Semua Bab Bound To The Mate Who Broke Me : Bab 1 - Bab 10

Astrid's POV Darius and Iris used to be inseparable. Back in school, everyone thought they were the golden couple and perfect together. But when fate bound me to him instead, when he found out I was his fated mate, everything changed. Or at least, I thought it did. After we married, Darius never spoke to Iris again, or so I believed. He made everything about me which felt good, being placed above Iris for the first time. Due to her illness, I was used to all the attention being on her, I was used to coming second to her. Now, standing outside the room, I could barely breathe. I almost stormed in to demand answers. Why was he here? He was supposed to be taking care of whatever emergency they'd called him for and not be in a hospital room. “And natural labor?” “What does that even mean?” I thought, the words not making sense to me. Then I paused, “Did he mean… last night?” A shiver ran through me, anger and fear twisting deep inside. Had I really almost let him put our

Astrid's POV As the footsteps got closer, my hope grew. Maybe the Moon Goddess had answered me after all. So I finally turned to look... "You dropped something," James said, jogging over. He handed my mom her ID card that must have fallen while she was dragging me. The hope inside me died instantly, leaving a hollow ache in its place. I forced a small smile, trying to hide the disappointment crushing my chest. "Thank you," my mom said, looking at him strangely before slapping her hand over my mouth again. James hesitated, his eyes locked on mine, worry evident on his face. He looked like he wanted to say something, but before he could decide, Darius stepped forward."Everything's fine, James. Get back to work," he ordered, his Alpha command heavy in the air. James stiffened, lowered his head, and left. And my last hope walked away with him. Once he was gone, my mom shoved me into the car. Darius got in the driver's seat and drove like a madman, running red lights like they d

Astrid's POV I held the glass vial up to the sunlight, watching the liquid inside shift from pale green to amber. Perfect, exactly the reaction I needed. "Alice, reduce the wolfsbane by 0.1 milligrams in the next batch," I said to my assistant, not taking my eyes off the solution. "Got it, Healer Skarsen," she replied, scribbling in her notebook. I sighed, another successful day in the lab. I set down my equipment and climbed the stairs from the semi-underground workspace, heading to my small clinic above. The familiar scent of herbs and antiseptic greeted me…my sanctuary for the past five years. Most packs had embraced modern medicine completely, abandoning the old ways. But here in the Silverpine Pack– my grandmother's pack where I'd spent my whole childhood, tradition still mattered. They still valued someone who could mix wolfsbane antidotes and brew healing tonics from scratch. "Good morning, Healer Skarsen," an elderly wolf greeted me from the waiting area. "Morni

Darius's POV I held Selene tightly, relief flooding through every cell in my body. My daughter was safe, unharmed, whole. But she didn't rush into my arms the way she usually did. Instead, her small hand remained stretched toward the woman who'd protected her, her eyes filled with an attachment I'd never seen her show to a stranger or even anyone that wasn't me. I'd been at the airport to meet with some people and she'd insisted on coming along. But when I looked again, she was nowhere to be found. I'd run through the terminals, desperate, only to find her safe in this woman's arms. When I raised my head and looked at the woman properly, my heart skipped a beat for no reason I could explain. The afternoon light from the office window caught her dark hair, and something about her presence made my wolf stir restlessly. A crushing wave of disappointment hit me as I took in her features. Brown eyes, not blue. Dark hair. Of course it wasn't her…what was I thinking? Astrid was gone.

Selene's POVI woke up crying again. My tears streamed down my face, falling on my pillow making it wet. And my stuffed rabbit was clutched so tightly against my chest that his ear was crumpled. It was the same dream as the other times. Mom had finally come home. She'd walked through my bedroom door with her arms open wide, and her voice was exactly how I imagined it would sound, warm like hot chocolate, soft like the blankets Naomi tucked around me. She'd said she was sorry for being gone so long, that she'd missed me every single day, that she'd never leave again. "I forgive you, Mommy," I whispered in the dream, throwing myself into her arms. "I knew you'd come back. I knew you loved me." She'd held me so tight, like she was trying to make up for five years of missing hugs all at once. She smelled like vanilla cookies and sunshine, and her hands were gentle when she smoothed my hair. She'd promised to make me pancakes shaped like butterflies for breakfast, to help me with my