Semua Bab Let Me Go, Ex Husband: Bab 51 - Bab 60

Aiden's POVThe council chamber gradually empties with elders filing out with tight nods as they leave. I stay at the head of the old oak table, eyes on Haylee as she reads the terrain maps sprawled out on the table in front of us. Her dark hair streams over her brow like a stage curtain over half-obscured and yet I see the fierce concentration in her eyes.“Your ideas for shoring up the eastern border were good,” I say to her, ending the silence that has spread between us. I haven't seen Elder Thorne look that intimidated since I fought for Alpha ranking.There is the ghost of a smile on her lips. "Some things don't change. The eastern ridge has always been easy to exploit — I’m almost shocked they hadn’t taken steps to address it already.”“Honestly, we’ve been thinking more about the northern approach,” I confess. “After we rebuilt from … well, from everything, resources were a little short.”The history we do not speak of sags between us — her leaving, Arielle’s betrayal, the pack

Aiden's POVThe first thing to hit me is warmth. Not the hard, clinical heat of pack meetings or training sessions, but something soft and familiar that burrows deep into my chest and squeezes. The second thing I notice is the rise and fall and rise again of breath that isn’t mine; the weight of a body curled into position next to me, familiar, as though it should be there.I flutter my eyes open to see Haylee’s dark hair spread across my chest and her face serene in sleep. Her arm is thrown carelessly across my heart and I think she might be able to feel it how it hiccups Beat at the sight of her. Five years. It’s five years since I woke up to her sleeping in my arms, and the mate bond buzzes contently between us, like it’s found its right place in the world.I don't dare move. This moment feels stolen, is fragile as spun glass. One false breath, and she’ll wake up, recall who I am and what I did and the walls will come crashing back down. So I mentally catalog each, instead — how he

Aiden's POVThe doctor touches Haylee gently as she inspects her, but I can see the worry etched in every line of her face. Haylee is on the edge of my bed, pale but awake, and I pace behind her like a caged wolf.“So I’m just crazy, and if my son is gone, there will be nothing left,” Lou Jordan replies, to which Dr. Sarah says, gently lowering her stethoscope, through “a kind of heightened parental bond.” "But it's strange how it affected you, Haylee. Usually, these links don’t lead to buildings coming physically tumbling down.”"What does that mean?" I query, my voice betraying my concern.“It means there is something else that we should be thinking about here. Something more than a typical parent-child relationship.” She looks between us. "Have anything happened to your mates' link recently?"Satisfied that she is no longer angry, I take a long sip of my beer, and watch as Haylee’s cheeks turn bright red, averting my eyes. "We... things have changed a little.""What kind of develop

Haylee's POVThe atmosphere in Dr. Sarah’s office is so thick, you can cut it with a knife as Aiden and I take our seats across from her at the desk. Her usual composure looks shaken, and the desperation in her voice when she summoned us here still rings in my ears.Dr. Sarah addresses us after the introductions, opening a worn folder. ”What I am going to teach you would shatter everything you thought you knew about True Bonds.” "What do you mean?" I lean in, despite the wad of dread in my belly.Dr. Sarah opens the file and fans a few documents out on her desk. I've been studying True Bonds since we last spoke, swotting up on the old books and cross referencing them with new magical theory. It turns out what I've found... it's not good."Aiden's hand grasps mine and I can feel how tense he is through our connection. "Just tell us, Sarah."“There are bonds which can be artificially influenced, with the help of dark magic,” she mutters, almost inaudibly. “Since natural generation coul

Haylee's POVThe proof has been scattered over Aiden’s kitchen table like pieces of a monstrous puzzle, each document uncovering another layer of Xavier’s treachery. I sit sobbing and shaking as I turn over Master Elias’s research notes for the third time, the Latin phrases and the reams of finely detailed diagrams swimming out of focus through my tears of fury.“That motherfucker,” I mutter and slam the notebook closed. “That scheming, lying bastard has been pulling the strings on my whole life.You need to calm down Haylee,” Aiden says softly, laying a hand on my shoulder to hold me steady. “I know you’re angry, but we shouldn’t make a decision like this in haste.”"Calm down?" I spin to face him, my wolf almost snapping under my skin. "Xavier has been cooking up my brain with possession magic for five years Aiden. Five years of stolen memories, repressed emotions, and sired emotions. He murdered Master Elias to hide his sins, and God only knows what else he has done to ensure his s