"Salah, thank you so much for coming at such short notice. This is my Luna, Clara. I hope we haven't interrupted anything," spoke Dylan, nodding his head at the elderly witch that was approaching.

"Witches are early rises, Alpha Dylan. This is something you should have learned by now," she replied, nodding back at him and then offering one to me. "Show me the two that need my help."

Making our way back into the house, I watched as Salah took in the surroundings, pulling her cloak down off of her head, as she studied the kitchen area. "I sense heartbreak here. Someone has been wronged."

Dylan nodded, gesturing to Jared who wheeled himself forwards, gulping nervously. "This is Jared. His mate has left the pack, but the bond still remains. He wants to break it."

Salah raised her thin dark brows, stepping closer to Jared, her chunky boots clunking against the tiles, the sound echoing throughout the silent room. She hooked her finger under my brother's chin, studying him, humming to herself. "A bond can only be fully broken if both mates are present."

Everyone sighed at the news, Jared's head dropping in defeat.

"Salah, please," I begged. "Is there anything you can do for him? He can't go on like this."

Salah tapped the side of her chin, her eyes fixated on Jared's crumbled form. "I sense you are dying inside."

"I feel like I am," he mumbled, shaking his head.

"You are a broken man. This is good news," she announced, which made me furrow my brows, almost scoffing to myself.

"Um, no offence, but how is that ever a good thing?" asked Gia, placing her hand on her hip.

"This young man here is so heartbroken, I can feel it radiating off of him. This is something I can latch onto. Usually, I would need both mates here to break the bond, but the emotions are so strong here, there is something I can do for him."

"Anything, please," choked out Jared.

"The bond can be broken from your end. However, not for the girl. She will still feel the connection, and nothing for her will be changed, but, for you," spoke Salah, taking hold of Jared's face. "You will feel free and will not feel the pull towards her like you do now, however, to her, you would still be her mate in all aspects."

"So, I won't feel anything for her anymore?" asked Jared, misery lacing his tone.

"Hmm, it is hard to say whether you will feel nothing towards her, but I can tell you that the longing for her will be gone, and you will feel content without her. Your pain will be gone," said Salah, gesturing vividly as she did so.

"What if she were to ever return?" asked Ethan, which caused Salah to pause, thinking to herself.

"I am unsure whether seeing her again would bring back the emotions or not, but I can tell you that as long as she is gone, you will find your happiness again."

"Do it, please," whispered Jared, clamping his eyes shut, attempting to stop a stray tear from escaping.

"This cannot be undone by me, so this decision is one you must live with for the rest of your life," warned Salah.

"I'm ready."

Dylan grabbed my hand in his as he took a step back, gesturing for Ethan and Gia to do the same. I gazed into my mate's eyes, an overwhelming feeling of anxiety overcoming me knowing that this was something that Salah didn't usually do, and the fear of something going wrong, consumed me.

"Stand back, I only want to feel the emotions of this young man here," said Salah, her eyes wide as she grasped onto Jared's face, crouching down in front of him.

We pushed our backs up against the wall, watching wide eyed as Salah began to chant nonsense, holding onto my brother tightly.

"Think of her. Allow all of the emotions to fill you. The heartbreak, the sorrow, the fear, the anger. Allow yourself to feel all of it!" shouted the witch, her booming voice filling the room, causing my ears to ring.

Suddenly, all of the windows shattered, glass soaring across the room, scattering across the floor. Gusts of wind blew through the kitchen, wrapping around us, giving us the sensation that we were being squeezed, the air wrapping around our bodies.

Gasping, I gazed up to see the kitchen light had now blown, and the lightbulb dropped to the floor, shattering right next to Salah's feet, however, her and Jared paid no attention.

It was as if they were trapped in a bubble, and they couldn't hear or see anything that was going on around them.

Salah's voice became louder and she gasped loudly as one hand clutched her chest, her heart racing out of her chest, along with Jared's.

"What's happening?" I asked, panicked.

"She knows what she's doing," replied Dylan, pulling me to his hard chest, wrapping his arms around me tightly.

Suddenly, Jared screamed, clutching as his chest, his eyes still clamped shut, causing me to panic, almost leaping out of Dylan's arms towards him, terrified that he was dying right in front of me.

"It's the bond breaking, it's going to be painful," assured Ethan, offering me a quick nod.

Salah continued to chant, her powerful voice almost deafening as the wind carried it around the room, her tone almost commanding all of us, keeping us frozen in place, my breathing becoming laboured.

All of a sudden, as quickly as it had all begun, it ended, and everything was still. The wind had stopped, and instead, a gentle breeze from the outside remained, wafting in through the shattered windows.

Salah stepped away from Jared, her forehead sweaty; her eyes bloodshot. "It is done."

"Jared?" I asked hesitantly, taking a few steps forwards, the broken glass grazing my bare feet, but I was too distracted to care.

My brother's eyes flickered open, and he gazed around as if in a daze, struggling to keep his head straight as it wobbled from side to side.

"He will be weak," spoke Salah, attempting to catch her breath, her voice wavering slightly at the end.

"Thank you Salah, are you okay?" asked Ethan, causing the witch to hold up her hands in order to reassure him.

"You know what spells do to me, Beta Ethan, especially ones of this calibre."

"We are grateful for your service," replied Dylan, offering her a quick smile.

Salah nodded, pulling her forest green cloak hood back up above her head, shielding her face from the cold breeze that filled the room. "We have a deal, Alpha Dylan. This is how it works. Let me know if you need anything else, however, I will need some time to regain my strength."

"Thank you," I called after her as she exited the room, slowly making her way out of the house and back across the clearing, moving much slower than she was when she first arrived, clearly exhausted from the ordeal.

"Jared, how do you feel?" asked Gia worriedly, crouching down in front of him.

My brother ran his shaky hands through his hair, blinking a few times before taking a large intake of breath. "Empty."

Hearing that word, my heart dropped in my chest, and nausea washed over me. "What do you mean empty?"

Jared shook his head, confused. "I don't know. I don't feel her anymore, Clara. I don't have a longing to be with her, and I don't feel angry about what she did anymore, either, but I just feel empty, like there's a tiny piece of my heart missing."

"Are you in pain?" questioned Dylan, running his hands through his dark hair in angst.

"No, no," assured Jared. "In fact, I don't feel in pain physically or emotionally anymore."

"So it worked!" cheered Gia, clapping her hands together excitedly, pulling Ethan in for a hug, causing him to chuckle, rolling his eyes.

"We'll need to watch him for a bit to make sure he's okay, Gia, but it looks like it worked, yeah."

"This is a fresh start for you, Jared," I whispered happily, embracing my brother, smiling as he hugged me back, laughing into my neck.

"It really is, isn't it? I'm finally going to be happy, Clara!" he replied, pulling away and turning towards Dylan.

"Thank you, I really appreciate everything you've done for me."

"Of course," said Dylan, flashing his beautiful straight white teeth. "We're family now, Jared."

"Right, let's get this all cleaned up!"

.............................................................

Thank you all for reading!!

How do you think Jared will cope now the bond is broken on his end?

Please vote if you enjoyed it!