Freya's POV Caelum's voice cracked through the tension like the snap of brittle bone. "Silas… even if the Whitmor line rules half of the Capital's skies, you have no right to humiliate me like this. Breaking my arm won't change the truth. Freya still feels for me. This only proves it." I stood rigid, my breath caught, as his fevered eyes swung toward me. That gaze-once it had made me tremble with devotion, but now it only sickened me. "I know you, Freya," Caelum said, voice lowering to a rasp. "You're slow to warm. It took a year of courting before you agreed to bond, three more in marriage. That kind of love doesn't vanish in weeks. You can't have given your heart to Silas so soon-unless he forced you." My hands curled into fists. I cut him off with words sharp as a blade. "Caelum, how long will you cling to your delusions? Yes, I once cared for you-enough to vow my life at the altar, enough to shoulder the burdens of SilverTech Forgeworks beside you. But that love burned out during those three bitter years of lies and betrayal." The steadiness of my voice startled even me. It wasn't rage that filled me now but a terrible, liberating calm. "Now, when I look at you, there's no affection left. Not pity, not tenderness. Only disgust." My eyes locked on his. "Silas is my mate now. I will stand beside him, marry him, bear his children. As for you-if you dare show your face to me again, the Whitmor legal pack will see to it you rot in a cell for half a moon." Caelum staggered. His broken arm hung limp, the scent of pain sharp in the night air. Yet worse than that wound was the way his spirit flinched at my words. "Marriage… children…" he whispered, as if the phrases themselves gutted him. He looked lost, a wolf stripped of pack and territory. "But we had three years… we were meant to have children of our own." He lifted his eyes, fevered and wild. "Tell me honestly, Freya. Do you truly feel nothing for me anymore?" "Nothing," I said, each syllable clipped with ice. "You should leave before I forget mercy altogether." The fury in my gaze must have reached him. Sweat slicked his brow, his face pale as moonlight. He clutched his ruined arm as though it were the only tether keeping him upright. "Fine," he rasped. "I'll go. But know this, Freya-I see the truth now. I know who I love. It's you. If you ever want to return, to re-bond, I'll be waiting." "Never," I snapped, the word ringing final as an executioner's axe. Before he could say more, Lana's voice cut sharp as a whip. "Didn't you hear her? Get lost before I make the guards drag you." Caelum's jaw worked, rage and humiliation battling across his features. He turned away at last, stumbling toward the gates. I heard his labored breathing fade into the night, until only silence remained. Lana muttered a curse under her breath and waved down the security wolves posted at the doors. "If he ever loiters outside SkyVex Armaments again, call the Wardens. Let him cool off in a cell." The guards bowed their heads. "Yes, Alpha Rook." I exhaled slowly, tension draining from my shoulders. "I'm sorry, Lana. My mess keeps spilling into the company." She snorted, folding her arms. "Don't apologize. Caelum Grafton's shamelessness is the problem, not yours. Divorce sealed, bond severed, and yet he dares speak of re-bonding? He tossed you aside for Aurora without blinking. Now that he knows you were his true savior, suddenly he's discovered love? What's next, an old crone rescues him from a falling airship and he declares her his mate?" I laughed despite myself. The knot in my chest loosened a little. "Enough of him," Lana said, her eyes softening. "Silas is waiting. Go with him." I nodded, following her advice. Outside, Silas stood by his vehicle, tall and unshaken, though the storm I knew he carried was written in the dark flare of his eyes. I slid into the passenger seat. The night swallowed us as the vehicle pulled away from the SkyVex tower. The silence between us was heavy, but not uncomfortable-until Silas broke it. "You truly won't consider returning to Caelum?" he asked, voice too casual to be casual. I turned, startled. "Of course not. From the moment I entered the Lunar Severance Phase, I swore there'd be no turning back." "Even if he begs?" Silas pressed, gaze fixed on the road. I frowned, suspicion rising. "Why are you asking this? Do you want me to go back to him?" "No!" The denial burst out of him with unusual haste. His jaw tightened as if he regretted even posing the question. He fell silent, lips pressed into a grim line.I studied him, confusion pricking at me. It wasn't jealousy in his scent-it was something deeper. Fear. For a terrifying heartbeat, I wondered if he saw in Caelum's desperation a reflection of his own hidden vulnerability. If one day I chose to walk away from him, would I be just as merciless? "Silas," I said softly, "listen to me. I have no lingering feelings for Caelum. None. You're my mate now. You need to believe in me-and in yourself." His grip tightened on the wheel. For a moment, the Alpha of the Ironclad Coalition looked less like the unshakable commander feared across packs, and more like a man stripped bare. He managed a faint smile, though it trembled at the edges. "You'll see," I continued, my voice steady. "I don't linger. When I walk away from a bond, it's final. I don't look back." His body went rigid. I realized too late how that might sound, and panic flickered in his eyes. As though my vow of finality was not only for Caelum, but a shadow cast over us as well. "Freya," Silas murmured, his voice breaking. "Promise me… promise me you'll never walk away from me. Not like that. Not ever." The weight of his words pressed hard against my chest. I wanted to tell him no wolf could promise forever-that eternity was too fragile a word. But then I looked into his eyes, dark pools of longing and fear, and the protest died in my throat. "…Alright," I whispered. "I promise." The relief that swept over him was raw, almost painful to witness. He drew in a shaky breath and reached across to squeeze my hand, his warmth grounding me. I leaned back against the seat, letting the rhythm of the road steady my racing thoughts. I hadn't known Silas long. Yet somehow, his love wrapped around me like iron and flame-terrifying, unyielding, but undeniably real.