Chapter 153
Matthew’s POV
the Invitation from the Elder Council weighed in my hands. I’d been staring at the damn thing for hours, reading and re- reading the All–Territory Games. My fingers traced over the embossed Clifflands seal, while my mind wandered to places it shouldn’t go–to Juno.
My heart shattered in my chest. Ever since I’d heard she was going to marry the Alpha King something inside me had broken beyond repair. I’d been clinging to this pathetic hope that she’d eventually come back. Most Clifflands captives did, after all. I’d dreamed of the day I could fix what I’d done, beg for her forgiveness, show her I wasn’t the same man who’d betrayed her. 2
But now? She was going to be the fucking Luna Queen.
I’d already sent back my RSVP. As the Alpha of Pineridge Pack, had no goddamn choice. But the thought of seeing her in Augustin’s arms… I wasn’t sure my heart could take it.
The soft padding of feet pulled me from my thoughts. Isabelle stood in the doorway, her pregnant belly round and full beneath a loose dress. My eyes drifted to the suitcases behind her, and something cold slithered down my spine.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
Isabelle’s hand rested protectively over her stomach. “I can’t do this anymore, Matthew. I can’t live in another woman’s
shadow.”
I set down the invitation and stood, crossing the room to her. “What are you talking about?”
“This isn’t the life I wanted.” Her blue eyes were tired, lacking their usual spark. “Juno is gone. She’s moved on. But you?
You’ve chosen to live in misery.”
Her words knocked the wind out of me. “That’s not true-”
“It is true!” Tears sprang to her eyes. “I’ve begged you for months. You’ve humiliated me, dragged me down. The other, Lunas laugh at me behind my back. I don’t even have a title. Were not even married!”
“I can’t forgive myself for what I did to her.”
“Because of me?” Isabelle’s voice cracked. “Because I came into your life?”
“Because I broke every promise I ever made to her,” I whispered. “Because of you, yes. But more because of me.”
“If Juno had found her fated mate, she would have done the same thing.”
“No.” I shook my head firmly. “She wouldn’t have. She’s stronger than me. She would have died before breaking her
promises.”
You don’t know that,” Isabelle insisted.
“I do know that, goddammit.” I slumped back onto the couch. “I was her first, did you know that? She didn’t want to be with me at first because we weren’t fated. She was scared.”
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Chapter 153
Isabelle stood silent, watching me
I promised her it didn’t matter. I swore I would reject my fated mate if they ever appeared. I told her I would risk the weakness, the sickness that comes with rejecting the bond. I laughed bitterly. “She trained so hard to become stronger for me. We joked that we’d balance each other out–her getting stronger while I got weaker.”
And then you showed up on that balcony, and I broke every single promise. Not just the big ones–all of them.”
“Matthew
“No, let me finish.” I needed to say this. “You came to my house but you didn’t force anything on me. I chose to sleep with you. I chose to accept the bond. I chose to mark you and to let no share in that knowledge. I lost my fucking mind.”
I covered my face with my hands. “Do you know what I did to her? I stopped spending time with her. I refused to go out with her. I treated her like she was a goddamn burden. And the most twisted part? I expected her to endure it all and understand. What kind of selfish asshole does that make me?”
Isabelle remained standing.
“She wanted a baby,” I continued, my voice breaking. “She told me she wanted children, and I told her to wait. And then you got pregnant, and I finally understood how much that must have hurt her.”
I looked up at Isabelle, tears blurring my vision. “I knew it would hurt her if I didn’t take the same precautions with you that I took with her. I made her feel like she was just… killing time with me until my fated mate showed up.”
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TR
more than once earlier in the book it said that women sent to the clifflads as tributes never returned… here it says most come back
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