Chapter 11
Xavier stared at her, stunned. “But I spent that money on you! We were going to complete our bond, become a family!”
Hanna laughed, her eyes full of scorn. “A family? Xavier, are you stupid? All these years, I played along with you because you were the Alpha of Blackthorn, with pack assets to burn. Did you really think I liked you? You’re just a mediocre Alpha, not even worth my time. Now you’re a nobody, not even fit to be a rouge. You think I’d claimed you? Dream on!”
Before Xavier could respond, Hanna grabbed a vase from the coffee table and smashed it over his head. “Get out! Get out of my estate now! If you don’t leave, I’ll call the pack enforcers on you, you ’embezzling criminal’!”
The vase shattered, water and blood streaming down Xavier’s face. Hanna didn’t wait for him to recover-she kicked him
out the door and slammed it shut.
Xavier wandered the streets like a lost soul, his eyes burning red at the scene before him-pups chasing each other around their parents, a young Alpha couple laughing as they picked out pack-exclusive baby supplies, their infant cradled
lovingly in their arms.
As they passed by, he turned, staring at their backs. Once, he and I had dreamed of that-him holding our pup, me by his
side, receiving the pack’s blessings at the Blackthorn altar.
If only he hadn’t flirted with Hanna, if only he had protected our bond, if only he hadn’t ignored my pain… would he be the
one holding that happiness now?
Once that thought surfaced, belated regret crashed over him like a tidal wave, drowning him, crushing his chest until he
couldn’t breathe. His heart felt like it was being squeezed by countless hands, the pain so intense it might shatter.
A week later, I ran into Xavier on the pack’s commercial street.
The man who once cared so much about his Alpha image now looked disheveled-his hair messy, his eyes sunken, his
clothes stained. He was staring at a luxury watch store, where Hanna, who had disappeared, was now arm-in-arm with a
strange Alpha, laughing as she picked out a limited-edition pack watch.
She had used the embezzled funds to live lavishly, ignoring Xavier’s plight, and now she was with someone else.
“Hanna!” Xavier roared, ignoring the store security, and charged in.
Hanna jumped, stepping back in surprise. When she saw it was Xavier, she wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Oh, it’s the
former Alpha of Blackthorn. How the mighty have fallen.”
She waved her bracelet in his face. “I’m picking out a gift for my new Alpha. Those cheap things you gave me? I threw them all away.”
Her words were a bullet to Xavier’s heart. All the regret, anger, and bitterness exploded, and he lost control. He grabbed a
crystal vase from the counter and smashed it over Hanna’s head.
The crowd screamed, scattering as Hanna collapsed, blood pooling around her. Xavier, like a madman, straddled her, grabbing shards of glass and stabbing her over and over, screaming, “I loved you! Why did you do this to me?”
By the time the pack enforcers arrived, Hanna was dead, and Xavier was covered in blood, his eyes empty.
As they dragged him away, he passed by me. His eyes lit up with childlike hope. “Rosalie! Are you here to take me home? I was wrong, Rosalie. I’ll never mess around with Hanna again. Let’s go buy your favorite pastries, okay? Wait for me, I’ll be
back soon!”
I stood there, watching him being dragged away, and said nothing-I wasn’t waiting for him, and I never would.
Chapter 11
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Later, I heard Xavier was declared insane and permanently confined to a pack mental institution, where he would spend the rest of his days.
But the debts of the living still needed to be settled. The Mate Bond Dissolution Agreement stated that the assets Xavier had lent to his “brothers” were part of our shared property and should be returned to me.
As the pack debt collectors I hired beat those so-called “brothers” to a pulp, they cried and begged, scrambling to repay the money. The wails continued behind me, but I didn’t care. I strode toward the door.
Outside, the sun was shining, the sky clear-it was my own future, free of Alphas, free of betrayal, just freedom and a new beginning.
Chapter 1 Mr. Nathan
