Chapter 46 DARK CERTAINTIES.
Jake's POV:
Watching her run… like I was right on her heels, like I could catch her if I tried hard enough… and then she was gone. Just vanished from my line of sight.
My chest felt heavy, and I didn’t even know what hurt more: her rejecting me out of the blue, or the fact that she’d kneed me in the groin, leaving me gasping and still reeling from that brutal strike.
I dropped to one knee, hand clutching the side of my car for support, gritting my teeth against the sharp ache.
It wasn’t the pain in my body that gnawed at me. No… it was worse than that. It was the pain in my chest—the raw, hollow ache of knowing exactly why she had done it. Why she had said no tonight.
God, I wasn’t even angry at her for the kick. Not really. Hell, I deserved that. But the rejection? The knowledge that it wasn’t just me… that it was that Professor Asher… that twist in my gut, that betrayal of my own hopes - that was a wound that cut deeper than any physical blow ever could.
I let out a low, rough groan, leaning harder against the car, trying to steady myself.
My fingers pressed into the metal, knuckles white, as I forced my legs to straighten, even though every movement was shaky, unsteady, like I was relearning how to stand.
I wanted to yell. I wanted to curse. I wanted to beg her to explain herself. But there was nothing to say that could undo what had just happened. Nothing.
Regaining my balance, I let out a slow, shaky breath, staring off into the empty night.
My head drooped toward the ground as if gravity itself was trying to pull me under. I shook my head slowly, a soft, bitter chuckle escaping my lips, like I couldn’t believe the mess I’d gotten myself into.
And then it happened—I erupted. Loud, uncontrollable fits of laughter tore through me, echoing across the deserted streets.
I didn’t care that I was alone, that the night swallowed my voice and carried it far. I didn’t care that I probably sounded insane to anyone who might’ve been listening.
I laughed until my stomach hurt, until the air in my lungs felt sharp and hollow, because… well, what else could I do?
And then the laughter broke. Broke like fragile glass shattering inside my chest. My body gave out beneath me, and I fell backwards onto the hard ground.
Hot streaks of tears burned their way down my cheeks, blurring the dim streetlights above.
It was… funny, in a cruel, twisted way. How the night had started. How I’d actually thought, for the first time in forever, that I might finally have the woman I’d always wanted.
And now… nothing. Just this raw, aching void where hope had been.
All my past relationships flashed through my mind - every heartbreak, every mistake. Even the one with my mate, the one I’d let go.
The one whose skin bore that fated mark that had already tied her to someone else. I hadn’t fought for her back then—not because I didn’t care, but because I wasn’t ready, because I hadn’t been fully in love yet.
And now… now, I was falling in love. Deeply. Completely. And the universe—or karma—was making sure I paid for that mistake in full.
The thought burned hotter than any pain in my body. She had loved me once, pleaded with me, swore it was enough for both of us… and I had let her go.
And now? Now the universe had chosen to make me feel the same agony, only worse—using the one person I couldn’t imagine living without.
Just then, my wolf stirred inside me, a low, restless rumble vibrating through my chest. Displeased. Angry. Almost offended that I was lying there broken.
I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d cried like this—really cried—but I barely acknowledged it. I didn’t have the energy to fight my own damn instincts.
What weighed heavier was the truth I couldn’t escape.
I had been brutal with her.
The realization hit hard, settling in my gut with sickening clarity. I didn’t know what had come over me—what twisted impulse had made me push, corner, claim space I hadn’t earned yet.
And watching her run… that fear in her eyes… It told me everything I needed to know.
At that moment, I wasn’t safe to her.
She didn’t trust me. And why would she? She ran because she felt trapped. Because she felt threatened. Because I had given her every reason to believe I couldn’t be trusted with her heart - or her safety.
My jaw tightened painfully as another image burned into my mind: her running toward Professor Asher.
I didn’t have proof. Not yet. Nothing solid. But I knew. I felt it. Something was going on between them.
Something I hadn’t uncovered yet, something that made my chest twist with fury and jealousy. And then there was the mark.
That damn mark.
For it to appear on her skin at all meant one thing—she was mated. Bound to someone else by fate itself.
A bitter laugh scraped out of my throat as a name briefly crossed my mind… before I shoved it aside.
No. Not him. Not yet. I refused to accept it.
Because even though tonight hadn’t gone the way I’d imagined—hadn’t gone anywhere near it—I wasn’t done. Not even close.
Why should I be? Why should I walk away again, like I had before?
All I needed was a solution.
A way to erase the mark.
My breathing steadied as the thought rooted itself in my mind, dark and comforting all at once.
If the mark was gone, everything would fall back into place. Clara wouldn’t be tied to anyone else.
Fate wouldn’t stand between us. And I could finally have what I wanted—what I deserved this time.
What made it worse—what truly ignited something dangerous inside me—was the fact that she didn’t even know.
She had no idea there was a mark on her skin. No idea what it meant. No idea that her life was already being pulled toward someone she hadn’t chosen.
How could she know? The mark was always invisible to the one who bore it. A cruel joke of the universe—keeping them blissfully ignorant until it was too late.
Which meant the timing was perfect.
Erase it now, before she ever finds out. Before she learns who she’s mated to. Before fate tightens its grip around her completely.
Because once she knew—once she understood—that would be worse. Far worse.
I couldn’t allow that.
I wouldn’t allow that.
The thought sent a dark calm washing over me, chilling in its certainty. I didn’t care who the hell she was mated to. I didn’t care what fate had planned.
At that point—and even now—there was only one truth that mattered.
Clara Bennett was going to be mine.
Mine alone.
And if that meant crossing lines… taking risks… even removing certain obstacles from my path—then so be it. I had already lost once by walking away. I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
Not when I was finally in love.
Not when I was already too far gone.