Ethan’s POV
When I walked inside, the bell above the door chid, and I saw Elara already seated. She was halfway through a plate of expensive pasta, her eyes glued to her phone. She looked up and gave a smile, but it wasn’t the kind of smile that reaches the eyes. It wasn’t the warm, soul-deep light I saw whenever Scarlett looked at . It was a cold, calculated expression—the look of soone seeing their bank account walk through the door.
"You told you were here already," she said, dabbing her mouth with a napkin. "Where did you go?"
"Sothing ca up," I replied shortly, sliding into the seat across from her. It was obvious the news of Scarlett’s death hadn’t reached her yet, and for once, I was glad for the silence of the pack.
My wolf stirred in the back of my mind. Try one last ti, he whispered. Fulfill all righteousness so we can leave this bridge burned behind us.
I took a breath and reached across the table, taking her hands in mine. Elara didn’t squeeze back; she actually frowned, a small flicker of annoyance crossing her face before she hid it.
"Elara," I said, keeping my voice steady. "I want this bond to work... I really do. Let’s try. Give us a real chance to be what the Moon Goddess intended."
She imdiately pulled her hands away, leaning back as if I’d tried to burn her. "I have already told you, Alpha Ethan, I love soone else. My heart is taken." She sighed, looking bored. "But I told you we can still have our fun. We can fuck; we can see each other. Isn’t that enough for you?"
A wave of relief washed over . The final box was checked. I had offered, and she had refused. My conscience was clear.
"The money," she said, her tone changing to sothing more urgent. "You haven’t sent it yet. You promised."
"Right. The money." I pulled out my phone. I didn’t just send her the amount she requested. I typed in a figure that would change her life—and ensure she never had a reason to bother again. I hit send.
A mont later, her phone chirped. Elara picked it up, and I watched her eyes widen. Her mouth literally fell open as she stared at the screen.
"Ethan..." she gasped, her voice trembling. "You sent three million dollars? Are you serious?"
"I’m serious," I said flatly.
She broke into a massive, genuine smile—the first real one I’d seen all day. She started rambling imdiately, her mind already miles away. "Oh my goddess, I can get that house in the city... and the car... and the vacation to the coast! I can take Karl to the islands!" She looked at , beaming. "Tonight, I’ll take you to the moon, darling. I’ll make it worth every cent."
"That won’t be needed," I said, my voice turning ice-cold.
I signaled the manager. He had already followed my instructions; the other custors had been politely asked to leave, and the "Closed" sign was flipped. The staff disappeared into the back, leaving us in total silence.
Elara’s smile faded, replaced by confusion. "What is going on? Why is it so quiet?"
"I’m returning to my pack today," I said, leaning forward. "You don’t want the bond, and I don’t want it anymore either. We are doing the rejection. Right here. Right now."
Her face went pale, her hands clutching her phone as if it were a shield. "What? No... Ethan, stop joking. This isn’t funny."
"I, Ethan Damien Luciano, Alpha of the Obsidian Pack, reject you, Elara Malvern, as my mate and future Luna," I stated, the words vibrating with the power of my rank.
"No!" she cried, panicking. "You can’t! We can make this work! I... I’ll be a good Luna!"
"You don’t want , Elara. You want my vault. You want an ATM with an Alpha title," I said, watching her squirm. "I don’t want you for myself, and I certainly don’t want you for my pack. My people deserve a queen, not a gold-digger."
"This is because of Scarlett, right?" she hissed, her greed turning into spite. "That bitch!"
"This isn’t because of Scarlett," I lied easily, though the thought of her was the only thing giving strength. "It’s because of you. It’s because of us. Our bond was a mistake of the fates, and Scarlett has nothing to do with the fact that you are unfit to be my luna."
She began to cry then, the heavy, theatrical sobs of soone losing a fortune. "No, Ethan! Please! Okay, fine, I’ll leave Karl! I’ll be with you! Just don’t do this!"
For a second, sothing twisted in my chest—not pain, not regret... just the ghost of what this bond could have been.
"You only want now because you’re scared of losing the money," I said, disgusted.
She wasn’t going to accept it willingly. She was going to make this hard.
Fine. I’d do it the hard way.
I stood up, letting my Alpha aura flood the room until the air felt heavy enough to crush the tables. My shadow seed to grow, and my eyes shifted to a piercing, angry glow. People don’t call The rciless Alpha for nothing.
"Listen to very carefully, Elara," I growled, my voice dropping into a terrifying, guttural tone. "If you refuse this rejection, I will make your life—and the lives of your family and your precious lover—a living hell. I will strip you of every cent I just sent you. I will ensure you are exiled from every pack territory in this region. You have only seen the side of that wanted to please a mate. Do not make show you why I am feared."
She shook, her breath hitching in her throat as she looked up at in pure terror.
"I am rejecting you," I whispered, leaning over the table until our noses almost touched. "And you will accept it. Now."
Elara’s lip trembled, her eyes darting toward her phone as if she could protect the three million dollars inside it. She looked at , then at the door, realizing she was trapped in a room with a monster she had underestimated. The silence of the empty café felt like it was squeezing her.
"I, Ethan Damien Luciano," I repeated, my voice deeper this ti, heavier with Alpha authority, "reject you, Elara Malvern."
The air in the room shifted, thick and suffocating. My aura pressed down on her, forcing the words out.
"Accept. It."
Her lip trembled. The fight drained out of her in an instant.
"I..." she choked, her voice breaking as tears blurred her vision. "I accept..."
She squeezed her eyes shut, like saying it would shatter her.
"I accept your rejection, Alpha Ethan."
A violent, painful jolt shot through my chest. It felt like a string being snapped with a pair of rusty shears. My wolf howled, a sound of brief agony followed by a strange, soaring freedom. The dull, heavy weight that had been sitting in my soul since I t her evaporated. The air in the café suddenly felt easier to breathe.
The bond was dead. It was so easy, as if the Moon Goddess had wanted us to do it.
I straightened my jacket, the dark aura I had projected pulling back into . I looked down at her, seeing her for exactly what she was: a stranger with a heavy bank account and a shallow heart.
Tears gathered in her eyes as she panted, pain contorting her face due to the effect of the shattered bond.
"The money is yours to keep," I said, my voice now calm and devoid of emotion. "Consider it your severance pay. But if I ever see your face in Obsidian territory, or if you ever breathe a word of what happened between us to anyone, I will fulfill the promises I just made."
I didn’t wait for her to answer. I turned and walked out, the bell chiming one last ti as I stepped into the cool afternoon air. I felt lighter than I had in years. I was no longer bound to a lie.
I got into my car and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper Lennox had given .
Paris.
I wasn’t going back to my pack just yet. My Beta could handle the day-to-day operations for a few more weeks. I had a ghost to find.
As I pulled out of the parking lot, I felt a strange sense of clarity. My cousins were back at the mansion, weeping over a bag of lies and pieces of a girl they had failed to protect. They were trapped in their grief, blinded by the gas their parents had played. But I knew the truth.
Scarlett was alive. She was out there, probably staring out of a plane window right now, thinking she was all alone in the world.
"I’m coming, Scarlett," I whispered to the empty car. "And this ti, there’s no mate bond standing in my way."
User Comments
0 comments from readers