After Liam left, Dominic leaned back in my chair, a smug smirk playing on his lips.

"Harper, you want to know why I'm so sure Marina's fine?"

"Why?" Harper asked, feigning curiosity.

Dominic leaned back, a cold smirk on his lips.

"Because Marina," he said, his voice a strange mix of pride and contempt, "is a monster. The crushing pressure of the deep sea? She was born in it. It's her playground."

Monster.

He called me a monster.

The memories came rushing back, the pain I had tried so hard to forget.

Ten years ago, in the deep-sea temple, I prayed to the Moon Goddess to be with him.

"Princess, are you certain you wish to make this bargain?" the Goddess's voice softened with sorrow, echoing from the altar.

I nodded without hesitation. "I am. I want to be with that werewolf."

"The price is steep," the Goddess's light dimmed. "You must shed your scales, surrender your divine core—your very life force—and give up the protections of the sea."

"I'll do it."

"You will become more fragile than any human. High pressure, toxic fumes, extreme temperatures... a single one could be your end."

"As long as I can feel his warmth, nothing else matters."

My sisters wept around the altar, their eyes filled with tears.

"Marina, don't do this!" my eldest sister, Coral, pleaded. "Giving up your divinity for a land-dweller is not worth it!"

"He doesn't even know what you've done for him!" my second sister, Pearl, said angrily. "The mate bond between a wolf and a mermaid is unstable. You're gambling everything!"

"I don't care," I clenched my fists. "As long as I can be his fated mate, as long as I can forge that bond with him, I will give up anything."

The Moon Goddess sighed. "Silly child. Love has made you blind."

A holy light enveloped me. Searing pain tore through every nerve. My silver scales peeled away, one by agonizing one. My glowing blue core was ripped from my chest.

I screamed and convulsed in agony, but just before I lost consciousness, I saw Dominic reaching for me under the moonlight.

For him, it was all worth it.

When I woke up, I was a fragile "mortal."

But I could finally feel the real warmth of his embrace. I could use my weakened, enchanting song to clear his path on the battlefield.

I thought I had become his perfect Luna. That my sacrifice had paid off.

Now, he was twisting that sacrifice into 'proof' that I was indestructible. He called me a monster. I made myself weak for him, and he called it 'playing the victim.'

A bottomless rage clawed its way up from the depths of my shattered soul.

I will have my revenge! I will make them pay!

The immense rage exploded from me.

The vase on the office desk began to tremble.

I'll destroy this place! Destroy everything! Make them both pay!

I gathered every ounce of my fading essence and hurled it at the vase.

A flicker of movement. A whisper of displaced air.

The vase on the desk wobbled for a second, then stood still.

I collapsed in the empty air, realizing in despair that my soul was too weak to even knock over a vase.

"Strange," Harper murmured, looking around. "Was that a draft? I thought the windows were closed."

Dominic gasped, his hand flying to his chest. His face twisted.

The mate bond.

It was snapping.

His inner wolf was howling, feeling the agony of losing its mate.

But his mind still refused to accept reality.

"Dom, you look pale," Harper stood up, worried. "Should we go home and check on Marina?"

"Check on her?" Dominic sneered as he got up, but I noticed his legs were trembling. "Fine. Let's go see just how long she can keep up this act."

He was going home!

This was my last chance!

Let him see my body with his own eyes. Let him know what he's done!

Burning the last of my soul's energy, I lunged for the house's alarm system.

The piercing shriek of an alarm tore through the air.

Dominic's phone buzzed wildly, flashing a bright red alert:

TOXIC GAS DETECTED IN VILLA. EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY.

I saw his face change, his chest rising and falling faster.

But he quickly composed himself.

"See?" Dominic sneered, though his own face was pale. "She's even hacking the security systems now. Her little performance is getting more and more elaborate."

No! It's not an act, you fool! It's the stench of my rotting corpse!

"Dom, the system wouldn't go off for no reason," Harper said, faking concern. "Maybe we should really go back and look?"

"Of course we're going back," Dominic said, gathering his files, his eyes turning dangerous. "Harper, you're coming with me."

"Really?" Harper couldn't hide her excitement. "But... is that a good idea?"

"It's a great idea," Dominic scoffed. "I want you to see her little performance firsthand. I want you to see just how manipulative an outsider can be."

They were going back together.

They were going to see my body.

I screamed in his ear, a desperate, silent roar: Go on. Go see what you've done.

You're about to see her, Dominic.

The girl you left bleeding from her eyes and nose, her skin blistered raw by your "purification."

You're about to meet the corpse you created.