Chapter 3

I screamed, shooting to my feet, gasping desperately for breath.

My face was wet and ice-cold.

Whether from the phantom agony of that horrific night,

or because his single revelation had shattered the last three years of love into dust.

I glared at him, gritting my teeth.

"Are you any better than him?"

"You're only telling me this to prove that the man I dragged myself back to New York for was worse than you..."

My voice was raw and ragged.

Tears spilled down like broken strings of beads.

"You want to prove that leaving you meant I could never find happiness! That you'll always be my best option! But between you and him... what difference is there?"

Easton went silent for a moment before speaking softly.

"I was a bastard. I wronged you. But I never intended to replace you. Yet I heard that the Ridge Pack is about to get a new Luna."

"He's been parading Chloe around pack events behind your back. He brought her to the core lands of the Ridge Pack. In fact..."

He paused, his piercing gaze locking onto mine.

"He even held a mating ceremony with her in the assembly hall. Back then, I only exiled you, but he threw you out of the bond entirely. Yara, come with me."

A sudden numbness washed over my nerves.

I felt completely hollow.

The kind of blankness that only follows absolute, unbearable pain.

I parted my lips, about to refuse,

when my neck was seized in a violent grip. A furious roar erupted beside my ear:

"Easton! In your fucking dreams!"

Quinn was squeezing with all his might.

He was practically crushing my windpipe.

"Have you no shame at all? The second you feel wronged by me, you run straight to your ex-Alpha for comfort?"

I didn't speak. I didn't struggle.

I merely stared at him with hollow, dead eyes.

Easton rose abruptly. "Let go of her!"

In the next second, a ring of pack guards surrounded him.

Quinn sneered, a sinister cruelty flashing across his features.

"You have no say here! Don't forget, she's my mate now!"

"You sent her expensive gifts year after year, refusing to let go. If you loved her so damn much, where were you back then?"

Easton went pale, his fists clenched tight enough to split skin.

"Quinn, don't get cocky. You're going to walk the exact same path I did!"

With that, Easton turned to look at me. "Yara, whenever you make up your mind, come find me."

Before Quinn could react, Easton shoved his shoulder past him and stormed out.

The air in the room felt thick and suffocating.

Heavy, unbearable silence.

I bypassed Quinn and got into the car first.

He followed close behind, snarling in frantic frustration: "You are not allowed to leave with him! You won't see him, and you won't ever contact him again!"

When I gave no response, he snapped, gripping my shoulders and shaking me violently.

"I'm talking to you! Did you hear me?!"

"You've already been rejected once. You don't want to be rejected a second time, do you? When he threw you away, the Crimson Pack discarded you like trash."

"I was the only one who treated you well! Yara, don't let him poison your head! Just be a good Luna..."

Treated me well?

The kind of good that involved lying to me, trampling on me, and destroying my life?

A low, broken laugh escaped my throat.

Quinn yanked my chin around, raw desperation bleeding into his gaze. "What are you laughing at?"

Refusing to meet his eyes, I asked in a barely audible voice,

"Besides Chloe, is there anything else you're hiding from me?"

Quinn's body stiffened. He averted his gaze unnaturally toward the window.

He didn't confess.

Yet his silence admitted everything.

My laughter grew louder and louder.

Louder, and all the more heartbreaking.

The ragged sound sliced through the cramped interior like a razor-sharp blade.

"Enough! Stop laughing!"

Quinn raised his voice, reaching out to cover my mouth.

Fury surged in my chest, threatening to tear me apart from the inside.

I grabbed his hand and bit down with all the strength left in me.

I didn't let go until the metallic tang of blood filled my mouth.

"Quinn! You're a monster!"

"Haven't you always wanted to know who I loved more? Fine, I admit it! I love Easton! I regret being rejected by him!"

"Because no matter how vile he was, he never murdered my pup!"

Quinn's breath hitched, his eyes darkening with savage fury.

He grabbed my throat with one hand, his eyes blazing red.

"You think I don't regret this?"

"I'm Quinn! I could have had any she-wolf I wanted! Yet I settled for a used ex whose womb had already buried a dead pup!"

"Easton had damn good taste. Chloe is ten times more fun than you, and a hell of a lot better in bed!"