He Said Kill Me Then Killed Himself

My mate, Alpha Easton, and I were once the fated mates everyone in the Blackwood Pack envied.

Now, our bond has crumbled into hatred.

He hates me. Because the curse-dispelling ritual I presided over failed, killing his sister, Barber.

I hate him. Because when my younger brother was tortured and killed in a rigged duel, he stood by and did nothing.

When the news of my brother's death arrived, a cold sneer I hadn't seen in years twisted his lips. "This is what you deserve."

When I was three months pregnant, I was kidnapped by a rival pack.

They demanded Easton trade the western moonstone mine for his mate's life.

The mine was barely breaking even, but his refusal was swift and merciless. "Just kill her."

And just as he wished, I lost everything.

But then, he killed himself.

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1

When another pack’s warriors pulled me from the dungeon, I was a mangled ruin of blood and wounds.

The healer’s face paled at the sight of me.

As she frantically worked to heal me, she whispered in my ear, "Hold on! Everything's going to be okay!"

Days of torture had left me too weak to speak.

I could only hear the shocked and sympathetic gasps of the onlookers.

I desperately tried to grab the healer's sleeve, wanting to tell her to save my pup first.

However, my mouth hung open, yet I couldn't make a sound.

My throat felt like it was being scorched from the inside out, pierced by a thousand silver needles.

Oh, right. I’d almost forgotten.

When Easton refused the kidnappers’ demands and severed our mind-link, they had roared in fury and poured molten silver down my throat.

"Useless she-wolf! Your Alpha doesn't even care enough to trade a worthless mine for you. You're nothing but trash!"

The burning in my throat was still so intense it made my whole body tremble uncontrollably.

As the healer rushed me toward the medical bay, we passed a gurney where a patient was watching the news.

"Alpha Easton, Calista, the victim in the recent kidnapping, has been rescued. We understand you know her. Could you comment on your relationship?"

Easton's icy voice came from the television: "I have no relationship with her."

The words struck me with the force of a physical blow.

The pain in my body warred with the agony in my heart, stealing my breath.

No relationship with me, huh?

Before this, no matter how much we resented each other, I'd clung to the belief that it was just a twisted part of our love. I believed that underneath it all, we still loved each other.

No matter how much he ignored me, I was always trying to make up for my past mistakes.

I thought that if I gave my all, he would eventually forgive me and give me his heart in return.

Unfortunately, that was just wishful thinking.

His hatred for me ran so deep that he even wished for my death. How could he possibly still love me?

It was time to shatter the delusion.

I gently closed my eyes, tears mixing with blood as they slid down my face.

As the numbing herbs began to work, the last of my strength gave out, and I passed out.

Before I lost consciousness, I thought I heard Easton's voice again.

Compared to his earlier coldness, his voice was now thick with emotion.

"Jessica has the purest soul of any she-wolf I've known. I hope my future mate can be just like her..."

Jessica is my apprentice and Easton's new flame.

In a daze, fragments of memory flashed through my mind.

Back then, Jessica was just an apprentice Moon Priestess under my tutelage.

She had all the theory but no practical experience, often becoming a burden to me.

Because of her, I often had to work overtime at the Sanctum to clean up her messes.

Whenever Easton came to pick me up from work and saw how exhausted I was, he would always belittle Jessica:

"If you don't have the talent for it, why even bother being a priestess? You should just go home."

He clearly despised her.

But now, he was saying with such a gentle tone that Jessica had the purest soul.