Chapter 41
Chapter 4
Selene’s POV
Time slipped away as Julian and Claire exchanged playful words and laughter in the front seat.
The car soon pulled into the driveway of the Blake Pack’s private estate.
I quietly stepped out, my wolf silent and tense within me.
Julian didn’t move.
Instead, he lowered the car window and spoke in a casual tone:
“I have a classmate gathering with Claire later. You’re carrying our pup and it’s better you rest at home. Take care p>
Simple. Light. As if he hadn’t just spent the entire drive ignoring my existence.
I didn’t argue.
I turned and walked into the house without looking back.
From the corner of my eye, I caught the flash of the car speeding off into the night.
I knew better than to expect him to return tonight.
Still, when the phone rang in the middle of the night, piercing the silence of my bedroom, my heart jolted.
I blinked blearily at the screen–an unknown number.
But deep down, I already knew.
I answered.
“Selene,” Claire’s honeyed voice oozed from the other end, “Julian’s drunk. Come pick him up p>
Before I could react, the line went dead.
I stared at the phone for a long moment, then sighed, tossing back the covers.
I had a feeling Claire wasn’t simply asking for help.
She was staging something.
Fine. Let’s see what she had planned.
Fifteen minutes later, a server led me through the dim corridors of a private lounge.
We stopped outside a barely ajar door.
Through the gap, I caught a single glimpse.
Inside, Julian and Claire were playing a drunken party game–the kind where two people gnaw at opposite ends of a chocolate stick, encouraged by the crowd to eat toward the center.
Their faces inched closer with every bite, the stick growing shorter.
Until there was nothing left.
Neither of them pulled away.
In the next second, Julian’s lips crashed into Claire’s.
The world slowed.
For a heartbeat, they both froze, startled.
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Then Claire, cheeks flushed, pretended to retreat shyly–only for Julian, lost to alcohol and impulse, to seize the back of her head and deepen the kiss.
The room erupted into cheers.
Outside the door, I stood frozen, as if I had never truly known the man bound to me by the Mate Bond.
The man who always presented himself as steady, reserved–the ideal future Alpha.
In front of me, he was nothing but another creature ruled by instinct.
“We’re strangers,” my wolf whispered, her voice raw with disbelief.
I laughed bitterly under my breath p>
How ridiculous could I be?
My Mate was kissing another woman in full view of the Pack, and I was standing outside like a fool, watching.
I turned to leave, the bitter taste of humiliation burning the back of my throat.
But before I could slip away, a figure blocked my path.
Claire.
Her lips were red, her eyes still glittering with the flush of success.
“You saw that, didn’t you?” she said, her voice dripping with false sympathy.
“You should realize by now,” Claire continued, stepping closer, “Julian’s heart was never truly yours. It was always mine. You’re just a substitute–someone who looks a little like the girl he really loved p>
My wolf bared her fangs inside me, snarling at the insult.
But outwardly, I remained composed.
“Think about it,” Claire cooed. “Do you really want your pup growing up like you? Alone, unwanted, waiting endlessly for a Mate who never comes home p>
Her words were vicious, meant to slice deep.
“Julian will sever the Bond with you eventually,” she said with a cruel smile. “Better leave on your own terms, before he officially breaks the Mate Bond p>
I studied her face for a long moment, feeling a strange, cold calm descend over me.
“Does Julian know, ” I asked softly, “what kind of person you truly are? ”
Claire blinked, caught off –guard.
Before she could respond, I brushed past her and walked straight into the lounge.
The crowd fell silent as l’entered.
Julian, dazed and drunk, looked up as I approached.
Without hesitation, I lifted his arm over my shoulder and half–dragged him out of the room, ignoring the stunned stares that followed
us,
He was truly drunk–too far gone to resist.
Even as I hauled him into the back seat of his car, he mumbled one name over and over.
“Claire… Claire p>
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I buckled him in and sat there for a moment, staring at his slack, handsome face.
At last, I spoke softly, more to myself than to him:
“Wait a little longer, Julian p>
Just a little longer, and we’ll both be free.
He woke up late the next morning, confusion clouding his eyes.
Glancing around the familiar bedroom, he frowned.
“How did I get back p>
“ You called me,” I answered, my voice light as air, smoothing moisturizer onto my skin.
“You… came to get me p>
His voice lowered, thick with something he couldn’t quite name.
“Mm,” I murmured.
He hesitated, shame flickering across his face.
“Did I… do anything out of line p>
I met his gaze in the mirror, my reflection serene.
“You didn’t do anything,” I said quietly, and capped the bottle.
I turned to leave.
But Julian was quick
He caught my wrist.
“Where are you going p>
“ To meet Ethan p>
At the mention of Ethan Caldwell, Julian’s expression hardened, shadows flickering through his eyes.
He tugged me back toward him.
“Stay away from him,” he said, voice low with frustration. “The way he looks at you… it’s wrong p>
I lifted my eyes, meeting his squarely.
“Wrong,” I said, my voice cold and sharp, “ the way you look at Claire is wrong too, isn’t it p>
He stiffened, visibly uncomfortable.
“Claire is just a friend,” he muttered.
“And Ethan is just mine,” I said simply.
Julian pressed his hand to his forehead as if trying to push away a headache.
“Selene, ” he said, voice rough, “anything else, I’ll let you have your way. But on this, you need to listen to me. I’m an Alpha. I know what other Alpha think p>
He sighed heavily, then, as if wanting to distract me, reached for the nightstand.
“Forget it, ” he said more softly. “I brought you a present from my trip. Let me show
you p>
He pulled open the drawer.
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A folded parchment slipped out and fell to the floor with a soft slap.
I bent down and picked it up.
Across the ancient vellum, stamped with the Pack’s official seal, the title
Severance Scroll.
A formal document to sever our Mate Bond.
I looked up at Julian, whose face had gone utterly still.
And for the first time, I smiled.
Truly smiled.
I coldly
Chapter 4