Chapter 12
781words
Ariana's words echoed in my head.
She told Sandra her mother's curse was my idea!
How could I have been so cruel to her...
"Byron!" Ariana clung to my sleeve, her eyes wild with desperation. "Tell them! Tell them it's all true!"
I looked at her crazed expression, and a wave of revulsion crashed over me.
"Shut up!" I threw her off me. "Just shut your mouth!"
"But Byron—"
"Guards!" I roared. "Get her out of here! Now!"
Two of my guards rushed onto the stage and grabbed the struggling Ariana.
"No! Byron! You can't do this to me!" she screamed as they dragged her away. "You promised to protect me! You can't abandon me!"
Her voice faded, but the damage was done.
The hall was dead silent.
Every Alpha, every Elder was looking at me with an expression I'd never seen before. Not just disappointment. Not just doubt. But fear.
"Byron," Caden said slowly, his voice as cold as ice. "Do you have anything else to say?"
I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.
What could I say?
The evidence on that video was undeniable.
Ariana had confessed to everything.
And her last words had just exposed my secret dealings with the North's exiled prince.
"Since you have nothing to say," Caden turned to the delegates. "Then, on behalf of the Silver Moon pack, I formally declare—"
His voice thundered through the hall.
"As of today, the Silver Moon pack severs all alliances with the Blackwood Pack!"
The crowd instantly erupted.
"The Silver Moon pack broke their alliance!"
"That hasn't happened in a hundred years!"
"The Blackwood Pack is finished!"
"The East Coast Council will also need to reconsider our position," the eastern delegate stood. "Abusing a Luna, murdering an heir... we cannot tolerate such acts."
"The Southern Alliance feels the same," the southern envoy said coldly. "Byron, you have brought shame upon us all."
"The Northern delegation will return immediately to re-evaluate all cooperation with the Blackwood Pack."
One by one.
Every pack representative declared their position.
They were all cutting ties with me.
I stood on the altar and watched it all happen.
I watched the network of alliances I had spent a decade building crumble in an instant.
I watched the Blackwood Pack fall from a powerful leader to a pariah, scorned by all.
"The ceremony is over," I announced, my voice a raw whisper. "Everyone... may leave."
The delegates rose and left without a backward glance.
No one said goodbye.
No one paid their respects.
No one even looked at me again.
Soon, the vast hall was empty except for me.
I stood on the altar, staring at the empty seats.
Suddenly, a wave of dizziness hit me.
I reached for the lectern to steady myself, but my arm was trembling.
Something was wrong.
Something was very wrong.
My Alpha power… it was fraying. Lashing out like a cornered beast.
The breaking of the mate bond had done more than tear my soul apart; it had shattered the foundation of my power.
An Alpha's strength comes from inner stability.
But right now, my mind was a storm of chaos.
Pain, guilt, rage, despair—all of it was battering my sanity.
"Damn it..." I clutched my chest, feeling my power bleeding out of me, wild and untamed.
I had to get back.
I had to find a safe place and stabilize myself.
I stumbled back to the apartment. The moment I pushed the door open, the reality of it hit me like a physical blow.
It was empty.
The shattered glass was still on the floor. The torn photos were still there.
The severance papers Sandra had left were still on the table, their silver glow a mocking taunt.
But Sandra was gone.
And she was never coming back.
I walked to the bedroom, and a familiar scent hit me.
Sandra's scent.
A faint hint of jasmine mixed with the clean scent of moonlight.
It was my favorite scent.
The scent that always calmed me.
But now, it was just a reminder of everything I had lost.
I collapsed onto the bed, burying my face in her pillow.
It still held her warmth, her scent.
"Sandra..." I whispered her name, over and over. "Sandra..."
Just then, a profound weakness washed over me, a sickness of the soul.
The broken bond was slowly, irreversibly draining my life force.
My Alpha power was fading fast.
My senses were dulling.
My life was slipping away, piece by piece.
I clutched Sandra's pillow, breathing in the last traces of her scent.
In this empty, cold apartment, I finally understood a terrifying truth.
I had already lost her.
Forever.
