Dante's POV
"You want me to restore the mate bond with you."
I say the words like a prayer. Like salvation. Like everything I've been begging for since she left.
Isla's ice-blue eyes show nothing. No hope. No love. Nothing.
"I need you to restore the bond," she corrects. "There's a difference."
We're in her hospital room. She's still bandaged from the fire. Still recovering from the silver bullet she took saving our son. My son. The boy I let call another woman Mommy.
The guilt is eating me alive.
"I don't care about the difference." My voice cracks. "I'll do it. Whatever you need. Whatever it takes."
"You don't even know what I'm asking yet."
"I don't care!" I move closer to her bed. Want to touch her. Don't dare. "Isla, I've been dying without you. My wolf is going insane. The bond severance is killing me. If you're giving me a chance—"
"I'm not giving you a chance." Her words cut like glass. "I'm using you to save our son. That's all this is."
The hope in my chest turns to ice.
"What do you mean?"
Isla sits up straighter, wincing from her injuries. "Kieran has a death curse. If Serena dies, he dies. The only way to break it is through a mate bond connection—you and I restore our bond, I forgive Serena through that link, the curse breaks."
"Okay. We restore the bond—"
"And then sever it again immediately." She says it so calmly. Like she's discussing the weather. "We do the ritual. Save Kieran. Break the bond again the same day."
My world tilts. "You want to bond with me just to break it again?"
"Yes."
"That will kill me." I'm not being dramatic. A second bond severance, especially right after restoration, will destroy what's left of my wolf. "Isla, I'll die."
"You should have thought about that before you spent seven years treating me like garbage." No emotion in her voice. "But don't worry. I checked with Moira. You won't die. You'll just wish you did."
She wants me to suffer. Wants me to feel the pain she felt.
I deserve it.
"Fine," I whisper. "I'll do it."
Isla's eyebrows raise. "Just like that? You agree?"
"For Kieran? For you?" I meet her eyes. "I'd do anything. I'd die for you, Isla. I should have shown you that seven years ago, but I'm showing you now."
For a moment—just a moment—something flickers in her eyes. Then it's gone.
"Pretty words," she says. "You were always good with pretty words when you wanted something. But you never backed them up with action."
"I'm backing them up now—"
"No, you're desperate now. There's a difference." She shifts in bed, pain crossing her face. "And there are conditions. If you can't meet them, we find another way to save Kieran."
My heart pounds. "What conditions?"
"First: This bond is fake. Temporary. Business only. You don't get to touch me. You don't get to claim I'm yours. You don't get to act like we're a real mated couple." Her voice is steel. "The moment Kieran is safe, we sever it again."
Each word is a knife. But I nod. "Agreed."
"Second: You move out of the Alpha residence. Marcus becomes acting Alpha while you're recovering from the bond trauma. You don't get to use your position to pressure me."
"Isla, I would never—"
"You already did. For seven years." She cuts me off. "Do you agree or not?"
I swallow hard. Give up my home? My authority? Everything I've built?
For her. For Kieran.
"Agreed."
"Third: You attend therapy. Real therapy with a pack counselor about why you treated me the way you did. And you share those session notes with me."
My pride screams. Bare my soul to a stranger? Admit my failures in writing?
But I see the test in her eyes. She's waiting for me to refuse. Waiting for proof I haven't changed.
"Agreed," I say quietly.
Isla looks surprised. Like she expected me to fight harder.
"Fourth: You publicly apologize. At the next pack meeting. In front of everyone. You tell them exactly what you did wrong. How you failed as a mate. How you let Serena poison our family." Her eyes bore into mine. "You humiliate yourself the way I was humiliated."
This one hurts. My wolf snarls. Alphas don't show weakness. Don't admit failure publicly.
But I'm not just an Alpha anymore. I'm a father. A terrible mate trying to make amends.
"Agreed."
"You're agreeing too easily." Isla's studying me like I'm a puzzle. "Why?"
"Because you're right. About all of it." I finally let myself move closer. Kneel beside her bed so we're eye level. "I was a terrible mate. A terrible father. I let my fear of being weak make me cruel. I let Serena manipulate me because it was easier than fighting for you." My voice breaks. "I don't deserve your forgiveness. I don't deserve a second chance. But Kieran deserves his mother, and if destroying myself is what it takes to save him, I'll do it gladly."
For the first time since I entered the room, Isla's mask cracks. I see pain. Confusion. Maybe even a hint of the woman who used to love me.
Then it's gone.
"There's one more condition," she says softly. "This one's not negotiable. If you can't agree, we're done talking."
Dread fills my stomach. "What is it?"
"You give me full custody of both children."
The world stops.
"What?"
"Full legal custody. Lyra and Kieran both. They live with me. You get supervised visitation once a month." Isla's voice is calm but her hands shake. "You don't get to make decisions about their education, their health, their future. You lost that right when you let Serena poison them against me."
"Isla, no. They're my children too—"
"Are they?" Her voice turns sharp. "Because you didn't act like a father when it mattered. You let Kieran be manipulated. You barely noticed Lyra existed. You were too busy building your pack empire to actually raise your kids."
Every word is true. Every word kills me.
"I know I failed them," I whisper. "But taking them away completely? That's not fair—"
"FAIR?" Isla's power explodes outward. The windows rattle. "You want to talk about fair? I carried them. I birthed them. I almost died having Kieran while you visited me twice to make sure your heir survived. I raised them alone while you gave me the scraps of your attention." Tears stream down her face now. "And when I needed you most, when Serena was poisoning me, turning our son against me, you stood by and watched. So don't you DARE talk to me about fair!"
I'm crying too. Can't help it. She's right. About everything.
"They're safer with you," I admit. "Better off with you. But Isla, please. Don't shut me out completely. Let me try to be the father I should have been."
"That's why you get monthly visits. Supervised by Marcus. You prove you've changed, maybe the visits increase." Her voice softens just slightly. "But I won't risk them being hurt by you again. I won't risk Serena's allies trying to use them against me."
She's protecting them. From me. From my failures.
"Okay," I whisper. "Full custody. You have it."
Isla stares at me. "Just like that?"
"Just like that." I wipe my tears. "I'll sign whatever papers you need. I'll tell the pack council. I'll do whatever it takes."
"Why?" She sounds genuinely confused. "Why are you agreeing to all of this? The old Dante would have fought. Would have used his Alpha power to keep control."
"Because the old Dante lost you." I meet her eyes. "And I'd rather have you alive and hating me than lose you forever. I'd rather see my children once a month and know they're happy than keep them close and watch them suffer." I take a shaky breath. "You asked me once why I never fought for you. I'm fighting now. Just not the way you expected."
For a long moment, we just look at each other. Seven years of marriage. All that pain. All that wasted time.
"The bond restoration happens tomorrow night," Isla says finally. "The Moon Goddess ritual. It takes three hours. You'll feel everything I felt when you rejected me. Every moment of pain. Every tear. Every broken hope."
"Good," I say. "I deserve to feel it."
"After it's done, we have twenty-four hours to break Serena's curse. Then we sever the bond again."
"And I'll lose you forever."
"You lost me three years ago, Dante. This is just making it official." She lies back down, exhausted. "Now get out. I need to rest before tomorrow."
I stand to leave. Get to the door. Can't help myself—I turn back.
"Isla?"
"What?"
"I know you don't believe me. I know you think this is just desperation." I grip the doorframe. "But I need you to know something. I love you. I've loved you since the day we met. I was just too broken and stupid to show it."
She laughs. It's a bitter sound. "You don't get to say that now. Not after everything."
"I know. But it's true anyway."
I leave before she can respond.
In the hallway, Marcus waits. He heard everything through the door.
"You really giving her full custody?" he asks.
"Yes."
"You're giving up your Alpha quarters?"
"Yes."
"You're going to humiliate yourself in front of the whole pack?"
"Yes."
Marcus studies me. "You've changed."
"Too late though." I lean against the wall. "She's never going to forgive me. Even after we save Kieran. Even after all this. I've lost her forever."
"Maybe," Marcus says. "But at least you're finally fighting for her. That's more than you ever did before."
He's right. For seven years, I was too proud to fight. Too scared to show weakness. Too convinced that love was dangerous.
Now I'm willing to lose everything just to save my son and give Isla the freedom she deserves.
I head to my office. Need to draft the custody papers. Start arrangements to move out. Prepare for tomorrow's ritual.
My phone buzzes. A message from an unknown number.
I open it.
My blood turns to ice.
It's a photo. Lyra. Isla's daughter. My daughter. She's in what looks like a warehouse. Tied to a chair. Crying.
Below the photo, a message:
You think Serena was working alone? You think this is over? If you complete the bond restoration tomorrow, the girl dies. If you tell Isla about this message, the girl dies. If you involve anyone, the girl dies. You have 24 hours to figure out how to save your son without bonding to Isla... or choose which child lives. Tick tock, Alpha.
I stare at the message.
Kieran dies if we don't restore the bond.
Lyra dies if we do.
And I can't tell Isla without getting Lyra killed.
The phone buzzes again. Another photo. This time it shows the person holding Lyra.
I drop the phone.
It's Marcus.
My Beta. My best friend. The man I trusted with everything.
He's the one who kidnapped my daughter.
The message comes through:
Surprised? I've been working with Serena since the beginning. You really thought I confessed about the poisoning out of guilt? I was covering my tracks. And now I own you. Do exactly what I say, or both your children die.
I can't breathe.
Can't think.
Marcus—loyal Marcus—has been the enemy all along.
And tomorrow, I have to stand next to him and pretend everything's fine while he holds my daughter's life in his hands.