---- Chapter 19 Damien POV: After she ate, Lyra tossed her plate on the table and sauntered upstairs, leaving me to clean up the mess. The clatter of the dishes in the sink was the only sound in the house. | scrubbed at the hardened food, my thoughts a maelstrom of self-loathing. | remembered how Elara would always insist on doing the dishes, her small hands in the warm, soapy water, chattering about her day at the art gallery. | used to find it boring, mundane. | craved the thrill, the danger of sneaking around with Lyra. How could | have been so stupid? | traded a diamond for a piece of broken glass. When the kitchen was finally clean, | dragged my exhausted body upstairs. | paused outside the master bedroom, the space that used to be my sanctuary. A habit, ingrained over three years, made my wolf whisper in the back of my mind. "Elara." The door opened before | could touch it. But the woman standing there wasn't Elara. ---- It was Lyra, wearing a sheer piece of black lace that left nothing to the imagination. She was drenched in that same cheap, cloying perfume, and her smile was predatory. "I've been waiting for you, Alpha," she purred, her hands snaking around my neck. A violent wave of nausea rolled through me. Every instinct, every fiber of my being, screamed in protest. She was not my mate. Her touch felt wrong, like sandpaper on a raw wound. But my body was betraying me. The rejection of a true mate leaves an Alpha in a state of constant, agonizing turmoil. My wolf was howling in loneliness, its skin crawling, its blood on fire. The pack elders called it the "Solitude Fever," the Goddess's punishment for breaking a sacred bond, a desperate physical craving for a mate's touch that was driving me mad. "I'm tired, Lyra," | said, trying to push her away. My mind was full of Elara-her scent, her touch, the way her body had fit so perfectly against mine. Lyra's face hardened instantly. The seductress vanished, replaced by a shrew. "Tired? You're never too tired for me. Or have you forgotten? If | tell the other Alphas what we did while you were still mated to your precious princess, your reputation will be ruined forever." The threat hung in the air between us, ugly and sharp. | stared at her, shocked by her venom ---- Then, just as quickly, she softened again, her eyes filling with crocodile tears. "I'm sorry," she whispered, pressing her body against mine. "I'm just so in love with you, Damien. Let me help you. | know you're in pain from losing her. Let me soothe your wolf. Let me take the pain away." Her hands moved over my body with a practiced skill that |, in my blind arrogance, had once found exciting. Now, it just felt hollow. Used. But the fever was raging. The pain was unbearable. My rational mind screamed no, but my primal wolf, desperate for any kind of release from its torment, was clawing for control. With a growl of self-disgust, | gave in. | let her pull me into the room, onto the bed that still held the ghost of Elara's scent. | let her use my body, seeking a moment's oblivion in the flesh, even as my soul shattered into a million more pieces.