hapter 18 

It was unbelievable. After all that had happened, he still thought this was about me wanting something from him–like a Mating Ritual could somehow replace the life we lost. 

“No.” I said firmly. “I’ve decided to reject you. Our mate relationship was over!” 

A mouthful of blood welled up in my throat as I said this, but not wanting to show my vulnerability in front of him, I forced myself to swallow it back down. 

His patience snapped. “Grace, what more do you want? Isn’t the Mating Ritual what you’ve been asking for? I’m agreeing to it now!” 

“Agreeing?” I almost laughed at the absurdity of it. For ten years, I loved him so deeply that I lost my own self–worth. Even when people thought I was the mistress, I stayed. I endured everything because I loved him. 

But all those years of love–and even having Oliver–weren’t enough to win even a fraction of his heart. 

It wasn’t until I saw him with Sienna, saw the gentleness he could show, that I realized he was capable of love. Just not for me. 

And now, I didn’t want it anymore. I didn’t want him. I didn’t want to be tangled up in his life any longer. 

So, I took my suitcase–the one holding Oliver’s ashes–and returned to the den my mother left me. She had always said it was meant to be my safe haven, my “tree hole” where I could retreat when things got too hard. 

I locked myself inside, staring at Oliver’s picture. I cried until there were no more tears, until I passed out from exhaustion. 

I had no family left in the world, and I felt like I could die here, unnoticed and alone. 

But to my surprise, Nathan found me. 

When I woke up, he was sitting at the edge of the bed, his face filled with something close to pain as he looked at me. 

11:30 

After I Torched Alive, My Alpha Wen 

8.1% 

Chapter 18 

“You really did all this for that man’s child? You love him that much?” he asked, stirring a bowl of porridge angrily. 

I was confused. “That man’s child?” I thought. Nathan was the only man I’d ever been with. 

The day we build up bond, Sienna had just returned from another pack. Nathan got drunk, and I helped him to his room. He held me tightly, begging me not to leave him. We spent the night together. 

When he woke up the next morning and saw me beside him, he remembered that we are already mates. But instead of warmth, his eyes filled with disgust as he looked at the marks he’d left on me. “How dare you take advantage of me while I was drunk? You know I love Sienna.” 

11:30