The Bet That Cost Him His Mate Chapter 07

The Bet That Cost Him His Mate Chapter 07

(Valerie’s view)

When I arrived, the Sterling estate was fully lit.

My father was waiting on the front steps.

There was silver in his hair now, and seeing it made my eyes sting. But his steady, overwhelming presence hadn’t changed at all.

People called him ruthless. They weren’t wrong. But when his eyes landed on the fading hives on my neck, that ruthlessness turned into pure, protective fury.

“Who did this?”

Leon took my bags from the driver. “The healers are waiting upstairs, my lady.”

My father stepped down and adjusted my coat himself. “You don’t have to say a word tonight. But the daughter of the Alpha King does not come home bleeding, swallowing her pain just to protect the people who hurt her.”

My throat tightened.

For three years, I told myself that leaving home proved I was strong and independent.

But I had forgotten that true strength didn’t mean having to stand completely alone.

“Wyatt’s friends,” I murmured quietly. “Wyatt allowed it to happen.”

My father’s expression didn’t shift, but I knew what his silent rage looked like.

“Audit every asset and territory belonging to the Crescent Ridge pack,” he ordered Leon. “Use every legal and commercial avenue to bleed them dry. Quietly.”

“Yes, Alpha. It’s already begun,” Leon bowed.

For the next three days, I didn’t see anyone outside of my family.

The top healers tended to me. My mother sat by my bed every night, gently stroking my hair until I fell asleep.

On the third night, a guard reported that Wyatt had been standing outside the gates for twenty-four hours. Even though it was pouring rain, he refused to leave.

My father took a sip of his coffee and looked at me. “Do you want to see him?”

“No.”

A faint, proud smile touched his lips. “Good.”

I wasn’t lying. From the moment I left Crescent Ridge, I planned to sever the last three years completely.

But Wyatt was unexpectedly stubborn. He didn’t leave.

He waited in the rain through the second night. By morning, his expensive coat was soaked, and he looked like a walking ghost.

My allergies had completely cleared up, so my father sent me out to inspect our borders.

As my motorcade passed the gates, I saw him.

He rushed toward my SUV, but the guards intercepted him before he could get close.

I rolled down the window.

“Valerie,” his voice was hoarse and broken. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“That I’m a Sterling?” I gave a mocking half-smile. “Because I wanted a real chosen mate. Someone who loved me for me, not for my last name or my power. Pretty stupid of me, right?”

He shook his head frantically, his face pale. “No, I never thought that. I love you. I’ve always loved you.”

He held up his wrist, showing the shattered watch. “Look. The gift you got me. I’ve been wearing it.”

“You didn’t love me. You loved the low-ranking Omega who had to rely on you, who swallowed her pride and accepted your disrespect. That wasn’t love.”

“And I wasn’t going to give that to you anyway. I was going to throw it in the trash. But if you like digging through garbage, be my guest.”

A flash of humiliation crossed Wyatt’s face, but he swallowed it down. “Give me one more chance! I exiled Harper. I kicked her out of the pack. I’ll never let her near you again!”

“You still think Harper was the problem?”

“Wasn’t she? She hurt you! She was the one who came up with those bets!”

“But you were the architect of my pain. You allowed it.” I exposed the ugly truth without mercy. “Because you enjoyed watching me bend over backwards for you, giving up my dignity just to keep you. Because I had nowhere else to go, right?”

He didn’t know what to say. His eyes brimmed with red as he kept repeating, “Valerie, please.”

“I was going to bring you home after the bonding ceremony. I was going to tell my father that you were my chosen mate, that you meant more to me than a fated bond.” I gazed at him dead in the eye. “Do you know what you proved in the end?”

He stood frozen.

“You proved that walking away from you was the best decision I ever made.”

The window rolled up.

He screamed my name, chasing after the car in desperation, but the thick glass turned his cries into nothing but distant echoes.

I never looked back.