. “I only said—”

“One more word about Blair,” Adrian warned as he stepped closer to her, his voice low and threatening, “and I will forget that you’re my mother.”