ROWAN'S POV
I wake up on the ground outside the medical wing.
Kieran is slapping my face. "Rowan! Wake up! Come on, man, wake up!"
Everything hurts. My chest feels like someone drove a stake through it. My wolf is barely conscious, whimpering in pain.
The bond. It's killing me faster than I thought.
"How long was I out?" My voice sounds like gravel.
"Twenty minutes. You collapsed right after leaving Isla's room." Kieran helps me sit up. "Rowan, you're bleeding from your eyes again. And your nose. This is bad."
I wipe my face. My hand comes away red. "I'm fine."
"You're dying." Kieran's voice cracks. "The rejection is tearing you apart. You need to accept it. End this before—"
"No." I force myself to stand. My legs shake, but I stay upright. "Where's Isla?"
"Still in the medical wing. Mira's with her. But Rowan—"
"I need to see her."
"She doesn't want to see you!" Kieran grabs my arm. "You're making it worse. Every time you're near her, the fractured bond tears deeper. You need to stay away."
He's right. I know he's right.
But my wolf doesn't care. He's dying, and the only thing that might save us is being close to our mate. Even if she hates us. Even if it hurts.
"I can't stay away," I say simply.
Kieran's face softens. "Then at least clean yourself up first. You look like death. If she sees you like this..."
I glance down. My shirt is covered in blood—from my eyes, my nose, even my ears. I'm a nightmare.
"Fine. Five minutes."
I shower quickly, the hot water turning pink as it washes away the blood. When I look in the mirror, I barely recognize myself. My eyes are bloodshot. My skin is pale. I've lost weight in just one night.
This is what rejection does. It eats you from the inside out.
I dress in clean clothes and head downstairs. The pack house is buzzing with activity—everyone preparing for breakfast, talking in hushed whispers. They all go quiet when they see me.
"Alpha heir," someone murmurs, bowing their head.
I ignore them all. There's only one person I care about seeing.
But when I enter the dining room, I find Celeste instead.
She's sitting at the table in a white dress, looking perfect as always. Victoria is beside her. They're both staring at me with matching expressions of disgust.
"There he is," Victoria says coldly. "The Alpha heir who's destroying himself over a bastard omega."
I should walk away. Should ignore her like I've been ignoring everyone.
But I'm so tired of lying. So tired of pretending.
"The engagement is off," I say clearly.
The entire dining room goes silent. Thirty pack members stop eating, stop talking, stop breathing.
Celeste's fork clatters to her plate. "What?"
"You heard me. The engagement is off. I can't marry you, Celeste. I have a mate."
"A mate who REJECTED you!" Victoria shoots to her feet. "A mate who'd rather DIE than be with you!"
"I know." The words hurt to say. "But she's still my mate. And I won't dishonor the bond by marrying someone else."
"You already dishonored it by being engaged for three years!" Celeste's voice rises. "You think breaking our engagement NOW makes you noble? You're still the same coward who chose duty over love!"
She's not wrong. The truth stings.
"I know what I was," I say quietly. "I'm trying to be better."
"By destroying our family's alliance? By humiliating me in front of the entire pack?" Celeste's eyes fill with tears. "I've loved you since we were children, Rowan. I planned our wedding. Our future. Our LIFE. And you're throwing it away for a girl who hates you?"
"Yes." The word is simple. Final.
Celeste slaps me.
The sound echoes through the dining room. My cheek burns, but I don't move. Don't react.
"I hope she rejects you a thousand times," Celeste hisses. "I hope you die slowly and painfully, and I hope she watches without caring."
"Celeste, enough!" Marcus appears in the doorway. His Alpha command fills the room. "Everyone out. NOW."
The pack members scramble to leave. Within seconds, it's just me, Marcus, Victoria, and Celeste.
"My office," Marcus says to me. "We need to talk."
"No." I'm done taking orders. "I'm going to see Isla."
"Like hell you are." Victoria blocks my path. "You're poison to her. Every minute you're near her, she gets weaker. I won't let you kill my husband's daughter."
"Since when do you care about Isla?" The words come out harsh.
Victoria's face flushes. "I don't. But if she dies because of you, it reflects badly on this pack. On Celeste. On everyone."
"Everything's always about Celeste with you, isn't it?" I step closer. "Did you ever once consider that Isla suffered for eighteen years so your daughter could be comfortable? That she was treated like garbage so Celeste could be a princess?"
"Isla is garbage," Victoria spits. "A bastard from a dead omega who seduced my husband. She never deserved—"
My Alpha power explodes outward.
Victoria stumbles back, gasping. Every wolf instinct in her screams to submit.
"Call Isla garbage again," I say softly, "and I'll forget you're my future Luna. I'll forget you're Marcus's mate. I'll only remember that you tortured MY mate for eighteen years, and I'll make you pay for every single day."
Silence. Victoria's face is white.
"Rowan." Marcus's voice is calm but firm. "Stand down."
I pull my power back, but barely. My wolf is right at the surface, snarling, wanting blood.
"The engagement is off," I repeat. "Tell the pack. Tell the other Alphas. I don't care. Celeste deserves someone who can love her fully. That's not me."
"And what about Isla?" Marcus asks quietly. "She doesn't want you either."
"I know. But I'm done running from the truth. I'm done choosing duty over my heart. My father taught me that being Alpha means sacrifice. But he never taught me that some sacrifices aren't worth making."
"You sound like a child," Victoria sneers.
"Maybe. But I'm a child who finally knows what matters." I turn toward the door. "Now excuse me. I'm going to see my mate."
"She'll reject you again," Celeste says. Her voice is hollow. Broken. "You'll go there, and she'll break your heart, and you'll deserve every second of it."
"You're right." I look back at her. "I deserve all of it and more. But I'm still going. Because that's what you do when you love someone. You show up. Even when they don't want you. Even when it hurts."
I leave before anyone can stop me.
The walk to the medical wing feels like miles. Every step makes my chest ache worse. The bond is screaming at me—dying, bleeding, fracturing further with each breath.
But I keep walking.
Because Isla is worth dying for.
I reach her door. Raise my hand to knock.
Then I hear voices inside. Isla and Mira, talking.
"I know what I have to do," Isla says. Her voice is steady. Strong. "I'm going to save us both. But not the way anyone expects."
My hand freezes on the door.
"What do you mean?" Mira asks.
"I'm going to accept Daemon's offer."
The words hit me like a physical blow.
"Isla, no!" Mira gasps. "You can't! He'll drain your power, hollow you out—"
"Better hollow than dead. And this way, Rowan lives too. Once I'm with Daemon, the bond will break naturally. Rowan can accept the rejection without guilt. He'll be free to live his life."
"But you'll lose everything! Your wolf, your power, your memories—"
"I've already lost my memories. And my wolf?" Isla laughs bitterly. "She's been nothing but pain since she awakened. Maybe being human wouldn't be so bad. At least I'd stop hurting."
"This is insane. There has to be another way—"
"There isn't. I have three days before the memory spell becomes permanent. Three days before the bond kills me. Or I can go with Daemon now, break his curse, and everyone gets what they want. Rowan gets freedom. Daemon gets his cure. And I..." Her voice softens. "I get peace. Finally."
No.
NO.
I burst through the door. "You're not going with Daemon."
Isla jumps. Mira yelps.
"How long have you been listening?" Isla demands.
"Long enough." I cross the room in three steps. "Isla, you can't do this. Daemon will destroy you."
"And the bond won't?" She gestures at herself—pale skin, hollow eyes, shaking hands. "Look at me, Rowan. I'm dying. We both are. This is the only way."
"It's not! We'll find another way. We'll—"
"There IS no other way!" Her power flares, pushing me back. "I've made my choice. I'm going to Daemon. Tonight."
"Over my dead body."
"That can be arranged." Isla's eyes flash silver. "You don't own me, Rowan Blackwater. You don't get to decide my fate. I'm choosing this. For both of us."
"By sacrificing yourself? By becoming human? Isla, you'll HATE it. Being wolfless is worse than death for our kind."
"How would you know? You've been privileged your whole life. Strong. Powerful. The future Alpha." Her voice turns sharp. "I've been weak my entire existence. Maybe being human won't be that different."
The words cut deep because they're true. I don't know what it's like to be powerless. I've never had to.
"Please," I whisper. It's the only word I have left. "Don't do this."
"Why not? Give me one good reason."
"Because I love you."
"That's not enough anymore." Isla turns away. "Love is just a word, Rowan. It doesn't fix anything. It doesn't heal the past. It doesn't make me trust you. So no. Your love isn't enough."
My chest feels like it's caving in. "What can I do? Tell me what to do, and I'll do it."
"Accept the rejection. Let me go. Let me save us both the only way I know how."
"I can't."
"Then you're killing me." She finally looks at me, and her eyes are filled with tears. "Don't you get it? Every second I'm connected to you, I'm dying faster. The bond is poison. You're poison. And I'm done letting you kill me slowly."
The truth of her words steals my breath.
"I'm calling Daemon," Isla says. She picks up her phone. "I'm telling him I accept his offer. And Rowan? You're going to let me go. Or I swear, I'll use my True Omega power to MAKE you let me go."
"You'd command me?" My voice breaks. "Your own mate?"
"You're not my mate. You're the boy who made my life hell for three years and now can't let go." Her finger hovers over Daemon's contact. "Last chance. Walk away. Accept the rejection. Or watch me do this."
I should walk away. Should let her make her choice.
But my wolf is howling. My heart is shattering.
"If you do this," I say quietly, "I'll follow you. To Shadow Creek. To hell. To wherever Daemon takes you. And I'll fight him every single day until either he's dead or I am."
Isla's hand shakes. "Why? Why can't you just let me go?"
"Because—"
The door explodes inward.
Kieran stumbles in, blood running down his face. "Rowan! We're under attack!"
"What?"
"Daemon. He's here. With fifty warriors. He's demanding Isla. And—" Kieran's face goes white. "Rowan, he's not alone. He brought Isla's aunt. And she says if Isla doesn't come willingly in the next five minutes, she's going to cast a spell that will kill every wolf in Silvermoon Pack."
"She's bluffing," Mira breathes.
"She's not." Kieran shows us his phone. Video footage of the pack borders. Daemon's warriors everywhere. And in the center, a woman with silver-blonde hair and violet eyes—Isla's aunt Serena—holding a glowing orb that pulses with dark magic.
"Five minutes," Kieran repeats. "Then she releases the spell."
Isla looks at me. Then at the phone. Then back at me.
"Looks like the choice has been made for me," she says softly.
And before I can stop her, she walks out of the room.
Toward Daemon.
Toward her death.
And I'm too weak to stop her.