Midnight Farewell

Valerie’s POV

"Fuck!" I roared.

I grabbed the edge of my oak side table and heaved it across the room. The ceramic vase resting on top shattered against the far wall, sending sharp fragments scattering across the hardwood floor.

Victor barged through the open doorway. He lunged at me from behind, locking his thick arms around my torso to pin my hands to my sides. I thrashed against his chest, desperate to tear the rest of my bedroom apart. He anchored his feet, holding me in place until the fight drained out of my bones.

Victor tightened his grip to ground me. "Valerie, you need to stop. Breaking things won't change the dire reality we are facing."

My legs gave out. I slid down the bedroom wall, dragging Victor down to the floor with me. I pulled my knees to my chest and buried my trembling hands in my tangled hair. The anger burned out, leaving nothing but a vast, hollow terror in its wake. A ragged sob ripped past my throat.

"Why does fate constantly torture me?" I gasped out between heavy tears. "If I were not classified as a weakling, my true mate would never have rejected me. I would not be forced to sell my life to a demonic Lycan King just to save our people. This is all my fault."

Victor shifted around to face me. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me into a bone-crushing embrace. He pressed a warm kiss to my forehead, holding me tight as I cried against his shirt.

"Do not ever say that. You are the strongest woman I know, Val, second only to Mom." Victor gripped my chin, forcing me to look him in the eye. "If I have to offer myself as a bonus package to protect you, I will. Do not ever blame yourself for this nightmare."

The slow, agonizing creak of my bedroom door hinges interrupted our tender moment.

My mother stepped out from the shadows of the hallway. Her face looked pale and deeply etched with a tired, crushing resignation. Her shoulders slumped under the weight of the invisible burden pressing down on our family. I stared at her, praying to the Moon Goddess for a sliver of good news, but the grim set of her mouth gave away the truth before she even spoke.

"The pack Elders have already made their official decision. They are going to accept the Lycan King's money." My mother delivered the crushing verdict in a soft, final tone.

The very last shred of my hope evaporated into thin air. Fresh, hot tears spilled down my cheeks. My fate was sealed. The King had bought me, and my pack had sold me without a second thought.

My mother dropped to her knees beside us on the floor. She pulled both Victor and me into a warm, desperate embrace. We huddled together in the ruins of my bedroom, clinging to each other as the harsh reality set in. We spent the remainder of the evening wrapped in that tight circle, recounting old, happy memories of our childhood to drown out the looming dread. I tried to commit every detail of their faces and voices to memory, knowing I would need these moments to survive the loneliness awaiting me in my new prison. It was my second to last night of freedom.

"I am packing my bags tomorrow. I am coming with you to the Lycan Kingdom." Victor broke the silence, his tone leaving no room for argument.

I pulled back and shook my head. "No. You are staying right here. I refuse to let you sabotage your own future by following me into a monster's den."

He opened his mouth to protest, but I held up a hand. Internally, I accepted this nightmare was my cross to bear. I had to face it head-on, alone.

The night stretched into a long, agonizing blur. I laid still in my bed, staring blankly at the dark ceiling as the hours crawled by. The silence of my bedroom was suffocating. Heavy dread pooled in my stomach with every passing minute, counting down the arrival of tomorrow. Tomorrow marked the end of my forty-eight-hour grace period. Tomorrow, I would leave behind my family, my friends, and every ounce of freedom I ever possessed to become the permanent property of an arrogant, ruthless beast.

A faint, persistent knocking sound shattered the quiet room.

I turned my head toward the window.

"Valerie, please let me in. We need to talk." Corbin’s muffled voice filtered through the thin glass pane, laced with heavy desperation.

My chest tightened. The visceral pain of his recent rejection and the image of him in bed with Sloane slammed into my mind. I dragged myself out of bed and stomped over to the window. I grabbed the edge of the curtains and yanked them shut, blocking out his pleading face.

I leaned close to the glass pane. "Go away, Corbin."

He refused to relent. The knocking grew louder, turning into a frantic, rhythmic pounding that rattled the wooden window frame. His desperate pleas echoed into the night, grating against my already frayed nerves. My boiling frustration finally spilled over the edge. I grabbed a decorative pillow from my bed and chucked it across the room.

I ripped the curtains back and shoved the window upward with a hard slam.

"What do you want from me?" I spat, glaring down at him.

Instead of answering my question or backing away, Corbin grabbed the window ledge. He bypassed my boundaries, hoisting his body up and climbing straight through the open window into my bedroom. My jaw dropped. Before I could even process the sheer audacity of his intrusion, he lunged forward.

Corbin grabbed my waist with a vise-like grip. He hauled my body flush against his chest and crashed his lips onto mine. The kiss was intense, demanding, and all-consuming. He kissed me like a starving man, trying to pour all of his chaotic apologies and regrets directly into my mouth. His tongue pushed against my lips, demanding access. The lingering trauma of his betrayal screamed in my head, but my body betrayed me for a treacherous split second. A hot, unwanted spark of attraction flared in my gut, fueled by our old mate bond.

I recognized the mortal danger of my own momentary weakness. Panic spiked through my veins. I braced both hands against his broad chest and shoved him backward.

Corbin stumbled, his grip tearing away from my waist. I stood there gasping for air, wiping the back of my hand across my bruised lips.

I stepped forward and delivered a resounding, vicious slap across his left cheek. The sharp crack of skin on skin echoed like a gunshot in the quiet room. My palm stung from the raw impact, providing a massive physical release of the anger I had been harboring since the very moment I caught him wrapped around Sloane's naked body.

"Get out!" I hissed at him, my eyes blazing with pure fury.

Corbin raised a slow hand to his face, his fingers grazing the bright red handprint forming on his stinging cheek. His features twisted into a mask of heavy regret, yet his feet remained firmly planted on my bedroom floor. Instead of retreating toward the window, he took a deliberate, calculated step closer to me. The unsettling intensity burning in his dark eyes made my skin crawl.

"I am not going anywhere, Val. I just want to spend the night with you so I can say a proper goodbye." Corbin declared, his voice dropping an octave.

At that exact, heated moment, a loud metallic click sounded from the hallway.

The lock on my bedroom door disengaged. The brass handle turned, and the heavy wooden door swung inward. A massive, imposing figure stepped over the threshold, freezing dead in his tracks as he caught us in the compromising situation.

My blood ran ice cold. I stared at the terrifying, unexpected sight looming in the doorway.

"Shit!" I cursed.