Three days later, I was at JFK Airport.

Emma was with me, helping with my luggage. I wasn't taking much—a few boxes of clothes, some art supplies, and a couple of mementos from my parents.

As for all the gifts Aiden had given me?

I left every last one of them in my Manhattan apartment.

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Emma asked. "Once you leave the country, the awakening will accelerate. When that happens—"

"I'll become a full Moon-Descendant," I finished for her. "That's exactly what I want."

We were heading toward security when a commotion broke out in the terminal.

Aiden.

He looked even worse than he had three days ago—he'd lost at least ten pounds, his eyes were sunken, and blood was seeping through the bandage on his neck. But the most shocking part wasn't his appearance.

It was the group of suited lawyers following him.

"Chloe Parker!" he called out, his voice echoing through the hall.

The human passengers all stopped to watch the drama unfold. But the werewolves—the ones who could sense the desperate pheromones rolling off him—their faces changed.

It was the scent of an Alpha who was about to lose everything.

"Aiden, stop it," I said, exhausted. "I'm about to board my flight."

"Wait." He walked quickly toward me, and the lawyers unfurled a document behind him. "This is a document I just signed at the Werewolf Council."

I looked at the paper—

Agreement for the Severance of a Permanent Mark

At the bottom was Aiden's signature, countersigned by the seven clan elders.

"You... you severed your permanent mark with Leah?" I was stunned.

In the werewolf world, a permanent mark was sacred. Severing it came at a terrible price—an Alpha's power would be permanently weakened, their lifespan shortened. They could even lose their ability to shift.

"Yes," Aiden said, his voice calm, but his eyes held a terrifying resolve. "I have cut all ties with Leah. The blood bond, the mental link, the mating mark—all of it is gone."

He turned and pulled down the back of his collar.

I gasped.

Where his permanent mark used to be, there was now a gruesome wound—the skin was scorched, leaving a deep scar, as if someone had carved out a piece of his flesh with a silver knife.

"The doctors say my Alpha powers have been reduced by sixty percent," Aiden said. "I may never be able to fully shift again. My lifespan will be no different than a human's."

"But I don't care."

He looked at me, his eyes filled with a desperate love.

"Chloe, I did this to prove it—Leah means nothing to me anymore. I have destroyed every connection between us, and I have paid the ultimate price an Alpha can pay."

"Now, I'm an incomplete Alpha. An Alpha without a permanent mate. An Alpha with severely weakened powers."

"But I'm a free Alpha."

"An Alpha who can love you with his entire being."

The terminal was silent.

Emma covered her mouth, tears streaming down her face. The human passengers had no idea what was happening, but they were moved by his confession.

And the werewolves were in shock—Aiden Ford had given up his permanent mark for a woman. It was almost unheard of in werewolf history.

I stared at the horrific scar on his neck, and my heart clenched painfully.