Ryder's POV
Vivian's lips touched mine, and I shoved her away so hard she stumbled backward.
"What the hell are you doing?" I snarled, wiping my mouth like I could erase the feeling.
"Helping you!" Vivian's eyes flashed with anger and hurt. "She doesn't want you, Ryder! She's going to reject you and you'll die! But if you mark me instead, if we complete OUR bond—"
"There is no 'our bond'!" I was shaking, my wolf going absolutely feral. Wrong. Wrong. Not our mate. WRONG. "I told you yesterday—we're done. The engagement is over."
"Because of HER?" Vivian pointed up at Ember's window. "She's been watching us for ten minutes and she hasn't even come down! She doesn't care about you!"
But I'd seen Ember's face in the window. Seen the flash of hurt before she disappeared behind the curtain. My wolf had felt her jealousy through the bond, sharp and real.
She DID care. Even if she didn't want to.
"Leave," I said, forcing myself to stay calm. "Now, Vivian. Before I have you removed from pack lands."
Her face crumpled. "You'd exile me? For her?"
"I'd exile anyone who disrespects my mate."
"She's not your mate if she rejects you!"
"She's still my mate." The words came out quiet but absolute. "Rejected or not, chosen or not, she's mine. And I'm hers. That's how the Moon Goddess made us."
Vivian's expression turned ugly. "You're pathetic. Sitting here all night like a lost puppy, waiting for someone who hates you. Where's your pride? Where's your Alpha strength?"
"I lost my pride the moment I realized what I did to her." I met Vivian's eyes. "And real strength isn't about being cold and cruel. It's about admitting when you're wrong and trying to fix it."
Something my father never taught me. Something I had to learn the hard way.
Vivian stared at me like she didn't recognize me. "She's changed you. In one day, she's made you weak."
"No. She's made me see how weak I always was." I turned toward the packhouse. "Goodbye, Vivian. I hope you find someone who deserves you."
"You deserved me!" she screamed after me. "I was perfect for you! I would've been the perfect Luna!"
Maybe she would have. But she wasn't my mate.
I shifted back to wolf form and padded to the front of the packhouse, settling down where I could see both entrances. If Ember tried to leave, I'd know.
I wasn't going to stop her. I'd promised I wouldn't.
But I needed to see her one more time. Needed to know she made it out safely before the rejected bond killed me.
Because it WAS killing me. I'd felt it start the moment she said she was rejecting me. A slow poison spreading through my veins, making everything hurt.
Jace found me an hour later. He sat down next to me in human form, not caring that I was a wolf.
"You look terrible," he said.
I huffed out a breath that might've been a laugh.
"The pack's talking. Half think you're noble for respecting Ember's choice. The other half think you're stupid for throwing away Vivian."
I didn't care what the pack thought anymore.
"Your dad wants to see you. He's... not happy."
Of course he wasn't. Alpha Kane had built his whole reputation on strength and control. Having a son who was dying over a rejected mate bond probably looked weak to him.
I shifted to human. "Tell him I'll come after Ember leaves."
"She missed the morning bus." Jace's voice was careful. "Next one isn't until tonight. Six PM."
My wolf perked up. More time. We had more time.
"Don't," Jace warned. "Don't see it as a second chance. She wants to leave, Ryder. Let her go."
"I am letting her go." The words hurt to say. "But I need to make sure she has money. A safe place to stay. She can't just run off to a city with nothing—"
"She's not your responsibility."
"She's my MATE." The word came out harsh. "Rejected or not, I can't just let her walk into danger."
Jace sighed. "You really love her, don't you? Even though you've known about the bond for less than twenty-four hours."
Did I love her? I didn't know. The bond made everything confusing—was it real feeling or just wolf instinct?
But I knew I'd die for her. Knew I'd spend the rest of my short life trying to make up for what I did. Knew that the thought of her in danger made me want to destroy the world.
Maybe that was love. Or maybe I didn't deserve to call it that after how I'd treated her.
"I don't know what I feel," I admitted. "But I know she deserves better than what I gave her. Better than this pack. Better than me."
"That's the first smart thing you've said in years." Jace stood up. "For what it's worth, I think you're doing the right thing. Letting her choose."
After he left, I stayed in wolf form, watching the packhouse.
Around noon, I saw her. Ember came out the back door, carrying a small backpack. She looked around nervously, then started walking toward the forest.
Not toward the main gate. Toward the back border.
She was going to walk to the city. Six hours on foot through dangerous territory.
My wolf wanted to follow, to protect. But I forced myself to stay still.
This was her choice. Her freedom.
I watched her disappear into the trees, and something inside me broke completely.
She was really leaving. Really walking out of my life forever.
The bond-wound in my chest ripped wider, and I gasped with the pain of it. Black spots danced in my vision.
"Ryder!" Someone was shaking me. Marcus. "Shift back! You're bleeding!"
I hadn't realized I'd collapsed. Shifted to human without meaning to. There was blood on my lips—I'd bitten through my tongue.
"The bond," Marcus said grimly, checking my pulse. "It's already starting. How long since she rejected you?"
"Eighteen hours." My voice came out raspy.
"And you're already this bad?" He looked worried. "Most rejected bonds take weeks to show symptoms. Your connection must be incredibly strong."
Which meant I'd die faster. Weeks instead of years.
"Let me go after her," Marcus said. "At least give her money, supplies—"
"No." I forced myself to sit up. "She doesn't want anything from this pack. From me."
"So you're just going to let yourself die?"
"If that's what it takes for her to be free." I meant it. "She's been a prisoner here her whole life. Prisoner to a family that didn't want her. To a pack that mocked her. To a mate who tortured her." My voice broke. "If my death is the price of her freedom, then I'll pay it."
Marcus stared at me. "Your father is going to lose his mind."
"Let him." I stood up, swaying slightly. "I'm done living by his rules. Done being the Alpha he wanted me to be."
"What are you going to be instead?"
"Better." I looked toward the forest where Ember had disappeared. "Or I'll die trying."
Marcus helped me inside. I made it to my room before collapsing again, the bond-pain rolling through me in waves.
But even through the agony, I smiled.
Because Ember was free. Finally, truly free.
And if that killed me, then at least I'd done one good thing in my miserable life.
I was drifting in and out of consciousness when my phone rang. Unknown number.
"Hello?" My voice was barely a whisper.
"Ryder Kane?" A male voice. Unfamiliar. "This is Kieran Cross. I run a sanctuary in Lunar City. I found a young she-wolf on the road—copper-red, said her name was Ember. She collapsed about two miles from the city border."
My heart stopped. "Is she okay?"
"She's alive. But she's burning with fever and keeps crying in her sleep. Saying your name." He paused. "What did you do to her?"
"Everything wrong," I whispered. "Is she safe? Please tell me she's safe."
"She's safe. But whatever bond you two have—it's killing her too. The rejection is working both ways."
No. No, that wasn't supposed to happen. Ember was supposed to be FINE.
"I'm coming," I said, already moving toward the door despite my body screaming in protest. "Don't let her leave. I'm coming right now."
I hung up and stumbled into the hallway.
If the bond was killing her too, then we were both dying.
And I had twenty-four hours to convince her that living—together—was better than dying apart.