Chapter 6
599words
I thought this would be the peak of my pain, the ultimate humiliation he could inflict upon me.
But I was wrong.
Just as I was about to leave the suffocating room, a violent tremor shot through the depths of my soul.
It was a summons to the Soul Nexus.
It was also the highest level of mental invitation Aiden could send me.
The mate bond grew warm, carrying a rare hint of pleading, trying to soften my rigid nerves.
I froze, my fingertips trembling uncontrollably.
The Soul Nexus was our shared sanctuary, an absolutely private spiritual palace.
It held the thrill of our first kiss, the vows we'd made under the moonlight, and the echoes of countless nights of intimacy.
Why summon me now?
Maybe he regretted it.
Maybe, in his subconscious, he wanted to confess, to beg for my forgiveness in the one place that was only ours?
That tiny spark of hope I shouldn't have had flared to life, fed by the instinct of the mate bond.
I took a deep breath and accepted the connection.
But the sight before me plunged me into an abyss of ice.
Our "home," the sacred, inviolable palace of our private memories, now had an unwelcome guest.
Cassia was casually sifting through the floating fragments of my and Aiden's precious memories.
Cassia giggled as she watched one of them: the moment Aiden placed the ring on my finger after my marking.
"Oh, the Alpha looked so silly back then, his hands were even shaking."
She even pointed to a fragment of our first marking night, her tone dripping with disdain. "Elara is such a bore in bed, as cold as her personality."
And Aiden stood right behind her.
He didn't stop her.
He simply watched as this intruder trampled on our memories, his gaze a mask of bottomless indulgence.
The image suddenly went black. He had forcibly cut the visual feed from the Soul Nexus.
But Aiden had forgotten that the sensory link of the mate bond was still active.
Immediately after, Cassia's syrupy shriek came through the mind-link channel:
"Alpha... you're so bad... don't touch there..."
"I can't take it anymore."
And Aiden's heavy breathing. "My little moon, be good, you can take it so well..."
Little moon.
That had been his name for me.
In the past, he only ever called me that in moments of passion.
Now, he had stripped that name from me, tossing it to a third party like a cheap trinket.
They were shamelessly defiling our sacred space, their betrayal echoing among the very memories that symbolized our loyalty.
Unable to listen anymore, I abruptly severed the mind-link.
My heart ached as if it were being squeezed and crushed by an invisible hand.
My wolf was howling, bleeding.
I stared at the dark ceiling, and only after a long while did my stiff fingers finally move.
Soon.
I would be free soon.
For the next few days, Aiden was a ghost.
He didn't come back, nor did he send any explanations.
Only Cassia, like a diligent news reporter, constantly showed off her "victory" to me.
The final mental image was from Aiden's private estate.
The all-powerful Alpha was on one knee, his cheek pressed against the slight swell of Cassia's belly.
He was even channeling his precious Alpha power just to feel the faint, unformed flutter of life within.
I looked at the image, my eyes dry and aching.
I wanted to cry.
But my tears had already run dry the moment our sacred space shattered.
