Matthew’s POV
I couldn’t go back to the hotel room. Not yet. Not with Juno’s words still burning in my
Pats.
How could I have been so blind? So pathetically weak? I’d helped Charles Richards destroy my own family, my own marriage.
Tears slid down my cheeks before I even realized I was crying. Again. This year had been hell, I’d cried more in these past months than in my entire life Alpha wolves weren’t supposed to break down like this. We were supposed to be strong, unshakeable. But here I was, walking alone in the dark, tears streaming down my face like some abandoned pup.
I passed a couple huddled together, their scents mingled into something whole and complete. That used to be Juno and me. We’d faced everything together.
And I’d thrown it all away.
Now Juno and Augustin were fated mates. The news had been the final blow, shattering what remained of my heart. If I had just rejected Isabelle… if Jund had rejected Kieran… maybe we would have discovered we were fated for each other all along.
But I’d thrown it all away. For what? For a woman who’d been sent to destroy me, to weaken me, to make me vulnerable.
We don’t want her anymore. Zephyx’s voice broke through my thoughts.
“Now you decide?” I muttered aloud, “Now, after everything is destroyed?”
Juno would never have used us. Isabelle ruined us. My wolf’s regret flowed through our bond.
“You think an apology fixes this?” I stopped walking, my hands balling into fists at my sides. “You think saying ‘sorry‘ brings back my marriage? My home? My life?
I was wrong. I should have-
“You should have ignored her wolf’s call!” I snarled, my voice rising in the empty street. “You should have stayed loyal to Seraphine! Instead, you abandoned her to go claim Isabelle!”
“You promised me, Zephyx. You promised that you would protect me. That you would be my strength. That you would never hurt me or lead me astray.”
I know. I’m sorry. I thought I was protecting us by following the fated bond.
“Protecting us? Look where we are now! Look what we’ve lost!”
I didn’t understand. I thought a fated mate would be better for us than a chosen one.
*You betrayed our friendship with Juno that existed long before I turned eighteen,” I said. “You betrayed the woman who fought beside us through every storm, who helped us conquer our pack. And for what? For a bond that meant nothing!”
I found a bench and collapsed onto it, too exhausted to keep walking. My mind was clearer now than it had been in months, as if a fog had finally lifted.
“Zephyx,” I said, my voice dropping lower as my anger gave way to bitter resignation. “You threw away Juno and Seraphine for a bond that wasn’t even necessary. Look at Augustin, he’s had a stronger pull toward his fated mate than I ever had toward Isabelle, and his wolf respected his choice. But you? You deceived me. You kept knocking me down. You fought me every step of the way, trying to force the bond through brute strength.”
Zephyx remained silent, and I could feel his shame.
The silence stretched between us as I sat there, alone with my wolf and my regrets.
Eventually, I pulled myself to my feet. It was time to go back to the hotel.
Isabelle was awake when I entered. Her eyes were red and swollen, worry etched across her face.
1/3
Chapter 250
“I didn’t say a word to het, just crossed to the bed and lay down, still fully clothed, my back to her. ***
“Matthew,” she said after a moment, her voice trembling slightly. Please talk to me, Where have you been? I was worried sick,
I stayed silent, staring at the wall, refusing to engage with her.
You can’t keep doing this, she continued, her voice gaining an edge. “You can’t keep shutting me out. I’m carrying your child,”
Still, I said nothing. What was there to say?
“You know she’s never coming back to you, right? Isabelle finally said, her tone taking on a hard edge. You need to move on. You can’t keep punishing me for our fated bond. It’s not my fault we’re meant to be together.”
Something inside me snapped. Those were almost exactly the words I had once said to Juno about Isabelle.
I’ll stay back this time, Zephyx promised, retreating to the depths of my consciousness.
I sat up slowly, turning to face her, feeling a cold, controlled anger unlike anything I’d ever experienced before.
You came into my home,” I said, my voice deadly quiet. “You destroyed my marriage.”
Isabelle blinked, taken aback by my tone. ‘I—”
“When your father lied and said I had accepted you, that I’d taken advantage of you on that terrace, you couldn’t tell the Alphas the truth, could you?” I continued, watching her face closely. “You couldn’t say, ‘No, that’s not what happened.“”
“You planted seeds of discord between Juno and me with your lies and manipulations.”
“That’s not fair,” she protested weakly, “It was Levenston who attacked the territory and took Juno as a trophy!”
I laughed with a bitter sound that made her flinch.
“Do you really think Juno and I couldn’t have beaten back any attackers? Are you that naive?” I leaned closer to her, “Juno is a real Luna, Isabelle. A warrior. She might be delta by blood, but your alpha wolf is nothing compared to her.”
“We weathered storms together, conquered our pack together. We were a force, Juno and I.”
Tears welled in Isabelle’s eyes, but I wasn’t finished. The dam had brøken, and all the truths I’d been holding back came flooding out.
*Juno left because of what you did,” I cut in, refusing to let her hide behind more lies. “Because you couldn’t be honest. Because you chose to believe what was convenient rather than what was right.”
I could feel Isabelle’s wolf reaching out, calling for Zephyx. But for once, my wolf kept his promise and remained silent, leaving her call unanswered.
“Tell me something, Isabelle,‘ I said, delivering the final blow. “Did your father not love you enough? Did he not want you to have a man who was truly yours? Why he helped you force your way into my home, to be my mistress, to always be second to my wife?*
Her face crumpled, tears streaming down her cheeks, pain evident in her eyes.
I stared at her, feeling nothing but cold detachment. Whatever pain she was experiencing now, it was nothing compared to the gaping wound in my chest, the one that had been bleeding since the day I betrayed Juno.
‘Matthew, please,” she whispered, “I know you’re hurting. I know you hate me right now. But-
“But what?” I didn’t have the energy for rage anymore. “What could you possibly say that would make any difference?”
She took a deep breath, her hands instinctively moving to her swollen belly. “You were the best thing that’s happened to me in a long time. That’s why I stayed. That’s why I kept trying.”
