Hayden POV:

The next morning, I hadn't slept. I changed into a black dress and drove to the Carlisle Pack's estate. This place, which I once dreamed of calling home, now just made my stomach turn.

The guards at the gate stopped me. "Miss Hayden, the Alpha has given orders. You can't enter." Their eyes held a mixture of pity and distance.

I ignored them, reaching out to Kole through our mind-link.

Kole, I know you can hear me. Come out.

My mental voice was ice, stripped of all emotion.

A moment later, the large gates slowly swung open. Kole's tall figure appeared at the entrance. He wore a simple black t-shirt, his ice-gray eyes unreadable.

Carina, like a frightened bird, clung to his arm. She was dressed in a white lace dress, her eyes red-rimmed and pathetic.

"Carina," I said, my voice low but carrying across the distance. I looked directly at her. "What did you do to my grandmother yesterday?"

Carina flinched, immediately hiding behind Kole. "Hayden, I don't know what you're talking about..." she sobbed. "I just went to thank Annika for taking care of you..."

"Thank her?" I let out a cold laugh. "By verbally abusing an old woman with a heart condition until she had an attack? Is that how you show gratitude?"

Kole's brow furrowed. He stepped forward, placing himself between me and Carina. "Hayden, watch your tone. Carina meant well."

I stared at him in disbelief. "Meant well? Kole, my grandmother is dead! The only family I had!"

"It was an accident." Kole's voice was hard as iron. "The Pack's doctor, Dr. Alan Foster, has already issued a report. Annika's death was from natural causes. This matter is closed."

He had already forged a report. He moved so fast to protect her. My heart sank into a frozen pit.

"I want to see the Pack Elders!" I tried to push past him, to get into the estate. "I want to request a formal hearing!"

Kole grabbed my wrist. His grip was like an iron clamp. "I said, it's closed." His voice held the unmistakable weight of a command.

I struggled, but he didn't move. I could feel the heat of his palm, a warmth that once brought me comfort, now it only burned.

"Let me go!" I snarled.

"Hayden," he looked down at me, a flicker of something complex in his icy eyes before it was buried by indifference. "Don't push me."

"Push you? I'm seeking justice for my family! And you, my fated mate, are protecting the murderer!" My voice trembled with rage.

Behind him, Carina's crying intensified. "Kole, I really didn't... I'm so scared..."

Kole's jaw tightened. He released me, but his tone grew even harsher. "The Elders will not see you. That is my decision as Alpha."

I stumbled back a step, watching him shield the woman behind him. In that moment, I knew with absolute clarity that there was nothing left between us.

I turned and walked away from the estate without looking back.

Back in my car, I contacted a member of the Pack's council, a friend of my grandmother's. His reply was full of apology and helplessness. "Hayden, I'm sorry. The Alpha has given an order. No one is to speak of this again."

Every path was blocked. In the face of the Alpha's absolute power, my efforts were a joke.

I slumped over the steering wheel, my body shaking with suppressed fury.

No. I would not give up.

I pulled out my phone. In an encrypted contact list, I found a name: "Private Investigator."

I sent a text. "Need to investigate someone. Dr. Alan Foster. I want all his recent financial transactions and communication records."

If the Pack's rules wouldn't give me justice, then I would use my own rules to get it.

I started the car, my eyes calm again.

I drove to the only law firm in the city that wasn't under the jurisdiction of any Pack. I needed to be legally prepared for what came next.

I wasn't just going to get revenge. I was going to ruin them, in front of the entire werewolf world.

Hayden POV:

I returned to the small apartment my grandmother had left me. It was filled with our memories, but now it felt vast and empty, chilling me to the bone.

I opened the closet and pulled out the black dress I wore for formal Pack ceremonies. My grandmother had given it to me for my coming-of-age.

Now, I would wear it to my own funeral.

According to Pack law, The Rejection ceremony required both mates to participate. One initiated, the other accepted. Since Kole had already made his choice, I wouldn't make him wait.

I sent a message to Kole's Beta, his right-hand man. "Please inform Alpha Carlisle that I am ready. We can hold the Rejection ceremony at any time."

I looked at myself in the mirror. My face was pale, my eyes bloodshot. I forced a smile, but it looked more painful than a grimace.

The Rejection would cause a soul-tearing agony, especially for the one being rejected. As a wolfless, my body was already weak. I didn't know if I could survive it.

But I had to. This was the final, most absolute way to sever my connection to Kole.

I could almost picture Kole in his study, his brow furrowed as his Beta relayed my message. He was so arrogant, he wouldn't understand my quick agreement.

He'd probably scoff, telling his loyal Beta, "So decisive? She's probably already found a new protector and can't wait to be rid of me."

His pride and suspicion would only allow him to see my resolve as a sign of my infidelity.

How pathetic. And it was exactly what I wanted him to think.

"Tomorrow night, at the full moon, on the Pack's sacred Moonstone Altar."

I received the notification with the time and place. Tomorrow night. The full moon. The Goddess who had witnessed our bond would now witness its destruction.

Soon, the rumors started. Carina was spreading it everywhere, telling anyone who would listen that I was going mad with jealousy, that I had demanded the rejection so I could be free to join another Pack.

She painted herself as the innocent victim, forced to accept Kole's "protection" because of my "unreasonable" behavior.

I shut down my computer, unable to look at the sickening lies anymore.

I walked to the window, looking at the moon that was not yet full. Grandma, would you be angry with me? For not protecting this gift from the Goddess?

No. You wouldn't. You would just want me to live.

I started packing. I couldn't stay in this apartment. Once the Rejection was complete, I would be cast out of the Carlisle Pack's territory, becoming a Rogue.

I carefully packed my grandmother's few belongings—some old clothes and a single photo frame.

I took one last look at my home, then dragged the suitcase out the door without a second glance.

I didn't go to any friends. I used a fake ID to check into the cheapest motel in the city.

The Pack news feed popped up again. A photo showed Kole, after arranging the ceremony, personally driving Carina to the most exclusive restaurant downtown, one with a view overlooking the entire city.

They were celebrating my departure.

I lay on the cold, hard bed of the motel, closing my eyes. In the darkness, I could feel the bond deep in my soul being stretched taut, the final, frantic tension before it snapped.

Tomorrow, it would all be over.

I touched my neck, the spot where I once fantasized Kole would leave his Mark.

Now, it would only bear the scar of a Rejection.

I curled into a ball, letting the bone-deep chill consume me.