Mated to the Mad Lord-Chapter 339: I Don’t love you

A frown slowly appeared on his face as he fixed his gaze on her without looking anywhere else, his eyes narrowing with a restrained fury that made the air between them heavy and tense.

Silence settled in the air, thick and suffocating, even as Violet looked back at him with an even bigger frown on her face—one directed not at him but at Lady June. She was fully aware of what the woman was up to, the strings she was pulling behind the scene.

But berating her right there and then wasn’t going to fix anything, not when Cain stood before her, his jaw clenched, his shoulders stiff, his entire being demanding answers. So she chose instead to speak to him, though it was clear he had a hundred questions in his mind—questions he was yet to ask.

"I left a letter, Cain! I would have explained better when I—" she began, her voice shaking but Cain didn’t allow her finish.

"Are you with her?" he asked, his voice calm and controlled, though the storm under it was evident. His tone, clipped and direct, betrayed the tension in his chest, and from their faces it was unmistakable—they were related, Violet and Lady June.

"Have you always been with her?" he asked again, the thought itself a blade to his heart, a possibility that terrified him. If it were true, then it meant Violet had been against him from the very beginning, a betrayal deeper than he could bear.

"ARE YOU?" he growled, this time his voice much louder as he took a threatening step forward before stopping, his restraint trembling like a thin thread about to snap.

His gaze remained fixed on Violet, unrelenting, as she scrambled for words. But no words came. She was bound by oaths she had sworn, and the secret weighed like chains on her tongue. She had promised she wouldn’t tell anyone why she was with Lady June.

"Of course not!" Violet burst out, finally finding her voice, aware there were at least some things she could say.

"I would never do that! Why would I bond with you if I was going to do such a thing?" she snapped back at him, her tone fierce and desperate, when it became clear that slowly—terrifyingly—he believed her to be the devil’s incarnate.

"Then clearly tell me why you left?" he demanded, his voice dropping into something softer, almost pleading. He stood tall, staring down at her with eyes now burning a reddish-gold, a glow that betrayed just how excavated his temper was, even if he still fought to keep calm.

"Tell me why you’re standing beside the woman that killed my entire family!" he asked, his voice dripping with rage. The restraint he clung to was almost unbelievable—his words thundered with fury yet spoken in a tone much lower, more deadly than a scream.

Violet’s eyes widened in shock, darting instantly to Lady June, who stood behind her with a smirk etched on her lips. It was a smirk of pride, of cruelty—an expression that would have made Cain lunge forward in attack if not for the fact that every shred of his focus was pinned on Violet.

"Tell me why you’re not by my side?" he asked again, his voice steady, heartbreak laced within it. Tears brimmed in Violet’s eyes as she met his gaze and finally forced words out.

"I’m a witch, Cain! You know this! I need to learn how—how to use my powers," she whispered, but she was barely done when he snapped.

"Bullshit! If you leave now, you can have all the teachers you need!" he thundered, but Violet only shook her head, tears streaking her cheeks.

"No! You don’t understand! You can’t understand!" she cried, even as Cain’s patience finally broke. He stepped forward again, his tone sharp, threatening, his voice louder, rougher.

"I won’t stop looking for you—know that! Even if I have to go to the Witch’s Coven to bring you back myself!" he swore, his words thick with raw emotion. His entire body trembled with passion, with fury, and with a desperation that made his vow terrifyingly real.

Tears streamed down Violet’s face as she shook her head, trembling under the weight of his words. She could see the determination in his eyes, the dangerous restraint in his body as every muscle rippled with the effort it took not to strike Lady June down where she stood.

She knew then—he would come after her, even if it killed him. He had told her once that he loved her, and he had meant it, meant it with every breath. Cain had no one else he remotely cared for. She was his world.

But Violet was no different. The family she thought was hers was gone, replaced by the cruel truth of who her real mother was. And now, the only person she cared for was Cain—a werewolf she had once sworn to have nothing to do with.

Tears blurred her sight as she prepared to speak again, when Lady June’s voice slithered into her mind, sharp and cruel, her words a dagger of control.

"Again! The poison in his body is only temporarily restrained!" Lady June’s tone was commanding, brooking no disobedience.

"...If he comes towards you again, I’ll kill him, and with the contract you signed, you’ll still have no choice but to stay with me for a year—or forever lose your magic storage!" Lady June reminded her. The terms of that cursed agreement clamped around Violet’s heart like iron shackles.

"You wouldn’t!" Violet snapped out loud, jerking her head toward Lady June, her voice breaking. But she was met only with silence... and a cruel smile.

Cain, unaware of the mental war raging between them, had had enough of the side talk. He moved to drag Violet away, his body taut with decision. But suddenly, he staggered, clutching his chest in agony.

Pain tore through him, like his heart was being ripped in two. Sweat dripped down his forehead as he fought to remain standing, each thump of his heart so violent it felt like it would explode.

And just as suddenly as it came, the pain vanished, leaving him trembling, his breaths shallow. He raised his head, his eyes meeting Violet’s—hers wide with concern, but also flickering with fear as they darted toward Lady June.

Cain was not stupid. He understood. He knew what had just happened.

But he didn’t care. He didn’t care if his life was slipping away. He didn’t care if Lady June’s poison consumed him. All he cared about was Violet. He would not let her remain bound to a woman who sought only to craft a potion of immortality, no matter how many lives it cost.

But before he could speak, before he could convince Violet to escape with him, to run faster than Lady June’s magic could catch, her voice cut through the air like a blade.

"I don’t love you anymore, Cain!" Violet cried out, her voice trembling but her expression hardening.

"No! I lied! Give up on me and find someone else!"

The words froze him where he stood. They were lies—he knew they were lies. But they landed with the weight of truth, breaking something inside him.

Violet no longer wept. Her face was dry, her gaze determined, her voice sharp.

"I don’t ever want to be with you! I lied that I love you to live an easier life, and that’s the truth!"

Her words rang in the silence, brutal and final, slicing deeper than any blade.