Chapter 5

Blake’s pov

Elena held me like I was the only thing keeping her from falling apart.

We were standing in the cemetery, her mother's grave fresh in the earth beside us. She hadn't cried during the funeral or when her father announced he was leaving the pack.

But now, alone with me, she finally broke.

"You're all I have left," she whispered against my chest. "You're my only family now."

I held her tighter. "I'm not going anywhere."

Later that night, after the marking ceremony, she lay in my arms and traced the fresh bite on her shoulder.

"Promise me," she said. "Promise you'll never leave me."

"Never," I swore. "Only death could separate us."

She smiled then, and it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.

I woke with a start.

Sunlight streamed through unfamiliar curtains and Lydia lay beside me, her dark hair spread across the pillow, a satisfied smile on her sleeping face.

My stomach turned.

I sat up slowly, careful not to wake her, and pressed my palms against my eyes.

What am I doing?

My wolf, Thane stirred, pacing in out mindlink. He'd been quiet lately, withdrawn, like he was punishing me for something. But now he paced inside my chest, agitated.

“Something's wrong,” he growled.

“What do you mean?”

“I don't know. Just... a feeling. My heart is pounding. Something's wrong with her.”

I tried to mindlink Elena but there was nothing. The bond was there, but it was like shouting into an empty room. She'd severed the mental link.

Fear spiked through me.

I grabbed my phone and dialed her number. It rang and rang, then went to voicemail. I tried again, same result.

"Blake?" Lydia's voice was sleepy, annoyed. "What are you doing?"

I ignored her and called Sarah instead.

She picked up on the third ring. "Blake? What—"

"Where's Elena?"

"She collapsed. I'm taking her to the hospital now."

The world tilted.

I was out of bed before I knew I was moving, grabbing my clothes from the floor, yanking them on with shaking hands.

"Blake." Lydia sat up, the sheet pooling around her waist. "Blake, what's going on?"

"I have to go."

"Go where? We were supposed to talk about the campaign today. My father—"

"I don't care about your father." I pulled on my jacket. "Elena's in the hospital."

She hissed, "She's always in the hospital. She's been sick for years. Why is this any different?"

"Because she's my mate."

"Am I not enough for you?" She rose from the bed, letting the sheet fall away, her body bare in the morning light. "I can give you everything, Blake. The Alpha position, the council votes. A strong, healthy mate who won't drag you down." She stepped closer. "Call off the wedding and marry me instead."

"You know what we are, Lydia." My voice was flat. "We're using each other. You want power, I want the Alpha seat. That's all this has ever been."

Her face hardened. "And Elena? What is she?"

"She's the only woman I've ever loved."

I turned and walked out without looking back.

Elena’s pov

I lay on the narrow bed, staring at the ceiling while the healer adjusted the IV in my arm. The medication burned going in, something to slow the artificial heart's rejection, to buy me a few more weeks. It wouldn't cure me.

My phone buzzed.

I shouldn't have looked. I knew I shouldn't have looked. But my hands moved on their own, and then I was staring at the photo Lydia had posted.

Blake, in her bed. The sheets tangled around his waist, his arm thrown across the pillow where her head had been. He was sleeping, his face peaceful, and Lydia had captioned it with a single heart emoji.

My chest tightened and screamed.

I grabbed it, that invisible thread connecting me to him and severed it with everything I had. Cut the mental link so violently that I felt something tear inside my chest.

Sarah 's eyes kept darting to me.

"You have to take a good rest," she said for the third time. "Elena, you're shaking."

"I'm fine."

"You're not fine. You just watched your mate—"

"I said I'm fine."

But I wasn't. The image of Blake and Lydia kissing through those curtains was burned into my mind. The mate bond throbbed in my chest like an open wound, punishing me for what he'd done. My chest kept hurting as the darkness pulled me under.

My phone rang and I sighed when I saw it was Jacob.

"Hey." His warm voice soothed me, "Sarah called me. How are you feeling?"

"Like death ran over." I forced a laugh.

"Elena."

"What?"

"Don't do that. Don't pretend you're okay when you're not."

I closed my eyes.

"I know you, Elena. You just want more time with him, don't you? That's why you keep fighting. That's why you keep holding on even when he doesn't deserve it."

The words hit too close to home.

"Jacob—"

"I know you don't feel the same way about me. I've always known but I need you to know that I never stopped caring about you. Even when you chose Blake.”

I pressed my free hand against my chest, where the artificial heart stuttered and skipped.

"My persistence is worthless," I whispered. "I know that."

"No. Your persistence is the strongest thing about you. You just... you can't let go of him."

He was right and I hated that he was right.

"Do you remember when we first met?" Jacob's voice softened. "You were so healthy back then. So beautiful and strong. The healers said you had the makings of a great warrior. You had so much potential, Elena."

"That was a long time ago."

"If I had been your mate, I would never have let you suffer like this. I would have protected you. Cherished you."

"I deserve this. I'm the only one who can tolerate Blake's stubbornness. My love for him... it became a habit. Something I couldn't break even when I tried."

Sarah handed me a glass of water. I took a small sip, my throat raw.

"Blake came to the hospital looking for you," Jacob said. "He threatened to shut the whole place down if anything happened to you. He was frantic."

"Was he?"

"Elena... do you want to reconsider? Your relationship with him?"

I thought about the photo. "Don't forget where he came from today," I said quietly. "He came straight from Lydia's bed."

I hung up before Jacob could respond.

Sarah drove me home an hour later.

Blake's car was already in the driveway. He must have rushed back from the hospital when he couldn't find me there.

He met me at the door before I could even reach for the handle. His face was tight with worry, and his eyes scanned me from head to toe.

"Elena. Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere. The hospital said I couldn’t see you—"

"I'm fine."

He reached for my arm. "Elena, talk to me. Please. You look so pale. What's going on?"

I pulled free of his grip. "There's nothing to talk about."

The doorbell rang.

Blake went rigid beside me. I watched his face and saw the guilt flash across his features before he could hide it, and I knew. I knew before he even moved toward the door.

Lydia stood on our porch.

I looked at Blake. He wouldn't meet my eyes as her sickly scent filled my nostrils.