Kamrynn’s POV
I turned to leave.
I had to.
The air in the room was suffocating, thick with blood and desperation. My heart pounded against my ribs, screaming at me to run, to get out before I made a mistake.
Before I let myself feel.
But before I could take another step, Calvin’s hand shot out, gripping my wrist.
“Kamrynn, please,” he rasped. His voice was hoarse, trembling, thick with something raw. “Don’t go.”
I swallowed hard, refusing to turn around.
“Let go of me, Calvin.”
He didn’t.
Instead, he stepped closer, his fingers tightening, his body radiating heat despite the blood dripping down his back.
“No.” His voice cracked. “Not like this. Please, just-just give me a chance,” he pleaded. “One last chance.”
A bitter laugh escaped me. “A chance?” I repeated, finally meeting his gaze. His eyes were a storm-pleading, aching, drowning. “After everything, you think there’s still a chance for us?”
Calvin flinched.
“I know I don’t deserve it,” he admitted, voice barely above a whisper. “But I-” He exhaled sharply, his grip faltering for a second before holding firm. “I can’t lose you. I can’t lose our family.”
I yanked my hand free. “We are not a family.”
His entire body tensed.
“We’re mates,” he said, as if that changed anything. “I know I messed up,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I know I hurt you in ways I can never take back. But please… Kamrynn, we were fated by the moon goddess, that has to mean something. You can’t tell me you don’t feel it.”
I clenched my fists at my sides, refusing to acknowledge the way my heart clenched at his words.
“Even if you don’t care about that anymore,” he continued, his grip on my wrist loosening slightly, “think about our children, Kamrynn. Our children deserve better than this. They deserve to have both of us, together. They deserve to grow up with two parents who love them, who can give them the kind of life we never had.”
I flinched. His words hit a weak spot, one I didn’t want to admit existed.
He wasn’t wrong.
Astor and Arabella deserved love, stability, a home filled with warmth-not the fractured pieces of what Calvin and I had become.
Our children deserved to be raised by both their parents. They deserved a stable home, a family that wasn’t divided. I had seen too many children grow up in broken homes, burdened by the weight of their parents’ mistakes. I had sworn that I would never let that happen to mine.
And yet, could I really risk it?
Could I risk being vulnerable with him again?
The mere thought of letting myself love him, of placing my heart in his hands again, sent cold fear crawling up my spine.
Because I knew what Calvin was capable of. I knew how cruel he could be, how easily he could turn his back on me.
I had loved him once. Loved him so much that it consumed me.
And he had taken that love and crushed it without a second thought.
Even if I wanted to believe him, to believe that he’d changed, that he wouldn’t destroy me all over again-I knew better.
I knew what it felt like to trust him.
I knew what it felt like to break because of him.
I had spent so long trying to piece myself back together, and I wasn’t sure if I could survive it a second time.
I wouldn’t survive it a second time.
I squared my shoulders, forcing steel into my voice. “The only relationship we’ll ever have is through our children. As for the mate bond, it’ll only be a nuisance since we aren’t together. It’s inevitable, we’re going to reject each other. Or better still, I’ll reject you. Whatever way is easier.”
Calvin’s breath caught.
I saw it-the way my words crushed him, the way his hope splintered before my eyes.
But I had to say it.
I had to.
He shook his head slowly, as if trying to process what I had just said. “Kamrynn, don’t do this.”
“I have to do this,” I shot back.
“Why?” His voice cracked. “Because of what I did to Lysaa?”
I inhaled sharply, rage rekindling in my veins. “That’s part of it.”
“I-” He ran a hand over his face, his fingers shaking. “I can’t take that back. I wish to the gods that I could, but I can’t.”
“You chose to hurt her.” My voice trembled with anger. “You chose to blind her, banish her family, lock her away like she was nothing. And you want me to believe that you’ve changed?”
“I have changed,” he insisted, stepping closer. “I swear to you, I have. You’ve seen it. I-” He let out a shaky breath, his chest rising and falling heavily. “I’m trying, Kamrynn. I’m trying to be better.”
I clenched my fists at my sides.
It didn’t matter.
Even if he had changed, it was too late.
He had broken me, shattered me, turned me into someone I barely recognized.
And now?
Now he expected me to just forget?
To pretend the past didn’t exist?
I couldn’t.
I wouldn’t.
I lifted my chin, keeping my expression cold. “It doesn’t matter.”
Calvin’s face twisted with something unreadable. “Please don’t say that, Kamrynn. That’s not true, it can’t be.” He murmured, shaking his head. “Kamrynn, I love you. I’ve always loved you, I just never realized it before all of this.”
I shifted back.
“Don’t,” I said, my voice hoarse. “Don’t say that.”
“But it’s the truth!”
“It’s not! Imprisonment. Assault. Rape. Torture. Is that really your idea of love? Love gives, it cherishes, it protects. You don’t know anything about love. I’m not interested in those sick, twisted delusions you have.”
I took a step back, creating distance between us.
“We will go our separate ways.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I’ll create a schedule that works for both of us, we’ll co parent and that’s all. It’s what’s best for everyone involved,” I concluded, my voice barely above a whisper.
Calvin stared at me, something breaking behind his eyes. His lips parted like he wanted to say something-anything-but no words came.
His hands curled into fists. His breathing was unsteady. His entire body was shaking.
But he didn’t argue.
Because he knew.
He knew he had lost me.
I turned away before I could change my mind.
Before I could let the sight of him-bloodied, vulnerable, begging-soften something inside me.
Before I could do something stupid.
I reached for the door, my fingers curling around the handle.
“Kamrynn,” he choked out.
I didn’t look back.
“Please.”
I squeezed my eyes shut.
My heart hurt.
But I couldn’t let myself falter.
Not now.
I wrenched the door open and stepped out, slamming it shut behind me.
The muffled sound of his anguish followed me down the hall. But I didn’t stop.
I couldn’t stop. This was for my future, I would make my own happiness.