Chapter 71

Chapter 71
Violet's POV:

The video call ended abruptly, Sienna's face disappearing from my screen before I could ask any follow-up questions. I'd barely opened my mouth to say something when she cut me off with a rushed "Vi, I have another call coming in, gotta go!" and then the screen went black. I stared at my laptop for a moment, processing what she'd just told me. Celeste's hand, permanently damaged. The car accident happening after a fight with her parents about an arranged date. Ruby trying to force her daughter to "see reality" while Celeste clung desperately to her fantasy of becoming Daemon's Luna.

I should have felt satisfied. This was karma, wasn't it? The woman who'd helped destroy my marriage, who'd stood beside Daemon while I knelt in the rain during that rejection ceremony in my past life, now facing her own consequences. But satisfaction didn't come. Instead, I felt hollow. What did Celeste's damaged hand actually change for me? Nothing. It didn't undo the past five years of humiliation. It didn't erase the mate bond that had slowly strangled my sense of self. All it did was confirm that everyone in this story was broken in their own way, caught in patterns we couldn't seem to escape.

My phone rang late that night, dragging me from restless half-sleep. Daemon's name lit up the screen. I stared at it for three rings before answering, my heart rate oddly steady. No panic. No desperate hope. Just curiosity about what he could possibly want now.

"Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?" His voice was controlled, but I could hear the suppressed anger underneath.

I sat up against the headboard, pulling the blanket around my shoulders against the night chill. "My travel plans aren't your concern. You should be focused on Celeste right now, shouldn't you? I heard about her hand."

Silence stretched between us. When he spoke again, his voice had shifted to something softer but still edged with restraint. "I agree to the rejection ceremony. Since you're in Silver Ridge, we don't need to go back to the Council. We can do it over the phone. Mutual rejection is binding."

My breath caught. For months I'd been pushing for this, and now he was just offering it? "Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Does it matter?" He sounded tired. "You wanted your freedom. I'm giving it to you. Do you want to do this now, or do you need time to prepare?"

I thought about asking more questions, demanding explanations, but what would be the point? He was finally letting me go. Maybe Celeste's accident had shifted something in him, made him realize he couldn't keep clinging to a political arrangement when his true mate needed him.

"Now is fine," I said, my voice steady. "I, Violet, reject you as my Alpha."

His response came immediately, formal and final. "I, Daemon, reject you as my Luna. From this moment, the mate connection between us is severed."

Heat flared at the back of my neck where his mark had been, a burning sensation that made me gasp. Then it faded, taking with it that background hum of awareness I'd carried for five years, that constant sense of where Daemon was and what he might be feeling. The emptiness that replaced it was profound.

Neither of us spoke. The silence stretched until it became unbearable, and then Daemon hung up without another word.

I sat in my dark bedroom, one hand pressed to my neck, feeling the absence of what had defined so much of my adult life. Free. I was finally free.

I immediately sent messages to Sienna, Lily, Jade, and my parents. The text was simple: "It's done. Daemon and I completed the rejection tonight. Please keep this quiet for now. I don't need it broadcast to the whole pack." My parents deserved to know, and my closest friends, but I had no interest in public spectacle. If Daemon wanted to announce it to his circle, that was his business. He'd probably tell Evan and his other friends, definitely his parents, and certainly Celeste. But that world was no longer mine to worry about.

The next two weeks passed in a blur of work and settling into my new routine. Daemon never called again. I didn't reach out either. The silence between us felt appropriate, like we'd both finally accepted what should have been obvious from the beginning.

Saturday morning, Sienna called with news that made me actually smile for the first time in days. "Lily and I are flying out to celebrate your freedom! We land tomorrow afternoon. Clear your schedule, we're taking you out."

"You're really coming all the way here?" Warmth spread through my chest at the thought of seeing them.

"Obviously. This is huge, Vi. You're finally done with that asshole. We need to mark the occasion properly."

After we hung up, I realized I needed to prepare the apartment for guests. The second bedroom was still mostly empty except for some boxes. I needed bedding, towels, probably some groceries so we wouldn't have to eat out for every meal.

Which is how I ended up at the big-box store on Saturday morning, pushing a cart through the bedding section while mentally calculating whether I needed one set of sheets or two.

I was comparing thread counts on duvet covers when I saw them. Two figures at the far end of the aisle, one with her left hand wrapped in heavy bandages and suspended in a sling, the other a blonde girl helping her reach items from the higher shelves.

Celeste wore an oversized white sweater and black jeans, her injured hand making her movements awkward. The blonde, Riley, was loading things into their cart with cheerful efficiency. I could see the contents clearly: men's boxer briefs in multiple colors, a electric razor, men's shampoo and body wash, a set of dress socks.

Our eyes met across the distance. For a moment, neither of us moved.

Celeste recovered first, her expression shifting from shock to something more guarded. "Violet. What are you doing here?"

I kept my voice neutral as I pushed my cart slightly closer, maintaining the distance but acknowledging the conversation. "I work in Silver Ridge now. And you?"

She swallowed, her good hand gripping the cart handle. "I'm studying at the university here."

"That's nice. Good school." I let my gaze drift briefly to their cart again, those men's items practically screaming their purpose, then back to her face. "I should finish shopping. Take care of yourself, Celeste."

I turned my cart toward the checkout lanes before she could respond, not looking back even though I could feel her staring after me. My hands were steady as I loaded my purchases onto the conveyor belt, my expression calm, but my mind was racing through implications.

She was studying here. That took significant money and connections, neither of which the Morrison family had. Daemon must have pulled strings to get her accepted, probably paid her tuition too. And those items in her cart, so domestic and intimate, they were obviously for Daemon. He must be helping her settle in, maybe even staying with her sometimes. They could finally have the normal couple experience they'd both wanted, without pack politics and angry parents getting in the way.

I wondered if she'd already told Ruby and Mason about the rejection. With her hand injury and Daemon finally free to be with her openly, her parents probably couldn't fight it anymore.

The next afternoon, I stood in the arrivals hall at Silver Ridge International Airport, scanning the crowd for familiar faces. Sienna appeared first, impossible to miss in her black fur coat and blue skinny jeans, her high-heeled boots clicking against the floor. She'd pushed her sunglasses up onto her head like a headband, her expression lighting up when she spotted me.

Lily followed behind her, looking effortlessly elegant with her cream Birkin and matching Horizon luggage, her whole aesthetic screaming expensive taste and complete financial independence.

I couldn't help grinning as they rushed over. "Lily, that bag could cover my rent for half a year. Your post-breakup glow-up is really something."

She rolled her eyes but smiled. "I bought this with my own money, thank you very much. No man required."

Sienna threw her arms around both of us. "Damn right! Independent women only!"

We drove to the restaurant I'd booked, a upscale Italian place Aiden had recommended. In the car, I decided to mention the supermarket encounter before they heard it from someone else.

"Guess who I ran into yesterday at the store." I kept my eyes on the road, my tone casual.

"Who?" Sienna leaned forward from the backseat.

"Celeste. She says she's studying here now."

"What the fuck?!" Sienna's voice went up several octaves. "Is she stalking you?! How is she everywhere you go?!"

Lily's response was more measured. "Study abroad makes sense for her situation. It gives her prestigious credentials and gets her away from all the gossip back in Frost territory. Strategic move, actually."

"But why Silver Ridge specifically?" Sienna wasn't letting it go. "There are hundreds of universities she could have chosen!"

Sienna's voice turned suspicious. "Maybe she researched where you were living and deliberately chose to follow you here. Maybe she's trying to rub her victory in your face or something."

I shook my head, finally glancing at her in the rearview mirror. "Celeste doesn't have the resources or connections to do that kind of background investigation. And honestly, I don't think Daemon would have specifically looked into where I went either. He's completely focused on her now, on taking care of her and building their future together. I doubt my location even crossed his mind when he was arranging her study abroad."

"He's such an asshole," Sienna muttered, crossing her arms.

"It doesn't matter anymore," I said, and surprised myself by meaning it. "The rejection is done. What they do, where they live, none of that is my problem now."

The restaurant was busy with the Saturday lunch crowd, but they'd held our reservation for a quiet corner booth with good natural light. We ordered drinks and appetizers, then settled into the comfortable rhythm of friends who hadn't seen each other in too long.

Sienna kept checking her phone throughout the meal, her thumbs flying across the screen with unusual intensity. When the main courses arrived, she finally looked up with a triumphant expression.

"Got it," she announced, her voice pitched low but excited. "A friend of mine said. Celeste originally applied to schools in Moonstone Pack territory. Then suddenly her application was redirected to Silver Ridge University. Daemon personally intervened to bring her here."

Lily's eyebrows rose. "That's a significant abuse of Alpha authority for personal reasons."

I sat back against the booth, processing this. No wonder Celeste's face had gone so pale when I told her I worked here. She probably thought Daemon had deliberately arranged for her to study in the same pack as me.

I reached for my water glass, my throat suddenly dry. "Sienna, who did you tell about me being in Silver Ridge? The information got back to Daemon pretty fast."

She shifted uncomfortably, her earlier confidence evaporating. "Just... a friend from our circle. Word travels, you know how it is."

"And who told you about Daemon arranging Celeste's transfer here?" I pressed, genuinely curious about her information network.

She bit her lip, that telltale stutter creeping into her voice. "Another friend. I have a lot of contacts, Vi, you know that."

Sienna grabbed her fork to cut into her chicken. The moment the piece entered her mouth, her face transformed from defensive to horrified. She covered her mouth with her hand and practically ran toward the bathroom.

Lily and I exchanged alarmed glances before following her.

In the bathroom, Sienna was bent over the sink, dry heaving. Her face had gone pale, her hands gripping the porcelain edge like it was the only thing keeping her upright.

"The chicken tastes so weird," she gasped between gags. "Something's wrong with it."

"Mine tasted fine," Lily said, her expression shifting from concern to something more analytical, more knowing.

"Have you been feeling sick lately? Any other symptoms?"

She straightened slowly, wiping her mouth with a paper towel. "Since last month, I guess. Nothing tastes good anymore. I don't want alcohol at all, which is super weird for me. I've just been craving fruit, like sour things and sweet things. That's normal, right?"

Lily and I looked at each other.

"Sienna," Lily said carefully, her voice gentle but direct. "When I was pregnant, I had the exact same food aversions. Certain smells and tastes would just trigger this immediate nausea response."

Sienna's face went from pale to white. "No. That's not possible. I can't be—"

"When was your last period?" I asked, though I already suspected the answer from her reaction.

The silence stretched. Sienna stared at herself in the mirror, her reflection showing all the panic she was trying to suppress.

"Two weeks late," she finally whispered. "Maybe closer to three."

The bathroom suddenly felt too small, the air too thick. This changed everything. Sienna had always been the wild one, the friend who scoffed at marriage and babies, who said commitment was a trap for people without imagination. Hearing her admit to a missed period, possibly being pregnant, felt like reality had tilted sideways.

Lily's voice was soft, non-judgmental. "Have you been with anyone recently? Anyone who could be the father?"

Sienna's hands were shaking as she gripped the sink again.

"Just one person," she said finally, her voice barely audible. "There's only been one man I've slept with in the past few months."

Then Sienna's face changed. The panic hardened into something else, something fierce and almost frightening in its intensity. She lifted her chin, met our eyes in the mirror, and her voice came out cold and determined.

"If I'm really pregnant, that man is going to take responsibility. He's going to step up and be a father, or I swear I'll make him regret ever touching me. I'll destroy him. I'll make sure he can never have children with anyone else if he tries to run."

I felt my eyes widen. This wasn't the Sienna I knew, the party girl who laughed off consequences and lived for the moment.

Lily looked equally shocked. "Take responsibility?"