---- Chapter 11 Elara POV: The car moved silently through the dense forest marking the edge of Damien's territory. The warrior my mother had sent, a man whose face was a mask of stoic duty, drove with a focus that was both unnerving and comforting. | was safe. For now. My hand rested on my belly, a constant, protective gesture. Inside, my child was a tiny, flickering flame | had to shield from the coming storm. A familiar pressure nudged at the edge of my consciousness. Damien. The Mind-Link, the sacred bond between mates that was supposed to be a channel of love and support, felt like a chain. "So you've decided to block Lyra? That's very childish, Elara." His mental voice was laced with annoyance, as if | were a pouting toddler and not the mate he was about to discard. | stared out the window at the passing trees, refusing to answer. The silence seemed to infuriate him. Five minutes later, the pressure came again, stronger this time. "Lyra's pup is fine. The Healer said he'll be fully recovered by ---- noon. This is your last chance to come and apologize." A bitter laugh almost escaped my lips. His confidence was staggering. He truly believed he held all the cards, that | was just waiting for him to offer me a crumb of affection. He didn't wait for a reply. The thoughts came faster now, a barrage of his impatience. "Why won't you answer me? Are you really going to let your pride get in the way of our family?" "There are three hours until noon. Don't make her wait, Elara." His thoughts were like buzzing flies, a constant, irritating noise in the private sanctuary of my mind. | couldn't stand it anymore. | closed my eyes, focusing inward. My blood, the dormant power of the White Wolf, hummed in my veins. | gathered that newfound energy, a thread of silver light, and pushed it against the link, trying to build a wall. He must have felt my resistance. His power, the raw force of an Alpha, slammed against my mental shield. It was no longer a conversation; it was an attack. "You've got some nerve! Answer me now, or you can forget about me ever canceling the rejection!" My eyes snapped open. That was it. The final thread of hope, a thread | didn't even know | was still holding, snapped. | was done. ---- My fingers went to my neck, to the cool, smooth surface of the moonstone necklace my mother had given me. It had suppressed my White Wolf aura, making me appear as a simple Omega. But now, a thin, spiderweb crack marred its surface, a result of the trauma from Lyra's attack. With a final, resolute breath, | closed my fist around it. | squeezed. The stone, weakened and compromised, didn't stand a chance. It shattered in my palm. And with a sound like breaking glass that echoed not in the car, but in the deepest part of my soul, the Mind-Link between Damien and me was severed. Silence. For the first time in years, the space in my head was completely, utterly, and blessedly my own.