The Alpha's Dirty Little Secret No More

I stared at the face so close to mine.

The face I had once loved, once worshipped. Now it was twisted into a monster's snarl.

I stopped struggling.

I stopped explaining. I stopped crying.

I just stared at him, like he was a complete stranger.

"Killian," I said softly, my voice holding a dead quiet that startled him. "Is this really how you see me?"

He flinched, his grip loosening for a second.

But then, from behind him, came Vivian's weak moan. "Killian… I'm in so much pain… My spirit is about to shatter… Call my brother…"

The last trace of doubt in Killian's eyes vanished.

He shoved me away, and I fell hard onto the ground.

Then he turned, scooped Vivian into his arms, and gave me his back.

"Get out," he snarled, without turning around. "You are banished. If I see your face in this territory again, I will kill you myself."

The rain started to pour.

Cold water washed over the blood and grime on my body, washing away my last bit of attachment to this city.

I climbed to my feet and watched Killian carry Vivian to his stretch limousine.

The taillights disappeared quickly into the rain.

This time, he didn't look back. Not once.

...

Three hours later, at the international airport.

I had changed into a clean black trench coat and sunglasses, hiding my swollen eyes and bruised face.

The final boarding call for a flight to a neutral European country echoed through the terminal.

I stood by a trash can, holding a phone and a necklace.

The necklace was simple: a silver ring on a chain. A casual birthday gift from him five years ago. I had worn it like a promise. Now I saw it for what it was. A leash.

It was just a joke.

I unclasped the necklace. The cedar scent that I had been so careful not to wash off, his scent, still lingered.

"Goodbye."

My fingers uncurled.

The silver ring glinted one last time under the harsh airport lights, then disappeared into the trash. Gone.

Next, the phone.

I opened my contacts and my finger hovered over the pinned name: "My Alpha."

Without hesitating, I hit delete.

Then the entire contact list. Everyone connected to the Blackwood family. Wiped clean.

I pulled out the SIM card, snapped it in two, and dropped the pieces into the trash.

After all that, I felt the massive weight that had been crushing my chest for five years finally lift.

It left a hollow ache, a gaping wound where my heart used to be. But for the first time in five years, I could breathe. The air was mine. My life was my own.

"Miss, it's time to board," a gate agent said.

I nodded, grabbed my single suitcase, and walked toward the security gate.

It was a gateway to a new life.

The plane taxied down the runway and took off into the clouds.

I sat by the window.

I watched the glittering city shrink below me, becoming a cluster of tiny lights before being swallowed by the clouds.

My youth, my love, my blood, and my tears were all buried there.

And so was the man named Killian Blackwood.

Tears streamed silently down my face, but I didn't wipe them away.

This was the last time I would ever cry for him.

Then the words rose from deep within my soul, a final, severing vow.

"I, Freya, do hereby reject you, Killian Blackwood, as my mate. The bond between us is broken. From this day forward, you are nothing to me."