Ferocious growls erupted around me, echoing from every direction. Though the blindfold stole my sight, I could sense the wolves moving in a tightening circle, each step bringing them closer until I could almost feel their breath against my skin.
“Rowan!” I cried out, panic rising in my throat. “Please, help me!”
“Stop!” he roared, his voice raw with desperation. “I said stop! I'll make my choice!”
The wolves hesitated for only a heartbeat before creeping closer again. Sharp claws grazed my calf, sending a shiver of terror through me.
Darius chuckled. “Well, Alpha? Who will it be? Her... or the mother carrying your children?”
My chest tightened painfully.
For one foolish moment, I waited.
Despite everything that had happened, I still hoped.
“I...” Rowan began, his voice strained.
Before he could continue, Celeste broke into sobs. “Rowan... please save me. Our babies... I can't lose them. I don't want to die.”
An eerie silence settled over the clearing. Even the wolves seemed to stop moving as they waited for his answer.
Then he spoke.
“Celeste.”
Just her name.
Nothing more.
That single word quietly shattered the last piece of my heart.
The wolves attacked.
Their teeth sank into my flesh while claws ripped across my body. They dragged me across the ground, tossing me around like prey instead of a person. My screams echoed until my voice gave out, yet they showed no mercy. They would pull me away only to throw me back into the pack again, repeating the torture until I lost all sense of time.
By the time they finally dragged me out for the last time, I couldn't even lift my head. Every breath felt like it was tearing through my lungs.
“Are you trying to kill her?” Rowan shouted, fury and panic blending together. “She won't survive this!”
Darius only smiled. “Don't glare at me, Alpha. You're the one who made the decision.”
I collapsed onto the ground, my body so heavy and numb it no longer felt like it belonged to me.
“Now for the second game,” Darius announced casually. “Let's make things a little more entertaining.”
A harsh scraping sound followed as something metallic was dragged across the ground.
“A silver whip,” he said. “Ninety-nine lashes. So tell me, Alpha Ashcroft... who's taking them this time?”
Rowan remained silent for several long seconds. I could hear the uneven rhythm of his breathing while I struggled to draw air into my burning lungs. Blood filled my mouth when I coughed, and violent tremors ran through my battered body.
So this is how it ends...
Finally, he answered.
“Celeste.”
Celeste burst into tears, clutching her chest as though she'd narrowly escaped death. “Lillian has already suffered enough,” she sobbed. “I never wanted any of this to happen. I swear I didn't.”
I never looked at her.
My eyes searched only for Rowan.
“Why?” I whispered, barely able to form the word. “Why is it always her? Just tell me once, Rowan. Tell me why.”
He never replied.
The silver whip cracked through the air before slamming across my back. A blinding wave of pain shot through my body, forcing a cry from my lips. My fingers clawed desperately at the rocky ground, sharp stones slicing into my palms until blood stained the dirt beneath them.
“One!”
The second lash followed immediately.
“Two!”
I bit my lip hard enough to taste blood, but another cry escaped anyway.
“Three!”
Each strike felt worse than the last, peeling away my strength little by little until all I could do was endure.
“Rowan...” I gasped between ragged breaths. “Does watching this hurt you at all? Or have I become nothing to you?”
Only silence answered me.
By the time the count passed fifty, my thoughts were slipping away. Blood streamed down my back and soaked my clothes while my vision blurred until the world became little more than shifting shadows.
“Fifty-five!”
My knees buckled beneath me.
“Stop!” Rowan suddenly shouted. “That's enough! Can't you see she's dying? Stop whipping her!”
The chains restraining him rattled violently before snapping apart. I heard him rush toward me, and for one fragile instant I truly believed he had chosen me at last.
Then Celeste screamed.
“Rowan! My stomach!” she cried in terror. “Something's wrong! It hurts... I think I'm losing the babies. Please... help me.”
Everything stopped.
Even without seeing him, I felt the hesitation.
Then I heard his footsteps change direction.
“Celeste,” he said anxiously as he caught her. “Talk to me. Where does it hurt? Stay with me. I'm here.”
A weak laugh escaped my lips.
So this was the answer.
Another lash struck my back, forcing blood from my mouth as I coughed violently.
“Lillian!” Rowan called my name, but his voice already sounded impossibly distant.
Darius laughed with cruel amusement. “This just keeps getting better. My medical team is standing by, Alpha, but they can only save one person. Think carefully. Are you choosing her again... or will you finally make a different decision?”
The whipping continued. Blow after blow landed until the ringing in my ears drowned out everything else. I forced my swollen eyes open just enough to make out Rowan speaking to Darius. Their mouths moved, but I could no longer hear the conversation. A moment later, Darius gave a slow nod.
Without another word, Rowan gathered Celeste into his arms. He held her close against his chest, turned around, and walked away without looking back even once.
A bitter laugh slipped from my lips.
“So... this is how it ends.”
Somehow, the ninety-nine lashes hurt less than watching him leave me behind.
The setting sun painted the sky a deep crimson, as though the heavens themselves were bleeding alongside me. A white seabird fluttered down and landed beside me, its spotless feathers quickly soaking up the blood that covered my body until they turned scarlet.
“Rowan...” I whispered through trembling breaths. “You told me fate brought us together. You said our bond could never be broken. Were those promises meaningless from the very beginning?”
Every breath burned, and every heartbeat sent fresh pain through my body.
“If there's another life waiting for me... I hope I never fall in love with you again.”
The last of my strength slipped away, and darkness quietly closed over me.
