Princess's Revenge: Slave to the Soulbound King Chapter 131

Adelaide

The first rays of dawn filtered through the gaps in the curtains, but they couldn't warm the ice-cold emptiness in my chest. I hadn't slept a wink, and the dried tear tracks on my face felt like carved scars.

The soft sound of the door opening broke the oppressive silence of the room. I struggled to lift my head and saw Thalia standing in the doorway, her face etched with concern.

"Thalia!" I rushed toward my friend, like a drowning person grasping for the last lifeline, and threw my arms around her. "He doesn't want me anymore... Lycanthar doesn't want me anymore..."

Thalia gently stroked my back and guided me to sit on the edge of the bed. "Dear, you have to understand, he might be doing this to protect you. Werewolf society already holds tremendous hostility toward your identity, and he had no choice but to—"

"No!" I lifted my head sharply, my eyes filled with anguish. "You don't know what happened last night. He told me he never loved me, that I was just his plaything, a diversion... then he brought Cressida in front of me, and they... they..." My voice choked, unable to continue describing that torturous scene. "He made me watch, just to prove that I meant nothing to him. He said he was going to exile me from werewolf territory and never allow me to return."

Thalia's expression froze, her eyes widening in shock. "Lycanthar really did that?" she murmured, clearly finding it hard to believe.

I nodded, tears streaming down my face again. Thalia pulled me into her embrace, and we sat in silence for a moment.

"I'll leave with you," Thalia suddenly said, her voice filled with determination.

My sobbing stopped abruptly. I slowly lifted my head, unable to believe what I'd heard. "What?"

Thalia wiped the tears from my face and forced a smile. "We came here together, so naturally we should leave together."

"But... but what about Draven?" I asked in confusion. "Aren't you two... aren't you mates?"

Thalia's smile vanished instantly. She turned her head away, her voice barely audible: "We've separated."

I grasped Thalia's hand, feeling her slight trembling. "Thalia, this isn't right. Tell me what really happened."

Thalia bit her lip, trying to maintain her composure, but finally broke down. She covered her face with her hands, her shoulders shaking with sobs. "I... I'm pregnant," she struggled to say through her tears. "I'm carrying Draven's twins."

"Isn't that something to celebrate? Why would you—"

"Because it will kill me!" Thalia lifted her head, tears blurring her beautiful features. "Human women who conceive werewolf children... especially twins... my life force is being drained away. Seraphina said I have at most five years left, possibly less."

I stared at my friend in shock. "How can this be? Isn't there another way? Can't Seraphina's magic help you?"

Thalia shook her head, tears sliding down her cheeks. "There's no way. This is just the difference between our races. I'm leaving now because... because I can't let Draven watch me die day by day. I'd rather have him hate me than endure that kind of pain." She gripped my hand tightly. "After the children are born, I'll send them back to be with Draven. And I... in his heart, I'll forever be the one who betrayed him. He'll never know the truth."

I pulled Thalia into my arms again, this time it was my turn to comfort this friend who was about to become a mother but was also destined to leave this world. We held each other tightly, and in the silent room, only the sound of our sobs echoed.

---

Thalia

The evening sun cast a golden glow over the corridors as I stood before Draven's door, my fingers gently tracing the intricate wood patterns. My bags were already packed and waiting in Adelaide's room for our departure tonight. Now, I only needed to complete the final and most painful farewell.

I took a deep breath and knocked softly on the door.

"Come in," Draven's deep voice came from inside.

I pushed open the door to see Draven standing with his back to me at the window, his shoulders unnaturally rigid. The sunlight outlined his tall silhouette, making him look like a silent statue.

"I've come to say goodbye," I said softly, each word feeling like it was being torn from my soul. "I'll be leaving with Adelaide tonight."

Draven spun around sharply, his expression shifting instantly from shock to pain. He rushed to me in three quick strides and dropped heavily to his knees, gripping my hands tightly. This action stunned me—no one had ever seen the First Legion Commander, that proud warrior, kneel before anyone.

"Don't," his voice was hoarse, tears streaming down his face. "Please, Thalia. I can give up everything—my position, my dignity, my life—just stay."

His hands trembled as they gripped mine, with a force that was almost painful. "You are the only love of my life. I have never loved anyone the way I love you. What meaning would my life have without you?"

I felt my heart being torn apart. Every word from Draven was like a blade piercing my heart. I had never seen this powerful man so vulnerable, so desperate.

"I have to go," I said with difficulty.

"Why?!" Draven suddenly exploded, leaping to his feet and sweeping everything off the table. "Tell me the real reason! I don't believe this nonsense about responsibility and duty! I can see love in your eyes, Thalia. You love me as deeply as I love you!"

He grabbed his hair with both hands, crying out in anguish: "Did I do something wrong? Am I not good enough? Or were you using me from the very beginning?"

Watching his pain, tears blurred my vision. How I wished I could tell him the truth, tell him how much I loved him, but that would only cause him more suffering.

"No, it's not like that," I said quietly. "You did nothing wrong... it's me. I can't stay, Draven. I belong to the human world."

Draven suddenly fell silent. His expression shifted from wild desperation to something more terrifying—a hollow despair. He slowly walked toward me and cupped my face in his hands.

"One last time," his voice was hoarse, almost inaudible. "I ask you one last time. Stay, Thalia. If you leave, I will no longer be myself. The Draven you knew will disappear with you."

I forced myself to look directly into his eyes and heartbrokenly shook my head. "I cannot."

Draven's hands dropped from my face. He seemed drained of all strength, staggering backward a few steps until he leaned against the wall. His expression went through a series of changes—disbelief, pain, despair—before finally hardening into a cold mask.

"Then get out," his voice suddenly turned ice-cold, the tears in his eyes vanishing, replaced by a terrible deadness. "Walk out that door and you are nothing to me anymore. If we meet again, I'll treat you as a stranger. No, worse than a stranger—you'll be an enemy."

He turned away, his fist striking the wall with a dull thud. "Get out! Get out now! Don't let me see you again! I hope I never have to see you for the rest of my life!"

Draven's words cut deep into me. I walked toward the door, and at the threshold, I looked back one last time. Draven stood in the center of the room, his once-proud figure now seeming to have aged ten years, his shoulders trembling with suppressed sobs.

"Goodbye, Draven," I said softly. "May the Moon Goddess bless you."

I closed the door and leaned against the wall, listening to the sounds of objects being smashed from within, followed by a heart-wrenching wolf howl filled with endless pain and despair.

I knew I had just personally killed the last glimmer of light in Draven's heart. But this was the only gift I could give him—a chance to not have to watch me slowly die, a reason to hate me instead of grieve for me. Hatred was better for survival than love.

I wiped away my tears and slowly walked toward my own room. Tonight, I would leave this place that had brought me both the greatest happiness and the deepest pain, carrying my broken heart and my unborn children.