CHAPTER 25

Dante’s POV

I hated how loud Agatha’s voice was.

One moment the crowd was yelling in support of Autumn, the next, Agatha was shouting like a mad woman, her finger pointed toward Autumn like she was a criminal.

“She’s lying! She’s not your mate!”

The words felt like acid burning through the air. My jaw clenched. I looked at her, wondering if she had completely lost her mind. Couldn’t she see she was ruining everything? We were so close… We were so damn close to making Autumn stay. Why did she have to interfere now?

I shot a quick glance at Adonis, who was already stepping forward. “Agatha,” he said sharply, his voice calm but firm. “What are you doing?”

Agatha didn’t flinch. “You’re all being fooled! She planned all this! She wanted people to turn against you. She’s not your mate. She’s using everyone!”

Some people in the crowd turned to look at her, whispering among themselves. But before she could say another word, someone from the pack shouted back.

“Shut up, Agatha! You’ve always hated her! We don’t believe you!”

More voices followed.

“Autumn deserves better!”

“She said she wants to leave. Let her go!”

“You’re the liar, Agatha!”

I almost smiled. Almost. But I didn’t. I couldn’t afford to lose focus.

I stepped forward, pushing down the heat in my chest. “Listen,” I said clearly, raising my hand to calm the crowd. “It’s true. Autumn is our mate. All three of us. This is not some game. This is fate.”

I looked at her—Autumn. She stood behind Ivy and Rowan, quiet and still, her head slightly down like she was scared. But I could see her lips twitching. That was no fear. That was satisfaction.

Then she stepped forward.

“No,” Autumn said, her voice soft but firm. “I’m not their mate.”

My heart dropped.

“What are you talking about?” I asked, even though I already knew what she was doing. She was lying. Again. In front of everyone.

She turned her face toward the crowd. “They’re lying to all of you. I’m not their mate. They just want to control me. Like they always have. I don’t know why they’re saying this, but it’s not true.”

She even let her voice crack at the end, like she was about to cry.

And just like that, more gasps filled the air.

“No way!”

“They’re forcing her?l

“This is wrong!”

I could feel Adonis shifting beside me. Knox was silent like always, but I could tell he was burning inside.

Agatha didn’t stop. She took the chance to jump in again. “I told you all! She’s a liar! She’s the one who planned the rumors! She wanted the crowd to protest today so she could look like a victim!”

I wanted to shout at her to shut up. She wasn’t helping anyone. Not even herself.

But no one cared about what she said anymore. The people were too focused on Autumn.

“She’s just a child,” someone said from the front. “She should be allowed to leave.”

“You can’t keep her here if she doesn’t want to stay!”

“She’s been through too much already!”

I opened my mouth to speak, but Adonis beat me to it. “She’ll finish her semester. After that, if she still wants to leave, she can.”

“No,” Autumn said, shaking her head. “I want to leave now. I want to stay in the dorms or with other students. I don’t feel safe here.”

Safe? As if we’d ever harm her. But that was the point, wasn’t it? She knew how to twist things perfectly. She knew exactly how to use her voice, her tears, her silence.

“We can arrange that,” Knox said finally, his voice calm. “If that’s what you want, Autumn.”

The crowd cheered like they just won a war. Ivy and Rowan hugged her like heroes. And Autumn…

She turned her head just slightly. Just enough so that only we could see. That smirk. That damn smirk on her face.

She knew what she was doing. She had planned all of this. She used the people, used her tears, and used our silence against us. And we couldn’t do a thing about it.

Because she was right. We owed her a lot. In this life, we couldn’t afford to mess it up again.

It wasn't easy at all convincing them with something we didn't mean. Autumn was clearly humiliating us but we couldn't do anything about it. And Agatha, she just had to make things worse.

I turned slowly, my eyes finding her. She was standing near the edge of the steps, her arms crossed, her face still full of anger and bitterness.

“What were you thinking?” I asked, my voice low but full of rage.

“She was lying,” Agatha snapped. “You all just stood there like fools while she twisted everyone around her fingers.”

“We had it under control,” Adonis stepped in, his voice tight. “You made it worse.”

“She’s not even your mate—”

“Shut up,” I growled, stepping forward, my wolf pushing to the surface. “You don’t get to talk like you know anything. You don’t know what happened in the past. You don’t know what we lost.”

“You’re blind. All of you,” she hissed. “She’s playing a game, and you’re letting her win!”

She has always been careful with her words and shown kindness all the time. But now she was showing a side of house that we didn't know before. Maybe a side that Autumn had always tried to warm us about.

I pointed at the door. “Go to your room, Agatha.”

She blinked at me, shocked. “What?”

“You heard me. Go.”

“But—”

“Now,” Adonis added coldly.

Knox didn’t say anything. He just stood with his arms folded, jaw clenched, his eyes dark. He didn’t need to speak. His silence was louder than any words.

Agatha finally turned away, her steps loud and angry as she stormed into the house. The door slammed behind her.

I let out a breath and rubbed my face. My chest felt heavy. My wolf was pacing inside me, restless, hurt, angry.

“We messed up,” I said quietly. “Again.”

Adonis sat down on the steps, running a hand through his hair. “She hates us.”

Knox finally spoke, voice deep. “We pushed her too far.”

“She doesn’t know we’re reborn,” I reminded them, sitting beside Adonis. “She probably thinks we’re the same as before. That we’ll hurt her again.”

At least we've calculated everything and with the way she was acting, we were sure that she was reborn just like us. Or else things would have gone smoothly like before.

“And today didn’t help,” Adonis muttered. “We just proved her right.”

“I thought if we claimed her in front of everyone, maybe… maybe something would change. Maybe she’d remember. Feel something,” I said, voice low.

Knox looked away. “Instead, she looked at us like we were disgusting.”

I flinched.

“How do we fix this?” Adonis asked. “What do we do now?”

No one answered. Because none of us knew. Before we could say anything else, the front door opened and Autumn came back.

She walked in like nothing had happened, like she hadn’t just turned the whole pack against us. Her smile was wide and smug. Like a slap to the face.

“I’m just here to pack my things,” she said casually, brushing her hair behind her ear. “Since you’ve all agreed to let me go.”

This was so hard to listen to. She wasn't even going to waste time which showed how much she hated us and wanted to be far away from us.

“Autumn,” I said quietly, standing. “We really need to talk.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Talk about what? How you all stood there and lied in front of the entire pack? That you’re my mates?”

Adonis stood too. “It’s not a lie.”

“It is to me,” she said, voice sharp. “I don’t remember having any bond with you. I don’t care what you want to do now You’re nothing but the people who locked me up, controlled me, and made me feel worthless.”

Knox stepped forward. “Autumn—”

“Don’t,” she snapped, glaring at him. “Don’t say my name like you care. If you cared, you wouldn’t have tried to force this bond on me in front of everyone.”

“You are our mate,” I said, voice quiet.

“And you are desperate,” she replied coldly. “You think saying that will change anything?”

“We’re not trying to hurt you,” Adonis said, his voice shaking a little. “We’re trying to make things right.”

“Then leave me alone,” she said simply. “That’s the only way you can make anything right.”

She walked past us, but paused at the bottom of the stairs. She didn’t look at us this time. She just spoke, voice soft but full of poison. I can't imagine how angry she was because I'm not even in her shoes.

“And one more thing,” she said. “Don’t ever try to tie me to you again. That bond? That disgusting relationship? I’d rather die than be mated to any of you.”

Then she walked up the stairs. I stood there, frozen, her words playing over and over in my mind. I looked at Adonis.

His face was pale and his eyes were empty. Knox looked like stone, but I could see the pain behind his silence.

“We ruined everything,” I whispered.

No one disagreed. Is there really nothing we can do to have her back?