Chapter 3 DANE Hearing that , I rxed .


    Ann hated Evelyn the woman whod saved my life .


    The one I truly loved .


    Shed never try to leave me .


    It would mean letting Evelyn win .


    As soft as Ann pretended to be , there was steel in her .


    I knew it .


    She didnt want me to cut the ribbon .


    She was just desperate for attention , like she always was .


    Id teach her not to pull this sh * t with me .


    Besides , in that moment , being free didnt sound all that bad .


    Youre going to regret this .


    Without me , you have no connection .


    to wolves at all .


    Remember that .


    I gave her a casual smile .


    Then I sliced the ribbon with my ws .


    It fell in two neat pieces on the ground .


    There was a sound like mes snapping , a burst of heat .


    The threads of magic in the ribbon flickered out .


    Then Ann was gone from my mind .


    For a second , I felt nk .


    Like the deepest part of me was torn away .


    I fought not to Chapter 3 stagger .


    My stomach lurched .


    I swallowed down bile .


    Still reeling , I took out my ck card and threw it at her .


    2/8 Consider that payment for your … services .


    I smirked , covering how unsteady I was .


    Now clean yourself up .


    Im going to find Evelyn .


    I think I need thepany of a woman who knows how to please me .


    That would show her for trying to bait me .


    I turned and left the room .


    As I closed the door , I heard a muffled sob .


    It was the most heartbroken sound Id ever heard .


    I froze .


    I wondered if I was wrong about everything .


    Was Ann a victim of her family ? Did she truly love me ? No.


    It couldnt be .


    This was bullsh * t .


    Ann was a liar .


    Her family were thieves .


    Let her cry .


    She would never actually leave .


    Shed stay around , begging me to f * ck her again .


    Her tears wouldnt bring back my family or my packmates .


    Or A Chapter 3 undo all the damage and trauma her pack had caused .


    3/8 My wolf growled and paced beneath my skin .


    My wolf … liked my wife .


    He craved her .


    But my wolf was all passion and instinct , and I had to rely on my human side to be objective .


    Which meant .


    feelings and walking away .


    ing off these Time to find the woman I actually owed my life to : Evelyn Bary .


    ANN The pain in my heart was so terrible , I thought I was going to die .


    I curled into the couch and sobbed in huge , heaving gasps for hours .


    Until I was spent and couldnt cry anymore .


    I wished there was someone for me to call .


    A friend .


    My family .


    But I had no friends , and my family was a pit of poisonous snakes .


    They hated me for refusing to spy on Dane for them .


    For choosing him , every single time .


    In ways that he would never know .


    I stood on shaking legs .


    Chapter 3 4/8 Instead of dwelling on the unbearable pain in both my body and soul , I picked up the torn ribbon and his credit card .


    Quietly , I left the office above the club and got a cab back to the penthouse I had tried to call home .


    v from the That was another one of Danes punishments .


    He made me live in the city , away from thend and the wood wild ces .


    Even though I didnt have a wolf anymore , taking me away the wild nearly gutted me .


    from Which was exactly what he wanted , because he thought I was one of the people who had gutted him and his pack three years ago .


    I never even thought about the morning after pill I left on the couch at the club .


    I didnt think about pregnancy at all .


    Not until it was far toote .


    DANE That night after seeing Evelyn I went back to the Anta penthouse and crashed .


    I didnt see Ann .


    I didnt think about it .


    The next day I worked , trying to make my time in the city as short as possible .


    Chapter 3 5/8 I sent a car for Annter that day , since I refused to drive anywhere with her .


    My grandfather wanted us to visit him on Blue Ridge packnds for dinner .


    I might be a bastard to Ann , but I hated to disappoint the old man .


    he sun was I arrived at the massive , sprawling mansion ju setting , checked in with my beta , Archer Fox , then drove farther up the mountain to my grandfathers home .


    His paradise he called it .


    A big cottage with a view of the valley and its sparklingke to the west .


    He was outside , puttering in his garden .


    Summer was at its peak , and the whole ce was a riot of scents and colors .


    Wheres Ann ? They were the first , grumpy words out of his mouth .


    I looked around .


    I expected to find her here , with him .


    The old , former alpha hated most people , but he would take a bullet for Ann .


    I tried to tell him a thousand times what a conniving liar she was , but he never listened .


    Shes supposed to be here , I said .


    I sent a car .


    Maybe this has something to do with it .


    He threw a cell phone at me .


    Chapter 3 6/8 I caught the thing before it smashed into my face and looked at the screen .


    There was a picture of Evelyn fromst night .


    She was with me .


    I had my arm around her waist , and we were so close we were almost kissing .


    I scrolled up .


    It was a news article on one of those celebrity gossip sites .


    The headline read , Award winning Cozy with Married Billionaire .


    ss Gels I thought of Anns facest night when Id finally f * cked her then told her I never loved her .


    Id relished twisting that knife .


    But now … I clenched my fist and had to stop myself from smashing the phone on the ground .


    Very carefully , I handed it back to my grandfather .


    Ill take care of it .


    He snorted .


    Youd better .


    The Council wont like it .


    I thought of my cut bond .


    It didnt matter if we were bonded , as long as we were legally married .


    The Council will likely turn a blind eye as long as the war doesnt start again .


    My grandfather frowned at me .


    You want people to think the wolves of Blue Ridge dont stand by their vows ? Is that what I worked and bled for ? What your parents died for ? So you could trash our good name ? Shame washed over me .


    Connall Montague might be prickly as Chapter 3 7/8 hell , but Id die before I failed him like I had the night Broken Forest attacked .


    I said , Ill take care of it .


    I called my beta .


    Get those photos of Evelyn and I media sites , I snapped .


    And find Ann .


    She never today .


    ocial d up Consider it done , Alpha , Archer Fox said in his stoic voice .


    My beta would move heaven and earth to carry out one of my requests , but I was still off bnce .


    Last night , Id given in to Ann and all the dark , possessive things I had been battling for years .


    Id let myself have her the way I craved .


    Then , like an animal caught it a trap , Id gnawed off my own leg to escape .


    Cut our bond .


    I shouldnt have done it .


    Like my grandfather said , Blue Ridge wolves kept their word .


    I might not have technically broken my word to the Council , but close enough .


    And Id broken my promises to Ann .


    The ones all wolves made when they mated .


    Lately , it was getting harder and harder to remember she deserved it .


    I flipped through the contacts on my phone and called my wife .


    But she didnt pick up .


    I texted .


    Called again .


    And again .


    Chapter 3 8/8 Ann never missed a chance toe here .


    It was the only time she got to be in the woods , and I knew how much she loved it .


    She never answered .


    Later , I left my grandfathers and went to the main pack house .


    Archer Fox met me at the door to the huge , rustic foyer .


    I was so enraged by then , he probably felt meing through the pack bond .


    Wheres Ann ? I demanded .


    Archer had a growl in his own voice when he answered , The car she uses is at the Anta International Airport .


    ording to the security footage , its been there several hours .


    And ?! She bought a ticket to Europe .


    Shes really leaving .