Late into the night, my phone wouldn’t stop buzzing. One unfamiliar number after another kept
calling.
My hand slipped, and I accidentally answered one of them.
“Harper, wait–don’t hang up! It’s me.‘
That voice. So familiar–and so utterly repulsive now.
“I have nothing to say to you,” I said coldly.
My words were ice. Detached. Disgusted.
There was silence on the other end. A pause. As if he couldn’t process this new version of me
He was so used to my soft voice, my hopeful tone–he didn’t recognize the steel anymore.
“If you’re not going to talk, I’m hanging up.”
“No, wait! Harper!”
His voice cracked, filled with desperation. “Please don’t hang up. I’ve been looking everywhere for you–I miss you so much. Come back. Come back to the pack, come back home…”
Home?
That place was never my home.
It was his love nest with Mila.
I let out a dry laugh, dragging out the words with mock sweetness.
“What do you want? To beat me again? Watch me get humiliated while you and your darling Mila play house?”
“It wasn’t like that! Mila lied to me–I was, I was blind. I know that now. Harper, come back, I’ll treat you right again. Just like before.”
“Before?” My voice rose, trembling with fury. “You mean when you strung me up in the pack house for three days? Or when you watched our child die and did nothing?”
“Carter,” I hissed through clenched teeth. “Tell me. Do you honestly think you’ve earned forgiveness? That you deserve me or my baby’s forgiveness?”
Silence.
Chapter 8
A long, pathetic silence.
Then his voice came, small and broken. “I… I was deceived. I know I messed up. Harper, I’m
—
begging you just one more chance. I can’t live without you.”
I let out a cold laugh.
“Carter, all I want is to sever the mate bond. From this moment on–you go your way, I go mine.”
I hung up.
And blocked the number again.
Over the next few days, he spiraled.
Calls. Texts. Voicemails. Pleas.
The more he begged, the clearer my resolve became..
When the court hearing arrived, I finally saw him again.
He looked nothing like the proud, arrogant Alpha he once was.
Pale. Disheveled. Bloodshot eyes. Unshaven.
He rushed at me the moment I entered the courtroom, grabbing my wrist like a lifeline.
“Harper, please don’t do this! Don’t break our bond!”
His grip was tight. My wrist immediately flushed red beneath his fingers.
Before I could shake him off, Landon shoved him away with a scowl. “Back off. Don’t touch my
sister.”
peake
Carter turned, eyes blazing. “Who the hell are you to speak?! Harper is my wife! My Luna! My mate!”
Landon scoffed, “Not for much longer. Scum like you doesn’t deserve a mate.”
Carter’s gaze darted between the two of us. Then, slowly, a twisted grin spread across his face.
“So that’s it? Harper, you’re breaking our bond… for him?”
The fury surged in my chest.
“Carter, don’t be disgusting!” I spat. “He’s my brother!”
Chapter 8
erwoman.
“You really think you can shift the blame to someone else after everything you’ve done?”
Landon stepped in front of me protectively. “Let’s go, Harper. He’s not worth your breath.”
Carter shook with rage. His fists clenched like he wanted to hit something–someone.
I stared him down, my voice sharp and final.
“That’s enough, Carter. When are you going to stop this circus?”
“Don’t act like you’re some tragic lover. It’s pathetic. We’re done.”
“Harper, how can you be so heartless?” he cried, voice hoarse. “I loved you!”
Carter shouted, his voice raw and breaking, bloodshot eyes on the verge of bursting
“I said I was wrong! I’ll never make the same mistake again! Why can’t you just forge
I met his desperation with cool detachment.
There was a time when I might’ve been swayed by that so–called passion–but now, all I felt disgust.
My voice was calm, but carried a firmness that left no room for argument.
“I’m sure you did–in your own twisted, selfish way.”
“Your so–called ‘mistake‘ destroyed my life. And no amount of sorrys will undo that.”
“Carter, you don’t know how to love. What you call love is just possession. Control, It’s all about what makes you feel good.”
His face paled as if I’d slapped him.
His mouth opened, but no words came out.
“You need to pay for what you’ve done,” I said, my voice unwavering, “You need to hurt. You need to suffer. Only then will you even begin to understand what you put me through.”
I turned and walked away–never once looking back.
In court, I submitted medical reports of my abuse, as well as evidence of his infidelity with Mila.
The werewolf judge ordered an immediate severance of our mate bond–and sentenced Carter to three years in prison.
Three years.
Chapter 8
88.87%
How laughable.
He ruined my life.
And he only got three years in a werewolf prison, then he could begin his new life.
When I stepped out of the courthouse, the sun was shining, but it couldn’t pierce the fog in any
heart.
The outcome left a weight in my chest I couldn’t shake.
And yet—just as I thought this was the end…
Something changed.
A new twist was coming.
