Sam POV:
The hospital waiting room smelled of antiseptic and cheap coffee.
"She'll be fine, Alpha," the doctor said, looking nervous. "The cut on Lily's chest was shallow. It looked worse than it was. She needs stitches, but she's stable."
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Thank the Goddess."
"But, Alpha..." The doctor hesitated. "We ran a blood panel. We found traces of Wolfsbane on her hands and lips. But... oddly, none in her stomach or bloodstream."
I frowned. "What does that mean?"
"It means she didn't eat it," the doctor said carefully. "She handled it."
A cold seed of doubt planted itself in my gut. I pushed it away. Echo was the crazy one. Echo was the jealous one.
"Whatever," I muttered. "I need to call Echo. She needs to know she's in serious trouble."
I reached out with my mind, trying to open the *Mind-Link*. Usually, it felt like a hum in the back of my head.
*Echo? Answer me.*
Silence.
Not the silence of someone ignoring you. The silence of a void. A dead line.
She had blocked me. Only a wolf who has severed the pack bond can block their Alpha.
"Joshua!" I barked.
My Beta ran over. "Alpha?"
"Why can't I link her?"
Joshua looked pale. "Alpha... we just got a notification from the Pack Registry. Echo... she filed a formal withdrawal. She's gone."
"Gone?" I laughed, a harsh, incredulous sound. "Where would she go? She has no money. Her family hates her."
"I don't know, sir. But the neighbors called. They said... they said the house is on fire."
"WHAT?"
I left Lily in the hospital. I drove home, breaking every speed limit.
When I pulled into the driveway, the fire trucks were already leaving. The house was standing, but the backyard...
My rose garden. The symbol of our courtship. It was a blackened, smoking wasteland.
I walked to the front door. A dagger was stuck into the wood, holding a piece of paper.
I pulled it loose.
*To Alpha Sam,*
*I, Echo, hereby reject you as my Chosen Mate. I reject your Pack. I reject your name.*
*P.S. Check your own fertility records, Sam. You can't have children. You never could.*
I stared at the paper. The words blurred.
*Check your fertility records.*
"No," I whispered. "She's lying. She's just trying to hurt me because I chose Lily."
I stormed into the house. It was empty. Not just of people, but of *her*.
Her scent-that crisp, clean smell of winter air-was gone. It was like she had never existed. Her closet was empty. Her jewelry box was overturned on the floor.
I walked through the silent rooms. Panic started to rise. Not because I missed her love, but because the house felt... unprotected. The heavy, oppressive aura of the Alpha bloodline that she carried-even dormant-was gone. The house felt small. Cheap.
I looked at the burnt garden through the window.
"She'll come back," I said aloud, trying to convince myself. "She has nowhere else to go. She's just throwing a tantrum."
My phone rang. It was Lily.
"Sammy? When are you coming back to pick me up?" her voice was whiny.
For the first time in five years, her voice grated on my nerves.
"I'm busy," I snapped.
"But Sammy..."
"I said I'm busy!" I yelled into the phone.
I hung up.
I looked at the note again. *You can't have children.*
"Joshua!" I shouted.
My Beta appeared in the doorway.
"Go to the clinic," I ordered, my voice shaking. *"Dig up my old files. The ones from five years ago. The ones I told the doctor to seal because I assumed nothing was wrong with me."*
"Sir?"
"DO IT!"
I sat on the sofa, clutching the rejection letter.
If she was right... if I was sterile... then who was Kitty?
And if Echo was gone... who was going to intimidate the bank into extending our loans next week?
I looked at the burnt roses. I needed to fix this. I needed to buy her something. She liked shiny things, right?
"Get the jeweler on the phone," I muttered to the empty room. "I'll buy her that Moonstone necklace. She'll come back for that."
I was the Alpha. I always got what I wanted.
Didn't I?
*
