My Fated Alphas Cruel Game novel Chapter 38

38 Chapter 38 Breaking the Bond

Elena’s POV

I pushed the driver’s door wide open, knowing I needed to create another diversion. My previous wound had already begun healing during my trek through the dense forest, so I pressed my fingernails deep into the tender skin until fresh blood welled

1. up.

I let the crimson drops fall steadily onto the forest floor, creating a deliberate false trail that would lead any tracker away from my actual route. Each drop that hit the earth felt like a small victory against the suffocating control that had defined my life for too long.

Retracing my steps carefully back to the abandoned vehicle, I grabbed my hastily packed bag from the backseat and began walking along the empty highway. The asphalt stretched endlessly ahead, disappearing into the night like a promise of freedom I desperately needed to believe in.

Anxiety clawed at my chest as I found myself completely exposed on the open road. Marcus would discover my absence soon enough, if he hadn’t already. The question was whether his rage would overpower his current preoccupation with his precious fiancee. Would he tear himself away from whatever celebration they were having to hunt me down? Or would he be too wrapped up in playing the devoted groom–to–be? The uncertainty ate at me, but I refused to let it paralyze me. I was finished trying to decode his contradictory behavior, tired of attempting to understand a man who seemed determined to destroy everything good between us while refusing to let me

1. go.

For the first time in months, I felt the intoxicating rush of actual freedom coursing through my veins.

But Julian’s warning echoed in my mind, his words carrying implications that made my skin crawl. He clearly understood far more about werewolf nature than anyone had revealed to me, and that knowledge felt like a weapon hanging over my head.

I stopped dead in the middle of the deserted highway, surrounded by nothing but winding asphalt and the imposing darkness of ancient trees pressing in on both sides. The weight of what I needed to do settled on my shoulders like a burial shroud.

38 Chapter 38 Breaking the Blond

Taking a shuddering breath, I spoke the words that would change everything between

us forever.

“1, Elena Fairfax, of the Duskelaw Pack Pack, reject you Alpha Marcus Sterling, as my mate and my Alpha of the Duskclaw Pack Pack.”

The formal rejection hung in the air for a heartbeat before agony exploded through my chest. The pain was unlike anything I had ever experienced, a searing fire that felt like my ribcage was being torn apart from the inside. I collapsed to my knees, one palm hitting the rough asphalt as I fought to draw breath through the overwhelming

torture.

If this devastating pain was coursing through me, then Marcus was experiencing the same excruciating agony at this very moment. The thought should have given me satisfaction, but instead it only intensified the burning in my chest.

Now I had to wait. If another wave of pain crashed over me, it would mean he had accepted my rejection and the mate bond would be completely severed. If not, then part of that invisible chain would remain, giving him the ability to track me wherever I tried to hide.

When the worst of the pain finally began to subside, I struggled back to my feet and resumed walking. My legs felt unsteady, but determination pushed me forward step by agonizing step.

I hadn’t made it more than a few hundred yards when the low rumble of an engine approached from behind. A sleek black SUV pulled alongside me, its tinted windows reflecting the moonlight like dark mirrors.

Without hesitation, I walked over and yanked open the back door. The driver gave me a curt nod of acknowledgment, his face carefully neutral. No words were exchanged as I slid into the leather seat and pulled the door shut behind me.

The silence suited me perfectly. This arrangement had been made weeks ago, long before Jett had appeared and turned my world upside down again. The driver had his orders, and more importantly, he had been instructed never to reveal my destination. to anyone who might come asking.

If Marcus tried to use his Alpha authority to extract information, he would find nothing but blank stares and genuine ignorance. That protection was exactly what I had paid for.

38 Chapter 38 Breaking the Blond

My half of the mate bond lay in shattered pieces, but something deep in my gut told me Marcus wouldn’t accept defeat so easily. He was too possessive, too controlling to simply let me disappear into the night.

Hours passed as we drove through the darkness, eventually crossing into territory that belonged to a different pack entirely. The driver navigated through a small town where every business had closed for the night, their darkened windows giving the place an almost ghostly atmosphere.

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