Cayla POV:

I didn't go to the apology. I went to the cemetery.

I bought the plot next to Justen.

Then I drove to the Blackwood Bridge.

Below, the river churned, black and hungry.

I took out my phone.

I'm going to be with the man I actually love. Goodbye, Alpha.

I hit send and threw the phone onto the pavement.

I climbed the railing.

I reached deep inside and found the bond. That thick, golden rope connecting me to Grafton.

"Grafton Mcleod," I spoke to the wind.

Grafton POV:

The ballroom was suffocating.

My phone buzzed.

I'm going to be with the man I actually love. Goodbye, Alpha.

Justen? But he was dead.

Suddenly, a voice echoed in my soul. Ancient. Final.

"I, Cayla Bass, reject you, Grafton Mcleod, as my Alpha and my Mate."

The world shattered.

A pain like a serrated blade ripped through my chest.

"ARGH!"

I dropped to my knees, coughing blood onto the marble floor.

The bond snapped.

"No..." I gasped.

"Find her!" I roared. "Find her now!"

Cayla POV:

The snap was agony.

But then... silence.

"I'm free," I whispered.

I leaned forward.

Gravity took me.

The water hit like concrete.

As I sank, I saw a giant White Wolf glowing in the depths.

Sleep, child. Sleep and forget.