ROWAN'S POV
Isla collapses in my arms.
"No, no, no." I drop to my knees, holding her against my chest. Her skin is ice cold. Her breathing is shallow. "Isla, stay with me."
Mira rushes over, pressing her fingers to Isla's neck. "Her pulse is weak. The fractured bond is draining her life force. Rowan, she's dying."
"No, she's not." I pull her closer, like I can keep death away through sheer will. "I won't let her."
"Then accept the rejection!" Victoria snaps. "End this before it kills you both!"
"No." The word comes out as a growl. My wolf surges forward, making my eyes glow gold. "I will NEVER accept it."
"Then she dies," Victoria says coldly. "And good riddance—"
Marcus grabs his mate's arm. "Enough. Victoria, go back to the house. NOW."
For once, Victoria doesn't argue. She leaves, dragging a crying Celeste with her.
Kieran kneels beside me. "Rowan, man, you need to listen. A fractured mate bond is like poison. It gets worse every day until—"
"Until one or both of us die. I know." I look down at Isla's pale face. Even unconscious, she's beautiful. "But there has to be another way."
"There isn't," Mira says sadly. "Either you accept her rejection and sever the bond completely, or she revokes the rejection and accepts you. Those are the only options."
"She can't revoke it if she doesn't remember making it." I press my forehead against Isla's. "And I can't accept it because my wolf will go feral. We're trapped."
Marcus clears his throat. "There might be one other option."
Everyone turns to look at him.
"What option?" I demand.
"A memory spell. To restore what Daemon took. If Isla remembers everything, she can make an informed choice about the bond."
"And where do we find a witch powerful enough to break Daemon's magic?" Kieran asks.
"We don't." Marcus's face is grim. "But I know someone who might. Isla's mother—Lyanna—came from a coven. Her sister might still be alive. If anyone can break this spell, it would be Isla's aunt."
I stare at him. "Isla has an aunt? And you're just mentioning this NOW?"
"I lost contact with Lyanna's family twenty years ago. I don't even know if they're still alive. But it's the only chance we have." Marcus looks at his daughter—really looks at her—for the first time in eighteen years. "I'll send trackers. We'll find the coven."
"How long will that take?" My voice cracks.
"Days. Maybe weeks."
"She doesn't have weeks!" I'm shaking now, my wolf clawing for control. "She barely has days!"
"Then we keep her alive until we find help." Mira stands up. "I'll make strengthening potions. Herbs that slow the bond's decay. It won't heal her, but it might buy us time."
"Do it," Marcus orders. "Whatever it takes. Everyone, back to the pack house. Rowan, bring Isla to the medical wing."
I lift her carefully. She weighs nothing in my arms. Like she's already fading away.
"Hold on," I whisper against her hair. "Please, Isla. Hold on for me."
---
The medical wing smells like antiseptic and herbs. I lay Isla on a bed while Mira hooks her up to an IV.
"This will keep her hydrated and give her nutrients," Mira explains. "But Rowan, the bond is the real problem. It's literally draining her life. Every day she stays rejected, she gets weaker."
"How much time does she have?" My voice sounds hollow.
Mira won't meet my eyes. "A week. Maybe two if we're lucky."
Two weeks. Fourteen days to find Isla's aunt, break the memory spell, and convince her to revoke a rejection she doesn't remember making.
It's impossible.
But I've never backed down from impossible before.
"I'm staying with her," I say.
"Rowan, you need rest too. The bond is hurting you as much as—"
"I'm. Staying." My Alpha command fills the room.
Mira sighs. "Fine. But if you start showing symptoms—fever, aggression, blood in your eyes—I'm sedating you. Got it?"
"Got it."
She leaves. Kieran lingers in the doorway.
"You really love her, don't you?" he asks quietly.
"More than my own life." I take Isla's cold hand in mine. "I know I don't deserve her. I know I screwed up. But Kieran, she's MINE. My wolf chose her three years ago, and every day since has been torture. Watching her suffer. Staying away because I was engaged. Being cruel because I thought pushing her away would make leaving easier for her."
"Did it work?"
I laugh bitterly. "She hates me. Or she did, before she forgot everything. So yeah, I guess it worked."
"For what it's worth," Kieran says, "I think you did the right thing back then. You were seventeen and engaged. Your wolf chose a fifteen-year-old girl you couldn't claim. Being cruel to protect her was the only option."
"Was it?" I stare at Isla's face. "Or was I just a coward who took the easy way out?"
Kieran doesn't answer. He just squeezes my shoulder and leaves.
I'm alone with my dying mate.
"I'm so sorry," I whisper. "For everything. For the rocks when you were eight. For looking away when Victoria punished you. For making you invisible when you should have been treasured. I thought I was protecting you. But I was just protecting myself."
Isla doesn't respond. Her chest barely rises and falls.
I press her hand to my cheek. "Come back to me. Please. Even if you still hate me. Even if you reject me again the moment you remember. Just come BACK."
Nothing.
I stay like that for hours. Holding her hand. Watching her breathe. Praying to the Moon Goddess or anyone else who might listen.
Then, around midnight, Isla's eyes open.
"Rowan?" Her voice is weak but clear.
"I'm here." I lean forward. "How do you feel?"
"Tired. Confused." She blinks slowly. "I had the strangest dream. There was a younger me. And a younger you. You were laughing while other kids threw rocks at me."
My blood runs cold. "That wasn't a dream. That was a memory."
"So it really happened? You really hurt me?"
"Yes." There's no point lying. "When you were eight and I was twelve. I was already showing Alpha traits, and my father had just announced my engagement to Celeste. He told me Alphas don't involve themselves with omegas. So when pack kids bullied you, I..." I can't finish.
"You did nothing," Isla says softly. "You just walked away."
"I'm so sorry."
"Don't be sorry. Just tell me the truth." Her violet eyes pin me in place. "Why did your wolf choose me if you hate me so much?"
"I never hated you." The words rush out. "I LOVED you. I've loved you since you were fifteen and smiled at me in the hallway even though I'd been cruel to you. My wolf recognized you instantly. But I was already engaged. My duty to the pack was clear. So I had to make you stop looking at me like I was something good. I had to make you hate me so you'd leave and be free."
Tears slip down Isla's cheeks. "You broke my heart to save me?"
"I broke your heart because I'm a coward who couldn't choose between duty and love. And you paid the price for my weakness."
Silence. Isla stares at the ceiling.
Then she asks, "Do you really love me? Or do you just love the idea of a mate?"
"I love YOU. The way you hum when you think no one's listening. The way you're kind to everyone even when they're cruel to you. The way you're strong enough to reject a mate bond most wolves would kill for. You're the bravest person I know, Isla. And I'm the worst thing that ever happened to you."
More silence.
"If I revoke the rejection," Isla finally says, "does that mean I forgive you?"
My heart stops. "You remember? You remember rejecting me?"
"No. But my wolf told me I did. In the dream." She turns her head to look at me. "She also said you're lying about something. Something that happened three years ago. Something important."
Panic floods through me. "I told you everything—"
"No, you didn't." Her eyes narrow. "What happened three years ago, Rowan? What aren't you telling me?"
I open my mouth. Close it. The truth sits on my tongue like poison.
If I tell her, she'll hate me forever.
If I don't, she'll never trust me.
"Three years ago," I say slowly, "my wolf chose you. You were fifteen. It was your birthday. You were wearing a yellow dress and picking flowers in the garden. I was eighteen and walking with Celeste, discussing wedding plans. And then I caught your scent."
Isla's breathing quickens. "What happened?"
"The mate bond tried to snap into place. My wolf SCREAMED for you. But you were fifteen. A child. And I was engaged. So I..." The shame nearly chokes me. "I went to Marcus. Told him my wolf was confused. Asked him to arrange for you to be sent away. To boarding school or something. Anywhere you wouldn't be near me."
"And what did my father say?"
"He said no. That sending you away would raise questions. That we'd just have to endure until you turned eighteen and left on your own." I force myself to meet her eyes. "So for three years, I watched you. Wanted you. And made your life hell so you'd count down the days until you could escape me."
Isla's face is unreadable. "You knew. For three years, you KNEW I was your mate, and you tortured me anyway."
"Yes."
"And then my wolf finally awakened tonight. The bond completed. And I rejected you because you'd spent THREE YEARS making me hate you."
"Yes."
She pulls her hand from mine. "Get out."
"Isla—"
"GET OUT!" Her power flares. Silver light fills the room. "I don't care if the bond kills me. I don't care if I have two weeks or two days. I will NOT revoke that rejection. You don't deserve it. You don't deserve ME."
The words hit like silver bullets.
"You're right," I whisper. "I don't. But please, let me keep you alive. Even if you hate me. Even if you never forgive me. Just let me save you."
"Why? So you can feel less guilty?" She laughs bitterly. "No. This is what you wanted, isn't it? For me to leave? Well congratulations, Rowan. I'm leaving. Permanently."
"Isla, don't—"
"Mira!" she calls. "Get him out of here. Now."
Mira appears instantly. "Rowan, you need to go."
"I'm not leaving her."
"You're making her worse." Mira's voice is gentle but firm. "The stress is accelerating the bond decay. If you want her to live, you need to give her space."
Every instinct screams at me to stay. To fight. To MAKE her understand.
But she's right. I'm killing her just by being here.
"I love you," I tell Isla one last time. "I know you don't believe me. But it's true."
She turns away. "Love isn't supposed to hurt this much."
I leave. Because it's all I can do.
But as I walk down the hallway, Kieran grabs me. His face is white.
"What?" I demand.
"Marcus's trackers just returned. They found Isla's aunt. But Rowan..." He swallows hard. "She's working with Daemon Shadowcrest. She's the one who created the memory spell. And she says she'll only break it under one condition."
"What condition?"
"Isla has to go with Daemon willingly. Become his mate. Help break Shadow Creek's curse."
The floor drops out from under me.
"And if we refuse?"
"Then Isla dies with no memories, no mate bond, and no idea why everyone she should have loved failed her." Kieran's voice breaks. "We have three days to decide. After that, the spell becomes permanent. Isla forgets everything forever."
I stare at him. "So my choices are: let my mate die, or hand her over to the Alpha who wants to use her as a sacrifice?"
"I'm sorry, man. But yes. Those are your only options."
And somewhere in the medical wing, Isla is dying.
And she's dying hating me.