Catherine POV:
The flight was a blur. We stopped in Italy for refueling.
I stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking the Mediterranean. The wind felt like freedom.
Kaden stood beside me. He didn't smell like lies. He smelled of ozone and steel.
"I wasn't going to jump," I said.
"I know. You were just looking."
I looked at my hand. The platinum wedding band was a shackle.
I pulled it off.
"Do it," Kaden said.
I threw it. The ring arced and vanished into the whitecaps.
I fell to my knees.
"I, Catherine," I whispered, "reject the bond. I reject the past."
Thunder cracked. The rotting connection in my chest didn't snap; it dissolved like sugar in hot water.
"May we be strangers," I finished.
Kaden offered a hand. "Ready?"
"Yes."
"We have a new identity waiting in Zurich," Kaden said. "Kate Harding. Geneticist. Single."
"Perfect."
Catherine Hale was at the bottom of the ocean. Kate Harding got into the car.
Derek POV:
I was peeling an apple for Anjelica.
Suddenly, the knife slipped.
Pain exploded in my chest. A void opened up inside me, cold and absolute.
My wolf, Shadow, threw his head back and howled.
Gone, Shadow whimpered. Mate is gone.
"What?" I gasped.
I ran out of the room. I burst into Catherine's room.
Empty.
No note. No scent. Just the smell of bleach.
Dr. Evans walked by. I grabbed him by the throat.
"Where is she?"
"She left! After the donation!"
"Donation?" I froze.
"The blood," Evans stammered. "For Anjelica. We took three pints."
I let him go. Three pints? From a crash victim?
"I signed a general consent," I whispered. "I didn't order an execution."
"Anjelica said..." Evans started.
"What did she say?"
"She said you wanted her dry."
I staggered back.
I tried to Mind-Link. Catherine?
Silence. Dead air.
