Liam POV:
I was drinking whiskey in my office, trying to drown the memory of the failed marking.
"Alpha!" Marcus burst in. "Turn on the TV."
*Flight 815... No survivors expected.*
The glass slipped from my hand.
My inner wolf, silent for months, screamed.
It wasn't a sound. It was a physical tear in my chest.
I ran. I shifted mid-stride, shredding my clothes.
I arrived at the airport naked, shivering.
"Passenger list!" I roared at the attendant.
"Vance. Eleanor Vance. Boarded."
I collapsed on the tile floor.
The bond didn't just break. It shattered.
*She is gone,* my wolf mourned. *And we sent her there.*
I was a ghost.
I tried to claim the body. The humans said I was divorced. Not next of kin.
I walked through the house. The pack avoided me. I smelled like instability.
Sarah was on the sofa, eating grapes. My mother was painting her nails.
"It's tragic," Mother said lightly. "But maybe it's the Goddess's will. No more distractions."
"At least we don't have to pay alimony," Sarah laughed.
Something snapped.
I was on Sarah in a blink. I grabbed her wrist.
"Take it off."
"What?"
"The bracelet. Take. It. Off."
"But I'm the Luna..."
"You are nothing!" I roared. My aura crushed the room. My mother fell to the floor, gasping.
I ripped the bracelet off Sarah's arm.
"If I hear one more word of disrespect toward Eleanor, I will forget that you carry my child."
I stormed out to our old bedroom.
I found a photo of us in the trash. She had cut my face out.
I lay on the floor, clutching the photo, and welcomed the madness.
