Contractually Yours Alpha (Riley)

Chapter Sixty Eight- Chapter Sixty Eight

ISABELLA'S POV

I was worried about Riley; since she was gone, Thane refused to allow himself even a few minutes of sleep. He blamed himself for everything-but it wasnt his fault; it was mine.

I paced round the room, waiting for any update about Riley's whereabouts; just then, Thane walked in.

"Thane! Is she alright?" I asked him.

"She is alive," he responded.

"What happened to her? Where is she?"

"I think we need to talk," Thane says.

"I know, I'm sorry about earlier; I had no clue she was in danger; I shouldn't have tried to stop you from going to her."

"It's not about that, Bella," he said, and I couldn't help but notice how he wouldn't even look at me.

Then what do you want us to talk about?"

"I want you out of this pack."

For a moment I doubted if I heard the right words, but there it was, what he wanted to talk about.

"What... why? I am sorry if I did anything wrong. I just... I don't have anywhere to go."

"You can't stay here anymore."

"No, you need me; I can help you-I know about the cure; we can find it together."

"There is no 'we.' There never was."

I walked closer to him, gripping onto his arms. "I am the very same Bella you loved, Thane; please don't do this to me, I beg you."

He pulled away from my grip.

"I, Alpha Thane Blackwood, reject you, Bella, as my fated mate."

"No!" I cried out; I couldn't believe this was happening. He couldn't do this to me; I loved him; I was willing to give my life to him. "I love you, Thane. Please, I'm sorry... just don't do this to me."

"I should have done this a long time ago; I should have made my decision the moment I realized who you were, and you know it was always going to be her.

"But I am your mate!"

"No, Riley is my mate."

"You loved me; I refuse to believe that all you felt form had all disappeared."

11

"No, it didn't. But so many years have gone by, and it can't be as it was a decade ago. I have moved on,

Chapter Sixty Eight

and it's time you do too; accept my rejection, Bella."

"I will not. I refuse to let you go; I refuse to lose faith in us."

"I am setting you free."

"I don't want to be free; I want to be with you."

"I can't be with you..."

11

"I can stay away, as far away as you want; you don't have to send me out of the pack."

"That didn't work. I am not leaving you with an option, Bella; all you need to do is accept the rejection, and you will be free to live your life and fall in love with someone else."

"My life, it's not worth living without you. I reject your rejection."

"You don't have to make this difficult; you know that, right?"

"It is difficult; the man I am willing to dedicate my life to doesn't want me. It's fine, Thane; I'll leave, just as you said, and I will never show my face back here ever again, but I will not accept your rejection."

He passed me a piece of paper. A cheque.

"I don't need your money; I don't need anything from you", and with that I walked out of the room.

My heart clenched in my chest.

When I met Thane all those years ago, I finally wanted to live; I didn't want to die because I wanted to be with him for the rest of my life. I thought of the both of us having children, building a family, but maybe that was never meant to be. I wished I had never been awoken; I wished I had remained dead.

Tears streamed down my face as I ran into the woods, pushing deeper into the dense forest. I didn't care if I got lost. I came to a stop before a stream. I watched as the water flowed, uninterrupted. It was beautiful.

I walked towards it and then I jumped in.

I was drowning, but I didn't try to save myself; it took only a short while, and the darkness took over. I was finally free.

Suddenly, strong arms wrapped around me, hauling me above the water's surface.

It wasn't Thane.

It was Logan Dimintri. Thane's half brother.