Evelyn POV:
The private elevator opened with a soft chime, a sound that was immediately swallowed by the oppressive silence of the penthouse floor. Kaden stepped out, his powerful frame silhouetted against the hallway's emergency lighting. I watched his shadow move before I saw him.
He paused, his head tilting slightly. The entire floor was dead. No lights, no climate control, not even the backup generators. A frown creased his brow.
He used his key on the main door, a primitive act in this fortress of technology. The heavy door swung inward, letting in a draft of cold, lifeless air.
"Evelyn?"
His voice, deep and commanding, bounced off the marble floors and bare walls. It was the voice of an Alpha used to being answered.
Silence was my reply.
He strode into the living room, his expensive leather shoes making sharp, angry sounds in the dark. He nearly tripped over a porcelain vase I'd knocked over in my blind rush earlier. A curse muttered under his breath.
The thin, blue light of his phone screen cut through the gloom. It swept across the room before landing on me.
I was sitting on the sofa, perfectly still, looking out at the glittering expanse of the city below. A ghost in my own home.
"What is this?" he demanded. It wasn't a question. It was an accusation, laced with the fury of a king whose castle had been trespassed.
I didn't turn to look at him. My eyes remained fixed on the distant, indifferent lights. "It's a power outage," I said, my voice flat, devoid of any emotion.
"You did this." A statement of fact. The anger in his voice was rising, a tangible heat in the cold room.
"Restore it."
The Alpha's command. A force that every member of his pack was biologically wired to obey. An order I had never once defied.
Until now.
I slowly turned my head, my neck stiff. In the dim light, my eyes met his. His were stormy gray, flashing with impatience. "No," I said. The word was quiet, but it landed in the space between us with the force of a physical blow.
His shock was visible. His jaw tightened, a muscle flexing in his cheek. I could see it in his eyes—he had expected me to crumble, to obey as I always had.
He closed the distance between us in two long strides. The air crackled with his power, his Alpha presence pressing down on me, a physical weight meant to crush my defiance. He smelled of the cold night air and her perfume. Bianca's gardenia, cloying and unmistakable.
"Have you forgotten who you are, Evelyn?" he snarled, his voice a low growl. "You are my mate. The Luna of this pack."
I rose from the sofa, my legs surprisingly steady. I met his furious gaze without flinching. "Not for much longer."
His eyes narrowed, the pupils dilating as he processed my words. A flicker of disbelief, then pure, undiluted rage.
He let out a short, harsh laugh. "Is this because I didn't come home last night? Don't be pathetic. You have one primary duty in this arrangement, Evelyn. To give me an heir."
The words were a poisoned blade, twisting in a wound he didn't even know existed.
A wave of nausea washed over me. The blood drained from my face, and a tremor started in my hands. It wasn't fear. It was a pain so sharp, so absolute, it threatened to shatter me.
He mistook my reaction for guilt. For the petty jealousy of a scorned wife.
He reached for me, his hand moving to cup my chin. Even in the gloom, his features were devastating—the chiseled jaw, the dark hair falling over his brow, eyes the color of storm clouds. Once, I would have melted under that gaze. Now it only made my skin crawl. "Perhaps I need to remind you how we fulfill that duty," he murmured, his voice dropping into a tone of threatening seduction. He leaned closer, his body heat pressing against me, his intention clear—to claim what he believed was still his.
The moment his fingers brushed my skin, I recoiled as if I'd been burned.
"Don't touch me," I hissed, the words raw with a disgust that was bone-deep. "You're filthy. You make me sick."
That broke his control. The civilized veneer of the CEO vanished, replaced by the primal fury of a slighted Alpha. He lunged, trapping me between the back of the sofa and his hard body. His heat, his scent, his power—it was all suffocating.
The mate bond flared, a hot, searing line connecting us, saturated with his anger and possessiveness. It felt vile.
"Kaden," I said, my voice shaking but clear. I lifted my chin, forcing myself to look into the storm of his eyes. "I've already filed the application to sever the bond. Soon, you'll be free to be with Bianca. Tomorrow we sign the formal contract and finalize the asset division. Don't be late."
His name. The application. Bianca's name.The contract.
Each word was a stone, and they built a wall between us. His body went rigid. The hand that was about to grab me froze mid-air. The fury in his eyes was eclipsed by utter, stark disbelief.
I used his momentary paralysis to my advantage. I shoved hard against his chest, the contact making my skin crawl. He stumbled back a step, surprised by my strength.
I didn't wait. I turned and fled to the bedroom, my heart hammering against my ribs. I slammed the door shut and twisted the lock, the click echoing in the silent apartment.
A moment later, a guttural roar of pure Alpha rage erupted from the living room, followed by the sickening thud of a fist hitting a wall.
I leaned my forehead against the cold wood of the door, my body trembling, and listened to the sound of my husband, my mate, losing control.
