Marked by a Stronger Alpha After Being His Stand-in

I don't know how long I lay on the floor.

The pain came in relentless waves, each one feeling as if a silver dagger were carving up my soul.

Cold sweat drenched my nightgown, and my body trembled uncontrollably.

This was it. The Mate Bond was breaking for good.

Gradually, the pain began to recede.

With a huge effort, I pushed myself up, leaning against the bedframe to sit.

The worst of it was over.

I checked my phone. It was 3:00 PM.

Twelve hours until my flight.

Just as I was about to get up, an unfamiliar mind-link signal punched through my shields. It wasn't Rocco's. It was his Beta, Marcus.

"Alpha, you have to get back here to handle the IPO! Now!" Marcus's anxious voice rang in my head.

This was rare. Marcus was always so composed; he must have linked to me by mistake. "Alpha Damon of the Blackwood Pack arrives tomorrow! If we don't secure this investment, the company is finished!"

Damon.

The name jolted me into full awareness.

My intended.

Sensing the unusual silence on my end, Marcus must have realized his mistake. "Luna?"

"I'm so sorry to disturb you. I can't reach the Alpha, and it's a real emergency…"

"He's at the hospital," I said calmly. "With Scarlett."

"What? Now?" Marcus's voice was incredulous. "The company is on the verge of bankruptcy, and he's still—"

"You should contact him directly," I said, cutting the link.

A few minutes later, I felt Rocco accept a link from Marcus.

Their conversation came through in fragmented pieces—our Mate Bond was breaking, but it wasn't completely gone yet.

"Dammit, I know," Rocco's exhausted voice said. "Give me two hours."

"Alpha, one more thing. Luna Caterina sent you an emergency distress call last night. Did you not receive it?"

There was a pause on the other end.

"I didn't get an emergency message," Rocco said coldly. "She's probably just being dramatic."

So he had gotten my call for help. He had just chosen to ignore it.

A bitter laugh escaped my lips.

I opened a mind-link of my own, contacting Rocco directly.

"You'd better have a damn good explanation, Caterina," he snarled. "Why did you have Scarlett attacked?"

I froze. "What?"

"Don't play innocent!" he roared. "Those Rogues were clearly after Scar. They've already confessed."

"Rocco, I didn't—"

"Enough!" he cut me off. "Caterina, I never knew you could be so vicious. Jealousy has made you unrecognizable!"

"I told you, I didn't do it," I said weakly. "I collapsed this morning. I called for your help. I honestly thought I was going to die."

"Cut the act," he sneered. "I'm tired of your games, Caterina."

I closed my eyes, the last shred of hope dying within me.

"Tonight. Eight o'clock, under the laurel tree," I said, using the last of my strength. "We end this where it began."

"End things?" Rocco's voice was mocking. "Caterina, do you really think you can leave me?"

"Be there or don't. The choice is yours."

"I'll be there," he said, his tone softening slightly at my resolve. "But Caterina, whatever little game you're playing, we can work through it…"

"Rocco… the doctor said I need to rest. Will you stay with me?" Scarlett's cloying voice interrupted from his end.

"Of course, baby. I'll be right back," he cooed, completely forgetting I was still on the other end of the mind-link.

I spent the next few hours making my final preparations.

I deleted every contact in my phone that connected me to this city.

At seven-thirty, I wheeled my suitcase out the door.

The night air was cool, the moon was full and bright.

Just like the night we'd marked each other, six years ago.

Rocco was already waiting under the laurel tree.

His face fell the moment he saw my suitcase.

"Caterina, what do you think you're doing?"

"Saying goodbye," I said evenly.

"Goodbye?" he scoffed. "Where are you going?"

I didn't answer. I just pulled the completed Rejection Confirmation from my bag.

"I'm just giving you this," I said. "And then we're finished."

Rocco's eyes widened in panic as he read the title of the document.

"Caterina, are you insane? I am your Mate, your Alpha!"

"My Alpha would never have ignored my calls for help," I said, looking him straight in the eye. "My Mate would never have treated me like a substitute."

"I didn't…"

"Don't," I cut him off. "You know exactly what you did."

Rocco was silent for a long time before finally taking the document.

"And if I don't sign?"

"Open it and see, Rocco," I said flatly. "You already did."

"Which means we're done."

A final, tearing pain ripped through my chest.

And then… nothing. The bond was gone.

I turned, dragging my suitcase behind me, and walked toward the airport without looking back.