Chapter 3 The Storm and the Stranger
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That should be enough to make sure Adrian didn’t get the wrong idea about me chasing after him.
But it only seemed to make him angrier. His voice spiked in volume. “Are you threatening me?”
“That’s not what I meant, I just…”
He cut me off, his voice dropping low and dangerous. “Alliance regulations are clear. If a Beastkin is injured or killed due to their partner’s negligence, the partner gets punished.”
“Are you trying to get me in trouble? Get your ass back here. Now.”
I couldn’t even defend myself. But I did worry about the consequences for Adrian.
Dawn was starting to break outside, and a light rain was falling. I said a quick goodbye to the Volunteer and hurried out the door.
I didn’t see the puddle. My foot hit the water, and I went down hard.
A searing pain shot through my ankle, and my arm scraped against the ground, drawing blood. My white dress was soaked and filthy.
All the hurt, all the sadness I had been bottling up found a crack and came flooding out at once. The tears I had been holding back for so long finally spilled over. I sat there in the drizzle and let myself cry.
I was right in the middle of a good, ugly cry when two pairs of long legs appeared in front of me.
I looked up. It was Adrian and Kylie, though I had no idea why they were here. They stood there in their expensive clothes, staring down at me.
A flicker of contempt crossed Kylie’s eyes. She spoke in a teasing, patronizing tone.
“Oh, sweetie, how’d you end up looking like this?
“You’re the War God’s partner now. Even if you don’t care about your own image, at least think about Adrian’s reputation. Imagine what people would say if they saw you like this,”
Adrian pressed his lips into a thin line. His expression was dark.
His gaze lingered on my bleeding arm for a long moment before he jerked his eyes away.
“Are you waiting for me to help you up? You think sitting in the dirt like that is a good look? Or are you saying I haven’t been humiliated enough already?”
Kylie giggled. “Oh, don’t be so hard on her. Maybe she’s just one of those helpless little things that doesn’t know to come inside when it rains or eat when she’s hungry.”
Adrian let out a sharp, mocking laugh. “A Defective is a Defective. Can’t present herself in public, and can’t even think for herself.
“Being matched with you is the biggest stain on my entire life.”
Why? Why did they have to treat me like this? I never asked to be matched with him. None of this was my choice. So why did I have to suffer for it?
1/2
3:01 pm
PPP
Chapter 3 The Storm and the Stranger
+30 Free Coins
My face went pale. All I wanted was to shrink into nothing and disappear from this suffocating place. But the pain in my ankle. wouldn’t let me move. So I sat there in the rain and let them tear me apart.
Then, suddenly, the rain stopped. An umbrella had appeared over my head, shielding me from the downpour. A jacket settled over my shoulders, and warmth wrapped around me instantly, chasing away the cold that had sunk into my bones.
A faint scent of herbal medicine filled my nose. I looked up at the stranger in a daze. Clear blue eyes stared back at me. It was Caleb
Voss.
He helped me to my feet, and I heard his voice, soft and gentle. “Are you okay?“.
After a lifetime of cold words and sharp edges, this kind of gentleness felt almost foreign. It threw me off balance.
I fumbled for words, waving my hands and insisting I was fine. But Caleb’s eyes hardened. He took my hand. “You’re bleeding here. Does it hurt?”
My nose stung with the threat of fresh tears. I ducked my head and managed to get out in a shaky voice, “It doesn’t hurt. I just need a minute. Th–thank you.”
He let out a quiet sigh, then pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. He wrapped my hand carefully and tied it off with a neat little bow. I stood there, stiff as a board, too stunned to do anything but let him work.
Adrian, who had been standing there ignored for far too long, finally snapped. He barked at Caleb.
‘Who the hell are you?”
Kylie had already recognized Caleb. She tugged lightly at Adrian’s sleeve and whispered something to him.
A look of understanding crossed Adrian’s face, and he immediately shifted to a snide, mocking tone.
‘Oh, so you’re the famous former Commander. Getting handsy with another man’s Bonded Beastkin in broad daylight. How mpressive.”
Caleb finally lifted his gaze to Adrian, his voice flat and even.
2/2
Chapter 4 Drawing the Line
+30 Free Coins
“So the right thing to do is what you’re doing? Standing here with another woman, watching your own Beastkin partner collapse in the rain, and mocking her together?”
Kylie’s face turned a sickly shade of green at being called out as the other woman to her face.
Adrian’s expression went completely black. “This is between me and my wife. It’s none of your damn business, outsider.
“I call you ‘former Commander‘ out of courtesy. Don’t actually start thinking you matter.
“You’re nothing but a washed–up has–been with broken Psychic energy. What, did you see a fellow reject and feel some kind of kinship?”
Caleb’s expression cooled. “Maybe she’s worthless in your eyes. But to the people who care about her, she’s priceless. You don’t get to talk about her that way.”
Caleb’s words hit me right in the chest.
My patience with Adrian had finally reached its limit. I could swallow his insults when they were aimed at me. But why did an innocent man like Caleb have to get dragged into our mess? Caleb was a good person. He didn’t deserve to be belittled like that.
I lifted my head, eyes red and blazing, and stared Adrian down. “Adrian, I’ve already filed for dissolution of our Bond. You hate me this much? Fine. After this, we’re done. For good.”
The air seemed to freeze.
Adrian stared at me, his expression completely blank. The rain kept falling, soft and steady, with no sign of letting up. In that moment, it felt like a line had been drawn between us. Me and Caleb on one side. Adrian and Kylie on the other.
I didn’t know how much time had passed.
Adrian smiled. But his fists were clenched so tight that his knuckles cracked. “I told you, playing hard to get doesn’t work on me. “This pathetic little stunt is just your way of getting my attention, isn’t it? Fine. You got it.”
He let out a cold laugh. “Isabelle, I’m only going to say this one more time. Come here. As for the bond dissolution thing you just said? I’ll pretend I didn’t hear it,”
I looked at Adrian with cold, detached eyes. For the first time, he looked like a complete stranger to me. Someone ugly.
When I first realized how vast the gap between us was, I could understand his frustration and resentment. I tried to make up for it by tiptoeing around him, bending over backward to keep him happy. But he had treated every gesture like I was some clingy, desperate parasite who couldn’t take a hint./
I was done. Done putting up with his mood swings. Done watching him strut around with Kylie on his arm.
So I told him again, clearly and plainly, that I was dissolving the Bond.
The Alliance’s laws had protections for vulnerable Beastkin. If a Bonded Human refused to fulfill their obligations, the Beastkin had every right to file for unilateral dissolution. The notification pinged on Adrian’s Holo–link the second I finished speaking.
His eyes turned red. He jabbed a finger at Caleb.
