Avery’s POV

The sun rose gently across the meadow.

Warm gold spilled through the tall grass. The morning air was soft, filled with the quiet sounds of nature—birds chirping, the rustling of leaves. It looked like a dream.

But I was wide awake.

I blinked up at the sky, the blue so clear it almost hurt to look at. For a moment, just one, I forgot what had happened. I felt peace.

Then I turned my head and saw him.

Michael Damire. Sleeping beside me.

My chest tightened. My breath caught. Anger, sharp and fiery, rose in my stomach. But it wasn’t alone. Shame twisted inside me too. And something worse—something softer. Something like love.

No. Not love. I couldn’t feel that. Not for him.

Then I looked down.

There, between my legs, was a faint trail of dried blood.

I broke.

Tears spilled from my eyes faster than I could wipe them away. They poured down my cheeks as I curled into myself, wrapping my arms around my knees. I cried until my throat was raw. Until the shame and confusion became too heavy to carry.

He stirred beside me.

I froze.

My hand moved on its own, grabbing the knife from the grass beside me. I stood over him, shaking.

One stab. That’s all it would take. One deep cut.

But I couldn’t do it.

My hand trembled. My heart screamed. And yet I couldn’t make the blade move. I couldn’t kill him. why couldn’t I kill him?

I dropped the knife.

My body ached, but I wasn’t in pain. Not real pain. My muscles were sore, but I also felt…strong? My wolf was wide awake. Alive. My body felt different. But my heart… it was broken.

I got up and walked away.

I left him lying there and stumbled through the trees. The forest was quiet. But the closer I got to my pack, the louder everything became.

Screams.

Smoke.

Flames.

I stepped out of the trees and into chaos.

My pack… it was burning.

Houses crumbled with fire dancing across rooftops. Children screamed. Women cried. Damire soldiers stalked the grounds like shadows. The earth was painted red. Blood soaked into the soil, thick and heavy.

I walked like a ghost.

Everywhere I looked, I saw death. I saw Mr. Oak—the old gatekeeper—lying face-down in the mud. The butcher’s body was torn apart. Limbs missing.

Then I saw her.

Alina.

Her stomach was ripped open.

I gagged and fell to my knees, emptying my stomach in the grass. My whole body shook. My eyes burned from the smoke, from the horror. From the shame.

Because I had just… slept with the monster who did this.

How could I live with that?

How could I look at myself in the mirror ever again?

And just when I thought the worst was over that I couldn’t possibly feel worse then I saw him.

My father.

Lying still. Cold. Eyes open and unblinking toward the sky. I could feel worse. I could feel even more lifeless as I inched towards his body. He was the one who was dead but why did I feel lifeless ?

I dropped beside him with a sound I didn’t even recognize. A scream. A wail. A broken cry that came from somewhere deep inside me.

I pressed my head to his chest, but there was no heartbeat. Just silence.

He was gone.

Tears soaked his shirt. I sobbed into his chest, helpless. Useless. My arms wrapped around him like I could hold him to life, but he didn’t move.

“Please…” I whispered into the ether. “Please stop…”

unsure who I was talking to.

I just wanted it all to stop.

Michael’s POV

I woke to the smell of grass and sun.

But Avery was gone.

I sat up quickly, heart pounding. The warmth she left behind still lingered in the spot beside me. My hands touched the ground like I was trying to hold onto what happened.

Last night had been… beyond words.

I had never felt that way before.

She made me forget everything. The pain. The war. My curse. For one night, I wasn’t a monster—I was just a man. And she… she was mine.

My mate.

I didn’t deserve her, but I still wanted her. For the first time in my life, I felt like maybe I could have something good. Something pure. I felt… happy.

Even my wolf was quiet. No growls, no howling rage. It just rested inside me, calm.

But I was still a soldier.

I knew she had gone back to her pack. So I followed.

When I arrived, the battlefield was still smoking. I saw the damage my soldiers had been causing. Screams echoed through the air. People ran in every direction. Homes were in flames.

But I didn’t care.

I was only looking for her.

And then I saw her.

Avery. Curled over a body. Her head buried in it. Her shoulders shaking with grief.

I took a step forward, and something strange twisted in my chest.

Guilt?

I wasn’t sure.

I raised my hand. “Stand down,” I said to my men.

They paused, confused. No one moved. My soldiers looked at me like I had grown another head. But they knew better than to make me repeat myself.

They obeyed.

Avery turned.

Her face was wet with tears. Her eyes were empty. So full of pain I felt like I might crumble just looking at her.

She didn’t say anything. She just turned back to her father’s body, holding it tight.

I walked toward her. Slowly. Carefully.

This was my mate. My bride. My one chance at something more than blood and death.

I reached out, wanting to comfort her. To take her away from here from the pain.

But she shoved me away.

It wasn’t strong, but it was full of anger.

I reached again.

She shoved me again.

“Stay away from me,” she said, voice cold and sharp.

It cut deeper than any knife.

I knew that tone. I had heard it all my life. Rejection. Disgust. Hate.

She looked at me like I was the devil himself.

“You’re my mate, Avery,” I said quietly. “You’re mine.”

She stared at me, eyes blazing. “No.”

Why? Why was she doing this? We shared something. You know we did. I wanted to tell her. “Avery” I said instead.

She screamed this time, her voice breaking. “No! Michael Damire, you don’t get to say my name. You don’t get to call me your mate!”

My chest caved in.

I felt like a hurt child again.

Like the bastard everyone hated. Like the boy no one wanted. My hands trembled.

“Avery…” I whispered.

She shook her head.

“I reject you,” she said, loud and clear. “As my fated mate. I reject you, Michael Damire.”

The pain was instant.

A burn tore through my chest like fire. The bond snapped like a rope set on fire, leaving behind nothing but ash and agony.

I fell to one knee.

She was hurting too—I could see it. Her body trembled. Her eyes shut tight from the pain.

But she didn’t stop.

“You’re a monster,” she spat.

And just like that… everything inside me broke.

The guilt, the hope, the quiet peace.

It turned into rage.

I stood, breathing hard. My hands clenched into fists. My vision tinted red.

My wolf, silent for so long, growled to life.

I had shown her my heart.

And she had crushed it.