---- Lydia Ashford? It was just one sentence that could have solved everything. Why did you let her make such a scene?" "Yes, Alpha, you..." Damon's eyes were sharp, his voice filled with suppressed fury. "She came to question me, and now you're all going to question me too? Sage Rivers and her brother will be here soon. What would it look like if they saw you all interrogating me like this?" Everyone was intimidated by his tone and didn't dare speak further. Someone muttered quietly, "It's been so long-why hasn't Sage Rivers arrived yet?" Damon frowned. Amid the muttering, unease began rising in his heart. Yes, calculating the time, she was indeed far too late. Had something happened? He'd been focused on arranging the venue earlier, and to avoid interruptions, he'd turned off his phone. But when he ---- just turned on his communications- An unread message popped up, shocking him and leaving him frozen in place. His finger paused, then clicked on the message, his gaze falling on the screen **[Damon Blackwood, I, Sage Rivers, refuse to accept you as my mate. I don't love you anymore. }** In that moment, Damon seemed under a petrification spell, his entire body rigid as stone, frozen in place. His fingers trembled slightly as he stared at the phone screen, unable to believe what he was seeing. His fingers shook as he quickly tried to reply, only to discover he'd been blocked. He dialed her number, and a cold mechanical female voice came through the receiver: ''The number you have dialed is offline." Unwilling to give up, he called again, but the same message repeated over and over. "The number you have dialed is offline." ---- "The number you have dialed is offline." "The number you have dialed is offline." She... left me?! His face instantly turned pale, panic flashing in his eyes. Seeing this, the Gamma wolves quickly gathered around. "Alpha, what's wrong?" "Yeah, what are you standing there for? Contact Sage Rivers quickly! Today's birthday celebration has had one problem after another. If it gets any later, who knows who else might come cause trouble." "Stop asking questions! Sage Rivers is rejecting our bond!" Damon couldn't stand their questioning and shouted out. Everyone immediately erupted in chaos, talking over each other: "Rejecting the bond? What does that mean? She doesn't love you anymore? Wasn't she madly in love with you? How could she suddenly want to reject the ---- bond? This... this is so sudden, with no warning at all! " someone cried out in shock. "Alpha, what was her expression like when you left? Was there anything strange?" another person asked urgently. Damon's mind was in chaos as he recalled the scene before leaving. Her expression had been very calm, even carrying a hint of a faint smile. She said she was going to pick up Garrett Rivers and carried a suitcase, claiming it contained northern territory specialties as gifts. "Holy shit!" Finally someone reacted, shock in their voice. "Alpha, you need to check your email immediately for any messages from the Alpha Council!"