Adrien.

Dissolve the bond?

For a moment, I genuinely thought my ears were playing tricks on me.

The words echoed repeatedly inside my head, refusing to make sense no matter how many times I replayed them mentally.

Maria wanted to dissolve the mate bond?

Impossible.

Absolutely impossible.

I took a slow step backward, my eyes fixed tightly on her face as I searched desperately for any sign that she was joking.

Any sign that this was another one of her attempts to push us away but there was nothing, no hesitation, no softness, no trace of uncertainty and that was when it finally hit me.

She truly meant it.

My chest tightened painfully.

Why would she think of dissolving the bond?

Hadn’t we already admitted our mistakes?

Hadn’t we apologized?

I had just told her we were ready to make amends.

So why was she suddenly trying to cut us out of her life completely?

"What?" I blurted out instantly, unable to stop the disbelief in my voice.

Maria frowned immediately.

"Do I need to repeat myself?" she asked sharply, her tone filled with clear irritation and impatience.

The coldness in her voice made something twist painfully inside me.

My jaw tightened instantly.

"No," I said firmly, forcing steadiness into my voice even though panic had already begun creeping into my chest. "We will not dissolve the bond, Maria."

I looked away briefly as my expression hardened because if I kept staring at her, I was afraid she would see the fear written all over me.

"You must be kidding me," Maria scoffed, clicking her tongue in annoyance. "I really have no time to waste on you."

And just like that, she turned and started walking away from me.

Panic surged through me instantly.

No.

No, no, no.

She was serious.

And knowing Maria, if she left now, she would definitely go looking for my brothers next.

"I can’t let her reject us," I muttered under my breath, clenching my fists tightly as fear settled deeper inside me.

Without wasting another second, I hurried after her.

"Maria!" I called out loudly as I chased after her down the hallway.

But she didn’t stop, nor did she even slow down.

"Maria, wait!"

I finally caught up with her and stepped beside her, breathing unevenly from how fast I had rushed after her.

"Dissolving the bond is dangerous," I said quickly, trying desperately to reason with her. "You’ll be in pain."

That finally made her glance at me briefly but there was no emotion in her eyes.

"That’s not for you to worry about, Adrien," she replied firmly before looking away again and continuing her steps without hesitation.

Her indifference hurt more than I expected.

"Maria, let’s not do this," I said again, my voice lower now, almost pleading as fear continued swallowing me whole.

Because for the first time since we arrived here...I was truly terrified, terrified of losing her completely and not temporarily, not emotionally but permanently.

The mate bond was the last thing still tying her to us.

And if she severed it...Would there be anything left?

I clenched my fists harder as my chest ached violently.

No.

I couldn’t allow it.

I simply couldn’t lose her.

After walking beside Maria for what felt like forever, we finally stopped in front of a door.

And from inside, I could already hear faintly familiar voices. It was Aidan currently speaking but then Damien replied before Davain.

They were all together.

Damn it.

My chest tightened painfully.

Maria didn’t hesitate for even a second.

She pushed the door open and barged inside without bothering to knock, and unfortunately, all three of my brothers were exactly where I expected them to be.

Together.

The moment we stepped in, their conversation died down instantly as all eyes turned toward us.

And suddenly, my palms became sweaty.

My hands trembled slightly.

Fear.

Pure fear.

I quickly hid both hands behind my back, hoping none of them would notice how badly I was losing control.

"Forgive my intrusion," Maria said calmly, her voice echoing through the room as my brothers stared at her blankly, clearly confused about what was happening. "But there is a very urgent matter we need to attend to."

Then she smiled.

That smile alone made my stomach twist anxiously.

"Urgent?" Aidan asked immediately, concern flashing across his face almost instantly as he stood up from where he sat.

His brows furrowed deeply as he walked toward her.

"Are you in trouble?" he asked quickly.

The concern in his tone was genuine.

Too genuine.

"Tell us, Maria," Damien added as he also stood up from his seat. "We are willing to help you out with anything."

I shut my eyes briefly and pinched the bridge of my nose, trying desperately to suppress the panic building inside me.

At this point...

Were my brothers fools?

Couldn’t they feel the danger in this situation?

Why were they still promising her things so casually?

"I promise you, Maria," Davian added firmly as he rose to his feet too. "No matter what it is, we are willing to help you."

The moment those words left his mouth, the color drained from my face instantly.

My heart nearly stopped.

How could he promise that?

An Alpha’s words weren’t ordinary.

A promise from an Alpha carried weight. It was bindin and sacred and once spoken...It could not simply be taken back. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

"Don’t promise anything, you all!" I yelled suddenly, my voice louder than intended as panic completely took over me.

The room immediately fell silent.

All three of them turned toward me with identical looks of confusion.

"Adrien?" Aidan frowned deeply. "What’s going on?"

I opened my mouth quickly, desperate to stop this before it happened.

But before I could even say a word...Maria spoke.

"An Alpha cannot go back on their words," she said calmly.

My heart sank instantly.

No.

No, no, no.

Then she looked directly at all of us and finally said the words I had been dreading from the very beginning.

"Let’s all dissolve the mate bond."

Complete silence filled the room immediately after as the air itself suddenly felt heavy.

Aidan’s expression stiffened instantly.

Damien’s eyes widened slightly in disbelief.

Davian looked completely stunned.

And for a moment, none of them spoke.

None of them moved.

It was as though Maria’s words had completely shattered the room apart.

I swallowed hard as fear clawed violently through my chest.

Because now...It was no longer just me hearing it.

They heard it too.