MARIA.

At this point, Adrien was honestly beginning to irritate me with how dramatic he was acting.

The fear written all over his face, the panic in his eyes, the desperation in his voice...It was exhausting.

I simply wanted all of this to end already—The mate bond, the confusion, the constant emotional chaos.

Everything.

"Are you playing with us right now, Maria?" Davian finally asked after the long silence that followed my declaration.

I immediately rolled my eyes in annoyance.

Of course.

Instead of understanding me, they still thought I was bluffing. Fine then, if they believed I was merely talking, I would simply prove it through my actions.

And honestly, this was the perfect opportunity.

All four of them were finally together in one room, so there would be no interruptions and no excuses.

I took a deep breath slowly, trying to steady myself before speaking.

"I, Maria Moon, hereby reject—" But suddenly, the words stopped.

My brows furrowed instantly.

What?

I blinked in confusion.

The sentence had simply refused to complete itself and It felt strange like something invisible was blocking the words from leaving my mouth.

I swallowed hard before trying again.

"I, Maria Moon, hereby reject—"

A sharp pain suddenly exploded from the marked spot on my neck.

"Ahhhh!" I screamed loudly as agony shot through my body violently.

My knees gave out beneath me immediately, crashing against the floor with a soft but painful thud.

And there was so much pain coursing through my body. My hands instantly flew toward my neck as the marked area burned intensely.

It felt unbearable like hot iron was being pressed directly against my skin.

The pain spread rapidly through my entire body, making my breathing uneven.

What was happening?

Why couldn’t I complete the rejection?

I clenched my teeth tightly as tears gathered uncontrollably in my eyes.

No.

No, I had to do this.

I needed to dissolve this bond.

So why did it hurt this badly?

The burning sensation only worsened, making my vision blur slightly.

"Maria!" Adrien shouted instantly.

I barely registered the panic in his voice before he rushed toward me quickly, trying to hold me up.

But anger exploded inside me immediately. I shoved his hands away violently despite the pain tearing through me.

"Don’t touch me!" I snapped.

Adrien froze instantly at my reaction.

The others were already moving toward me too, their expressions filled with panic and confusion.

Aidan crouched immediately.

"Maria, what’s wrong?" he asked quickly.

Damien looked completely alarmed now.

"Why is the mark reacting like this?" he muttered under his breath.

Davian’s face had gone pale.

And suddenly, anger swallowed every bit of pain inside me.

I lifted my head slowly and glared at all four of them with so much hatred burning inside my chest.

"What did you all do to me?" I demanded, my voice louder now despite how shaky it sounded.

None of them answered, none of them even seemed to know what was happening.

But I didn’t care.

At that moment, all I could feel was betrayal.

Pain.

And rage.

The burning sensation around my neck continued spreading mercilessly as though the mark itself was fighting against me.

Moisture blurred my vision again as another wave of pain shot through my body.

I clenched my fists tightly against the floor.

"Relax, Maria," Damien said softly as he stepped closer carefully, almost cautiously, like he was afraid I would lash out again. "We are just as puzzled as you are."

I immediately averted my gaze from him, clutching my neck tightly as the burning sensation lingered painfully beneath my skin.

Puzzled?

Well, that made two of us.

Because nothing about this made sense anymore.

My breathing remained uneven as I tried desperately to calm myself down.

How was I supposed to explain this to Noah?

I had confidently agreed to dissolve the bond. I had walked all the way here ready to end everything once and for all.

Yet the moment I tried...It felt like my body was being torn apart from the inside. I tightened my grip around my neck harder. No matter what happened, I still had to find a way.

"We have to find a way to break this bond," I declared suddenly, my voice cold and emotionless now.

The room fell silent briefly.

Aidan sighed heavily before running a frustrated hand through his hair.

"Why are you so bent on breaking this bond, Maria?" he asked quietly.

I looked away from him immediately.

"Even the Moon Goddess doesn’t approve of it. Can’t you see that?"

I scoffed loudly.

Honestly, hearing that only irritated me further.

"Are you all dumb?" I snapped angrily.

Their expressions stiffened immediately.

"I am getting married," I continued firmly, glaring at each of them one after the other. "Being connected and bound to all of you will only bring endless trouble."

I paused briefly, dragging in a deep breath before continuing.

"It will hurt Noah." The words felt heavy leaving my mouth. "And eventually, it will hurt all of you too," I added more quietly. "Breaking the bond is the only option."

"No, Maria," Damien interrupted immediately. "That’s not the only option."

I frowned instantly.

He hesitated briefly before speaking again.

"Another option is ending everything you have with Noah...and being with us."

The moment those words left his mouth, anger surged violently through me again. I shot Damien such a deadly glare that he immediately went silent.

Good.

Because I honestly wasn’t in the mood for their ridiculous fantasies anymore.

Why couldn’t they understand that things had already gone too far?

"Maria..." Davian spoke after Damien quietened down.

I turned toward him slowly.

"If you still want a wedding..." he began carefully. "...you can still have one." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

I narrowed my eyes immediately.

"A grand one," he continued softly. "But with us."

"Shut up!" I spat furiously.

The room instantly went silent again.

I slowly pushed myself up from the floor as the pain from earlier began subsiding little by little. My legs still felt weak and my neck still burned but I forced myself to stand anyway.

Because staying here any longer felt suffocating.

"I will look for a solution," I declared firmly, breathing heavily. "The healer will definitely have an answer."

And unlike them, the healer might actually understand what was happening to me.

Without waiting for anyone to stop me again, I turned away from them immediately.

Disgust, frustration, anger and everything swirled violently inside me as I walked toward the door.

Behind me, I could feel their eyes fixed on my retreating figure.

But I didn’t stop, neither did I turn back.

I simply walked away from them completely and headed straight toward the healer’s quarters.