Chapter 18
Matthew’s POV
I woke up in wolf form, my body aching all over. The first thing I smelled was blood. Then I heard someone crying beside me. As my vision cleared, I saw Isabelle kneeling there, her face streaked with tears, her clothes stained with what I assumed was my blood.
I shifted back to human form. Immediately, Isabelle threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around my naked body, sobbing against my chest. I barely registered her touch. My eyes darted around the living room, taking in the destruction, furniture broken beyond repair, walls smeared with blood, shattered glass everywhere.
“Where’s Juno?” I asked, my voice hoarse. Isabelle just cried harder, er body shaking against mine. A cold dread washed over me. “Isabelle, where the hell is my wife?”
She finally pulled back, her eyes swimming with tears. “They… they wanted to take you. You were barely alive, and they were going to take you as a trophy…” Her voice broke. “Juno offered herself instead.”
“What?” The word came out as a growl.
“She volunteered to go with them in your place,” Isabelle whispered. I tried to stop her, Matthew, I swear I did. But they chained her and took her away. The attack ended after that.”
The room spun around me. I fell to my knees, a howl of rage and anguish tearing from my throat. I slammed my fists into the floor again and again until my knuckles split open, blood mixing with the debris.
Tears streamed down my face. The pain in my soul was unbearable, like someone had ripped my heart out and left a gaping hole. “Why?” I roared. “Why would she do that?”
But I knew why. The news that I got Isabelle pregnant caused her a lot of pain. She believed I’d hurt her beyond repair. And still, she’d sacrificed herself for me.
I’d been planning to fix things. To tell her I wanted to try for children, to rebuild what we’d lost. Before, Juno used to be my best friend. Then she became my beloved wife, my Luna, my partner in everything. And now she is gone.
Rage boiled inside me. Quinn had brought this on us. I’d warned him to keep his head down, to stop causing trouble at the Lakeside border. And Kieran had taken our land, our money, our tributes and where was he when we needed him?
–
I pushed myself up from the floor, ignoring Isabelle’s outstretched hand. I stumbled toward our bedroom – mine and Juno’s. The door was still intact somehow. I pushed it open and stood frozen in the doorway.
Our bed was untouched. Her scent still lingered on the pillows. Tears blurred my vision as I remembered everything that had happened after the fated mate incident. I wished I could take it all back – every harsh word, every time I’d chosen Isabelle over her, every moment I’d made her feel less than she was.
–
If only I hadn’t gone to that stupid party Joel had invited us to. Our life had been perfect before that night. And Juno she loved me. That’s why she’d offered herself in my place. Because despite everything, she still fucking loved me enough to die for me.
A soft knock on the door broke me from my thoughts.
“Don’t come in here,” I–snarled, not turning around.
“Matthew-
“No.” My voice was ice cold. “This is Juno’s room, Even if she’s not here, I won’t let any other woman in her space. You will never Take her place, Isabelle. Pineridge Pack has no Luna now.”
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Chapter 18
I turned and walked out, still fuked, brushing past a stunned Isabell
What are we going to do?” she asked, following me. “How do we get her back?*
I laughed bitterly. “We don’t. Unless the Alpha King decides to release her, we will never see her again.”
Tears filled Isabelle’s eyes. I stared at her in confusion. Why
Was she crying?
“Why aren’t you happy about this?” I demanded. “This is what you wanted, isn’t it?”
She shook her head violently. “No! Matthew, she sacrificed herself f both of us. They would have killed you and taken me if she hadn’t stepped forward. She could have told them I was your fated mate and saved herself, but she didn’t.”
Isabelle wiped her tears with shaking hands. “I owe her my life and my freedom. How could I possibly be happy about her fate?”
She looked up at me her eyes swimming with remorse. “I never understood how fate could be so cruel – throwing me into your lives, disrupting something beautiful. I see now how unnecessarily cruel I was with my lies and games.
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