Chapter 116 116
Chapter 116 116
~ARLINA~
"No."
The word came out cold and final.
The healer blinked. "I'm sorry?"
"No. I'm not doing it." I stepped back from the door, away from the window where I could see Zayne lying there. "Find someone else."
"There is no one else. I told you, only his mate can—"
"I'm not his mate. Not anymore." I turned toward the exit. "The bond is severed. He made sure of that when he chose Nessa."
"He was under compulsion—"
"I don't care."
The healer grabbed my arm. "You're going to let him die because you're angry?"
"I'm going to let him live with the consequences of his choices. Spell or not, he still did those things. He still hurt me." I pulled my arm free. "He can figure out how to fix it himself."
"He can't. He's unconscious and fighting a spell that's killing him from the inside—"
"Then break the spell. You're the healer. Do your job."
"I tried! It nearly killed him!" Her voice rose. "The only way to save him is through the mate bond. Through you."
"Well, I guess he's out of luck then."
I walked out before she could argue more.
In the hallway, Edward was waiting. His face was grim.
"You're not going to help him."
It wasn't a question.
"No."
"Arlina—"
"Don't. Whatever you're about to say, don't." I headed for the exit. "I've been through enough. I'm not opening myself up to more pain just to save someone who destroyed me."
"He didn't destroy you. The spell did—"
"The spell made him ask Nessa out? Made him kiss her? Made him turn around and walk back to her when I was standing in a parking lot falling apart?" I stopped, facing him. "Even if the spell influenced him, he still made choices. And those choices broke me."
"You're going to let your mate die because you're hurt."
"He's not my mate. I rejected him. Formally. In front of witnesses. That makes it official."
Edward's jaw tightened. "The Council could overturn the rejection. If you petition them, if you explain the circumstances—"
"I'm not petitioning anyone. I'm done." I pushed past him toward the door.
Outside, Mom was waiting by the car. She took one look at my face and knew.
"You said no."
"I said no."
"Arlina, he's dying—"
"Good. Let him die knowing what it feels like to be abandoned by your mate. Let him die feeling a fraction of the pain he put me through."
Mom's eyes filled with tears. "You don't mean that."
"I do. He chose Nessa. He kissed her, claimed her, celebrated with her while I shattered. And now I'm supposed to save him? Supposed to risk my heart again for someone who threw it away?"
"He was under a spell—"
"So everyone keeps saying. But the spell didn't make him stop loving me. It just gave him permission to do what he wanted anyway." I got in the car. "Take me home."
The drive back was silent. Mom kept wiping her eyes but didn't argue.
At home, Selene was waiting on the porch.
"I heard what happened," she said. "Is Zayne okay?"
"He's dying. Apparently only I can save him. I said no."
Selene followed me inside. "Arlina, you can't be serious—"
"I'm completely serious. Why should I help him? He didn't help me when I was dying from the severed bond."
"Because he was under compulsion! He couldn't help you even if he wanted to!"
"And that makes it better? That he was forced to destroy me instead of choosing to?" I dropped onto the couch. "Either way, I'm destroyed. Either way, he's the one who did it."
"So you're going to let him die out of spite?"
"I'm going to let him die because I can't go through this again. I can't open myself up to the bond, can't risk the pain, can't—" My voice cracked. "I can't survive losing him twice."
Selene sat beside me. "What if you don't lose him? What if breaking the spell brings him back?"
"And what if it doesn't? What if I save him and he still wants Nessa? What if the spell just lowered his inhibitions and let him act on feelings that were already there?"
"You know that's not true—"
"I don't know anything anymore. Except that every time I trust someone, every time I love someone, they leave. My parents left. My wolf left. Zayne left." I looked at her. "Why would this time be different?"
"Because the bond is still there. Because he's calling for you even unconscious. Because mate bonds don't work the way you think they do—they don't just disappear because someone cast a spell."
"The healer said the same thing. That the bond is damaged but not dead." I touched my neck where the claiming mark still was. "But what if damaged is all it ever is? What if I save him and we're stuck with a broken bond that never fully heals?"
"Then you deal with that together. But at least he'll be alive to deal with it."
I wanted to believe her. Wanted to believe that saving Zayne would fix everything, that breaking the spell would bring him back to me, that we could somehow repair what had been destroyed.
But I was terrified. Terrified of hoping and having that hope crushed again.
The front door opened. Edward walked in, his expression hard.
"He's getting worse. The healer says he has maybe twelve hours before the spell or his wolf kills him."
"That's not my problem."
"It is your problem. You're his mate—"
"I'm not his mate!" I stood up. "How many times do I have to say it? I rejected him. The bond is severed. We're nothing to each other."
"The bond is damaged, not severed. There's a difference."
"Not to me. To me, it's dead. Just like everything else he killed when he chose Nessa."
Edward's voice went Alpha. "You will help him."
"No. I won't. And you can't make me."
"I'm your Alpha—"
"And he's your son. I get it. You want to save him. But you can't force me to destroy myself in the process." I headed for the stairs. "Find another way."
"There is no other way!"
"Then he dies. And you get to live with the fact that your son destroyed his mate so completely that she couldn't save him even when she had the chance."
I went upstairs and locked myself in my room.
Behind me, I heard Mom crying. Heard Edward on the phone, probably calling the healer or Patricia or someone who might have answers.
But there were no answers. Just a choice.
Save Zayne and risk everything. Or let him die and live with the guilt.
I sat on my bed, staring at the wall.