The car's tires hummed against the asphalt as Rina gripped the steering wheel with one hand, the other clutching a sealed envelope against her chest. The dashboard clock blinked, minutes ticking away with painful slowness. Every turn she made toward the pack mansion felt heavier than the last.
Pick up the phone, Zeke… she thought, glancing at her screen—four missed calls and still no reply.
She wanted to scream. Instead, she swallowed her frustration, pressing the envelope tighter. The DNA results were inside. Proof. Final and absolute.
You think this child isn't yours because of a scent?Because of a flicker of magic?Well guess what, Zeke—your blood runs through this baby. And I'm going to shove this damn envelope right in your arrogant face.
A lump caught in her throat. She hated how hurt turned into rage. But she had no room left for fear. Not anymore.
Far from the packlands, high in the crumbling spires of an ancient castle, Milo stood in a candlelit chamber. The air buzzed faintly with power. Before him, nestled in a clawed obsidian pedestal, a crystal ball swirled with silver mist.
Within its depths, Rina's face appeared—eyes sharp, determination etched across her brow as she drove.
Trix fluttered beside him, a small fae with dragonfly wings and a sarcastic smirk. "Is she really the one you're looking for master - she doesn't look like our dear Almira."
Curled beside the hearth like a large feline, Hols flicked her tail, her violet eyes narrowing at the crystal ball "She sure is fired up where is she going?"
Milo's cloak rustled as he stepped closer to the orb, shadows licking the stone floor beneath his boots. "Have you found him her father?"
Trix nodded. "Yes, Master. He lives quietly in one of the Covenant towns. He's under the protection of an ancient coventant. No one really knows who he is."
"Go and keep an eye on him, if anything happens to her he'd be the first person she'd be safest in." Milo said, voice low and steady. His gaze remained fixed on Rina. "My you always wore the same expression my dear."
His hand hovered above the crystal ball, fingertips tingling with ancient energy. "Trix go an prepare the east wing. I'm expecting a guest to arrive."
"Right now? But I think she was just getting to the good part" Trix looked at the crystal ball, Rina had arrived at the pack mansion. Fury lit her steps and burst into the mansion without a care for rules or decorum.
Rina flung the door to Zeke's room open—only to be greeted by the sight of Angelique tangled in silk sheets, her bare back arched beneath Zeke's familiar form. The low, breathless sounds in the room and the unmistakable scent in the air told her everything before a single word was spoken
"It doesn't count," Zeke said quickly, his voice rough, breathless. "I didn't have my canines out."
"Rude!" Angelique shot back, clearly not ashamed.
Rina stood frozen in the doorway, the envelope still in her hand. "What the hell is this?"
"You - I - she" Zeke fumbled clearly caught off-guard.
"What are you doing here, Angelique?" R
Angelique pulled the sheets up, smirking as if she had done Rina a favor. "I'm saving your relationship! If you cheated on him and he cheated on you, then that makes you both squared."
"Angelique!" Rina's voice cracked, her heart pounding. "How could you?"
Zeke jumped in defensively. "Stop it! This was all your fault. If you didn't cheat, I wouldn't have had to do this."
"What would make you say that?! I never cheated on you!" Rina screamed, throwing the envelope with the DNA results at him. It landed near Zeke's feet.
Angelique scoffed. "Stop lying! I could smell your baby's magic from here! Who was it? A warlock or did you did something frisky with a bunch of witches."
Zeke picked up the paper with shaking hands. "Did you forge this? How could you stoop so low? You forged a document just to keep being the perfect saint! Just admit it! You slept with someone else. 'Cause I have!"
Rina stared at him, stunned. Her heart dropped.
Zeke continued, his words sharp and bitter. "Yeah! You know how hard it is to quell Khai's desires? Every time you said no to me, every moment I wanted to be near you and you rejected me. I had to go find someone else. I waited for so long. You just gave in eventually. So just admit it—and we can move past this."
Rina's voice was calm, hollow. "I never—not once—cheated on you. Believe what you want. I'm done proving my innocence."
She turned, ready to leave.
"Just terminate the child, Rina."
She stopped in her tracks.
"What?" she asked, barely above a whisper.
Zeke's hands were trembling. "Terminate it and we can start fresh."
Rina slapped him across the face. Her rage boiled over, and she could feel Maya—her wolf—surfacing. Her blue eyes turned a golden hue.
"How could you say that to your own child?!"
Zeke tried to explain, his voice low and urgent. "If my father finds out you're carrying a thing with magic, it won't end with its life. You'll get hurt too. Just terminate it… or else—" he hesitated, then added, "—I'll break our mate bond."
Rina glared at him, tears brimming. "How dare you."
"You are disobeying my words!"
She straightened. "Your words have no weight here. If you do not want to be the father of our child, then you and I are over."
As she turned to walk away, Rina felt something inside her tear—an invisible string, slowly ripping apart.
Zeke felt it too. The rejection cut through his pride. He couldn't let her have the last word. He snarled, voice shaking, "By blood and moon, I, Zeke of Clan Feralis, bearer of the primal spirit Khai,"
She slowly turned, he was reciting the ancient code "Do hereby sever the sacred bond. I reject you, Rina of Clan Feralis, bearer of Maya, before the Ancients and the stars that witness all."
At his words, Rina did felt pain, it was not a pain that the heart felt but it was coming for far deeper, innate, it felt like half of yourself was losing something profound.
It was as if an invisible thread—no, a rubber band forged of molten plastic and infernal flame—that had been tethering her soul to his, had snapped. The recoil didn't just burn—it exploded inside her. She screamed, collapsing to the ground as the severance carved through her body like wildfire cutting through dry forest.
This was no ordinary pain. It was a soul-wound, a spiritual rupture. One forged through ancient vows, now ripped apart by rejection.
"Rina!" Zeke rushed to her, panic replacing anger. He tried to hold her. "Please… just terminate the child. I'll take you back. I'll end all this pain."
Rina coughed, but her gaze was full of fire. "I'll burn this whole clan to the ground before I let you touch my baby."