I tried mind-linking him. Alpha, please. Please, just talk to me.
Nothing.
Alpha, I’m sorry.
Still nothing.
Each time I reached out through the bond, it was like shouting into an endless void. His presence was there, but cold, shut off completely.
The mark on my neck ached. The bond that once connected our souls now burned like fire, suffocating me.
Zera’s POV
I lost track of time inside that dark room.
Days, or maybe weeks, passed, and I stopped counting somewhere between the hunger and the silence. The moonlight that used to comfort me no longer reached through the barred window. My wolf had grown quiet too, curling in on herself, her once-vibrant growls now replaced by faint whimpers echoing in my chest.
When the door finally opened, the sound of the hinges screeching felt like thunder. I squinted against the sudden flood of light and saw him—Alpha Jeremiah—standing there with his usual cold authority.
He didn’t look at me like I was his mate. He looked at me like I was something that stained his floor.
“You should thank Hannah,” he said flatly, crossing his arms over his chest. “If it weren’t for her, you’d still be rotting here.”