4

Foot steps approached.

“Asher, don’t,” Lyra hissed. “She’s doing this on purpose.”

Of course they followed me. As if they couldn’t bear any moment where I wasn’t being monitored, corrected, blamed.

I didn’t look up as they stopped behind me.

“What now?” I asked flatly.

Asher’s voice was controlled but strained. “You didn’t have to destroy everything.”

I tossed another scrap of ribbon into the fire. “It wasn’t ours anymore.”

His jaw flexed. “You’re acting irrationally.”

“And you’re acting like you didn’t mark someone else in front of me yesterday,” I shot back.

Lyra scoffed loudly. “You’re being dramatic. Why does everything have to be some scene with you?”

I turned to her, letting my gaze sweep her from head to toe. “You’re right. I should’ve learned from you master of drama, queen of theatrics, champion of fake tears.”

Her lips tightened. “Asher, see? She’s attacking me again. Make her stop.”

Of course she wanted him to control me.

Asher stepped forward slightly. “Sophia, this can’t continue. When the political situation stabilizes, I will explain everything and bring you back. Until then”

“No.”

The word cut cleanly through the cold air.

He blinked. “What?”

“You won’t bring me back,” I said. “You won’t speak for me. You won’t decide anything for me ever again.”

His expression hardened. “I am still your Alpha.”

“And I am still your mate,” I answered, voice steady. “But only for two more days.”

Lyra gasped like I’d slapped her. “You *can’t* be serious.”

“I’m going through with the Sundering,” I said. “And nothing you do will stop me.”

Asher’s eyes narrowed, the first true fear I’d ever seen in him flickering in their depths. “The ritual could kill you.”

“I know.”

Lyra made an offended noise. “Then don’t do it, you idiot”

I turned to her sharply. “Don’t you dare pretend concern. We both know the only thing you’d mourn is your lost title.”

She fell silent, face hardening.

Asher stepped closer, lowering his voice. “Sophia… this behavior only proves the elders’ point.”

I laughed. Actually laughed. “Oh, so now my reaction to your betrayal proves I’m unfit? Interesting logic, Alpha.”

His jaw clenched. “You’re twisting this.”

“No,” I said. “I’m finally seeing it clearly.”

I stepped around him, heading toward the birch grove the sacred place where the Sundering would take place. I needed to breathe open air, far from the suffocating walls of the house.

“Sophia,” Asher called, following. “Where are you going?”

“To prepare.”

“For what?”

I looked over my shoulder at him my supposed mate, the man who believed he owned me simply because fate had tied our souls together.

“For my freedom.”

His nostrils flared. “You’re making a mistake.”

“For once,” I murmured, “it’s my mistake to make.”

Lyra hurried to Asher’s side. “Let her go. She wants attention.”

I ignored her, stepping into the grove. The white trunks shimmered softly under the gray sky, their peeling bark whispering like old secrets. This was where my mother had undergone the Luna blessing. Where countless pairs before us had pledged themselves.

Where I would tear that pledge apart.

Asher followed me only to the edge, unable to cross the grove’s natural boundary without invitation.

“You can’t walk away from this bond, Sophia,” he said, voice rougher now. “It’s deeper than you understand. It’s fate.”

“Fate,” I repeated quietly. “Funny how fate only matters when it benefits you.”

He swallowed, throat bobbing. “We can fix this.”

“There’s nothing left to fix,” I answered. “You made sure of that.”

I turned away.

And that was when the truth finally broke through his mask, a flash of panic brightening his scent and tightening his posture.

“Sophia, wait”

I didn’t.

Tomorrow, I will make him regret...