Chapter 3 Chapter 3

In the storm-car, his hands shake on the wheel.

I sit calm, watching pack sigils blur.

"Clara, fear not. The pup-"

I pull free. "Why fear? I know it's over."

He coughs, voice gentle.

"Bella's young, alone. She only fears being cast out. She's caused no real harm-"

"Shall I wait for you to kill me and the pup for her?"

My voice is ice. Last life, I saw our pup freeze in the snow.

He roars: "That was a dream! If I dreamt you ran with another-"

Traffic stalls.

He pounds the wheel, cursing.

I touch his shoulder. "The pup wasn't meant for us. Its passing. eases our bond break."

Minutes ago, my lawyer sent Silas the digital bond break pact.

My terms were clear: split joint assets, leave Rook family's pre-bond holdings untouched.

He stares at me.

"What are you saying? You want a bond break?"

I smile. "Over Bella? Raise your pup with her, then. I'm done."

At the healer's entrance,we're stalled by traffic, I step out, wrapping my scarf.

The termination I'd scheduled for dawn begins tonight.

Waking from anesthesia, I find Silas at my side. I turn away. "Check your sigil-mail."

His face whitens as he reads the signed pact.

"What mail? Nothing matters more than you-

" He brushes sweat-damp hair from my forehead, eyes raw. "Promise to rest-"

For a moment, I waver at his red-rimmed eyes.

Did he truly grieve this pup?

Last life, when I carried our frozen child across the wastes, did he ever mourn?

His comm-sigil vibrates.

Bella's message: "Silas,I'm burning up, can't speak."

In the quiet ward, her voice cuts through. I watch him mute the volume.

"Clara, a pack emergency-"

"Go," I say flatly.

"Check your mail."

The pact waits in his public sigil-box.

As he rushes out, nurses stop him with my report.

"Mr. Rook, please retain these for insurance."

He nods, dashing into the lift.

Their whispers trail:

"More important than his mate? No wonder she chose the procedure."

"Many realize too late. She saw his true nature."

"Was the termination voluntary?"

"She bled tonight, but the procedure was for tomorrow."

In the lift, Silas reads the report's abnormal markers. His heart plummets.

"Were they talking about termination?"

I wake from fever the next afternoon to a headline:

"Rook pack Alpha Silas Rook escorts mystery female through airport."

He stands unmasked, unguarded, as a veiled woman's hair spills from his arm.

All recall our high-profile charity appearance last moon -my hair is short. His usual secrecy is gone-no pretense left.

Then my phone vibrates.

His message: "Taking Bella on retreat. Discuss bond break on my return."

I call, but he cuts me off.

The healers brigade requires a mate's release form.

My application hinges on this.

"Silas Rook, you've seen my sigil-mail?" I send a voice-note, urgency thrumming.

Thirty seconds later, a saccharine voice replies:

"Clara,Silas just crossed time-zones-he's asleep. Tell me your matter; I'll relay."