Page 104 of Claimed By My Fiancé's Brother

“If you truly want me to leave, I will.” Alexander’s voice was low and gravelly as he spoke, each syllable thick with emotion.

Was he really asking me that?

Tears stung my eyes and my lower lip trembled.

Just when I thought he couldn’t get any crueler, that he couldn’t stoop any lower to manipulate me, Alexander showed me how wrong I was.

Prying his hand off my wrist, I turned to face him one last time. My so-called mate.

“I want you to leave,” I told him, my gaze never leaving those icy blue eyes. I needed him to see I meant every word I said.

“I never want to see you again, Alexander. If you survive this war, I want our bond severed. I want to be free of you.”

I hope you don’t survive this war, so I don’t have to see you again.

I can’t do this anymore.

I can’t let you keep hurting me.

All words I left unspoken, but it felt like Alexander heard them anyway.

He nodded once. Then, faster than I could’ve anticipated, he tugged me into his arms, embraced me, and dropped a kiss on my forehead.

I froze, and Alexander hesitated like he wanted to say something, but in the end, he didn’t. He stepped away from me before I regained enough presence of mind to push him away.

Then he was gone.

The moment the door slammed shut behind him, my knees gave way and I crumpled to the ground, tremors wracking my entire body.

By the time I got home, Alexander was already gone.

What would I have done if I’d met him in our room?

Nothing. I would’ve done nothing.

So why did it hurt so much to know he was gone?

Something slipped down my face, and it wasn’t until I touched my cheeks that I recognized what it was.

Tears.

I was crying.

The worst part? I didn’t even know why I was crying.

The next couple of days were…I didn’t know how they were.

My mind was a maze of pain, confusion, and emotions I didn’t dare unpack.

The war wasn’t going in our favor, or so I heard from the rumors going around. Only Dylan received updates from the battlefield, and he didn’t share any news with the pack.

Not that I cared.

Lily was waiting when I returned from my daily run.

“Miss Seraphina came by to see you again today—” she said, but I didn’t let her finish.

“Thank you, Lily,” I said, reaching for the water on the dining table.

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