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.

had been

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

imagined; his entire excitement turned into dread with

to hate you more than I already

beneath his feet. His breath stalled, and

bond, that beautiful, terrible tether, convulsed violently inside him, searing him from within as if

she pushed him, though her strength was nothing compared to his. It wasn’t her touch that sent him reeling... it was her coldness, the way her eyes had looked

His voice broke, barely a whisper now. He felt confused, even about how

told him she would rather tear her own heart out than give him even the smallest mercy

his wolf

howl echoed so violently it rattled through Aeron’s bones, his spirit shaking under the weight of it. "She’s ours! She’s

she already had when she had decided to

hand against the wall behind him. His heart thundered against his ribs, as if it too was

gnawed at him, each

the ashes of my own heart

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

wanted

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

once-proud voice trembling. "She’s hurting. She’s angry. She doesn’t see... she doesn’t feel what we feel.

with tears he couldn’t hold back.

snapped out from his haze, she was already

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