Reclaiming the Moonlit Grove

"Hey! Jasper, what are you doing? You're not going to kill someone over this—"

I ran, the sounds of shattering bottles and angry shouts fading behind me.

By the time I stumbled into the elevator, my strength was gone. I sagged against the cool metal wall, and only then did the tears finally spill down my cheeks.

We had been bonded for three years. I had known for a long time that Jasper had lovers everywhere. He had been unwilling to fulfill the fated mate bond between the Blackwell and Kade families from the very start.

Before our bonding ceremony, the woman he truly loved—Serena Monroe—died in an accident during a dangerous lunar energy ritual. He blamed me, or at least my family, and has hated me ever since.

After the ceremony, he disappeared without a trace. Three months later, he returned with another she-wolf in his arms.

In the two years that followed, I lost count of his lovers. Almost all of them bore a passing resemblance to Serena. But this was the first time he had brought the she-wolf from the club—Corinne Vaughn—home.

That night, when I returned from the healing center, the servants in our nest all looked at me strangely. It wasn't until I went upstairs and opened the bedroom door that I saw Jasper sprawled languidly on our bonding bed.

Corinne was sitting beside him, dutifully helping him drink a glass of water.

The moment she saw me, she almost leaped to her feet. "Luna! The Alpha is drunk—"

I stood in the doorway and waved a hand. "Take care of him."

"How could I? You're his mate, you should be the one to—"

"It's fine. He likes you. He'll be happier if you do it." I offered a weary smile and turned to leave.

"Aria!" Jasper suddenly called out.

He had an arm slung around Corinne, his eyes narrowed as he glared at me. "Where are you going? You should learn a thing or two from her about how to please an Alpha instead of standing there like some half-breed Omega. You just froze during the ceremony, didn't even know how to react—"

He was cut off by the sound of shattering crystal. I had smashed our bonding crystal, and it now lay in pieces on the floor.

I looked up at him, my expression blank. "Is there anything else?"

He shoved Corinne away and slowly sat up. "Aria, be very careful what you're doing."

A small smile touched my lips as I took out the bond-severing ritual scroll I had prepared and handed it to him. "Activate it, Jasper. Let's sever the mate bond. I'm stepping aside for her."

"You're taking this act too far. You're forgetting your place," he hissed.

"Just let me know when you've completed the ritual." I didn't spare him another glance and turned to head downstairs.

As I stepped out the main door, Jasper stood at the top of the stairs, staring down at me with a cold, condescending gaze. "Leave if you want, but don't you dare think you can come crawling back."

I didn't look back. I didn't answer.

Dragging my suitcase, I vanished into the oppressive darkness of the human city.

...

The city was unusually cold for early winter. I wrapped my coat tighter around myself, bought a small bottle of liquor from a convenience store, and wolfed down a large burger at a roadside stall.

Almost all my savings had been poured into the healing center. After scraping together everything I had, I was left with only three hundred dollars.

I had to find a cheap motel before I froze to death on the street.

As I was searching for motels on my phone, I felt a powerful Alpha's presence settle beside me. "Mind if I join you?"

I didn't look up. "Be my guest."

He sat down, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the expensive fabric and fine tailoring of his coat.

I glanced up in surprise, only to find him staring at me openly.

I frowned, but Silas Sterling's gaze only grew bolder.

"A woman with a scent as alluring as yours shouldn't be drinking alone at midnight, Miss Kade. Aren't you worried about attracting the wrong kind of attention?"

I ignored him and quickened my pace, pulling my suitcase behind me.

"Hey, watch out!"

He grabbed my wrist and yanked me behind him just as a berserk wolf, its eyes crazed, lunged out from a dark alley.