Chapter 13
Julian’s POV
Far from the sterile white walls of the Center, I stood in front of a sleek, modern villa-
a place I had once bought with dreams of another life.
Now it belonged to Claire Lancaster.
When she opened the door, her face lit
up with
eagerness.
“Julian,” she breathed, stepping closer, her smile syrupy sweet. “I was just thinking about you-”
I didn’t smile.
Didn’t speak.
Her bright expression faltered as I brushed past her without a word, striding into the villa.
The place reeked of her scent now-
artificial sweetness layered thick over rotting lies.
I sank heavily onto the leather couch, my muscles stiff with cold, simmering anger.
Inside me, my wolf stirred restlessly, teeth bared in silent rage.
I had pampered her once.
Indulged her every whim.
Trusted her so blindly that it had cost me my Mate.
And now, all I saw when I looked at her was the reason I had lost everything.
Claire hovered uncertainly nearby.
“Julian,” she said, her voice tight with nerves. “What’s wrong?”
When I finally spoke, my voice was low, dangerous.
“Why?”
She blinked, confused.
“What…?”
“Why did you send those messages to Selene?” I asked, each word sharp and deliberate.
“Why did you whisper lies?
Why did you set her up?”
Claire’s lips parted in silent shock.
“Julian, I don’t understand-
“Don’t lie to me,” I snapped, the words slicing through the air like a blade.
“You pushed her! You made her believe she was alone! You poisoned every trust I had left.”
I stood, the pressure of my Alpha aura slamming into the room like a physical force.
Claire stumbled back instinctively.
The air between us was suffocating–thick with the raw, unchecked dominance of a wolf on the verge of snapping.
Far from the sterile white walls of the Center, I stood before a sleek, modern villa-
a place I had once bought with dreams of another life.
Now, it belonged to Claire Lancaster.
When she opened the door, her face lit
up
with
eagerness.
Chapter 13
“Julian,” she breathed, stepping closer, her smile syrupy sweet. “I was just thinking about you-”
I didn’t smile.
Didn’t speak.
Her bright expression faltered as I brushed past her, my boots heavy on the polished floor.
This place reeked of her scent-
artificial sweetness layered thick over rot.
I sank onto the leather couch, muscles stiff with cold, simmering rage.
Inside me, my wolf stirred restlessly, baring its teeth in silent fury.
I had once pampered Claire, indulged her every whim,
trusted her so blindly that it had cost me my Mate.
Now, all I saw when I looked at her was the reason I had lost everything.
Claire hovered nervously nearby.
“Julian,” she said, her voice tight with unease. “What’s wrong?”
I pinned her with a stare.
“Why?” I said, my voice low and lethal.
She blinked, confused.
“What…?”
“Why did you send those messages to Selene?
Why did you whisper lies?
Why did you set her up?”
Her lips parted in silent shock.
“Julian, I don’t understand-”
“Don’t lie to me,” I growled, the weight of my Alpha aura slamming into the room like a living force.
“You pushed her.
You made her believe she was alone.
You stood by and watched me destroy the only thing that ever mattered.”
Claire backed away instinctively, shrinking under the pressure.
I rose to my feet, every nerve in my body taut, my wolf clawing just beneath the surface.
Two months.
It had taken me two months to finally hear the words Selene had buried in her heart.
“I didn’t pour the soup on Claire. If you don’t believe me, check the surveillance.”
Back then, I hadn’t even hesitated.
I believed Claire without question.
I forced Selene to apologize for something she hadn’t done.
Shame burned through me, molten and merciless.
I had hired specialists to recover the surveillance crystals from that night at the Banquet Hall.
The footage had been overwritten.
But I was relentless.
Chapter 13
When the recording finally flickered back to life,
I watched–silent, devastated.
No sound.
But I didn’t need sound.
I saw Claire’s smug expression, the way she leaned in to hurl venomous words at Selene,
and how, spotting me returning, she lifted the steaming bowl and poured it over herself.
Staged.
All of it.
My wolf had recoiled in rage and sorrow.
While Selene lay bleeding, while healers stitched fifteen agonizing sutures across her scalp,
I had run after Claire.
I hadn’t even looked back.
And later-
Net Claire wear the Wolf Totem Selene had once given me, a sacred charm meant to protect the one I loved.
I had given it away like it meant nothing.
How much had it destroyed Selene that day?
How much had I destroyed her?
Claire’s voice dragged me back.
“Julian, listen… You were going to leave her anyway.
I just wanted to help.
I know I was wrong, but I did it because I love you-
don’t be mád, okay?”
She dragged out the last words in a practiced, sugary lilt.
Once, it might have worked.
Now, it only made bile rise in my throat.
“Who told you I wanted a severance?” I snapped, shoving her away
from
- me.
She stumbled backward, crashing against the arm of the couch, tears streaming down her face.
“You’re not going to leave her?” she gasped, voice cracking. “Then why did you come here?”
1
I paused at the door, my hand tightening on the handle.
For a long moment, I said nothing.
Then I turned my head slightly, just enough to meet her desperate gaze.
“I came,” I said, my voice low and cold, “to end this farce.”
I took a breath, steady and final.
“Claire Lancaster,” I said, letting every syllable cut like a blade,
I only ever saw you as a friend. It was you who thought otherwise.” Her face crumpled in disbelief, tears spilling freely now.
