Sable's POV
The gun goes off.
I scream. Vivienne drops. Blood spreads across the white marble floor.
But she's breathing—Malachi shot the wall behind her head. A warning.
"Next one goes through her brain," Malachi says calmly, pressing the gun to Vivienne's temple. "Unless everyone does exactly what I say."
Thorne's entire body vibrates with barely controlled rage. "Let her go, Malachi. This is between us."
"Oh, but it's not anymore." Malachi's eyes—wrong, glowing with blood magic—fix on me. "Because this little omega changes everything. A true mate bond? That's power, cousin. Raw, ancient power that could make you unstoppable." His smile is madness. "Or destroy you completely. I haven't decided which would be more fun."
Caelan steps in front of me, protective. "She's coming with me. This doesn't concern her."
"Doesn't concern her?" Malachi laughs. "She's the whole point! Don't you see? Thorne suppressed their mate bond. Took her virginity without it. Treated her like garbage. And when that spell breaks—and it will break—he'll feel everything she felt. Every tear. Every moment of pain. It'll rip him apart from the inside."
My head spins. "What spell? What are you talking about?"
Thorne's face goes ashen. "Sable, don't listen to him—"
"Tell her!" Malachi cocks the gun. "Tell your wife what you did. Or Vivienne dies right now."
Silence. Heavy. Terrible.
Then Thorne's voice, broken: "You're my true mate. I found out the day we met. And I... I paid a witch to suppress the bond so I wouldn't feel it."
The world tilts. "You what?"
"I didn't want a mate bond complicating things. So I blocked it. You can't feel it because the spell only works on me—"
"You KNEW?" My voice rises to a scream. "You knew we were mates and you still treated me like—like—"
"Like breeding stock," Malachi finishes helpfully. "Exactly like breeding stock. Because that's all he thinks you are, sweetheart."
I can't breathe. My chest is collapsing. True mates are sacred. They're fate's gift. And Thorne rejected it before I even had a chance.
"Take the shot," Vivienne suddenly says, staring at me with pure hatred. "Kill the omega. End this."
Malachi considers. "Tempting. But dead, she's just a tragedy. Alive? She's a weapon." He looks at Thorne. "Here's what's going to happen. The omega stays with you. You play happy husband. And I get to watch that spell crack piece by piece until it destroys you both. Entertainment for months."
"I'll kill you first," Thorne growls.
"No, you won't. Because if I die, my people release every dirty secret about the Corvinus pack. Every crime, every murdered rival, every law you've broken. The Council will strip your title and execute you." Malachi shrugs. "So smile, cousin. Pretend to love your little mate. And know that every day, you're one step closer to feeling exactly what you put her through."
He vanishes—literally disappears in a swirl of blood-red smoke. Blood magic.
Vivienne scrambles to her feet, shaking. "This is all your fault!" She points at me. "That omega should never have been brought here!"
"Enough." Thorne's voice is dead. "Go home, Vivienne."
"Go home? After—"
"NOW."
She leaves, shooting me a look of pure venom.
Caelan touches my arm gently. "Sable. Come with me. You don't have to stay here."
But I can barely hear him. My mind is spinning. True mates. Suppression spell. Everything I felt—the pull toward Thorne, my wolf's recognition—it was real. And he buried it.
"Get out, Greystone," Thorne says tiredly. "You've done enough damage."
"I came to help her—"
"You came to steal what's mine." Thorne's eyes flash. "She's my wife. My mate. And she's not going anywhere."
"That's not your choice." Caelan looks at me. "Sable?"
Everyone waits. The most powerful Alpha in New York and his greatest rival, both wanting me to choose.
But I can't choose anything. I can't even think.
"I need..." My voice sounds far away. "I need to be alone."
I walk to the bedroom—the same room where Thorne destroyed me hours ago. Lock the door. Slide down to the floor.
True mates.
He's my true mate.
And he rejected me before I ever had a chance.
Two months crawl past like years.
I live like a ghost in Thorne's penthouse. He comes home late—always late. We eat breakfast in silence. He sleeps in a different room.
I never see Caelan again. Thorne's security makes sure of that.
Vivienne visits once a week, marking her territory. She touches Thorne's arm, kisses his cheek, calls him "darling" while looking at me with triumph.
I'm the wife. She's the one he loves.
The irony would be funny if it didn't make me want to die.
My brother calls every day. He's getting better—the treatment is working. His voice gets stronger each time. "Sable, you sound sad. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Finn. Just tired."
"Is your husband treating you well?"
I lie through my teeth. "Yes. He's wonderful."
Because if Finn knew the truth, he'd try to save me. And saving me means losing his treatment.
So I smile. I lie. I pretend.
This morning, I wake up nauseous. Run to the bathroom. Throw up everything.
With shaking hands, I take the pregnancy test I've been hiding for a week.
Two pink lines.
I'm pregnant.
I should feel joy. This is my baby. My pup.
Instead, I feel crushing loneliness. I'm growing a life inside me, and I'm completely alone.
I find Thorne at breakfast, reading financial reports like always. His laptop glows between us like a wall.
"I'm pregnant," I say quietly.
He glances up. Just for a second. "Good. I'll inform the pack doctor. Eat more protein." Then back to his reports.
That's it. That's all I get.
I stare at my breakfast—eggs I can't stomach, toast I can't swallow. This is my life now. Growing his heir in silence while he counts money and sleeps with another woman.
"Don't you care at all?" The words escape before I can stop them.
Thorne looks up again, annoyed. "About what?"
"About this. The baby. Me." My voice cracks. "About anything?"
His gray eyes are flat. Empty. "You're doing your job. I'm doing mine. What else matters?"
Everything, I want to scream. Everything matters.
But I just nod. "Nothing. Never mind."
I leave before he sees me cry.
That night, I'm in my room—the guest room he assigned me—when I hear him come home. Later than usual.
I shouldn't care. Don't want to care.
But when his footsteps pass my door, something happens. A warmth blooms in my chest. A pull, like invisible strings connecting us. My wolf whines—a soft, longing sound.
Mate, she whispers. Our mate is near.
I press my hand to the door. On the other side, the footsteps stop.
Is he feeling it too? Can he sense me through the suppression spell?
Silence. Long. Heavy.
Then his footsteps continue. His bedroom door closes.
I slide down my door, hand over my chest where the warmth is fading. The bond is there. Buried, suppressed, but there. Trying to connect us despite his magic.
My wolf recognizes him. Wants him. Even after everything.
I cry myself to sleep, hating my own heart.
The next morning, I find something on the kitchen counter. A bottle of prenatal vitamins. And a note in Thorne's sharp handwriting:
For the baby. Take these. -T
It's the first personal thing he's given me.
I clutch the note like it means something. Like maybe, somewhere deep down, he cares a little.
I'm pathetic.
The maid comes in, sees me crying over vitamins. "Mrs. Corvinus? Are you alright?"
"Fine," I lie. "Just hormones."
She nods sympathetically. "The first trimester is hard. But it gets easier."
She's talking about pregnancy. But I'm thinking about this marriage. Does it get easier? Or does it just hurt less as you go numb?
That afternoon, I'm alone when the doorbell rings. The maid is out. Thorne's at work.
I shouldn't answer it. Thorne's rules: don't open the door, don't leave the penthouse, don't trust anyone.
But I'm so lonely I'm going crazy.
I open the door.
A woman stands there. Beautiful, elegant, probably forty. She smiles warmly. "You must be Sable. Thorne's wife."
"Yes. Can I help you?"
"I hope so, dear." She steps inside before I can stop her. "My name is Celeste. I'm a friend of the family. I heard you were expecting and wanted to welcome you properly."
Something feels wrong. Her smile is too wide. Her eyes too bright.
"That's kind, but—"
"I brought you something." She hands me a tea thermos. "A special blend. Helps with morning sickness. My grandmother's recipe."
The tea smells good. Herbal. Soothing.
"Thank you, but I should check with my doctor before—"
"Oh, it's completely safe. I promise." Celeste's eyes bore into mine. "In fact, it's very important you drink it. Right now. All of it."
Her voice sounds strange. Layered. Like multiple people speaking.
My wolf snarls a warning.
I step back. "I think you should leave."
"Drink the tea, Sable." Celeste's face shifts—her eyes glow red for just a second. "DRINK IT."
Magic. She's using compulsion magic.
I try to run, but my body moves on its own. My hand raises the thermos. Tips it toward my mouth.
"That's a good girl," Celeste croons. "Just one sip. That's all it takes."
The liquid touches my lips.
The door crashes open.
Thorne appears, eyes wild. He rips the thermos from my hands, throws it across the room. It shatters, liquid hissing as it eats through the marble floor.
Acid. Or poison. Or worse.
"Celeste." Thorne's voice is murder. "Witch magic in my home? On my wife?"
Celeste smiles. "Your wife? Or your experiment?" She backs toward the balcony. "Malachi sends his regards. He wanted me to deliver a message."
"What message?"
"That the baby won't save you. In fact—" Her smile widens. "—it'll destroy you faster than anything else could."
She jumps off the balcony. Thirty floors up.
I scream. Thorne runs to look. She's gone—vanished in mid-air.
He turns to me, grabs my shoulders. "Did you drink any? Did it touch your tongue?"
"I—I don't know. Maybe a drop—"
His face goes white. "We need to get you to the hospital. Now."
"What was that? What did she try to give me?"
Thorne's hands shake as he pulls out his phone. "Soul poison. If you ingested even a drop..." He can't finish.
"What? What happens?"
He looks at me, and for the first time, I see real fear in his eyes.
"It kills mate bonds. Severs them permanently." His voice breaks. "And if our bond dies while you're pregnant with my child... the baby dies too."