Chapter 80 A partial rejection
Aile realized what she'd done a second too late. His palm was already bleeding. He turned aggressive immediately, struggling so hard that three more soldiers had to throw themselves on the chains to keep him down. They were terrified that if she didn't complete the rejection, they'd lose another soldier to corruption. That the plague might spread to them all in this enclosed space.
Fear pushed out every other instinct. Survival took over. As the corrupted soldier continued screaming, Adrian's bleeding hands were forced together with Lila's.
Lila took a heavy breath and screamed the words of rejection over the chaos.
"I, Lila Hartwell, Princess of the Moonstone Province, reject you Adrian Blackthorne as my mate!"
She pressed her bleeding palm firmly against Adrian's. Their blood mixed and ran down their wrists in dark streams.
Aile threw his head back and howled. The sound was enormous, filled with such grief and rage that the soldiers holding him lost their grips entirely. Every wolf in the room bent their knees in automatic submission to the Alpha's pain. Even Freya dropped to one knee, though her eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
She'd chosen this rejection method specifically because she knew Aile would never willingly let Lila go. And now, even though Adrian himself hadn't spoken the words, the blood ritual tradition was more effective than verbal rejection alone. Once blood mixed under the moon during the ritual, the bond was severed regardless of whether both parties agreed.
But as Freya knelt there in false submission, her smile suddenly vanished. She looked around in growing horror. They were no longer standing in the direct moonlight. When Marcus had dragged Adrian backward with the chains, he'd pulled him out of the moon's concentrated beam. The rejection had been completed in shadow, not light.
That would complicate everything. Only Lila had spoken the words. Only Lila had stood in the moon's power. Adrian had been absent from the ritual in every way except physically. The forced rejection was only half complete.
Freya feared what that might mean but she couldn't say anything now. Yet she felt confident that even those who'd hired her wouldn't detect the problem. As far as anyone knew, the blood ritual had worked. Blood magic was powerful. No mate bond could resist it.
Adrian caught Lila's hands as unbearable pain shot through his chest. His grip tightened reflexively and his claws pierced through her skin, drawing fresh blood.
Lila flinched but couldn't pull away. Their fingers were locked together so tightly that the cut palms pressed against each other in perfect alignment. Blood flowed between them, mixing completely.
Aile pushed Adrian's body forward. The chains loosened as the soldiers' grips failed under his renewed strength. He crawled toward Lila, who still knelt before him. He crawled until she fell backward trying to escape but was unable to because he wouldn't release her hands.
The corrupted soldier who'd been screaming and transforming suddenly stopped. His body went rigid and then collapsed to the floor, lifeless. The transformation had killed him.
The watching council members believed even more strongly now. Lila was the curse itself. Her rejection had somehow ended the soldier's suffering, which meant she'd controlled it all along.
Most of the councils ran for their safety and lives, fleeing through any door they could find. But three members of the council remained standing near the edges of the crest center. They smiled as they watched Adrian drag his chained body across the ground, crawling up to Lila in visible agony.
His face came within inches of hers. His breath touched her skin. Even as the mate bond ripped apart inside both of them, Aile tried desperately to complete the mark. His canines extended toward her throat one final time.
Then he collapsed and went completely still. His wolf simply shut down from the trauma of rejection.
His canines withdrew back into normal human teeth. His claws retracted until his hands looked human again. The red glow faded from his eyes, leaving them closed. He turned fully human in seconds, transformed back to being just Adrian instead of Aile.
Lila's eyes widened in fear as she stared at his unconscious face. Then her own body gave up. Exhaustion crashed over her and she collapsed into darkness.
The three council members who'd remained smiled wider and looked at Freya with expressions that said job well done. They nodded to each other in silent communication.
A masked man appeared from the shadows and handed a heavy coin purse to Freya. Two other masked figures came forward and lifted the body of the corrupted soldier, carrying it toward a back entrance that had been left conveniently open. The three council members nodded their approval as the body was removed. Evidence disappearing without explanation.
When Marcus finally ran back inside, having waited outside to make sure no more screams of death emerged, everything was already finished. He had no idea what had actually happened. He saw only the three remaining council members and wondered what courage had kept them standing so close to two transformed wolves who could have killed them instantly.
"Take him to his chambers and have him cleaned up." Freya directed Marcus, already walking away from the crest center as if nothing unusual had occurred.
"And the lady?" Marcus asked, staring down at Lila's unconscious form. He was scared to touch her, uncertain if the curse still clung to her skin.
"She's cleansed now. The rejection worked." Freya waved dismissively. "Take her back to her chambers. And ensure she becomes one of the servants. We must humble a spirit that exists within such a soul. Make her clean floors and wash dishes until she understands her place."
With that, Freya walked out in triumph, coins heavy in her pocket. She never mentioned the truth about the incomplete rejection. Never spoke about how Adrian had been pulled from the moonlight before the ritual finished. Never warned anyone that half-broken bonds were more dangerous than whole ones.
The three council members followed her out, their smiles hidden beneath masks of concern. Behind them, Marcus knelt between two unconscious bodies and tried to understand what had just destroyed his king.