Aurelia
Caleb’s voice cut through the air behind me, cold and sharp as winter steel.
“What did you do?”
I spun around. His eyes were glowing faintly, his wolf pressing close to the surface, fury rolling off him in waves as he stared at me like I was a stranger—no, worse, like an enemy.
“Caleb… I—I didn’t—”
The rest of my words shattered with the sound of skin striking skin.
Pain exploded across my face. I staggered back, clutching my cheek as heat and disbelief flooded through me.
“Caleb…” My voice came out hoarse, broken. “You… you hit me?”
“And I’ll do far worse if anything happens to Bianca,” he snarled, his voice low and venomous, every trace of our mate bond buried beneath rage.
Before I could react, he shoved past me. His entire focus locked onto her. He scooped Bianca up into his arms as if she weighed nothing, cradling her like something precious, murmuring soothing words meant only for her ears as he rushed out of the office.
I followed in a daze, my thoughts spiraling, anger and panic twisting together in my chest. I had been set up—I knew it. But Caleb didn’t even look back. Not once. He carried her straight to his car.
I tried to open the passenger door, but the engine roared to life. Tires screeched.
The car shot forward, and I stumbled, losing my balance and falling hard onto the pavement.
My face burned—this time not from pain, but humiliation. When I pushed myself up, I realized his employees were watching. Some stared openly. Others whispered behind their hands, eyes full of judgment.
I turned away and hailed a cab.
The ride home passed in silence, broken only by the sound of my own sobs. When I finally stood in front of the house we’d shared for five years, it no longer felt like a home. It felt hollow. Empty. Just like my chest.
Caleb hadn’t even asked what happened. He hadn’t questioned me. He hadn’t listened. He simply decided I was guilty.
I walked inside and went straight to the wardrobe. My hands moved automatically as I pulled out clothes and folded them into a suitcase. Somewhere deep inside, I realized the truth—I hadn’t gone to his office just to confront him. I had gone hoping for reassurance. For something—anything—that would make me stay.
But his eyes earlier had told me everything.
There was nothing left to hold onto.
I was halfway through packing when the door slammed open behind me. Caleb stormed in, his face flushed, his scent sharp with anger. If he noticed the open suitcase, he didn’t comment.
“Get dressed,” he ordered. “You’re coming with me.”
He grabbed my arm.
I yanked it free. “Don’t touch me!”
“Now, Aurelia,” he barked.
“Where are you taking me?” I demanded, digging my heels in.
He didn’t answer. His strength overwhelmed mine easily, his wolf lending power to his grip as he dragged me outside.
“To the hospital,” he said flatly. “You’re going to fix this. Bianca is hurt because of you.”
“Fix this?” I stared at him. “I didn’t do anything to her! She fell on her own!”
“Stop lying!” he shouted. “Your jealousy nearly got her killed. How cruel can you be? The least you can do is give her your blood so she survives.”
“But I didn’t—”
“I don’t want to hear another word,” he snapped.
“How can you trust her over me?” My voice cracked. “Over your mate?”
“She screamed,” he shot back. “Everyone heard it. I heard it. You refused to stop, and she almost died because of you.”
He shoved me into the car and slammed the door. As he drove, the pieces finally fell into place. Bianca’s scream. The timing. The fall.
She had planned everything.
A bitter smile curved my lips. Even after five years, even with a mate bond sanctioned by the Moon, Caleb chose to believe her instead of me.
The hospital loomed ahead.
He dragged me inside, straight to the emergency ward where Bianca had been taken.
“If you care about her that much,” I said bitterly, “why don’t you just buy blood for her?”
Caleb shot me a sharp look. “Her blood type isn’t available. There were too many accident victims today. The supply is empty.”
A doctor approached, and Caleb immediately turned to him, pointing at me.
“She’s O-positive,” he said urgently. “Use her blood. Save Bianca.”
The way he looked at the doctor—desperate, pleading—shattered something inside me. He hadn’t looked at me like that in years.
Not since Bianca entered his life.
Before I could protest, nurses led me away. A needle pierced my skin. Cold crept through my veins, and the world slowly faded to black.
When I woke up, harsh white light stabbed into my eyes. My head throbbed. My lower abdomen ached dully. I groaned and glanced around.
The room was empty.
“Hello?” I called weakly.
The door opened. Caleb stood there, his expression icy.
“You’re lucky,” he said. “Bianca made it.”
I let out a hollow laugh. “You don’t even want to ask how I am?”
“She’s the one who was injured,” he replied sharply.
A doctor entered, his expression heavy with pity.
“Mr. Montgomery,” he said gently, “you’re her husband, correct?”
Caleb’s gaze flicked toward me, filled with disgust. “I don’t have a wife that cruel.”
Then he turned and walked out.
The last fragile pieces of my heart crumbled.
The doctor sighed. “Mrs. Montgomery… there’s something you should know.”
“What is it?” I asked quietly.
“You were one month pregnant,” he said.
My breath hitched. “Were?”
“I’m very sorry,” he said. “You lost the baby during the transfusion.”
The room spun. “Why… why did you take my blood if I was pregnant?”
“Your husband authorized it,” the doctor answered softly.
My heart raced. “Did he… did he know?”
The doctor hesitated, then nodded.
“Yes. He knew.”
