After He Chose His Plaything, I Severed the Bond

Without Kaelen's knowledge, I had his little plaything sent out of North America.

That same night, he cast a blood-vine curse on my parents, banishing them to the wilds—a wasteland prowled by rogues. He was going to trade my parents' lives for the whereabouts of his plaything.

Kaelen pushed a communication crystal in front of me. Inside it, my parents were ensnared by blood-red vines, the thorns digging deep into their flesh. Drops of dark crimson blood fell, one by one, onto the barren earth.

A countdown timer pulsed in stark red digits on their chests.

23:59:59

23:59:58

He sat across from me, a black suit tailored to perfection molded to his lean, powerful frame. His long fingers tapped a light, steady rhythm on the solid wood table, as if he were waiting for a trivial business deal to close.

"Estelle, you have twenty-four hours." His voice was low and calm, laced with a venomous tenderness. "Tell me, where did you send Cassandra?"

I cannot understand how, for the sake of what he calls a 'plaything’, he could hurt his own mate again and again, without any bottom line. My dignity, my body, and even my life—in his eyes, they were all completely worthless.

And now my breathing grew ragged and shallow, every syllable catching at the back of my throat.

This was the third time he had asked me that question.

The first time, he'd demanded to know where that "bitch" had gone. I didn't answer.

The second time, he had pinned me against the floor-to-ceiling window, his warm breath ghosting across my neck. "Estelle," he'd murmured, his voice a low rumble, "you shouldn't hide things from me. I hope you know better."

And now, he had chosen to use my parents' lives to force my hand.

I buried my face in my hands, tears welling in my eyes. "Kaelen… those are my parents. They're my own flesh and blood…"

"Oh?" A cruel smile touched his lips, his amber eyes glinting with an icy light. "And? Did you stop to think what she means to me before you got rid of her?"

I clenched my fists so tightly that my nails broke the skin of my palms, drawing blood. A wave of searing rage churned in my chest.

What she means to him?

He had sworn to me that the she-wolf was just a diversion, a toy he would discard when he grew bored.

He had sworn before the Moon Goddess that I was his fated mate, the one true light of his soul.

And now, for a so-called "diversion," he was going to let my parents die in the wilderness.

"Kaelen," my voice was raw, "please, don't hurt them. My parents… they're innocent."

He leaned forward, his powerful Alpha aura washing over me like a suffocating tide. "Then you'd better pray nothing's happened to her."

"No one is innocent. You have two choices: find her, or collect your parents' remains."

My body began to tremble uncontrollably. My inner