CHAPTER THREE

Anabella’s Pov

Pain didn’t just stab my heart—it swallowed me whole. I stood there frozen, every inch of me going numb, like my body forgot how to move before a burning feeling set in, scorching through me. I couldn’t tell if I was supposed to fight, run, or just let myself fall apart.

I barely had the time to breathe before Isabella stormed toward me, rage dancing in her eyes. Without warning, her palm cracked across my face, the force knocking me off my feet and sending me sprawling to the ground. Shame and pain curled inside me as tears streamed freely down my cheeks, blurring my vision.

"Anabella!" Theron rushed forward, his face crumpled in guilt as he helped me to my feet. His hands were gentle, almost trembling, but Isabella shoved him back with a furious grunt.

"Don’t touch dirt like her," Isabella snapped, her voice venomous. "She’s nothing. I’m your mate, Theron. Not her."

My heart splintered as Theron stepped back, away from me, his eyes avoiding mine. I searched his face desperately for answers, some shred of the man who once swore he loved me, but all I found was a hollow emptiness. My voice clawed at my throat, but I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t breathe.

Why would he do this to me after everything we've been through? Where exactly did things go wrong?

"You got everything you ever wanted!" Isabella suddenly shrieked, advancing toward me with fire burning in her eyes. "You got our mother's affection, you stole my best friend, you even stole my mate! Even after he knew we were both his mates, he still chose you! You, Anabella!"

I stood there, frozen, as she ranted. Every word stabbed deep, leaving invisible wounds I couldn’t heal.

"He almost made you his Luna! While I…" her voice cracked as tears gleamed in her eyes, "...while I and my wolf died in pain. Every night, I heard her howling inside me, breaking over and over, and the stupid Moon Goddess didn’t even care!"

Theron flinched beside her, but said nothing, which only made the suffocating ache in my chest worse.

"It took the Goddess striking Theron down with a sickness," Isabella spat, her voice shaking. "A sickness no one could cure. They thought only the Lycan King could save him... but it was my wolf who told me what to do. It was me who saved him. It was me who marked him. I cured him Ann and it hurt that you weren't there, to watch me claim him."

My eyes widened, confusion swirling violently in my chest. "No..." I whispered, but even to my ears, it sounded weak. The pack witch had said only the Lycan King could heal him.

How could Isabella have cured Theron with just a mark?

Was my wolf telling the truth?

Was Theron never truly mine?

Was he truly not my mate but Isa’s?

But why…why would he lie?

Isabella laughed bitterly, her gaze cruel as she turned toward Theron. "Tell her, Theron," She hissed. "Tell her the truth."

Theron’s fists clenched at his sides. He stared at me, his jaw tightening, and the words he spoke were like a blade that sliced me open.

"I, Theron Sinclair, Alpha of the Knighthood pack," he said stiffly, "hereby reject you, Anabella Clifton, as my mate."

I stumbled backward, clutching my chest as if I could physically hold my heart together.

"And I hereby proclaim Isabella my mate as I mark her as my Luna," he finished, stepping closer to her. My tears blurred the scene as he bent his head, his fangs sinking into Isabella’s neck as he marked her.

"No!" I gasped out, reaching for him instinctively. But Isabella clung to him, burying herself in his arms, smirking at me over his shoulder. My mind screamed, my heart shattered, and every memory of us—the promises he made to me, the sweet words he whispered that morning—flooded back, ripping through my soul.

"You're my mate, Ann. You're mine to claim, and you're my Luna to be... Okay?"

"You're my love, my life, the very essence I breathe. No one will ever replace you, mi amor."

Lies.

All lies.

I tried to call out to him, to remind him of the love we shared, but before I could, Isabella shoved me aside like trash.

"Take her to the dungeon!" she commanded.

The guards moved toward me. I barely fought back as they seized me roughly by the arms, dragging me away while I clawed helplessly at the ground, the pain in my heart unbearable.

Suddenly, the guards were flung across the hall like rag dolls, their bodies hitting the ground with heavy thuds. I gasped, twisting around—and froze.

Gaston stood there, but he wasn't the Gaston I knew. His eyes blazed gold, his aura thick and wild, an intoxicating storm that had every other guard scrambling in terror.

I saw Isabella try to bolt, but Gaston caught her by the arm effortlessly and flung her across the room. Her body hit the wall with a sickening crack before collapsing to the floor, gasping and trembling.

"You’re lucky you’re her twin," Gaston growled, his voice a deep rumble that shook the walls. "Or I would have ended you right now."

Then his gaze locked on Theron. And in the blink of an eye, Gaston had him by the throat, lifting him off the ground. Theron struggled, gasping, his face turning red.

"No!" I screamed, rushing toward them, grabbing at Gaston’s wrist with both hands. "Please! Let him go! Gaston, please!"

His eyes shifted to me, dark with betrayal, and in one swift movement, he dropped Theron to the floor and grabbed my wrists instead, pinning them high above my head against the wall.

"You care about him so much?" Gaston growled, his breath hot against my face. "You’re willing to beg for him? What about me, Anabella? What about me?"

Tears slid down my cheeks. My body trembled violently in his hold. "You’re mad!" I cried, struggling against him, desperate to break free.

His anger crackled around us like a living thing, and then I heard that voice again, deep inside my mind.

"Mark mate. Mark mate now!"

My eyes widened in horror. "No," I whispered, twisting in his grip, but Gaston's fangs were already sinking into the crook of my neck.

A thunderous roar exploded in the sky as lightning forked across the heavens.

Agony ripped through me. I screamed as my bones cracked and shifted, my body burning from the inside out. My vision blurred, the world spinning as I collapsed to all fours.

‘Hello again, Ann,’ My wolf’s soft voice murmured through the mindlink. But before I could respond, the pain overwhelmed me and everything went black.