Kathryn's Point of View

"You're turning into a real psychopath, Kathryn!" Ashton yelled, then turned to Tiana, carefully cupping her face. "Does it hurt?" He whispered softly. When Tiana nodded, he leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek.

I scoffed, quietly summoning another fireball in my palm. This time, I aimed it at Ashton, letting it burn his clothes.

"Just helping you get undressed for another make-out session with my sister," I mocked.

Now half-naked and seething, Ashton grabbed me and pinned me against the wall. "You dangerous, reckless creature," He snarled. "This is the last time you'll ever lay a hand on Tiana!"

He leaned in, his breath hot, his face close. "And stop threatening to sever the mating bond or using Bryan's fake illness to get my attention."

I swallowed hard, barely able to process his words.

"Bryan isn't faking his illness, Ashton, and I would never use my son to get your attention," I said, holding his gaze firmly. "The real issue here is your lack of concern as his father. You would easily know his real condition if you had spent even a little time with him, or if you had bothered to check his medical records with the healers. But you didn't, because you chose to waste all your time with Tiana instead."

As the words left my mouth, another painful memory surfaced…

Bryan had gently reached for my hand, his small fingers curling around mine. "Mother, my birthday is in three days, and Father still hasn't visited me… If I had one birthday wish, do you think the Moon Goddess would grant it?"

I kissed the back of his hand, trying to give him comfort. "What's your birthday wish, my love?" I asked softly.

"My wish is to ride the Ferris wheel at the Golden Land Amusement Park with you and Father," He murmured.

By that time, the healers had already told me that Bryan didn't have much time left, that this would be his last birthday.

Blinking away my tears, I forced a smile for Bryan. "Alright, love. Get ready. We'll visit the amusement park with your father on your birthday."

Determined to make Bryan's final wish come true, I went to Ashton and begged. I knelt before him, letting go of my pride, not caring how pitiful I looked. "Please, Ashton… do it for Bryan."

When he tried to walk away, I clung to his leg, desperate to keep him from leaving. "This will be the last time I bother you. I promise, after this, you and Tiana can do whatever you want. I'll set you free."

"Are you serious?" He asked, a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes.

"Yes," I whispered, closing my eyes as tears slipped down my cheeks.

"It's a deal, then," He said, turning away, leaving me sobbing on the floor.

But on Bryan's birthday—the day we had planned to go, with Bryan already dressed up and excited—Ashton didn't show up.

"Is Father still coming?" Bryan asked innocently after hours of waiting. "We've been waiting for him a long time now…"

More hours passed, and eventually, Bryan fell asleep on my lap. The most heartbreaking sight was seeing the tears that had escaped his closed eyes. Even in sleep, he was crying because of Ashton.

Later that night, Ashton finally called me, his tone casual. "Was today Bryan's birthday?"

I scoffed in disbelief.

"Ah, shit. So today was the day we were supposed to go to Golden Land Amusement Park?" He asked with a careless chuckle. "I was so busy, I completely forgot about it."

There wasn't even an apology.

"It's fine," I lied, forcing my voice to stay steady.

Just before he hung up, I heard Tiana's voice in the background. "Babe, end that call and kiss me!"

I swallowed the bitterness rising in my throat.

From the start, I had known Ashton never loved me. He had only accepted our mating bond out of guilt and pressure.

When Ashton was a teenager, my father had saved his life, pulling him from a burning storage room where he had been trapped. Out of gratitude, Alpha Philip—Ashton's father—had felt indebted to mine.

Years later, we discovered that we were each other's fated mates.

"I cannot accept you as my mate, Kathryn! I would never want an Omega as my mate! No one wants that!" He shouted.

I kept my head lowered, barely holding back tears. "I understand… You can just reject me…"

But when my father fell ill, he asked Alpha Philip to persuade Ashton to accept the bond, not wanting me to end up mateless.

Under pressure from Alpha Philip, Ashton reluctantly agreed, though we never had a proper mating ceremony.

Also, it deepened Ashton's resentment toward me—especially after my father passed away shortly afterward.

All of this had fueled Tiana's jealousy.

In fact, before I was mated to Ashton, she had tried to convince me not to accept the bond.

"Come on, Kathryn, know your place. Omegas like us don't deserve to be mated to the Alpha's son. The difference in your status is like heaven and hell! Show some decency—or at least give Ashton some!" She sneered.

I kept my tone calm. "The Moon Goddess gave me this destiny, and I'm not in any position to defy her choice."

Little did I know, during that time, Tiana had already wanted Ashton for herself.

When I accepted the mating bond with him, Tiana disappeared. Later, we learned she had left to train as a female warrior, funded by a scholarship from a wealthy pack counselor.

To be fair, I also had dreams of my own. I wanted to become a pack healer. But when my father fell gravely ill, I set everything aside to care for him.

Years passed, and Tiana returned.

From an Omega, she had risen to a high-ranking female warrior—strong, powerful, and respected. The type of she-wolf Ashton would be proud to have by his side.

When Tiana came back, she seemed to spend almost every moment with Ashton. At first, I found their closeness odd, how comfortable he was with her presence.

But soon, I discovered that they had already been involved in an affair during her warrior training.

Tiana confessed it to me herself.

"Kathryn, don't you think it's time you let go of Ashton?" She seductively asked.

"Why would I do that? I don't want our son to grow up in a broken family." I replied, my voice breaking.

She scoffed. "Oh, Kathryn, he's so into me. His heart has no space left for you or your son."

I swallowed hard. "What do you mean?"

She stepped closer, her eyes gleaming. "Let's just say… he traveled ten hours to reach my training grounds—just to visit me, to be with me…" She murmured, inching even closer. "To kiss me, to touch me… to feel every inch of my bare body."

A tear slipped down my cheek. "So… you're having sex with him."

She smirked, a cruel glint in her eyes. "Damn it, Kathryn, his length fits perfectly, feels amazing, inside me."

Kathryn's Point of View

I clenched my fists, barely containing the rage as those memories flooded back. Once, I used to look at Ashton with admiration. But now, all I felt was the urge to make him suffer.

Going back to present, I shifted my gaze to Tiana, who was holding up a small mirror, inspecting the burn on her left cheek. I should have inflicted more damage.

Suddenly, Tiana let out a dramatic cry. "Oh, Ashton! This burn on my face looks so terrible! Kathryn's probably trying to make me look ugly because she's jealous that you love me!"

I raised an eyebrow at her theatrics.

"You can have Ashton all to yourself, Tiana. I'm literally asking him to end our mating bond right now. If he truly loves you, he would have ended it already, wouldn't he?" I said bitterly.

"Shut up!" Tiana screamed at me, then turned back to Ashton. "Ash, don't you think Kathryn deserves a punishment? Look what she did to me—I look horrible now!" She cried, clutching her face dramatically.

Ashton's fury intensified.

He then snatched the mirror from Tiana, aggressively broke it on the floor, and picked up a sharp shard.

He stepped toward me, his voice low and menacing. "Let this be your final warning. I don't want to see you using your cursed fire powers again, or I'll have you imprisoned."

I met his glare with a smirk. "Between the two of us, Ashton, you're the one who deserves imprisonment more. In fact, you should thank me for keeping silent all this time—for not exposing your dark secrets."

Ashton aimed the shard recklessly toward my face. "Enough of your nonsense. Apologize to your sister!"

"I will never apologize to her," I said firmly, lifting my chin.

He sighed, still holding the shard dangerously close to me. "Don't make me repeat myself, Kathryn. Do as I say, or else—"

"Or else what, Ashton?" I interrupted, my voice steady. "You'll cut my face with that shard? Go ahead—do it!" I moved even closer, pressing my face toward the sharp edge. "Wound my face, make it bleed, hurt me. I've endured worse pain from you. One more cut won't make a difference."

He stared at me, shocked by my defiance, before finally tossing the shard aside in frustration.

"So, you can't do it after all," I said.

Ashton clenched his jaw. "This conversation is over. There will be no severing of the mating bond, and that's final."

Tiana chimed in smugly. "Looks like Ashton still needs your maid services."

Without hesitation, I lunged toward her and slapped her hard across her right cheek. She gasped, eyes wide in shock.

"Learn to keep your mouth shut when no one asks for your opinion." I spat before slapping her again, evening out the redness on the other cheek which had been slightly burned.

"There you go—an instant blush, dear sister. Now you won't look so ugly." I added, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

As expected, Ashton rushed to Tiana's side, comforting her with gentle kisses on each cheek—a sickening display that only deepened my disgust.

"I still can't believe you're capable of fighting back now, Kathryn…" He muttered, clearly unsettled.

I smirked, unfazed.

The Kathryn who once obeyed his every command, lowered her head, pleaded, and shed tears for him was gone.

I had killed that part of myself.

Thinking about it now, I could only laugh at how foolishly I had fallen for him.

Back when we were newly mated, Alpha Philip had asked us to live at the Fire Heart Kingdom with him for a while. Of course, under his father's watchful eye, Ashton was forced to show me kindness, a hint of affection, and even the appearance of love.

I remember those days well.

Once, when someone bullied me and shoved me into the rose bushes at the kingdom, Ashton immediately helped me up, his fury aimed at the bully.

"This behavior will reach the Alpha! Apologize to her right now!" He commanded, his voice fierce. The bully, intimidated, dropped to his knees and apologized.

Later that night, Ashton came to me with a medical kit in his hands. "Did the rose thorns hurt you?" He asked softly, reaching for my arm. With tenderness, he dabbed my skin with a damp cotton ball, careful with every touch.

There were other moments too—times when Ashton would prepare meals for me, look after me when I was sick, bring me flowers and gifts, take me to the farm to feed the cows, and even teach me to ride a horse.

Those moments felt genuine.

But his tenderness only lasted for a year, just long enough for me to fall deeply in love with him.

I truly believed he had changed, that he'd finally learned to love an Omega like me.

But it turned out he was only putting on a show, biding his time until Alpha Philip granted us our own mansion.

The moment Ashton received the mansion, everything changed. His kindness vanished, replaced by cold indifference and resentment.

Unfortunately, my feelings for him didn't fade…

"Do you really think I could love someone like you? In your dreams, Kathryn!" He yelled, his voice filled with contempt.

I forced a smile, my heart breaking. "It's okay. I still love you, and I'll keep on loving you."

"Enough with the drama," He sneered, stepping closer. "Listen. I don't want any of this reaching my father. Do you understand me?" His voice sounded like a threat, so I swallowed hard and nodded.

Because I was completely blinded by my love for Ashton, I foolishly kept quiet and learned to submit.

Honestly, I still have feelings for him now, but I know those feelings are already changing—quickly.

Back to reality, I glared at him. "I'm capable of fighting back now because, after all these years, I'm finally learning how to unlove you—no, to hate you."

His head tilted.

"That's right. I want to sever our mating bond because I fucking hate you, Ashton Grey," I stated.

Kathryn's Point of View

A few moments later, as the tension began to fade, Tiana rose from her seat and leaned into Ashton, wrapping him in a delicate embrace.

"I have to go," She said softly, her tone sweet.

Then she turned to me, giving a slight, humble bow. "It's okay if you don't want to apologize, my sister. But let me do it instead. I'm truly sorry for how things escalated. It was never my intention to cause chaos between you two."

But as soon as she finished, she shot me a quick glare, a smirk creeping onto her face. There it was—her usual act, playing the innocent one to earn Ashton's sympathy.

I simply rolled my eyes.

"I'll go now. Ashton, talk to my sister and settle things with her, alright?" Tiana said in her most mature, composed voice.

The irony was insane, especially when she punctuated her words by kissing Ashton right in front of me.

Once Tiana had finally left for her pack warrior duty, Ashton turned to me, his demeanor unusually calm. He cleared his throat, and when I met his gaze, he finally spoke. "Fine, you win. I'll do whatever you want—proclaim you as my fated mate to everyone, go with you and Bryan to Golden Land Amusement Park. Just… don't sever our mating bond."

For so long, I had wished he would stop hiding me, stop denying to the world that I was his mate. But now, I don't want it anymore.

I faced him silently, letting him say whatever else he had to say.

"I'll clear my schedule for you and Bryan, and we can spend the entire day at the amusement park. Are you free this Saturday? What about Sunday? Come on, tell me." His voice held an unusual urgency as he pressed me for an answer.

"You don't have to do that, Ashton. We're done, and there's nothing you can do to change my mind." My tone was resolute.

I couldn't understand it.

For so long, he's pushed me to sever our mating bond, repeatedly telling me to let him go. He's always shown me that he didn't want me as his mate, always choosing my sister over me and even over our son. But now that I'm openly, freely giving him that freedom, he's suddenly unwilling to let me go.

Why?

Is he afraid of his father's reaction?

Or maybe he's just so used to having me always—devoted to him, serving him.

Perhaps it's not love or regret. It's simply his comfort in knowing I'm his constant, the one person who would never leave… until now.

"Stop being so stubborn, Kathryn. I'm already willing to give you everything you asked for," He argued, his calm demeanor slipping.

"No, you're not. The only thing I want from you is to end our mating bond." My tone was cold.

He took a deep breath, visibly struggling to keep his composure. "I can't do that."

I couldn't help but smirk. "Why? Wouldn't ending our bond exactly what you've wanted all along? It would finally give you and Tiana the freedom to parade your relationship without any guilt."

At that, Ashton's composure shattered.

"I'm so sick of all your drama, Kathryn!" He shouted. "If you don't want to go to the Golden Land Amusement Park, then I'll just take Bryan there myself!" His gaze darted around the mansion, as if searching for something—or someone.

He sighed heavily and called over the first maid he saw. "Where is Bryan?"

The maid bowed her head and replied, "I don't know, Young Master," before quickly walking away.

At that, Ashton turned to me again. "Where is Bryan, Kathryn? Was he taken back to the infirmary? I thought he was already under house treatment."

A bitter chuckle escaped my lips as I realized it had been more than a year since he last visited Bryan.

"See how irresponsible you are as a father? You don't even know where your son is or what's happening to him. It's funny how we've been here for so long, and only now do you realize Bryan isn't around."

"You're still not done with your drama? Really? If Bryan's really sick, why the hell are you leaving his side? Where is he, Kathryn? Why are you hiding him from me?" He demanded, raising his voice.

I didn't say another word. I simply looked him in the eye, though a single tear betrayed me, slipping down my cheek.

"Fuck it, you're crying again!" He snapped.

Ignoring me, Ashton began his frantic search for Bryan, tearing through each room in the mansion and shouting his name. I watched, helpless and bitter, as he stormed from one room to the next.

What an idiot.

An utter bastard.

Why couldn't it have been him who died?

Why did it have to be Bryan?

Dark thoughts clouded my mind as I watched him. After several minutes, Ashton finally returned, out of breath, his frustration clearly growing.

"Where is he, Kathryn? Don't test my patience," He warned, his voice edged with a threat.

Another tear slipped down my cheek.

I was becoming weaker, especially when Bryan crossed my mind.

"Stop crying and just tell me where my son is!" Ashton demanded.

Silently, I wiped my tears and turned, leading him up to the second floor where Bryan's room was.

"He's not here, Kathryn. I already searched this room!" Ashton insisted, his voice tight.

Ignoring him, I opened the wooden door and stepped inside. Without a word, I moved to Bryan's closet, pulling out a large, ornate chest. I placed it carefully on the table, right in front of Ashton before meeting his gaze.

I saw the color drain from his face.

"What the hell, Kathryn? You're acting weird again. What is that?" Ashton asked, confused.

I held his gaze steadily as I slowly lifted the lid of the chest. Inside was a delicate vase, lovingly encircled by an arrangement of dried flowers.

The shock on Ashton's face was obvious.

After a long, painful silence, I said it, my voice filled with bitter sarcasm. "Go on, Ashton. Take Bryan's ashes to the Golden Land Amusement Park, just like you promised."