Damian Thorn stopped exactly three feet in front of me. He held a small glass vial filled with a shimmering silver liquid.
"We are done, Isla," he announced.
His voice carried effortlessly across the crowded pack hall, cutting through the upbeat music.
"I am severing our mate bond tonight."
Whispers erupted from the surrounding pack members. They formed a tight circle around us, eager for the spectacle.
I stared at the vial in his hand. "You want to break the bond right here? In front of everyone we know?"
"I want no misunderstandings," Damian replied, keeping his chin raised. "The pack needs to see their Alpha make the hard choices."
"You call this a hard choice?" I asked. "You claim I am useless. You tell them I am unable to give you an heir."
"Because you are barren," he shot back. "A pack cannot survive without a future Alpha. You know this."
I stepped closer. I lowered my tone just enough to force him to listen.
"I cannot carry a pup because you destroyed my body. You led me into that rogue ambush last winter. You left me to bleed out in the snow while you saved yourself."
He flinched. A brief crack appeared in his arrogant mask.
"I made a tactical retreat," Damian argued, his jaw tightening. "I had to ensure the safety of the remaining warriors."
"You abandoned your mate," I corrected him. "You ran. And now you blame me for the permanent damage you caused."
Vanessa Reed stepped out from behind his broad frame. She hooked her arm through his, pressing her chest against his bicep. She wore a smug smile that made my stomach turn.
"No wolf blames an Alpha for a little collateral damage," Vanessa sneered. "They will just view this as his brief, tragic affair. A mistake he had to rectify."
"Keep your mouth shut, Vanessa," I warned her. "This is between mates."
She leaned forward. Her eyes gleamed with undisguised malice.
"Not anymore," Vanessa continued. "But you are different, Isla Ravenshade. No pack in this territory will ever accept a barren she-wolf as their Luna. You are damaged goods."
I ignored her entirely, keeping my focus locked on Damian.
"You are violating Werewolf Federation law," I told him. "An Alpha cannot unilaterally sever a bond without cause or a formal trial. The council will strip you of your title."
"I am the law in this territory," Damian replied. He puffed out his chest. "The council will not care about a female who cannot breed."
"You also know exactly what my bloodline is," I reminded them both. "You know who my family is. You know what they will do when they find out you humiliated me."
Damian let out a harsh, barking laugh.
"Your bloodline?" He shook his head in mock pity. "You threw that away. You renounced your precious royal name just to be with me. You walked away from them, Isla."
"I did it for you," I whispered, the betrayal stinging my eyes.
"And that was your mistake," Damian said.
He raised the glass vial toward the ceiling, addressing the crowd.
"To the future of this pack," he announced.
He uncorked the glass and swallowed the silver liquid in one gulp.
The reaction hit me immediately.
A searing heat tore through my chest. Invisible claws ripped my heart straight out of my ribcage.
My knees gave out.
I slammed onto the hard wooden floor. A scream tore from my throat, raw and agonizing. The mate bond snapped like a dry twig inside my mind.
Damian stood over me, watching me writhe on the tiles.
"This is your own choice," he muttered. His tone was heavy with disdain. "Your family will never accept a piece of trash who abandoned them anyway. You have nothing left."
Black spots danced at the edges of my vision. The pain radiated down my spine, paralyzing my limbs.
"Get her out of here," Vanessa ordered a nearby guard. "She is ruining the celebration."
Before the darkness could swallow me completely, a deafening crash echoed through the hall.
The heavy oak doors splintered inward. They flew off their hinges and smashed onto the floorboards.
Silence crashed over the murmuring crowd.
Two figures stepped through the ruined entryway. The sheer power rolling off them forced several pack members to drop to their knees immediately.
King Alaric Ravenshade marched into the room. His golden eyes blazed with unrestrained fury.
Beside him moved Cassian Nightbane, a young wolf whose lethal grace made the ambient air turn freezing cold.
Alaric did not waste a single second. He crossed the room in three massive strides, ignoring the guards who scrambled out of his way.
Damian opened his mouth to speak. "King Alaric, what is the meaning of—"
*Smack.*
Alaric’s backhand sent Damian flying into a nearby banquet table. Wood splintered under the Alpha’s weight. Plates and glasses shattered everywhere.
Vanessa shrieked and covered her mouth, taking a frantic step back.
Alaric pivoted. He slapped her across the face, sending her sprawling right next to Damian.
"Two pieces of trash!" Alaric roared.
His voice vibrated the glass windows, forcing the nearest wolves to cover their ears.
"Bloodlines never break! You dare hurt my daughter? You will now face the full wrath of the Ravenshade royals!"
While my father delivered his judgment, Cassian crouched beside me.
His strong arms slid beneath my shoulders and knees. He lifted me from the floor with effortless ease, cradling me against his chest.
"I have got you," Cassian murmured.
He lifted a hand and gently stroked my tangled hair away from my sweaty forehead. His touch brought an immediate, soothing warmth to my fractured chest.
"Father," I rasped, my throat raw from screaming.
"Rest, Isla," Cassian instructed softly. "We will handle the garbage."
Damian pushed himself up from the wreckage of the table. Blood leaked from his split lip. He stared at the scene in front of him, his chest heaving.
He saw Cassian holding me. His eyes flashed with sudden, irrational jealousy.
"Do not touch her!" Damian shouted, staggering forward. "Put her down!"
Cassian stopped. He did not turn his body. He only shifted his icy gaze to lock onto the bleeding Alpha.
"In what capacity are you speaking to me right now?" Cassian asked.
The question hung in the air, cold and absolute. Damian froze. His mouth opened and closed without a single sound escaping.
"She is no longer your mate," Cassian reminded him, his voice devoid of any emotion. "You severed the tie. You hold no claim here."
"She belongs to my pack!" Damian argued, though his voice trembled under Cassian's stare.
"She belongs to the Ravenshade crown," Alaric corrected, stepping between Damian and Cassian. "And you have just declared war on us."
Cassian adjusted his grip on me, securing me tighter against his chest.
"We are leaving," Alaric commanded. He did not spare another glance at the pathetic pair on the floor. "If any wolf tries to stop us, kill them."
"With pleasure," Cassian replied.
He carried me toward the shattered doorway. The pack members parted like a frightened sea. They pressed themselves against the walls to avoid his path, their heads bowed in submission.
My eyelids grew impossibly heavy. The pain of the broken bond finally pulled me down into the dark.
But just before I slipped away entirely, Cassian leaned down. He whispered a promise against my temple.
"They will burn for this, little wolf. I swear it."
The darkness took me, leaving me to wonder what war would ignite when I finally woke up.