The Witch and Her Four Dangerous Alphas

Chapter 89: Chapter 89: Shattered Bonds

Aeron’s POV ~

It felt like drowning. Every breath burned in his chest, like salt water filling his lungs. Guilt wrapped itself around him, dragging him deeper into the abyss. Aeron had thought he knew pain before... battle wounds, betrayal, even the grief of watching packmates die and become slaves under a bloodthirsty Alpha. But nothing compared to this. Nothing compared to the torment of almost losing her.

Selene.

Even thinking her name felt unreal, like a fragile flame that could flicker out if he held it too tightly. For so long, he had forced himself to believe she still lived. He had prayed to the Moon Goddess every night, begging for just one sign.

But nothing worked. There was no sign from her, but he still clung to the faintest ember of faith. Because if he didn’t—if he accepted she was truly gone—then he knew he would have been shattered long ago.

But everything changed tonight... She had been here, in front of him.

His chest shook as he drew in a ragged breath, his mind replaying the moment over and over until he thought it would drive him mad.

The second his hand brushed against her skin, his entire being had short-circuited. The bond had flared, searing to life with such force that it made him stagger, his heart beating so violently he thought it might tear from his chest.

His eyes, his senses—even his wolf—had hesitated, confused because her scent was different, entirely different from what he remembered. His eyes hadn’t recognized her. But his heart had.

The truth had screamed inside him: that it’s her. It’s Selene—his mate.

For the first time in the past year, Aeron had thanked the Moon Goddess with his whole soul. Thanked her for sparing Selene, for hearing the prayers of him and his brothers, and for not letting the mate bond become nothing but torment.

But even with that joy coursing through him, the fear had not vanished. For so long, he had tortured himself with the possibility that his faith was only an illusion.

if he had been worshipping nothing, chasing a ghost that never truly

yet, tonight, he had felt her heart beating beneath him. But the happiness did not

harder than anything he could have imagined; his entire excitement turned into dread with her

me to hate you more than I

left her lips, Aeron felt the world collapse beneath his feet. His breath stalled, and for a heartbeat, he thought his chest had

terrible tether, convulsed violently inside him, searing him from within as if it

her touch that sent him reeling... it was her coldness, the way her eyes had looked right through him as though he were nothing.

barely a whisper now. He felt confused,

told him she would rather tear her own heart out than give

his mind, his wolf

violently it rattled through Aeron’s bones, his spirit shaking under the weight of it. "She’s ours! She’s our mate! Don’t turn

when she had decided to push

against the wall behind him. His heart thundered against his ribs, as if it too was trying to chase after her,

words gnawed at him, each syllable

rather burn alone in the ashes of my own heart than let

he had feared. That no matter how much he begged, no matter how much he swore to fix, to change, to make it right, it would never be enough. His guilt, his brothers’ cruelty, the scars they had left on her—all of it had poisoned what

wanted nothing of

whisper cracked as he closed his eyes, feeling his wolf thrash against the inside

She’s angry. She doesn’t see... she

head, his vision blurring with tears he couldn’t hold

out from

calling her name under his breath, but the hallway was empty. It was like she