chapter 11

Ryan couldn't hear a word he was saying.

The second he saw Bella's face covered in blood, something exploded in his head. Everything else just disappeared.

Bella had always been beautiful, with that softness that only humans had. But now, the body lying there was covered in wounds, and her arm was so badly broken that bone was sticking out.

This couldn't be his Bella.

He dropped down next to the body and ran his trembling fingers across her cheek, desperate to find some proof that this wasn't her.

The mate bond was supposed to leave at least a trace even after death, some kind of faint connection. But he felt nothing. Just cold emptiness.

But the truth was right there in front of him, no matter how long he stared. The person on that stretcher was Bella, the woman who was supposed to be at the mating ceremony with him.

Bella had thrown herself off a cliff after they'd said goodbye. And he'd had no idea.

Ryan looked at her broken arm, not knowing what to do. His mouth opened and closed several times, but no sound came out.

Then his voice cracked as he touched her face. "Bella, don't do this to me, okay? This isn't funny. Please just wake up, please."

By the end, tears were streaming down his face and landing on her body. They were so hot against her icy skin, and the contrast made everything feel even more wrong.

Alphas never cried. Tears were a sign of weakness. But right now, his shoulders shook violently, like he'd lost his territory and didn't care about dignity anymore.

Finally, the pack doctor couldn't take it anymore and physically pulled them apart.

"Alpha, I know you're grieving. But right now, the most important thing is to sign the death certificate so we can give Ms. Frost a proper burial."

Ryan's head snapped up. His eyes glowed red with the uncontrolled authority of an Alpha losing it, and he shoved the doctor away with a roar. "Get out! Who said she's dead? She's not dead!"

How could she be? His denial bordered on madness.

It had only been ten hours. When they'd parted, she'd calmly said, "I'll be home after watching the sunrise." How could she have suddenly jumped off a cliff? They had to be wrong. Someone must be trying to sabotage his mating ceremony.

He threw himself over the body and wouldn't let anyone near, protecting what was his.

The pack doctor sighed and pulled a communicator from an evidence bag, holding it out to Ryan.

"We found this at the cliff site. It's the only thing Ms. Frost left behind. You should probably take a look."

Ryan froze. His hands shook so badly it took him several tries to unlock the device.

The second he opened it, explicit photos and messages hit him like a blade dipped in wolfsbane, stabbing straight into his eyes.

The screen was filled with intimate pictures of him and Lina together, along with their graphic conversations laid out in damning detail.

Someone had sent all those pictures of him and Lina to Bella. It was the ultimate humiliation.

The color drained from Ryan's face, and a pained sound tore from his throat.

Bella had known. She'd known everything. But when did she find out?

Ryan scrolled through the messages frantically until he found the earliest date.

Two months ago, Lina had sent a photo of them in bed together.

"You think Ryan actually loves you? He's lying right next to me now."

That was right after he and Bella had decided to hold their mating ceremony.

What had Bella felt when she saw that picture?

He could imagine how whatever trust she had left in him got crushed bit by bit when she opened that photo. How the light in her eyes went out, just like it had when he'd promised to protect her forever.

He kept scrolling with numb fingers. The parking garage hookup. Their anniversary dinner. Bella had known about all of it, every single time.

Lina's last message to her had come just last night.

"So what if you're having your Mate ceremony tomorrow? You think that matters? One call from me and he'll drop everything to come running. You better let go and give him back to me while you can. Faking sick to keep Ryan around? You're pathetic."

"Fine. You can have him."

Those words nearly shattered what was left of Ryan's sanity.

His vision went black, and a strange ringing filled his head. He could barely stay on his feet.

The pain of losing his mate and the crushing guilt broke down the usually untouchable Alpha completely. He sobbed without restraint, and all his usual composure was gone.

"Bella, don't leave me—"

The pack doctor watched him cry until he could barely breathe, and something flickered in his eyes as he handed Ryan a medical report.

"This shows that Ms. Frost was diagnosed with stomach cancer and signs of depression last month. She wasn't even at the terminal stage yet. If she'd gotten treatment early, her survival rate would've been really high. But..."

He didn't need to finish the sentence. The meaning was crystal clear.

Because of Ryan's betrayal, Bella's mental state had spiraled downward until she'd refused hospital treatment entirely and chosen to end her life instead.

Ryan didn't say anything. He didn't argue.

He stared down at Bella's medical records and carefully read through every date her symptoms had appeared.

The first day Bella's stomach problems flared up, he'd ditched her at the dress shop to hook up with Lina.

The first time Bella coughed up blood, Lina had just found out she was pregnant at the hospital, and he'd been over the moon celebrating with her. He hadn't even sent Bella a single text to check on her.

And then there was their anniversary party. Bella had collapsed from her illness and gotten into a car accident that almost killed her. But he'd thought she was just throwing a tantrum, so he'd left to meet up with Lina instead.

What had he done? He hadn't just betrayed her. He'd deliberately ignored every sign of her suffering and pushed her straight toward death.

All that evidence had been right in front of him, but he'd been completely blind to it.