Chapter 70 The Luna's Heartbreak
LIRA POV
I made it to the packhouse courtyard before the pain hit. Not emotional pain this time. Physical agony that dropped me to my knees, gasping for air.
The bond, something was wrong with the bond.
I clutched my chest, feeling like my heart was being ripped apart from the inside. Through our connection, I felt Kael's presence but it was distant, muffled.
"Lira!" Aria appeared from nowhere, dropping to her knees beside me. "What's happening?"
"The bond." I couldn't get enough air. "Something's wrong."
She pressed her hands to my chest, her healing magic flowing through me. Her face went pale.
"You're rejecting it." She whispered. "Your body is trying to sever the mate bond."
"Good." The word came out choked. "Let it break."
"You don't understand." Her magic intensified, trying to stabilize me. "The bond is too new, rejection will kill you."
"Then I'll die." Blood dripped from my nose onto the ground. "Better than living like this."
"Don't say that." Tears filled her eyes. "Lira, please. Whatever he did, it's not worth your life."
But it was. Because what was life if it meant being shackled to someone who'd humiliated me at every turn? Who'd seen me as his mate and decided I wasn't worth wanting?
The world tilted sideways. I felt myself falling, felt Aria catch me. Voices shouted in the distance. Running footsteps. Kael's roar of denial as he found me bleeding from my nose, my eyes, my ears.
"What's happening?" He dropped beside me, his hands hovering over my body like he was afraid to touch. "Aria, what's wrong with her?"
"She's rejecting the mate bond." Aria worked frantically, her magic barely keeping me alive. "The emotional trauma is manifesting physically. She's literally dying of heartbreak."
"No." Kael tried to pull me into his arms. "No, you don't get to do this. You don't get to leave me."
"Don't touch me." I shoved weakly at his chest, fresh blood spilling from my mouth. "You lost that right when you chose Mira. When you chose Nessa, when you chose everyone but me."
"I'm sorry." His voice broke. "Gods, Lira, I'm so fucking sorry."
"Sorry doesn't fix this." I coughed, pain lancing through my chest. "Sorry doesn't erase watching you fuck Nessa to teach me a lesson. Doesn't erase you crawling into Mira's bed when I was lonely trying to get close to you."
More voices. Thomas, other pack members gathering. All of them watching their Luna bleed out in the courtyard.
Through my blurring vision, I saw Mira push through the crowd. She looked radiant, her hand on her supposedly pregnant belly.
"Is she alright?" Mira's voice dripped with false concern. "The stress can't be good for the baby, my baby."
"Shut up." Kael's voice was deadly. "Just shut up, Mira."
"I'm just concerned." She moved closer, her eyes gleaming with satisfaction. "After all, if something happens to Lira, someone will need to take her place as Luna. Someone already carrying the heir."
"Get her away from me." I gasped, trying to summon moonfire but too weak to manage more than a flicker. "Before I burn her alive."
"Everyone back." Aria commanded. "Give her space."
But there was no space large enough. The bond was a noose around my throat, choking the life out of me with every breath.
"Kael." Mira touched his arm gently. "You need to let her go. She's clearly not strong enough for this. Not strong enough to be your Luna or handle what's required."
"I said get away." He shrugged off her touch, but I saw the conflict in his eyes. Saw him torn between his dying mate and the woman carrying his alleged child.
"I can't." I gasped, clawing at my chest like I could physically tear the connection out. "Can't do this anymore. Can't watch this anymore."
"Watch what?" Kael's tears fell on my face. "Lira, please. Tell me what to do."
"Watch you care for her." Blood bubbled on my lips. "Watch you treat her with the gentleness you never gave me. Watch you build a future with her while I'm just the mistake you're stuck with."
"That's not" He started.
"It is." My vision was fading. "You're already choosing her. Already protecting her. Already planning for the child that proves I was never enough."
"The baby needs protection." Mira interjected softly. "Surely you understand that, Lira. Kael has responsibilities now. To his heir."
"Mira, I swear to the Moon Goddess" Kael turned on her, fury in his voice.
"Don't." I cut him off weakly. "Don't pretend you're on my side when you keep her close. When you let her touch you, when you worry about her comfort."
"I'm trying to do the right thing." His voice cracked. "For everyone."
"Then let me die." The world was going gray around the edges. "Because living like this, watching you with her, it's killing me anyway."
"No." His alpha command bled through, trying to force my body to obey. "You will survive this, you will live."
The command crashed against my failing consciousness. I screamed as the bond twisted violently, as my body tried to obey while my heart tried to break free.
Blood poured from my mouth, my nose, my ears. Pooling on the ground beneath us.
"Stop!" Aria shoved at him. "Your command is killing her. The bond is fighting itself."
"I can't let her die." Kael held me tighter, his body shaking. "I can't."
"You're not giving her a choice." Thomas appeared, his voice grim. "You're forcing her to live in agony rather than letting her decide."
Through the bond, I felt Kael's desperation, his terror, his love. But I also felt his guilt about Mira, his concern for the unborn child, his divided loyalties.
That hurt worse than the physical pain.
"Kael." Mira's voice was gentle, manipulative. "You need to be realistic. If Lira can't handle this situation, maybe it's better to let nature take its course. The pack needs a strong Luna."
"Get her out of here." Kael finally snarled at Thomas. "Get Mira away from us. Now."
"But the baby" Mira protested.
"I don't care." His voice broke. "Just go. Please."
Thomas escorted her away, though I heard her protests about being treated poorly despite her condition.
"Lira." Kael cupped my face with shaking hands. "Look at me. Please."