Page 14
Story: Mated to Ruin
“Every video corresponds to one of those photos. See for yourself.”
Talon’s hands tremble as he grabs the drive. His wolf instincts are screaming that something is very wrong.
Maria sets her laptop on the desk, her expression grim.
The first video loads.
Talon watches in horror as Aelina appears on screen, clearly recognisable and willing.
But it isn’t just her infidelity that ruins him.
In the videos, Aelina performs acrobatic positions with these men, including bending, twisting, and supporting her entire weight on her legs.
Nothing like a person with leg issues!
Nothing like the injured, frail girl who said she could barely walk.
“No,” he whispers. “This can’t be right.”
But video after video corroborates the truth.
Aelina’s legs function perfectly. They always have.
The memory strikes him like a physical blow.
That snowy night eight years ago, the girl who carried him on her back for miles through the blizzard obviously had severely injured legs, didn’t she?
She limped with each step. Cried out in pain. Bloody footprints in the snow.
However, Aelina’s legs appear in these videos…
“The dates,” he says abruptly, quickly checking the timestamps. “When were these taken?”
“Some are from last month,” Maria explains quietly. “Some from last week. Some from three days ago.”
Three days ago. When she was supposedly too weak to walk without his assistance.
Talon feels something inside him collapse completely.
His entire world, everything he believed, was crumbling into dust.
Maria wipes away her tears with a trembling hand.
“Seraphina really saved the wrong person. To keep you from worrying after the rescue, she found her own rehabilitation centre. She didn’t want to burden you with her recovery.”
Maria’s voice breaks.
“For three months I went to care for her every day. Steel pins drilled into her bones and she never made a sound. Never complained. Never asked for anything.”
She glares at her son, completely disappointed.
“In the end, this is how you treat her!”
Talon sways unsteadily, holding onto the desk for support.
Three months at a rehabilitation centre?
The pieces click into place with sickening precision.
Is this the real reason he didn’t see Seraphina when he awoke?
He had assumed Seraphina was heartless and cold because she had not visited him for three months while he recovered.
Meanwhile, his secretary, Aelina, stayed by his side, bringing him food, reading to him, and comforting him.
He assumed Seraphina did not care.
But she was in her own hospital bed, suffering silently.
“I was so stupid,” he mutters.
“Where are you going!”
Richard calls after his son, who stumbles towards the exit and nearly falls over.
Talon’s hands are covered in blood from breaking the silver chains earlier, but he is no longer aware of the pain. “I have to bring her back.”
“Stop bothering her!” Maria exclaims, rage radiating from every inch of her body. “She already hates you to death!”
Talon’s body freezes as he grasps the doorframe, his knuckles white.
His Adam’s apple bobs quickly. He swallows hard, fighting his emotions.
“There has to be a way to make amends, right? There must be a way to fix this, definitely…”
His voice sounds like he’s trying to persuade himself rather than them.
“Some things can’t be fixed, son,” Richard says gravely.
But Talon has already stumbled out the door.
When he gets to the airport, his heart sinks.
“I’m sorry, sir. Flight 447 to Canada departed twenty minutes ago,” the ticket agent informs him.
He quickly checks the passenger manifest, bribing the agent with cash.
“The connecting flights? Where do they go from Canada?”
“Multiple destinations, sir. Tokyo, Sydney, London, New York…”
He doesn’t know where she went from there.
Talon’s hands tremble as he grabs the drive. His wolf instincts are screaming that something is very wrong.
Maria sets her laptop on the desk, her expression grim.
The first video loads.
Talon watches in horror as Aelina appears on screen, clearly recognisable and willing.
But it isn’t just her infidelity that ruins him.
In the videos, Aelina performs acrobatic positions with these men, including bending, twisting, and supporting her entire weight on her legs.
Nothing like a person with leg issues!
Nothing like the injured, frail girl who said she could barely walk.
“No,” he whispers. “This can’t be right.”
But video after video corroborates the truth.
Aelina’s legs function perfectly. They always have.
The memory strikes him like a physical blow.
That snowy night eight years ago, the girl who carried him on her back for miles through the blizzard obviously had severely injured legs, didn’t she?
She limped with each step. Cried out in pain. Bloody footprints in the snow.
However, Aelina’s legs appear in these videos…
“The dates,” he says abruptly, quickly checking the timestamps. “When were these taken?”
“Some are from last month,” Maria explains quietly. “Some from last week. Some from three days ago.”
Three days ago. When she was supposedly too weak to walk without his assistance.
Talon feels something inside him collapse completely.
His entire world, everything he believed, was crumbling into dust.
Maria wipes away her tears with a trembling hand.
“Seraphina really saved the wrong person. To keep you from worrying after the rescue, she found her own rehabilitation centre. She didn’t want to burden you with her recovery.”
Maria’s voice breaks.
“For three months I went to care for her every day. Steel pins drilled into her bones and she never made a sound. Never complained. Never asked for anything.”
She glares at her son, completely disappointed.
“In the end, this is how you treat her!”
Talon sways unsteadily, holding onto the desk for support.
Three months at a rehabilitation centre?
The pieces click into place with sickening precision.
Is this the real reason he didn’t see Seraphina when he awoke?
He had assumed Seraphina was heartless and cold because she had not visited him for three months while he recovered.
Meanwhile, his secretary, Aelina, stayed by his side, bringing him food, reading to him, and comforting him.
He assumed Seraphina did not care.
But she was in her own hospital bed, suffering silently.
“I was so stupid,” he mutters.
“Where are you going!”
Richard calls after his son, who stumbles towards the exit and nearly falls over.
Talon’s hands are covered in blood from breaking the silver chains earlier, but he is no longer aware of the pain. “I have to bring her back.”
“Stop bothering her!” Maria exclaims, rage radiating from every inch of her body. “She already hates you to death!”
Talon’s body freezes as he grasps the doorframe, his knuckles white.
His Adam’s apple bobs quickly. He swallows hard, fighting his emotions.
“There has to be a way to make amends, right? There must be a way to fix this, definitely…”
His voice sounds like he’s trying to persuade himself rather than them.
“Some things can’t be fixed, son,” Richard says gravely.
But Talon has already stumbled out the door.
When he gets to the airport, his heart sinks.
“I’m sorry, sir. Flight 447 to Canada departed twenty minutes ago,” the ticket agent informs him.
He quickly checks the passenger manifest, bribing the agent with cash.
“The connecting flights? Where do they go from Canada?”
“Multiple destinations, sir. Tokyo, Sydney, London, New York…”
He doesn’t know where she went from there.