Page 59 of The Alpha King’s Hidden Mute Mate

She still didn't move.

Wind blew past, tossing her loose hair. She looked down at her outstretched hand—that hand trembling slightly, knuckles white from gripping, covered in dirt and blood.

Then she looked up at me.

Her lips moved.

When I heard the sound, I thought I was hallucinating. It was hoarse, broken, like something forced from deep in her throat—like something sealed for twenty years finally found a crack and was desperately trying to escape.

"I—"

She tried again. This time, clearer.

"I—"

She took a deep breath, then—

"I reject you, Zane, as my fated mate."

The words hit my chest like a hammer.

Her voice wasn't beautiful. Hoarse, rough, like rusty gears that hadn't turned in years. But every word in that sentence was terrifyingly clear, like she'd used all her strength to pull each word from her throat and throw them in my face.

The branch gave one final crack.

"Mia—"

She looked at me, those eyes finally showing emotion—not anger, not resentment, but something even more heartbreaking.

Goodbye.

Then she let go.

Her body fell downward, skirt spreading in the moonlight like a blooming flower. Her eyes stayed on me—until darkness swallowed her form.

A dull splash from below, then rushing water, growing fainter and fainter until it vanished completely into the night.

"No—"

I lay at the cliff's edge, looking down. Moonlight shimmered on the river surface, but no sign of anyone.

She was gone.

The river had taken her.

I knelt there, lost track of time. Wind howled in my ears, my cloak snapping. My wolf released a piercing howl inside me—a sound I'd never heard, never imagined could come from a wolf's throat.

The sound of losing everything.

I opened my mouth, wanted to howl—wanted my voice to call her back, wanted to tear through this damned silence—

But my throat produced no sound.

Nothing.

Just like she'd experienced.

I knelt at the cliff's edge, hands on broken stones, head down, gasping for breath. Moonlight fell cold as ice on me.