Ariana POV

The biting wind of the executive terrace whipped my hair across my face, but it was nothing compared to the absolute ice in my veins. Before I could reach the far stairwell, the heavy glass door swung open. It wasn't Holden. It was my brother, Bryan. The aggressive stench of his violent liquor scent immediately suffocated the fresh air.

"Throwing a tantrum over a low-level Omega?" Bryan sneered, looking down at me with utter disdain. "You're a wolfless burden, Ariana. You can't even help Holden run the Pack. The least you could do is not cause a scene. Why can't you be more like Kylie? She's thoughtful, useful, and always puts the Pack first."

I bit the inside of my cheek until I tasted copper. For four years, I would have cried, begging for my brother's affection and defending my worth. Not today. I locked my hatred and despair deep within my soul, forcing my face into a mask of perfect, dead submission. I lowered my eyes.

"You're right, Bryan. I apologize," I murmured softly.

Bryan frowned. His aggressive Alpha wolf shifted uneasily beneath his skin, clearly disturbed by the absolute void where my usual desperate need for his approval used to be. It was like punching a ghost. Before he could say more, Holden burst onto the terrace, his eyes wild with a panic I now knew was just fear of losing his perfect cover.

"Ariana!" Holden gasped, wrapping his arms around me. I forced down the bile rising in my throat and subtly slipped out of his embrace as he guided me back into his office.

The heavy oak doors clicked shut. A moment later, Bree sauntered in, carrying a tray of coffee. Her cheap vanilla scent clashed sickeningly with Holden's cedar. She deliberately brushed her Morandi blue nails against Holden's palm as she set the cup down, her eyes flashing me a triumphant, provocative smirk.

I didn't scream. I just smiled thinly. "A low-level intern shouldn't be interrupting the Alpha and Luna. Know your place, Omega."

Bree stiffened. Holden quickly intervened, playing the devoted husband to perfection. He picked up a steaming mug from his desk-the bitter Healer's potion I had choked down for six months to clear the silver from my womb. "Drink your medicine, my love. For our pups."

I took the mug. Without blinking, I tipped it over, watching the dark, bitter liquid splash directly into the trash can.

Holden's jaw dropped. That potion meant everything to his 'perfect family' image.

"I'd prefer iced juice," I said coldly, meeting his shocked gaze. "And perhaps you should teach your intern some basic manners. You're far too lenient with her."

Assuming I was merely throwing a jealous fit over the Omega, Holden immediately turned his wrath on Bree to save face. "Get out and fetch the juice. Now!" he barked. Bree paled and scurried away. I looked at Holden's mask of concern, my heart turning to stone. I just needed one month. One month to gather the ironclad proof of Kylie's silver poison and execute the Rejection ritual in front of the entire Pack.

An hour later, I walked out of the Hayes Tech building. An icy rain had begun to fall, soaking through my clothes as I sat on a muddy bench by the street. I pulled out my phone and dialed a number I hadn't called in years.

"Senior Brother Finn?" I asked, my voice trembling slightly against the cold.

"Ariana?!" Finn's warm, pine-scented voice boomed through the speaker. "Are you finally ready to come back to Professor Gerhard's eVTOL lab?"

"Yes," I whispered, blinking away the rain. "But I need one month to handle some Pack business first."

"Take your time! The lab's doors are always open for our genius."

I hung up, a fragile sense of purpose taking root in my chest. Just then, the hiss of tires on wet asphalt drew my attention. A black Maybach rolled slowly past the curb. The rear window was cracked open just enough for my heightened hearing and smell to catch it.

The overwhelming, sickening blend of cedar and cheap vanilla spilled into the cold air. Inside the dimly lit cabin, I saw Bree straddling Holden's lap, their mouths locked in a desperate kiss. He was soothing his agitated Inner Wolf with his plaything, right after playing the doting husband.

The final, poisoned silver nail was driven into the coffin of our mate-bond. Deep within my soul, beneath layers of trauma and suppression, the White Wolf that had been comatose for four years let out a faint, vengeful whimper.

Ariana POV

The Maybach's taillights bled into the cold, rainy night, taking the last four years of my life with them. I looked down at my left hand. The million-dollar pink diamond Holden had slipped onto my finger felt heavier than a silver shackle. It was a brand of my humiliation, a glittering reminder of a mate-bond built on lies.

I pulled it off.

Under the flickering streetlamp, a frail old woman crouched with a basket of wilting flowers. She was soaked to the bone. Without a second thought, I tossed the diamond into her basket.

"Go home," I whispered, my voice hollow. "Buy yourself something warm."

I didn't wait for her response, turning my back and disappearing into the icy downpour.

Blake POV

The tires of my Rolls-Royce Phantom hissed against the wet asphalt as I pulled up to the curb. I stepped out, holding a black umbrella over my grandmother.

"I told you not to sneak out, Granny," I sighed, my Lycan Inner Wolf grumbling at her stubbornness.

She ignored me, her warm amber scent spiking with sudden, frantic excitement. She held up a pink diamond ring. But it wasn't the gem that hit me.

It was the scent clinging to the metal.

Rain-washed white jasmine.

It punched through the damp city air, hitting my senses with the force of a lightning strike. My Inner Wolf, dormant and bored for decades, suddenly roared to life, clawing at my chest with a primal, possessive fury. Mate!

"Go after her, Blake!" Granny ordered, her eyes wide. "That's a White Wolf!"

I dropped the umbrella and let my Lycan senses explode outward. But the rain was too heavy, washing away the tracks. The intoxicating jasmine scent was already dissolving into the night. I cursed under my breath, returning to the car. I placed the ring on the dashboard. The faint aroma filled the enclosed cabin, leaving my blood boiling and my wolf pacing restlessly in my mind.

Ariana POV

Two hours later, I stood dripping wet in the foyer of the Hayes Pack Alpha Estate. My phone buzzed. A text from Holden: Rogue spotted at the border. Pack business. Won't be home tonight. Sleep well, my Luna.

I stared at the screen, feeling nothing but a cold, clinical disgust. I unpinned his number.

Pushing open the heavy oak doors to the master bedroom, my stomach violently lurched. Hours ago, I had prepared this "Nest" to celebrate my medical clearance. Expensive aromatherapy candles flickered, casting a warm glow over the yellow silk sheets, which were meticulously covered in fresh rose petals. A perfect setting to breed his Alpha pups.

A guttural sound tore from my throat. I lunged forward, grabbing the edge of the silk sheets and violently ripping them off the mattress. Petals, pillows, and candles crashed to the floor in a chaotic mess. I stood amidst the ruined nest, my heart hardening into impenetrable iron.

The next morning, the scent of wild bonfire filled the living room. Callie, my best friend and a hidden Rogue, slammed a stack of photos onto the glass coffee table.

"He bought her a villa outside the territory with Pack funds," Callie spat, her eyes blazing with protective fury. "And look at this."

I picked up a photo. It was a screenshot of Bree's social media, flaunting a diamond bracelet. A gift from my Alpha, the caption read.

I didn't cry. I calmly grabbed another black trash bag and shoved a row of designer dresses and perfumes Holden had bought me inside.

"Sell it all," I told Callie, tying the bag shut. "Donate the money to the wolfless orphans in the lower districts."

Callie frowned, crossing her arms. "Ari, Holden's ego is massive. He needs his 'perfect, submissive Luna' to maintain his image. He's not going to just let you walk away."

By evening, the master bedroom was still a graveyard of crushed roses. I sat at the vanity, staring at my reflection when the door opened.

Holden walked in. The heavy cedar scent rolled off him, but beneath it, my heightened senses caught the sickeningly sweet trace of cheap vanilla.

He stepped behind me, his hands resting on my shoulders, playing the devoted husband. "I'm sorry about last night, baby. How about we plan a grand Mating Ceremony? And a honeymoon. Just us."

I looked at his handsome, lying face in the mirror. I needed to test the waters.

"Holden," I said, my voice eerily calm. "Maybe we should sever the mate-bond."

The gentle mask shattered instantly. His Alpha wolf perceived the ultimate threat to his possession. His eyes flashed a dangerous, bloodthirsty red.

Before I could blink, he released a suffocating wave of Alpha's Command. He grabbed my jaw, his grip bruising, forcing my head up to meet his furious gaze.

"Listen to me, Ariana," he snarled, his voice dropping into a feral, terrifying growl. "In our world, an Alpha never lets go of his mate. There is no divorce. Only death can sever this bond."

Ariana POV

Holden's bruising grip on my jaw sent a terrifying tremor through the mate-bond, but I forced my eyes to remain dead and hollow. He wasn't holding me out of love; he was holding me because his Alpha ego couldn't fathom losing a possession.

I slowly reached into the nightstand drawer, my fingers brushing past the ruined rose petals on the floor. I pulled out a thick stack of parchment-a Pack Separation Agreement drafted by a human lawyer.

"If you won't sever the bond, then let's at least divide the territory assets," I choked out, shoving the papers against his chest.

Holden glanced at the title. His eyes instantly flared a bloodthirsty crimson. His Inner Wolf roared at the sheer audacity of my challenge. He didn't even bother to read the clauses. With a feral snarl, his claws extended, shredding the legal document into confetti.

"You are a wolfless dependent, Ariana," he growled, his voice vibrating with absolute Alpha authority as he threw the shredded pieces over the ruined bed. "You own nothing. You are nothing without my protection. Stop throwing these pathetic tantrums over an Omega."

He turned on his heel and slammed the heavy oak door behind him, leaving me in the suffocating silence of the master bedroom. I stared at the torn paper mingling with the crushed roses. Conventional methods would never work. I needed a foolproof plan to execute the irreversible Rejection ritual in exactly one month.

The next evening, the air inside Holden's Maybach was thick with his oppressive cedar scent. We were heading to the Taylor Pack Estate for a family dinner, and Holden was acting as if last night's violent outburst had never happened. His Inner Wolf was smug, convinced that his display of dominance had successfully cowed me.

"If the intern bothers you that much," Holden said smoothly, staring out the rain-streaked window, "I'll have Bree reassigned to the Border Patrols. Consider it a gift."

He turned to me, his gaze hardening with a subtle Alpha warning. "But don't ever push my bottom line again."

Before I could respond, his demeanor shifted seamlessly into the role of the devoted husband. He reached over, wrapping his large hand around mine. "Keep taking the Healer's herbs, my love. I want us to focus on the future. On our strong Alpha pups."

My stomach violently churned at the thought of bearing pups for a man who smelled of another woman's cheap vanilla. I suppressed the urge to gag, subtly sliding my hand out from beneath his.

"Of course," I murmured, staring blankly ahead.

The grand dining room of the Taylor Pack Estate was a monument to their wealth, the long mahogany table groaning under a feast set with pure gold and bone china. Yet, my biological father, Alpha Gene, my mother, Luna Beverly, and my two brothers sat in absolute silence. Our stomachs were empty. We were waiting for Kylie's international video call. Because she was a wolfless Omega, the Pack's mind-link couldn't reach her across the ocean.

I had no patience left for this sick favoritism. I picked up my gold fork and reached for a slice of roast.

"Put that down," Alpha Gene barked, his cedar scent spiking with irritation. "We wait for your sister."

I dropped the fork, letting it clatter loudly against the china. "Why? She's probably too busy throwing herself at high-ranking Alphas or Lycans abroad to remember the time difference."

The reaction was instantaneous. Beside me, Holden stiffened. His scent flared with a sudden, sharp spike of jealousy he couldn't completely mask. He was thinking about Kylie with another man.

But it was my second brother, Bryan, who completely lost his mind.

"Shut your mouth!" Bryan roared. His volatile Alpha wolf surged to the surface. He slammed his fist onto the table, violently backhanding the heavy bone-china tureen of boiling meat stew.

The heavy bowl shattered. The scalding, boiling liquid erupted across the table, splashing directly onto my chest and abdomen.

A searing, blistering agony ripped through my skin. I gasped, gripping the edge of the mahogany table as the hot liquid soaked through my blouse, burning me alive.

"Oh, please," Luna Beverly sneered, rolling her eyes at my trembling frame. She didn't even flinch at my pain. "Stop the pity play, Ariana. Holden isn't going to fall for your dramatic victim act just because you spilled some soup."

"You're a constant embarrassment to this Pack," my eldest brother, Bradford, muttered in disgust.

Holden, finally snapping out of his jealous daze over my comment about Kylie, realized what had happened. "Ariana!" he gasped. He reached out, his Alpha scent flaring in a desperate attempt to soothe my pain, his hands moving to inspect the damage.

I violently shoved his hands away.

My eyes were completely dry, devoid of a single tear, burning with an absolute, glacial hatred. Without a word, I grabbed the hem of my soaked, clinging shirt and yanked it up. I exposed the raw, blistered red flesh to the entire room-and right beneath the fresh burns, the dark, twisted, dead-branch-like scar from the silver poison four years ago.