Chapter 2:Severing Ties

(Scarlett's POV) I walked into my office and slammed the door so hard the frame rattled. The sound echoed in the small space, thundering against my heartbeat. "That arrogant, cheating bastard!" Cora snarled inside my head. I felt my fingernails elongate into razor-sharp wolf claws, the transformation unstoppable as rage coursed through my veins. With a swift, violent motion, I dragged my claws across the ornate mahogany desk, leaving deep gouges in the expensive wood. The destruction felt good. Necessary. "He thinks he can just postpone our ceremony like it's some inconvenient business meeting?" Cora continued her tirade. "And smoking in his office when he knows you hate it! Deliberately disrespecting us!" I took several deep breaths, trying to calm my wolf. The last thing I needed was to shift in the middle of the Amber Pack headquarters. "I know, Cora," I whispered aloud. "But we're free now." My wolf huffed, still restless beneath my skin. "We were never meant to be with him anyway. Not our fated mate. Never was." She was right. From the beginning, Cora had resisted the arranged marriage. She'd fought me every step of the way, making it clear that Alexander wasn't meant for us. Wolves know their true mates instinctively, and Alexander had never triggered that recognition. I moved to the bookshelf, pulling down the few personal items I kept in this office—a photo of Emma and me at graduation, a small carved wolf that Roman had given me years ago, a few reference books on herbal medicine I couldn't risk leaving behind. "Good," Cora approved as I began emptying the desk drawers. "Leave nothing behind." I was halfway through packing when the door burst open without warning. Alexander stood in the doorway, his eyes widening slightly as he took in the sight of me gathering my belongings. The scratches on the desk didn't escape his notice either. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded, closing the door behind him. I didn't bother looking up. "What does it look like?" Alexander approached the desk slowly, his expression shifting from anger to forced composure. He straightened his tie—a nervous habit I'd noticed over our two years of engagement. "Scarlett, stop this nonsense," he said, his tone attempting authority. "Grace isn't feeling well. She needs me by her side. The marking ceremony is only temporarily postponed." With practiced ease, he withdrew a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, the acrid smoke curling upward. Another deliberate provocation. He knew how much I hated the smell. I stepped around the desk, perfectly calm on the outside while Cora surged with icy fury beneath my skin. This unnatural stillness was more dangerous than any outburst. "Uncomfortable?" My voice cut through the air, each word laced with spite. Alexander exhaled smoke, watching me through narrowed eyes. "Not pregnant?" I added, my question crackling with dominance and accusation. The cigarette froze halfway to his mouth. For a split second, genuine shock registered on his face before his features hardened into a mask of anger. "Who told you that?" he growled, taking a threatening step toward me. I had no intention of dancing around his lies anymore. "Alexander, can't you be honest for once? It's not like the treatment center is a private place. Everyone knows that the OB/GYN isn't where you go to treat silver poisoning." His face flushed with anger, the vein in his temple pulsing visibly. "Don't slander us," he snarled. "It's just that there's something special about where she was poisoned." His voice dropped to a low, dangerous rumble as he unleashed his Alpha power. The energy rolled through the room like a physical wave, designed to overwhelm me, to force submission. It washed over me ineffectively. What Alexander didn't know—what almost no one knew—was that I was immune to Alpha commands. No Alpha power could force me to submit, not since I was thirteen years old. Normally, to avoid trouble, I'd pretend to be as oppressed by his power as anyone else, but today I didn't want to pretend anymore. I looked at him with undisguised contempt. "So what? Alexander, we both understand that you won't let go of her." "That's not true," he protested sharply. "When she recovers, I will—" My cold laugh cut him off mid-sentence. "You will what? Send her away? Place her elsewhere, and then I shall thankfully ask you to mark me?" I refused to let him finish, my eyes flashing with anger as I bared my teeth. My claws extended fully, catching the light. "Honestly, I don't care about this marriage, and I don't care about you," I spat, venom in every word. "We were a political match to begin with. So this is the end of it. You go back to Grace." The words fell like stones in the silent room. Alexander stared at me, disbelief mingling with his anger. He was increasing his Alpha power, his confusion growing as it failed to silence me or bring me to my knees. "You can't just walk away from this," he started, but I was already moving past him. In one swift motion, I reached out and yanked the cigarette from between his lips. "And by the way," I added, crushing the cigarette between my fingers, "don't smoke in front of me, you stupid ass. I've put up with you for far too long." I tossed the mangled cigarette into the trash and grabbed my bag of belongings. Alexander grabbed my arm, his grip tight. "It's not over, Scarlett. You think it's over? Your pack needs our union." I stared at his hand and shook him off as hard as I could." That would require my 'dear' parents to find another solution. I'm not their solution anymore." Without another word, I strode toward the door, leaving him standing in my former office. The hallway outside was bustling with activity, though it quieted noticeably as I emerged. Neither of us had curbed our voices earlier, and it was obvious that they had all heard the content of our argument. I was nearly to the elevators when Melissa stepped directly into my path. The same secretary who had mocked me earlier now stood with her chin raised, false confidence in her stance. "Miss Winters," she said loudly enough for others to hear, "you can't just walk away. You can't be disrespectful to the heir to the Alpha King like this." I laughed dismissively, the sound echoing in the suddenly quiet hallway. "He's your Alpha, not mine. Get out of my way." Melissa didn't budge. Instead, she crossed her arms and continued, "This is why you're not fit to be Luna. A true Luna would be gentle, generous, would care for all pack members." Several onlookers nodded in agreement, emboldened by Melissa's public challenge. "Unlike Grace," someone murmured from the side. "She has a natural grace about her." Cora snarled in my mind. "Show them what happens when they block our path!" Without warning, I raised my foot and struck Melissa quickly and directly in the crook of her knee. The precise blow caused her leg to collapse immediately, and she fell straight to her knees, letting out a startled gasp. "I told you to get out of my way," I said calmly, looking down at her. "You think I'm happy to be his Luna? Ridiculous." I raised my eyes to scan the office area, making eye contact with each wolf who dared to meet my gaze. Most looked away quickly. "I suggest you all work hard and mind your own business," I announced to the room. "Your Alpha have plenty of problems to solve without you adding to them." Without waiting for a response, I stepped around Melissa's kneeling form and continued toward the front doors. No one else tried to stop me. As I pushed through the heavy glass doors into the afternoon sunlight, I felt a weight lifting from my shoulders. The air smelled sweeter, the colors around me seemed brighter. For the first time in months, possibly years, I was making my own choice. "Freedom," Cora purred in satisfaction. "Finally." I nodded in silent agreement as I walked to my car. The engagement that was weighing me down like a shackle was finally broken, though I knew it wasn't going to end that easily.