CHAPTER 3

Ronan's POV

“Thalia.”

The name slipped past my lips before I could stop it, and in that moment, my entire world cracked open. I thought I had buried her—locked away every shred of who I was before becoming the Rogue Sovereign, buried him so deep that nothing could ever pull him back. But her eyes, that deep forest green, looked up at me like the ghost of a life I’d lost, and my heart didn’t just stutter; it almost broke.

Then, I felt it. Something I hadn't felt in four long years. My wolf stirred for the first time in four years, just because of her.

I couldn't move or breathe, struggling to understand and contain the chaos that rippled through me.

She looked different. Emaciated, sad, and her eyes that were once full of life were now empty, but despite all this, she still looked beautiful; she was still the woman I loved without reason.

Memories crashed over me, and I was back in that golden time when her laughter was my only sun, her presence my only peace.

I’d thought she loved me. I believed her heart was mine as surely as my own beat for her.

But then came that day. Her parents, stone-faced and unfeeling, delivered their cold decree that she wanted nothing more to do with me. They said it as if I were a pest to be exterminated.

When I begged to hear it from her own lips, they told me she didn’t want the "trouble." I thought if I kept asking, kept pushing, she’d come out, speak the truth—but instead, I found myself accused, hauled into the Alpha’s quarters like a criminal. Caden. He’d taken everything from me with one order.

I was cast out, exiled with no response from her. The despair got to me, and I went mad after that, turning into a feral rogue.

The Moon Goddess had shown me mercy, as Hebathi, a powerful healer elf, the last of her kind, had stumbled upon me. She healed the shattered pieces of my mind but told me the truth I couldn’t bear: my wolf was gone, deadened by grief. She tried to revive him, but it was hopeless—I was hopeless.

What came next was survival. Vengeance. Without my wolf, I discovered something…darker had grown within me. Something that allowed me to communicate with the rogues, to command them in a way no other could. With Hebathi’s help, I gathered the broken and the lost, the wolves who had been cast aside, and they followed me as if I were some twisted messiah and named me The Rogue Sovereign.

We grew strong, I grew feared. I did everything with one goal: to build enough power to crush Bloodstone. I wanted to see them suffer, to see Caden’s smug face crumble.

Yet here she was, the object of my desire, kneeling before me, offered as a sacrifice by the very man who took her from me.

My wolf howled within me, shaking me down to my bones. I could feel the pull of her scent, the memories of her laughter, the warmth of her touch. Thalia had been my everything—and she had destroyed me. Now, after all this, she was here, looking at me with those wide eyes I had come to despise.

A growl tore from my throat as I forced myself to calm down. My wolf didn't help matters as it fought to seize control, as if she alone had breathed life into him.

“Everyone out!” I bellowed, in fury. Every attendant and warrior froze, their eyes wide as they scrambled to obey. Even the slaves were ushered away swiftly, though one of the guards, foolishly ignorant or simply bold, reached for Thalia to pull her up.

“Touch her, and you’ll lose that hand,” I growled with a dark promise of violence. The man blanched, stepping back as though burned, and left her trembling on the floor. Soon, the heavy doors shut behind them, leaving us alone.

She knelt there, head bowed, shoulders hunched as though bracing herself for an execution. I took a step toward her, kneeling so she'd get a good view of my face.

“Why are you here?” The words came out harsher than I intended, but I didn’t care. I wanted her to hurt, to feel the devastation she’d left me in. “Why aren’t you all cuddled up with the new love of your life, hmm?” I sneered. “What happened? Did he finally see you for what you are—a hollow shell, a broken little thing with nothing to offer but empty promises and lies?”

Her shoulders shook as she tried to hold back a sob, but I didn't let up. I wanted her to feel the pain I carried within me.

“Tell me, Thalia, does it hurt to be cast aside, thrown to the wolves?” I laughed harshly, “Is this what it feels like? To be nothing? To be forgotten?”

“Ronan… please…” Her voice was so soft, so broken that it almost made me feel sympathy for her, but in an instant, I crushed that emotion. I couldn’t allow her tears to sway me.

“Don’t you dare cry,” I spat. “Save your pathetic, fake tears. They mean nothing to me now, just like you should have meant nothing to me then.”

“Please… let me explain…” She reached for me, her fingers trembling as she tried to touch my hand, and I jerked away, disgusted, furious.

“No.” I leaned down, gripping a fistful of her hair, forcing her to look up at me. The moment our eyes met, she flinched, as though seeing the man I’d become was more than she could bear.

“Look at me, Thalia,” I demanded, “This—this is the man you created. A man with a dead wolf and a heart as cold as stone. This is what you did.”

A sob escaped her, and she tried to turn her face away, but I held her fast, refusing to let her look anywhere but at the destruction she’d wrought. “Do you know what it’s like to be hollow? To feel the life drain out of you, bit by bit, until there’s nothing left? You don’t. You’ve never suffered, Thalia, not the way I have. And it's all thanks to you.”

“Ronan… I had no choice… please… just forgive me…” Tears spilled down her cheeks like a torrent.

“Forgive you?” I scoffed, “Do you think forgiveness is some gift I can hand you after everything you’ve done? No, Thalia. You don’t deserve forgiveness. You deserve every ounce of pain that’s coming to you.”

“I’ll never forgive you, Thalia,” I said, my voice low and final. “You’ve taken everything from me. You destroyed me. And now, you can rot in the misery you left me in.”

She crumpled completely, her voice trembling as she whispered, “Ronan… I’m sorry… I had no other option…”

I turned around, not even bothering to respond. Her words meant nothing to me now.

“Guard!” I screamed.

The doors creaked open, and one of my warriors stepped forward, waiting for my order.

“Take her,” I said, my voice like steel, “to the dungeon. The deepest part. Lock her there until I say otherwise.”

The guard nodded without hesitation. Her grip closed firmly around Thalia’s arm, pulling her to her feet with no care for the fragile, trembling woman in her grasp.

“No… please… Ronan!” Thalia’s voice cracked. She twisted in the guard’s hold, struggling, reaching out toward me, begging for mercy. “Please… I’m sorry… forgive me… just listen…”

I said nothing, watching on as the guard continued to drag her away.

“Ronan… please…” she whispered one last time, her voice barely audible, her tear-streaked face turning back to me in one final, desperate glance.

And still, I said nothing.

With that, the doors of the throne room closed with a thud. I stood, alone with my chaotic thoughts, reliving the memories of a life I had once been a part of.

Without warning, a single tear traced down my cheek, but I wiped it away. Turning around, I walked over to my throne and sat, chin in hand and trying to forget about her completely.

With a trembling breath, I reached inside, hoping that my wolf would respond but... there was nothing, only silence. He had gone dormant again.

I clenched my fists in rage. After all these years of struggle, wanting to find a solution to rouse him, he had only reacted to the one person I hated more than anything. What sort of cursed existence was this?

I grabbed a goblet nearby and hurled it to the floor in frustration, watching the glass pieces shatter.

“Damn you! Selene! Damn you!” I howled at the Moon Goddess, damning my cursed fate.

Then, the doors creaked open again, and I spun, ready to unleash my fury on whoever dared enter. But it was Hebathi. Her unnatural purple eyes stared at me with such concern and love that I felt my anger melt away.

“Ronan…” she murmured, her voice low and soft like a gentle touch. “What’s the matter?”

For a moment, I was silent, then, as if my body knew what I needed before I did, I took a step forward, then another, until I was close enough to wrap my arms around her. I held her tightly, feeling the warmth.

She said nothing, simply holding me, letting her steady presence ground me, like an anchor pulling me back from the edge.

After what felt like ages, Hebathi broke up the hug, her purple eyes searching into mine as her palm caressed my cheeks.

“Ronan.” she said softly. “I felt a stir within you, are you alright?”