Chapter 46
Lyra
I felt tears welling in my eyes as I faced Pax across his imposing desk. I didn't have to fake them—the frustration was real. After all my work on the Walker Enterprise agreement, he'd sidelined it without even consulting me.
"Pax, you'd rather believe Freya than me? Is that why you shelved the Walker Enterprise agreement?" I let my voice tremble slightly, just enough to trigger his protective instincts. The way his jaw tightened told me I'd struck a nerve. "You've always kept business and personal matters separate. Why can't you do that now?"
"The agreement had holes in it," he stated coldly.
I moved closer, and released a careful measure of my Beta pheromones, just enough to be appealing without seeming desperate.
"That agreement would have secured massive resources from the human world for our pack," I insisted, leaning forward with both palms flat on his desk. "I personally built that relationship. I can assure you, that agreement is perfectly safe."
When Pax stood, his Alpha presence expanded throughout the room like a physical force.
"And if it's not?" His voice was dangerously soft. "What would you offer as compensation? If our identities are exposed, every wolf in our territory faces hunters with silver bullets and wolfsbane. What then, Lyra?"
I couldn't help pouting, feeling the heat of indignation flush through my cheeks.
"Freya pushed through a human company partnership when she first joined Sterling Enterprises," I said, sliding around the desk to stand closer to him. I deliberately brushed my fingertips against his sleeve. "Why was it acceptable when she did it, but not when I do?"
"Freya staked her entire career at Sterling on that deal," Pax's voice rumbled deep in his chest. "She was willing to accept full responsibility, including the risk of exposure. Do you have that same resolve?"
No, I don't need that kind of risk, I thought, unwilling to jeopardize my position. Why should I have to?
I softened my expression and tilted my head, exposing the delicate curve of my neck—the classic Beta gesture of gentle submission that had worked on him.
"I just want to stand by your side, Pax," I whispered. "I want to contribute to our pack too. Everything I do is for you... for our future."
"Focus on your assigned responsibilities," he said, each word like a slap. "You could learn from Freya. Mixed blood or not, her strategic vision and willingness to take responsibility surpass any Alpha I know."
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Freya
I stared at my phone screen, rereading the message I'd just sent to Paxton:
[Tonight the moon phase approaches fullness. I'll return to the territory villa to prepare for the mark dissolution ritual and pack up my personal items.]
I didn't expect a reply. In five years, Paxton rarely responded to messages unless they concerned urgent business matters.
My fingers unconsciously traced the marking on the back of my neck. It tingled slightly—sensitive as the full moon approached, as if protesting its impending removal.
The late afternoon sun cast long shadows as I exited Sterling Enterprises. I sensed the approaching Alpha before I saw him—Paxton's black Maybach gliding to a stop in front of me.
My instinct was to avoid him, but his Alpha presence was impossible to ignore. The car window lowered, and Paxton's cold voice carried the unmistakable weight of an Alpha command: "Get in."
Before I could reach for the handle, Lyra appeared, slipping into the front passenger seat with practiced grace.
"Freya, that seat belongs to me," Lyra announced. "Tonight's the mark dissolution ritual under the full moon. I believe this seat will suit me much better from now on."
Without a word, I opened the back door and slid in.
As we drove toward the territory villa, Lyra continued her taunts. "Sorry, Freya, but I had your scent removed from the territory. They were... contaminating the pure atmosphere."
"I also had Pax's bed completely replaced," she continued. "Your mixed-blood scent was too heavy. It was affecting his Alpha instincts."
"If that's how you feel," I said evenly, "you should get out of this car. I gave it to him last quarter. Perhaps you'd like to have the car purified too?"
Lyra froze, her pale face flushing slightly as she glanced at Paxton.
We arrived at Sterling territory as twilight deepened into night. The full moon hung heavy and luminous in the sky, bathing the ancient clearing in silver light. At the center stood an ancient moonstone, covered in wolf runes that glowed an ethereal blue under the direct moonlight.
Three elders in traditional ceremonial robes encircled the stone, each holding a moonlight crystal staff. The Chief Elder stepped forward: "Under the moon's witness, with blood as our testament, tonight we witness the dissolution of a sacred marking."
The ritual knife glinted silver as the Elder drew it across my palm, then Paxton's. Our blood dripped into the bowl, sizzling slightly as it contacted the ancient vessel.
"The final severance requires your wolf forms to reject the bond under moonlight," the Chief Elder said solemnly. "You must transform and let your wolves release what your human form cannot."
I felt the familiar pull of transformation as the moon's energy called to my wolf. My bones shifted and elongated, muscles rippling beneath my skin. The change was swift—within moments, I stood on four legs, my silver-gray coat gleaming under the moonlight. My wolf form was larger than most females, betraying the Alpha blood in my veins.
Paxton's transformation was even more dramatic. His massive black wolf emerged, twice my size. Even in wolf form, his dominance was unmistakable.
The Chief Elder sprinkled crystalline powder over our wolf forms. The moment it touched the marking area on my neck, white-hot agony shot through every nerve. My wolf threw back her head in a silent howl, the sound echoing through the clearing like a lament.
Paxton's wolf paced restlessly, his massive form trembling as the bond tore away. For a moment, our wolves moved toward each other instinctively, drawn by five years of connection. But the Elder's crystal barrier held firm, keeping us apart as the severance completed.
I felt the exact moment when the bond snapped completely. My wolf staggered, a piece of her soul suddenly missing. Paxton's wolf let out a low, mournful sound—the first emotion he'd shown all evening.
"The moon has witnessed," the Elder proclaimed as we slowly shifted back to human form, bodies trembling from transformation and ritual. "The blood has separated. The wolves have released their claim. You are no longer marked mates."
The marking on my neck was gone, leaving unmarked skin. I touched the spot instinctively—it felt cold, empty.
"The moon has witnessed," the Elder proclaimed. "The blood has separated. From this moment forward, you are no longer marked mates."
Upstairs in what had been our shared bedroom, I surveyed the changes with hollow detachment. The room had been systematically stripped of my presence—new bedding, rearranged furniture.
I ran my fingers along the desk I'd specially commissioned, remembered the custom sofa designed for post-transformation rest. Five years of carefully building this space, making it mine—ours.
Downstairs, Paxton sat in the living room. I placed the silver wolf-head key to the territory villa on the table before him.
"I don't want the other things either. Deal with them as you see fit," I said evenly.
Paxton remarked, "Keep it. This territory stays with you."
I studied him for a moment longer, feeling a dull ache where our bond had been.
"Okay," I replied simply, picking up the key again, turning to leave without looking back.
As I stepped through the doorway, my eyes flashed gold, tears finally spilling down my cheeks. Once formed, a mate-bond tears at the soul when broken.