“Our union was politically arranged and coerced by our elders.Since we never declared our Mate status openly to the packs,we must end this now before the bloodlines become irreversibly intertwined,”Kian calmly explained,treating the bond as a simple contract.
A series of freezing chills ran down Selena’s spine.Her face went pale as her lips trembled.She felt the sharp pain of rejection tearing at her core,as if her spirit had been ripped in two.
‘No.The mating bond cannot be broken like this.This is not real,’she thought,her instincts fighting the rejection.
She had loved Kian for nine long years.
She had loved him for years—from the moment she was brought into the Volkov pack at sixteen due to the blood debt,until she earned her rank in the Dark Moon Conglomerate at twenty-five.
Her affection deepened with the political union.Though it was a coerced binding,Selena knew Kian was the only Alpha she ever wished to submit to.
Yet,it was clear Kian felt none of the true Mate passion.
Selena fought back the whimper of her wolf.She took a deep breath and looked at him,forcing a steady voice.“We have honored the arrangement perfectly for three years,Kian.What is this?A Bond Severance?Why do you command this?Do you truly intend to break this pact?”She couldn’t hide the grief in her voice.
“This is my command,Selena.”
“What about the Matriarch and Patriarch Volkov?”Selena asked.
“I will address them later.”
Selena’s lips trembled.“But…What if I carry the new blood…”she swallowed the rest of the words.What if I carry your pup?
Kian seemed to have lost his patience and interrupted her,his Alpha tone sharpening.“Selena,understand this,”he said.“Lyra Vance has returned.”
Selena felt the lethal sting of the rejection.Her lips parted in shock as she stared at him,the name of his true desire a fresh wound.
After a moment of silence,she calmly picked up the Bond Termination papers.“Very well.I will review the terms first.”She sounded like a wounded echo.
It was never about him claiming the alliance was coerced.
It was the name of the female he truly claimed that made Selena realize their political binding was finally,devastatingly,over.
Lyra has returned to the territory.