第8章
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Those words had terrified Grayson when I told him later. He’d lost sleep for weeks, paranoid that Logan would try to steal me
away.
Only when Logan was recalled to the eastern forests by his pack had Grayson finally breathed easy.
“Good riddance,” he’d muttered.
Twelve years. Twelve years of peace, and now Logan was back.
And this time, he wasn’t just making threats. He was taking action.
Grayson’s hands shook as he pulled out his phone. He scrolled to Logan’s contact-still saved after all these years-and hit call.
The phone rang once. Twice. Three times.
“Well, well,” Logan’s familiar voice drawled. “If it isn’t Grayson Blake. To what do I owe this pleasure?”
“You bastard,” Grayson snarled, his composure cracking completely. “Aria wants to dissolve our mate bond-did you teach her
that?”
Logan’s laugh was rich and amused.
“Teach her? Gray, you really haven’t changed. Still thinking women can’t make decisions for themselves.”
“Don’t give me that crap!” Grayson roared. “Logan, don’t go too far! Don’t you know that destroying mate bonds brings the
Moon Goddess’s curse?”
“Is that what you think I’m doing?” Logan’s voice turned cold. “Destroying your bond?”
“You’re interfering with our relationship! Twelve years apart, and your shamelessness has certainly grown!”
“My shamelessness?” Logan’s tone was deadly quiet now. “That’s rich, coming from you.”
Logan paused, and Grayson could hear him taking a deliberate breath.
“Let me be crystal clear, Gray. I’m not destroying anything. You did that all by yourself.’
“What are you talking about-”
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“Really? Thanks for the compliment about my shamelessness. But you need to get your facts straight-you’re the one who cheated emotionally. Aria never wronged you.”
The words hit Grayson like physical blows. His free hand gripped the edge of his desk so hard the wood creaked.
“I never touched-‘
“Emotionally, Gray. E-mo-tion-al-ly. Your heart wandered to that little Omega secretary of yours. Don’t insult my intelligence
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第8章
by denying it.”
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Grayson’s mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air.
“I should actually thank you for giving me this opportunity,” Logan continued conversationally. “If you hadn’t been so busy playing favorites with little Stella, Aria might never have contacted me.”
The phone nearly slipped from Grayson’s nerveless fingers.
“She… she called you?”
“Oh yes. Asking about that alliance I offered years ago. Turns out, when your mate stops feeling valued, she starts looking
elsewhere for respect.”
Silence stretched between them like a taut wire, ready to snap.
Finally, Logan’s voice came through, quiet but devastating:
“Grayson, I gave you a chance twelve years ago. I told you what would happen if you didn’t treat her right.”
“Logan-”
“You had the most incredible woman in the world, and you threw it away for what? A secretary? Someone who strokes your ego?”
“It’s not like that-”
“She deserves the best, and you-“Logan’s voice dropped to a whisper. “You’re not worthy of her.”
The line went dead.
Grayson stared at his phone, watching the screen go dark.
Night fell around him without him noticing. He sat in his chair, unmoving, as darkness swallowed his office.
oom was pitch black, but all he could see were images of me. Laughing with Logan. Planning with Logan. Choosing Logan.
His breathing became labored, each inhale feeling like drowning.
He couldn’t believe I’d truly abandoned him.
Actually abandoned him for Logan Harrison.
The man who’d haunted his nightmares for twelve years was now living his worst fear.
Memories crashed over him like a tidal wave, drowning what little reason he had left.
Without conscious thought, Grayson stood and walked to his mini-fridge.
He pulled out the first bottle-expensive whiskey he’d been saving for celebrations.
He drained it in three long gulps.
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Then the wine. Then the beer. Then everything else..
When the alcohol hit his system, his careful control shattered completely.
“Aria,” he called out to the empty room, his voice breaking. “Aria, please.”
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But the hand that used to take his glass, the voice that used to answer him, the warmth that used to fill his space-none of it
appeared.
Just emptiness.
Just the echo of his own desperate voice.
At dawn, his phone rang.
Grayson jerked awake on his office floor, his head pounding and his mouth tasting like death.
“Grayson, sorry, but we’ll have to collaborate next time. We can’t hunt together this round. Same routes and trap setups, but
other packs are asking for thirty percent less of the spoils. You understand-hope you get it.”
“Wait-” Grayson scrambled for words, but the line was already dead.
Before he could process what had happened, another call came in.
Then another.
And another.
Every conversation was identical-polite apologies and canceled cooperation.
By the tenth call, Grayson was on his knees, begging.
“Please, just give us one more chance. We can match any offer-”
“Sorry, Grayson. It’s business.”
Only one pack with close ties offered any hope:
“We’ll consider continuing collaboration, but only if Aria White personally leads the warrior teams. Non-negotiable.”
“She’s not… she’s not available right now,” Grayson croaked.
“Then neither are we.”
The final call ended, leaving Grayson alone with the devastating truth.
He had no idea where I was.
Overnight, everything had changed.
His empire was crumbling, his allies were fleeing, and his mate-his everything-was gone.
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arse
After receiving rejection messages from ten more packs, the reality hit him like a sledgehammer.
This was Logan’s handiwork.
His calculated, patient, perfect revenge.
After twelve years of waiting, Logan Harrison was finally making his move.
And Grayson was powerless to stop him.
With shaking hands, he tried to call me one more time.
Blocked.
Completely blocked.
Grayson staggered to his feet, his reflection in the window showing a broken man he barely recognized.
After hurriedly splashing water on his face and changing his rumpled clothes, he headed to the Pack House office.
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