Maya POV:
"Granted."
The word was a key unlocking a cage, but the freedom it promised came with a price.
Pain exploded in my chest. It wasn't the dull, aching emotional pain of betrayal anymore. It was the physical tearing of the soul. The bond was snapping.
I fell to my knees, gasping for air that wouldn't come.
Liam screamed.
He clutched his chest, dropping to the floor as if shot. His wolf was howling in agony, the sound vibrating through the connection one last time.
"Maya!" he gasped, his voice ragged. "Don't! Stop it!"
I gritted my teeth against the fire in my veins. Blood trickled from my nose, dripping onto the cold floor.
"I... reject... you," I forced the words out, each one a shard of glass in my throat.
Snap.
It felt like a steel tether shearing inside my brain.
The connection-the constant, low-frequency hum of his presence in my mind-vanished instantly.
Silence.
Blissful, terrifying, absolute silence.
I stood up, swaying on my feet.
Ava was screaming at Liam, her voice shrill and confused. "Why are you in pain? Why are you hurting for her? You have me!"
"Shut up!" Liam roared at her, his eyes wild and unfocused. He looked up at me, horror dawning on his face. "Maya... what have you done?"
"I freed myself," I rasped.
I turned and ran.
Adrenaline flooded my system, pushing past the pain. I ran out of the Council Hall, bursting into the cool night air.
"Stop her!" Liam commanded from inside, his voice booming. "Don't let her leave the territory!"
The guards at the perimeter stepped forward, weapons raised, but then they hesitated.
They looked at me-really looked at me.
They saw the blood streaming from my nose. They saw the bruising forming on my cheek where their Alpha had struck me.
They had seen the evidence of his cruelty, and in that split second of moral conflict, I slipped past them.
I sprinted toward the road. A taxi was waiting, engine idling-arranged by the Phoenix Initiative.
I dove into the back seat, slamming the door.
"Go! Drive!"
The driver, an older human man whose eyes held the weight of knowing too much, didn't ask questions. He floored it.
Tires screeched against the asphalt as we sped away.
I looked back through the rear window.
Liam was running after the car in his human form, shirtless, his chest heaving as he shouted my name.
"Maya! Come back!"
I watched him for a second, then reached out and rolled up the window, sealing him out of my life.
Then, the pain hit my stomach.
It started as a cramp, sharp and sudden, and quickly turned into a knife twisting deep in my gut.
"No," I whispered, terror gripping me colder than the night air. I clutched my belly. "No, please."
A sickening warmth spread between my legs.
"Driver," I gasped, doubling over. "Hospital."
The driver met my eyes in the rearview mirror, his expression grim. "We can't stop, miss," he said, his voice tight. "They're following. If we stop, he takes you back."
I looked down.
Blood was soaking through the fabric of my white dress, a stark, crimson stain spreading rapidly.
The severance of the bond. The shock to my system. The physical trauma of the slap.
It was too much for the pup.
"My baby," I sobbed, the realization shattering whatever strength I had left.
My vision blurred at the edges.
The world went dark.
