Chapter 5

“Are you out of your damn mind?” William’s voice was thunder, cracking the air between us. “You’re divorcing me over a pup?”

He stepped forward, his golden eyes glowing with rage. “Caroline, be serious. How long do you think you’ll last without me? Without Ember Claw Pack’s protection, you won’t survive a day out there.”

His voice lowered, biting. “I’m doing you a favor just by telling you this in person.”

I didn’t flinch.

“I’m done with your favors,” I said coolly. “And I no longer need your face-saving pity.”

His expression twisted. “You have two choices—divorce or abortion.”

“Then I choose neither,” I said, steel in my voice. “I choose freedom.”

His hand shot out, clamping around my wrist. His grip was tight, his eyes burning gold with fury and desperation. “You can’t leave me,” he growled. “You think it’s that easy? We still have the mate bond!”

My heart cracked wide open, but I didn’t let him see me bleed.

I yanked my arm free, ignoring the searing pain in my chest as my wolf howled inside me. Then, through clenched teeth, I whispered the words that shattered everything.

“I, Caroline Blackthorn, reject you, William Ashford, as my mate.”

The air stilled.

It felt like the whole world stopped breathing with me.

And then came the pain—raw, soul-deep agony, worse than anything I’d ever endured. It was like being skinned from the inside out, like every nerve in my body had caught fire. My lungs collapsed, my knees buckled, but I forced myself to stay upright.

Across from me, William staggered back with a roar that shook the walls.

He clutched his chest as blood trickled from his mouth. His claws extended, digging into his own skin as the mate bond backlash hit him like a tsunami.

“You… you dared…” he rasped, his voice no longer sounding human.

“You know what this will do to us,” he choked out. “You know how painful the ritual of rejection is. We’ll both wish we were dead!”

Behind him, Quinn rushed to his side, with panic all over her face. “William! Your eyes—they’re bleeding!”

I wiped the blood dripping from my own nose, my vision swimming—but I didn’t waver.

“Isn’t this what you wanted?” I hissed. “You rejected me first—with every lie, every time you touched her, every time you left gifts for her in the amusement park I built for you.”

William collapsed to his knees, a feral cry ripping from his throat. His hands trembled, his body convulsing under the full weight of the rejection bond.

As the one initiating the severance, I would bleed.

But he would burn.

“I—I won’t accept this,” he groaned, trying to stand. His shirt soaked through with blood.

I stepped forward, holding my stomach where the bond’s pain felt like a dagger driving deeper.

“According to ancient wolf law,” I said through gritted teeth, “if one mate completes the rejection vow, the other has to accept it before moonrise—or the bond will fester into a bleeding wound that never heals.”

Quinn screamed behind him. “William! Your chest—it’s… branding!”

The fabric of his shirt split as blood oozed from his skin, forming the mark of rejection. A cursed seal, carved by the very magic that once bound us.

I could barely breathe, but I lifted my chin.

“Say the words, William,” I said coldly. “Accept my rejection. Or you’ll die slow and screaming.”

Moonlight sliced through the clouds, casting us in silver light as the ritual demanded its conclusion.

William’s head lifted, blood dripping from his lips. His jaw clenched so tight it cracked.

“I… William Ashford…” he growled, every word like shards in his throat, “accept your rejection, Caroline Blackthorn.”

The world trembled.

And then—shatter.

It was like glass breaking in my soul. The bond that had once tied our hearts, our bodies, our wolves together… was gone.

Silence. Emptiness. Freedom.

I turned away. My suitcase was already packed. My heart was already severed.

I’d barely made it to the bottom of the stairs when I came face-to-face with her.

Quinn stood like a viper waiting to strike—one hand on her swollen belly, the other curled around her waist.

“You really think William’s going to let you raise the pup now?” she hissed, her voice low and venomous.

“At the banquet, everyone saw it—I’m the Luna now. The whole pack knows it.”

She stepped closer, eyes flashing with triumph.

“You couldn’t give him an heir. You were nothing but a placeholder. A weak, infertile burden he carried out of guilt.”

Her smile twisted.

“Once this pup is born, the Pack will exile you. You’ll be a Rogue, Caroline. Mark my words. And when that happens? Don’t come crawling back.”

Her voice dropped to a whisper.

“Oh—and I hope you heard what William said to me. He never loved you. He never could.”

I stared at her for a long second, quiet.

Then I smiled.

Because Quinn had no idea who I was without William.

But she was about to find out.