8 Chapter 8: Burned Bridges
ELLIOT: I told you, Jasmine. I could have set your father free. But it turns out you rejected me because you wanted someone more powerful than I am. I have to hand it to you. How are you any different from me?
“Yes, sir,” Marcus said. “And… What about her father’s case? Do we keep pressuring his mate?”
“Just tired.”
Except… he hadn’t expected her to fight this hard. To walk away when he waved money and promises in front of her. To stand in a club, defiant, while wearing another man’s mark on her neck. Gareth Laken.
ME: I’m fine. Or… as fine as I can be. And they fired me.
“We do nothing. Let him rot. Let her worry. Jasmine thinks she’s strong. Let’s see how strong she is when her mother collapses and she can’t even land a job at the grocery store.”
She didn’t ask more. She never did.
I didn’t reply.I blocked his number and turned off my phone, before preparing myself for bed. After all, I had to go job hunting bright and early tomorrow morning.
I sighed, tossed the phone beside me on the floor, and leaned back against the wall, trying not to scream.
“Send the word to every partner, every subsidiary, every damn business that has ever shaken my hand,” Elliot said, his voice cold. “Jasmine Lowett is off-limits. No interviews. No offers. No internships. Nothing” 2
Much later, he stepped into Isabella’s house, ignoring the cheerful maids and soft music. It all felt fake.
“She’s still in university. That might get some attention-”
ELLIOT: Did you think Gareth would actually want someone like you? You’re a stupid, desperate slut playing a game you’ll lose. Do you think bedding him makes you his equal?
ME: No. It’s not your fault. I made a scene. You tried to help. You shouldn’t get dragged down with me.
ME: Stay out of my life, Elliot.
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“Right,” he said, forcing a smile.
She frowned. “Elliot… are you okay?”
Jasmine could run as far as she wanted. He would make sure all her roads led back to
him.
My stomach turned. But he wasn’t done. My phone buzzed again.
Another buzz.
Elliot stared at the message on his phone, his jaw tightening with every word Jasmine had typed.
ELLIOT: So that’s your game now? Spread your legs for the Lycan King and see what he throws at you?
“I don’t care,” Elliot cut in. “Make them care more about my wrath than some broke
Delta trainee.”
+++
I typed slowly.
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“Michelle had another tantrum,” she said, sighing. “She locked herself in her room because the tutor corrected her in front of the staff.”
She looked worried but didn’t press. That’s why she was perfect. Quiet. Polished. Not like Jasmine.
ELLIOT: You looked pathetic tonight. Throwing punches in a club, parading yourself around in that outfit like the whore you are. You’re a joke. Do you think he’s going to
keep you?
She smiled, unaware. He walked down the hall, not toward Michelle’s room, but just to think. To breathe.
Another message popped up.
Elliot’s grip tightened around his phone until the screen dimmed. She had the nerve to block him. After everything he’d offered-after all he’d done-Jasmine thought she could just cut him off?
Silence wrapped around me, broken only by the occasional tick of the hallway clock. I just stared at the wall, numb and worn out. Every part of me-my body, my pride, ached from the weight of Gareth’s final words.
MANAGER: You are hereby terminated from working at Club Lunaris, effective immediately. This establishment cannot afford disruptions or drama of any kind.
He pulled out his phone and made a call.
Isabella greeted him with a smile and a teacup. “There you are. I was starting to wonder if you got caught in traffic.”
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He ended the call and put the phone back calmly.
Elliot couldn’t stop thinking of the hickey on her neck.
“Yes, sir?” came the voice of Marcus, his right hand and the one who handled the dirty work he couldn’t be seen doing.
Ungrateful bitch.
MINDIE: What? That’s not fair. You were defending me! I should have stepped in more. This is my fault.
ELLIOT: You will come back when the world stops pretending to care. And I’ll still be here, watching you.
He stood up suddenly. “I’ll check on Michelle.”
Another message.
This wasn’t over. Gareth would get bored of Jasmine. He always did with women like her. And when Jasmine came crawling back he would make her regret ever leaving him to begin with.
He blinked. “Which tutor?”
My wolf whimpered inside me in shame. I blinked hard, my eyes burning with rage.
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Chapter D. DULTICU enes
Elliot’s eyes narrowed as he thought about Jasmine’s mother, and for a moment, a dark satisfaction pulled at the corners of his mouth.
The moment I shut the door behind me, I let myself sink to the floor.
He needed Jasmine desperate. He needed her because his wolf was bonded to hers- deep, twisted roots that had sunk in the second he marked her. His wolf needed her. Craved her.
Jasmine, who made him feel powerful-and then made him feel pathetic.
Elliot nodded distractedly, but his thoughts were still on Jasmine-her fire, her mouth, the way she walked away like he meant nothing.
“Just needed some air,” he muttered, loosening his tie.
There was a pause. “You mean the job restrictions?”
“Stay out of my life, Elliot.”
MINDIE: Are you okay? What happened? Did they fire you? I tried to talk to the manager but he wouldn’t say anything. I’m freaking out, Jas. Please tell me you’re okay.
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8 Chapter 8: Burned Bridges
“The one I hired last week. That’s the third one gone in two months.”
‘Is Jasmine with Gareth now? Did you see the way he looked at her?”
And without her… he was getting weaker. He felt it in his shifts. In his hunts. His wolf was sluggish, agitated. No matter how much he touched Isabella, no matter how many women he entertained, none of them could fill the void left by Jasmine.
My fingers tightened around the phone.
He threw the phone onto the couch and paced the room, trying to calm himself. He hadn’t returned to the club after Gareth showed up. He couldn’t stand the looks and whispers, as people compared him to Gareth Laken
How did I ever love this man? How did I ever trust him?
My phone buzzed again—this time with a name I should have blocked from the beginning.
I stared at the screen, my chest rising and falling with short, shaky breaths. This man was an asshole.
But of course, the peace didn’t last.
He couldn’t stand that I’d moved on, even if just for a night. He couldn’t stand the idea that I might matter to someone more powerful than him. That I might still have worth
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8 Chapter 8: Burned Bridges
without him.
ME: Understood. But Mindie had nothing to do with it. Please don’t punish her for
what I did.
My phone buzzed in my purse. I pulled it out to see a message from the club manager.
Isabella brightened. “Really? That would mean so much.”
And Gareth-looking at her like she was something special. That thought made his
stomach turn.
The reply came almost instantly.
“She needs a new tutor,” Isabella continued. “Someone strong enough to handle her.”
ELLIOT: You really think Gareth didn’t laugh the second you left? God, Jasmine. You’re so easy it’s almost sad. As your mate, I hope you’ll get smarter.
2
‘Stay away from me and my family. You are not welcome in my presence!
“I need you to tighten things up.”
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He kissed her cheek. “Of course, darling.”
But even Gareth Laken had weaknesses, and his biggest one was Elliot’s future wife.
No one knew he was the one who had orchestrated the embezzlement charges. Not even Isabella. Certainly not Gareth. Framing her father hadn’t been easy, but money, threats, and the right signatures made anything possible.
The name made Elliot’s hands clench. He was the only one powerful enough to ruin
everything.
Soon another message came in. I glanced at it, expecting the worst. But it was from
Mindie.
He didn’t reply. Typical.
They were still linked, though he had rejected her. And part of him hated her for it. She’d come back. She had to. He had planned everything perfectly.
I stared at her messages for a moment before typing back.
