Chapter 7

The snarling erupted around me, coming from every direction. I couldn't see the wolves, but I could hear their paws shifting closer and feel their presence tightening around me. My heart hammered against my ribs.

“Damon!” I screamed. “Please, you have to—”

His roar cut through the chaos. “Enough! Stop them! I’ll make the choice!”

The wolves hesitated for only a moment. I felt claws graze my leg, and terror shot through me.

Malachi sounded almost entertained. “Well, Alpha? Which one will it be? Your wife, or the woman carrying your child?”

My breath caught.

For one terrible second, I waited for Damon to say my name.

Even after everything, some foolish part of me was still waiting.

“I…”

His voice faltered.

Then Bianca began sobbing.

“Damon, please! You have to save me. Think about our baby. I can’t die like this. Please…”

The world seemed to fall silent.

Even the wolves stopped growling.

And then Damon answered.

“Bianca.”

Just her name.

That single word was enough to destroy whatever remained of my hope.

The wolves came at me.

Their teeth sank into my flesh, claws tearing through me as they dragged me across the ground. Pain overwhelmed every thought I had. I screamed until my throat was raw, but no one came. They pulled me away only to throw me back into the pit, and the nightmare repeated itself until I could no longer tell how many times I had been attacked.

When they finally dragged me out, my body barely responded.

“Are you trying to kill her?” Damon shouted. His voice cracked with fury. “She won’t survive another attack!”

Malachi merely chuckled.

“You made the choice, Alpha. Don’t blame me for what followed.”

I was dumped onto the ground. Every part of me felt distant, numb beneath the pain.

Then Malachi spoke again.

“Let's move on to the second round.”

Something heavy scraped across the floor. Metal dragged against stone, producing a sound that made my stomach twist.

“A silver whip,” he announced. “Ninety-nine strikes. So, Alpha Callahan, who should receive this one?”

Damon said nothing.

I could hear his uneven breathing while I struggled to draw air into my ruined lungs. Blood filled my mouth when I coughed, and I couldn't even raise my head anymore.

Is this really how my life ends?

Then his answer came.

“Bianca.”

Tears immediately spilled from Bianca’s eyes. She clutched her chest, looking toward me with an expression of relief and guilt.

“Arianne has already suffered so much,” she sobbed. “I don’t even know what to say. I never wanted any of this to happen.”

I didn't look at her.

I kept my eyes on Damon.

“Why?” My voice was barely audible. “Why is it always her? Just once, Damon, tell me why you keep choosing her.”

He remained silent.

The first blow landed before I could hear anything else.

The crack of the whip tore through the air, followed by a burst of agony across my back. My body jerked forward, and my fingers clawed into the rough earth beneath me. Sharp stones cut into my palms as blood slipped beneath my nails.

“One.”

The whip struck again.

“Two.”

I bit down hard, but a broken cry still escaped me.

“Three.”

The pain grew with every strike, spreading through my body until I felt as though I were being dismantled piece by piece.

“Damon…” I managed to whisper. “Does seeing this hurt you at all? Or have I really become nothing to you?”

He didn't answer.

The count continued.

By fifty, I had lost almost all sense of time. Blood soaked my back and ran down my sides. My head swayed, and the world around me blurred.

“Fifty-five!”

Suddenly, Damon's voice thundered through the clearing.

“Stop!”

The whip halted.

“I said stop hurting her! Can't you see she’s had enough? She won't survive this!”

Chains rattled violently as he struggled free, and then I heard his footsteps coming toward me.

For one foolish moment, my heart lifted.

I thought he had finally chosen me.

Then Bianca screamed.

“Damon!”

Her voice was filled with panic.

“My stomach hurts! Something’s wrong with the baby. Please, I think I’m losing our pups!”

Everything changed.

I could almost feel Damon hesitate.

Then his footsteps moved away from me.

“Bianca!”

He reached her, his voice suddenly gentle and frightened.

“Tell me where it hurts. Are you bleeding? Look at me. Please, breathe slowly. I’m here. Nothing is going to happen to you.”

A weak laugh escaped my throat.

It sounded nothing like laughter.

So that was my answer.

The whip came down again.

Blood spilled from my mouth as I coughed, and somewhere beyond the ringing in my ears, Damon shouted my name.

“Arianne!”

His voice sounded impossibly distant.

Malachi laughed.

“This is getting better by the minute, Alpha Callahan. I have a medical team waiting nearby, but unfortunately, they can only save one person.”

Another strike landed.

“Think carefully,” Malachi continued. “Are you going to choose her again, or are you finally going to give your other mate a chance?”

Another blow.

Then another.

I could barely hear them anymore. My ears rang so violently that every sound seemed buried beneath water.

I forced my eyes open.

Through my blurred vision, I could make out Damon and Malachi speaking to each other. I couldn't understand their words, but eventually Malachi nodded.

Damon immediately went to Bianca.

He lifted her into his arms and held her tightly against his chest.

Then he turned away.

He walked off carrying her.

He never looked back.

Not even once.

A weak, bitter laugh escaped me.

“So this is how it ends…”

Ninety-nine lashes had torn my body apart, yet somehow, none of them had hurt as deeply as watching Damon walk away with her.

Above me, the sunset stained the sky a deep crimson. It looked as though the heavens themselves were bleeding alongside me.

Something soft drifted down from above and landed against my battered body.

A white seabird.

Within seconds, its feathers were stained red with my blood.

I stared at it through fading vision.

“Damon…” I whispered, struggling for every breath. “All those things you told me about fate and our bond… all those promises you swore were forever…”

My lips trembled.

“They were never worth anything, were they?”

The pain was everywhere now. My body, my chest, even breathing felt unbearable.

“If there really is another life after this…”

My voice faded into a whisper.

“I hope I never fall in love with you again.”

And then the darkness finally took me.