Chapter 7: The Truth Behind Her Tears

Derek had never been a man who begged. As Alpha, he was accustomed to giving orders and watching everyone obey. But for the first time in his life, the woman he wanted to command was the one person he could no longer reach.

Three days had passed since Chloe left. Her room remained untouched, her belongings were gone, and the silence inside the mansion seemed louder than any argument they had ever shared.

Derek stood beside the window, staring at the phone in his hand. His message to Chloe still showed no reply.

Please, Chloe. Just give me one chance to explain.

He had sent those words hours ago. Now, looking at them, he finally understood how meaningless they sounded. He had denied her explanations when she needed him to listen. He had ignored her pain when she needed him to care. Why would she offer him the patience he had never given her?

A knock interrupted his thoughts. Ryan, his Beta, entered with a sealed envelope and a small recording device.

"Alpha, I found something while reviewing the security records from the night Camilla became ill."

Derek's expression sharpened. "What is it?"

"The footage from the corridor outside Camilla's room was supposedly deleted. But one of the guards had saved a backup. I also found a message Camilla sent to a healer before the incident."

Derek took the envelope. Inside were printed messages and a report from the healer's office. He read the first message once, then again, unable to believe what he was seeing.

Camilla had asked the healer whether a small amount of wolfbane could cause symptoms that looked like poisoning. In another message, she had complained that Chloe still had Derek's attention and that she needed to make him see his wife as a threat.

"This can't be real," Derek whispered.

"There's more," Ryan said quietly. "The healer confirmed that Camilla's symptoms were not consistent with the amount of wolfbane supposedly found in her system. And the guard's recording shows her deliberately stumbling before Chloe even reached her."

Derek's fingers tightened around the papers. Memories struck him one after another: Camilla's trembling hands, her frightened expression, Chloe insisting she was innocent, and his own voice condemning his mate without giving her a chance to defend herself.

"Where is Camilla?" he demanded.

"In the east wing."

Derek stormed down the corridor. He found Camilla sitting on a sofa, wrapped in a soft blanket. The moment she saw him, she smiled and reached for his hand.

"Derek, I've been waiting for you. Have you heard anything from Chloe? If she refuses to return, perhaps we should—"

"Stop." His voice was so cold that her smile disappeared.

He dropped the papers onto the table. "Tell me these are lies."

Camilla glanced down. For one brief moment, fear flashed across her face before she forced herself to look confused.

"I don't understand. What are you talking about?"

"The messages. The healer's report. The recording." Derek leaned forward, his eyes dark with fury. "You made me believe Chloe tried to poison you."

"I was frightened!" Camilla cried, rising to her feet. "I was sick, and I didn't know what was happening!"

"You asked how to imitate wolfbane poisoning before you claimed to be ill."

Her lips parted, but no words came out.

"And you deliberately fell in front of Chloe so I would blame her for hurting you." His voice broke with disbelief. "You watched me punish my own mate for something she never did."

"I only wanted you to see how unhappy you were with her!" Camilla finally shouted. Tears streamed down her cheeks. "You were always defending her. She had everything, Derek! Your name, your home, your bond. I only wanted a chance to be important to you."

"So you destroyed her?"

"I never meant for things to go this far!"

"You didn't have to lock her in that basement. You didn't have to accuse her. Those were my choices." Derek's face twisted with shame. "But you knew exactly what you were doing when you manipulated me."

Camilla stepped toward him. "Derek, please. You told me she was the only one you could ever love. I thought if she was gone, you might finally look at me differently."

"I told you she was my mate," he replied. "And while you were trying to take her place, I was the one who made her wish she had never been mine."

For the first time, Camilla had no answer.

Derek ordered Ryan to suspend her access to the pack's resources while the elders reviewed the evidence. He would not allow her to remain in the mansion or use his authority to protect her from the consequences of her actions.

But even as Camilla was escorted away, Derek felt no relief. The truth had come too late to undo anything.

"Ryan," he said, his voice suddenly unsteady, "did you find out why Chloe went to the healer that night?"

Ryan looked down. "I did, Alpha."

Derek's stomach tightened.

"She was pregnant. Six weeks, according to the report. She told the healer before you forced her to take the antidote."

The room seemed to tilt around him.

"Pregnant?" Derek repeated, barely able to breathe.

"She lost the baby after taking the antidote. The healer recorded it in the medical report Chloe left behind."

Derek stared at the paper in his hand. He remembered Chloe's pale face, her trembling voice, and the desperate way she had begged him to believe her. He had mistaken her fear for guilt. He had watched her suffer and called it justice.

A broken sound escaped his throat. He sank into a chair, covering his face with both hands.

"I killed our child," he whispered.

"Alpha," Ryan said gently, "you cannot change what happened. But you can stop making excuses for it."

Derek looked up, his eyes red. "Find Chloe."

"And if she doesn't want to see you?"

For a long moment, Derek could not answer. The old Derek would have ordered the pack to search every road and drag his mate home. But the thought of forcing Chloe to face him made his chest ache.

"Then don't force her," he finally said. "Tell me where she is, and I'll ask. If she says no, I'll leave her alone."

Ryan nodded, though neither of them knew whether Derek could truly keep that promise.

Across town, Chloe sat in a quiet room at a small inn, holding the official notice confirming that her bond termination would be completed the following morning. Her eyes were swollen from crying, but her hands no longer trembled.

A message appeared on her phone from an unfamiliar number. It was Ryan.

Chloe, I owe you the truth. Camilla lied about the poisoning. Derek has seen the evidence. He also knows about the baby. I'm not asking you to forgive him. I only thought you deserved to know that someone finally believes you.

Chloe read the message until the words blurred. She pressed a hand to her stomach, where there was nothing left to protect.

"I wanted you to believe me when it mattered," she whispered into the empty room. "Not after everything was already gone."

Another message arrived. This time, it was from Derek.

I know the truth now. I know what I did to you, and there is no excuse. I will be at the town hall tomorrow, but I won't stop you. I only want to say goodbye if you'll allow it.

Chloe stared at the screen for a long time. A part of her still remembered the man she had once loved, the man whose smile had made her feel safe before his cruelty taught her to fear him.

But love could not erase what he had done. Regret could not return her child. And an apology could not rebuild the woman she had been before he broke her.

She turned off her phone and placed it beside the termination notice.

Tomorrow, the bond would end.

For the first time, Chloe wasn't afraid of what would happen after that. She was only determined that whatever came next would finally belong to her.