CHAPTER 124: CHAPTER 124 SHATTERED TRUST

Victoria

I was still packing when I heard the front door slam shut. The thunderous energy of Leo’s presence filled the villa even before his footsteps reached our bedroom. Ava whimpered anxiously inside me.

The bedroom door burst open, and there he stood—my mate, my husband, my potential betrayer—his dark eyes immediately zeroing in on the half-packed suitcase on our bed.

"What the hell is this?" Leo’s voice was dangerously quiet, the calm before a storm.

I straightened my spine, fighting against the urge to back down. "I think you know exactly what this is."

Leo stalked into the room, his powerful frame seeming to take up all the available space, his scent—pine, midnight air, and distinctly male—assaulting my senses. "Enlighten me, Luna. Because I just got a concerned call from Nicos saying you ran off looking upset."

"Oh, I’m sure that’s not all he told you," I snapped, tossing another garment into the suitcase. "Did he also mention why I was upset? Or did you already know?"

Confusion crossed Leo’s face, his dark brows drawing together. "Victoria, I have no idea what you’re talking about."

I laughed bitterly, the sound foreign even to my own ears. "I saw you, Leo. With Samantha. At the café in the market square."

Understanding dawned on his face, followed quickly by something that looked suspiciously like relief. That only fueled my anger further.

"So that’s it?" I demanded. "You’re not even going to deny it? Are you bored with me already? Is that why you’re sneaking around with your ex, passing notes like teenagers?"

"Victoria, you’re being ridiculous—"

"Am I?" I interrupted, tears stinging my eyes. "Then explain why you told me you were busy with pack business when you were actually meeting her. Explain the secret conversation, the way she touched your arm, the package she gave you!"

Leo ran a hand through his dark hair, his frustration evident. "If you’d give me a chance to explain instead of jumping to conclusions—"

"What’s to explain? I saw everything with my own eyes!" My voice rose, emotions I’d been suppressing throughout our honeymoon finally breaking free. "Was any of this real? Or was I just a convenient solution to your succession problem while you kept Samantha on the side?"

His eyes flashed dangerously, the wolf in him responding to the challenge in my tone. "You think so little of me? Of our bond?" His voice dropped to a growl that sent shivers down my spine. "After everything we’ve shared, you still don’t trust me?"

"Trust works both ways, Leo," I said, my voice breaking. "You didn’t trust me enough to tell me you were meeting her."

"Because I knew you’d react exactly like this!" he roared, finally losing his composure. "Jumping to the worst possible conclusion instead of having faith in your mate!"

I flinched at his volume but held my ground. "What am I supposed to think? You’ve been distant and secretive. You disappear for hours on business calls. And then I find you with her—"

"So instead of trusting me," Leo said, quieter now but no less intense, "you packed a bag and were what—going to run away? Leave our bond? Leave our pack?"

"And the way she touched you? The way you leaned in close to her?"

Leo’s laugh was harsh, without humor. "She was showing me the inscription on the inside of the ring, Victoria. Nothing more."

I didn’t answer, tears now flowing freely down my cheeks.

"And what about you?" he challenged, suddenly on the offensive. "You’ve been hiding in that art studio every day. Is painting just your convenient escape from our bond? From your role in this pack?"

"Nicos is my teacher!" I protested.

"And Samantha was helping me choose a gift for my mate," Leo countered, his voice hardening. "But only one of us was ready to throw away our bond over a misunderstanding."

The truth in his words cut deep. I looked at the suitcase, at the physical manifestation of my lack of faith in our bond, and felt shame wash over me.

"If you want to leave," Leo said coldly, his face a mask of control once more, "I won’t stop you. But know this, Victoria—if you walk away now, you’re walking away from much more than me. You’re walking away from the mate bond itself. And those don’t heal easily, if at all."

The finality in his tone sent Ava into a panic, her desperate howls echoing inside my mind. The thought of breaking our bond was physically painful, a tearing sensation deep in my chest.

"I don’t want to leave," I admitted in a small voice. "I just... I don’t know how to do this, Leo. I don’t know how to be enough for someone like you."

Some of the hardness left his expression, but the hurt remained. "You could start by trusting me," he said quietly. "By believing that when I chose you, I knew exactly what I was doing."

We stood facing each other across the battleground of our bedroom, both wounded, both defensive. The intimacy we’d built over our honeymoon suddenly seemed fragile, a delicate structure threatened by the storm of our insecurities.

"I need some air," Leo said finally, turning toward the door. "We both need to calm down before we say things we can’t take back."

I watched him go, my heart racing with panic. "Leo—"

He paused at the doorway but didn’t turn around. "I’ll be in the living room. When you’ve decided whether you’re staying or going, let me know."

The door closed behind him with a soft click that somehow hurt more than if he’d slammed it. I sank onto the edge of the bed, beside the half-packed suitcase that now seemed like damning evidence of my own weakness.

Ava whined pitifully, urging me toward the door, toward our mate. But the damage had been done. Words had been spoken that couldn’t be easily erased.