My Fated Mate Can Have Her Chapter 108: Heartbreak

Violet

I saw a pair of folded clothing on the edge of the bed. I moved closer and the girl stiffened, warily eyeing from the corner of her eye as her wheezing intensified.

"I’m sorry," I whispered, standing back.

I reached out and used the syzygy to bring the clothes to .

Her eyes widened and I turned around to enter the bathing room, hoping she wouldn’t panic.

The clothes were large. Even larger than my fra and the material seed better than what Aster had on.

I was montarily stunned before deciding to put them on. He likely took them from the main house. But I felt a bit guilty. They looked expensive and he might have either been planning to sell or wear them when he was older.

Likely to sell them.

The clothes hung loosely on my body, but thankfully not too bulky. Likely belonged to his father or brother. I sighed. Anyone looking would be able to tell just how much this didn’t fit .

I bundled my clothes and walked out of the house. The sister stared at as I left the room.

Aster was outside kicking at a loose stone on the ground. His posture was tense, his shoulders hunched in that familiar way.

He looked up when he heard approach, surprise crossing his face before it shifted into a faint smile. He bowed again like I was soone important and thanked .

It made uncomfortable.

"I wish I could give you sothing," he said quietly, his eyes darting toward the main house. "But I can’t go in there. The last ti I tried to get sothing..." He trailed off, his expression closing down. "I got punished."

The words hit like a physical blow.

This little boy was punished for trying to enter his own family’s house?

I wanted to ask what they’d done to him, but I was also terrified of the answer.

"Can you tell your address?" I asked instead, keeping my voice as steady as I could. "Or where this house is located? I want to be able to find you again."

I could try to morize the route back. I would be able to probably find this place again through trial and error. But I wanted sothing definite. Sothing certain that I could use when I ca back. Or sothing to direct Kael’s attention to them.

Or Ila...

I suddenly rembered the orphanage and imnse regret flooded . If I had known where it was or even the na, I could have directed these children there.

Aster gave the address quickly, a glimr of hope in his eyes.

"I hope I see you again," he said softly.

"I have been aning to ask." I smiled faintly. "How old are you?"

"Fourteen!" he answered, standing a little straighter as if the question was a test of his maturity.

Fourteen.

He looked younger and he was still a little boy.

And that was how old I had been when my grandmother passed away.

When my small protection from my pack’s cruelty had disappeared, and I had truly understood what it ant to be an Oga.

My heart crumpled in my chest.

I wanted to give him sothing. Money, food, anything. But I had nothing with except the card on my wrist. And it was useless to a boy who couldn’t even enter his own family’s house.

"I have to go," I said, my throat tightening. "I’m sorry I... I’ll see you again."

He nodded, still smiling that faint, hopeful smile that broke sothing inside .

I turned and left before I did sothing stupid like start crying in front of him.

The walk back to the castle felt impossibly long.

I held my clump of tattered clothes to my side as I moved. It was night ti and I navigated the streets by mory following the faint glow of lanterns placed at regular intervals along the main streets.

People still stared.

A woman in ill-fitted clothes, walking alone at night and holding a lump of slly dirty clothes would of course draw attention.

By the ti I reached the castle grounds, exhaustion was pulling at , making each step feel heavier than the last.

The entry hall was a bit busier but still at the lowest I had ever seen. I tried to slip through unnoticed, but one of the wolves stepped forward, blocking my path.

He started, his tone dismissive, "Can I help you—"

I flashed the card at him without speaking, letting the silver wolf emblem catch the light of the entry hall.

His expression changed imdiately and he grudgingly stepped aside, refusing to et my eyes.

I walked past him without a word, too tired and too angry to even be bothered about it.

I finally got in, and the mont I made my way into my room, everything ca crashing down.

I collapsed onto the edge of the bed and started crying.

I wasn’t quiet. Ugly, gasping sobs tore from my chest with a force that left breathless.

This was horrible. Just horrible.

I understood bad things would always happen, but for it to be fabricated to this extent.

I cried for Aster and Ari, locked out of their own ho, surviving on scraps of kindness from strangers. For every oga who had learned to make themselves small, who had to grow up believing that they were worth less than nothing.

I cried for my younger self, for the girl who had lived in that sa fear, and had believed for so long that maybe she deserved what she got.

And I cried because I didn’t know what to do. I had no idea how to even fix this.

The tears ca until I was empty, wrung out, and so tired I could barely keep my eyes open.

I fell back onto the bed, not bothering to remove the oversized clothing or climb under the covers.

The imnse fatigue pulled under and my last conscious thought was of Aster’s address, repeating it over and over in my mind like a prayer, making sure I wouldn’t forget it.