I stood frozen, my mind blank, watching the horror unfold.

Then, a brutal force struck my cheek.

Marcus's claws left three deep, bleeding gashes across my face, the impact sending me stumbling backward into a wall.

"Poison! The wine is poisoned!" a healer shouted after rushing to check the child. "This pup has been poisoned!"

Every eye in the room fixed on me, the hatred and rage so thick I could barely breathe.

"Kill her!"

"The demon witch!"

"She tried to murder the heirs!"

Roars and curses came from all directions. I lay on the ground, watching Sebastian cradle his dying child, his face a mask of pure agony.

He turned and looked at me, and his eyes... he looked at me like I was the embodiment of all evil.

"Why..." his voice trembled with heartbreak and disbelief. "Sophia, why would you do this?"

I wanted to explain, to scream that I did nothing, that Marcus gave me the wine, that I had no idea it was poisoned.

But he had already turned, rushing with the child toward the infirmary.

I scrambled to my feet, trying to follow, but Marcus blocked my path, his face twisted with murderous intent.

"You dare go near them?" His eyes burned. "Sophia, I should end you right here, right now!"

"I didn't poison the wine!" I yelled, my voice hoarse. "You gave it to me!"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" he sneered for the crowd. "I gave you the sacred blessing wine. How could I know you'd spike it with poison? Sophia, your evil is beyond anything I could have ever imagined!"

The pack members began to close in, their faces contorted with rage. I knew if I didn't leave, they might actually tear me apart.

But I had to get to the infirmary. I had to know the pup was safe. I had to make Sebastian see the truth.

A hostile crowd had gathered outside the infirmary, but they parted for me as I approached—not out of respect, but out of revulsion, like I was something unclean.

Through the glass window, I saw Sebastian sitting by the bed, holding the now-quiet pup's tiny hand. A healer was administering an antidote through an IV. The situation seemed to have stabilized.

I breathed a sigh of relief, but the pain in my chest only intensified.

Just then, Sebastian walked out. There was no anger left in his eyes, only a cold, hollow despair that chilled me to the bone.

"How is she?" I asked urgently.

"She'll live," he said, his voice terrifyingly calm. "The healer said one more minute and the poison would have stopped her heart."

I started to speak, but he pulled a folded document from his coat.

"This is what you wanted. The Petition for Bond Severance." He held it out for me to see. At the bottom, next to my own, was his strong, decisive signature. "I've signed it. It's done."

I stared at the document, at the finality of it, and felt a strange, terrifying sense of release.

"Sebastian..."

"Don't," he cut me off. "Sophia, as of this moment, there is nothing between us. Get out of my sight. And never, ever let me see you again."

He turned to leave, but I grabbed his wrist, a last, desperate act.

"I didn't poison her," I said, forcing him to look me in the eye. "I swear on my soul, I didn't hurt that child."

He glanced at me, and for a fleeting, heartbreaking moment, a flicker of doubt crossed his face.

"Maybe you didn't," he said softly, his voice full of weariness. "But it doesn't matter anymore, does it?"

He pulled his arm free and walked away without looking back.

I stood outside the infirmary, watching his back disappear down the hall, feeling a loneliness so profound it threatened to swallow me whole.

I returned to my room—no, it wasn't my room anymore. The marital suite.

The lock had been changed. The door was ajar. I pushed it open. The room was barren. Everything that had ever belonged to me was gone.

The closet was empty, the bookshelves were bare, even the paintings on the wall had been taken down.

It was as if I had never existed.

"You're just in time."

Sebastian's voice came from the doorway. I turned to see him leaning against the frame, his expression unreadable.

"Where are my things?"

"At the incinerator," he answered without emotion. "I didn't think anything tainted with curses and hatred should remain in this house."

The room spun. My things included mementos from my childhood, my mother's jewelry, photos from our bonding ceremony...

"My parents' heirlooms, too?" My voice trembled.

"Everything," he said coldly. "Sophia, leave now. The Enforcers are on their way. If you don't want to be thrown out, you'd better walk."

I looked at him, the man who once promised to protect me, now destroying me in the cruelest way imaginable.

"Fine," I nodded. "I'm leaving."

As I walked past him, he didn't move. Our bodies brushed against each other, and for a second, I could feel his warmth, his familiar scent.

"Sebastian," I whispered close to his ear, my voice venomous. "One day, you will learn the truth. And when you do, I hope you regret this for the rest of your miserable life."

His body stiffened, but he didn't reply.

I walked out of the room, out of the manor, and into the cold night rain.

The downpour was merciless, soaking me to the bone in seconds. I walked down the muddy path toward the territory border, with nowhere to go. I had no money, no allies, no one.

Worst of all, my wolf core was still fractured from the trauma. In this state, I probably wouldn't survive the night in the wilderness.

Just as I was about to cross the boundary of the pack lands, a low growl echoed from the deep woods.

Then, several pairs of glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness.

Rogues.

Feral wolves who had lost their minds to their primal instincts. And now, at least five of them were circling me, their prey.

I stumbled backward, a scream dying in my throat. I was at the edge of the territory. No one would hear me.

One last time, I reached out with my mind, a desperate, dying plea for the man who had just cast me out. The connection was instantly and mercilessly blocked.

The rogues began to close in, their teeth bared, the scent of rot and blood heavy on the air.

So this is how it ends.

The largest rogue lunged. I closed my eyes, waiting for the killing blow.

But the claws never came.

Instead, I heard the sharp crack of several gunshots, followed by the pained howls of the rogues as they scattered into the night.

When I opened my eyes, a tall figure was striding toward me through the rain. Behind him were three heavily armed guards, each holding a rifle loaded with silver-tipped rounds.

The moon broke through the clouds, illuminating his face—a face of impossible, classical beauty, edged with danger. His hair was a rare silver-white, shimmering in the rain.

But it was his eyes that stole my breath. They were a pure, deep violet, like priceless amethysts.

He stood over me as I knelt in the mud and water, a graceful and dangerous smile playing on his lips.

"Looks like you could use a hand, little wolf."