Aria POV
The moment the rejection vow was completed, a strange lightness washed over my soul.
The sensation of iron wire cinched around my lungs was gone. I drew a deep breath and found my chest was now a hollow chamber, so empty I could hear the echo of each beat of my own heart.
I looked down at the man kneeling on the cold stone floor.
He was breathing heavily, trying to soothe the raging beast inside his head.
I remembered how this scene played out in my previous life.
Back then, my Inner Wolf had howled in agony at the mere thought of a fake rejection. I had lost my mind with grief. I had grabbed the silver goblets from the bedside table and smashed them against the walls. Silver was lethal to our kind, and the metal had burned my skin, but the physical pain was nothing compared to my broken heart.
I had slapped Julian across the face.
He had taken the hit with a guilty look, and then he had used his Alpha's Command. The Alpha's Command was the absolute vocal authority that forced any lower-ranking wolf to obey. He had forced me to calm down, forced my knees to bend, forced me to listen to his lies.
I had cried and asked him if he really wanted to throw our bond away.
He had sworn to the Moon Goddess that it was only temporary.
When I had packed my bags to return to my family's manor, he had panicked and blocked the door, shouting that he would rather let Elara die than lose me.
I had been foolish enough to believe him.
But now, standing in the same room, I felt nothing but a profound and chilling indifference toward him.
Julian slowly stood up, rubbing his chest where our bond used to be.
He looked at my calm profile, and a deep frown formed on his face. A low, guttural vibration rumbled in his chest, a sound of profound unease from the beast beneath his skin.
He took a step toward me, reaching out his hand.
"Aria, are you alright?" he asked softly. "We can still fix this. There are ways to reforge a bond—"
Before his fingers could graze my arm, I stepped away. My stillness was a wall of ice he could not breach, and it made him freeze in his tracks.
I closed my eyes and reached out to the only mind-link I still had access to. As a member of a high-ranking noble family, I had my own personal mind-link with my loyal servants.
Pack my bags, I commanded my personal maid through the telepathic link. Everything.
I opened my eyes and looked at Julian.
"You should go," I said, my voice flat and emotionless.
"Go where?" Julian asked, looking entirely lost.
"To the dungeon," I replied. "You need to release Elara before she freezes in the damp cells."
Julian blinked, clearly expecting me to fight him or demand his affection.
"I do not want to delay the birth of the Northern Pack's new Luna," I added with a polite, empty smile.
Julian's face twitched.
"Aria, do not speak like that," he warned, taking another step forward. "You are still my mate in my heart."
"Hearts change, Alpha Julian," I said, using his formal title.
I walked past him, heading toward the heavy wooden wardrobe.
"Go," I ordered, not looking back. "Your new Luna is waiting."
Julian stood there for a long moment, the silence that settled between us a heavy dust, choking the air.
Finally, he turned and walked out, his heavy boots echoing down the stone hallway.
He mistook the finality for a passing storm. He did not realize I was already erasing him from my life.
But as the door closed behind him, I placed a hand on my stomach and made a silent vow to the life within.
This time, I would not be a victim. This time, I would be the storm.
