Tamara's pov
Jack continued speaking, "I promise you sweetheart, Kate will only stay with us until she is healed, and after that, I will personally make sure she leaves." I felt a surge of annoyance. This was an old lie he had told me in the past. He had sworn up and down that he would kick Kate out, but he never did. Instead, he laid back and watched as Kate took everything from me. And that same thing would happen again if I didn’t find a way to stop them both now. But I couldn't let him see my anger. So I forced another smile and pretended to accept his apology. "Thank you, Jack. I appreciate your concern." Jack moved closer, and caressed my face. “Anything for you my love. You know I would do anything it takes to make you happy. I love you so much Tammie.” He said and I tried very hard not to gag. How could he lie so boldly like that, especially while he was planning to kill me? Jack bent to kiss me, but I turned my face away. "Darling, not tonight, I'm tired," I said, keeping my voice steady. Jack frowned for a moment but recovered quickly. "Of course my love. Let me bring you some milk before you go to bed," he offered,. "It would help you rest." Before I could refuse, he left the room, and returned with a glass of milk a few seconds later. I reluctantly accepted it, but instantly noticed how he lingered around, anxiously waiting for me to drink it. Why was he doing that? what was in the milk? My mind immediately flashed back to how he had poisoned me with tea, and I became even more hesitant to drink the milk. But I didn’t want him to know something was off, so I pretended to take a sip. “Thank you Jack, it’s so good," I said, pretending to enjoy it. Jack smiled widely, and helped me get into bed. I suddenly remembered that in our past life, Jack always brought me milk before bed every single day. I had always thought he did it out of love, but now that I knew how much he hated me, I had to find out why he was he so insistent on giving me milk before bed. I feigned another sip, and pretended to get something from my closet, but I quickly threw the milk in an empty shoe box, then hurried back to bed like I had finished the milk. Jack kissed me goodnight and I lay down, pretending to fall asleep. After a while, I heard him softly calling my name. I kept my eyes shut and remained still. Soon, I felt him waving a hand in front of my face, testing to see if I was really asleep. When I didn't react, he sighed softly and left the room. I waited a few moments and then slipped out of bed to follow after him. I heard him enter the room next to ours—it was Kate's room. ‘Of course,’ I thought and pressed my ear to her door, to catch what they were saying. "Did you give her the milk with the sleeping pills?" Kate's voice asked in an irritated tone. "Yes, she’s sound asleep so we can fuck as loud as we want," Jack replied, "But I'm worried you might have given too much." He asked in a surprisingly concerned tone. "Oh, don't be ridiculous," Kate snapped. "Why are you so worried about that bitch? I thought you hated her? And you don’t have to worry, I didn't use enough to kill her yet. I still have some delicious plans for our Tamara first." She laughed and Jack joined her. “Now fuck me Jack,” Kate moaned, “I’ve been thinking about you all day, I almost couldn’t wait for that bitch to fall asleep.” She cooed and they proceeded to have sex loud enough for the whole house to hear. My blood ran cold and tears filled my eyes as I slipped back into my room. So this had been going on for years and I didn’t know. They were drugging me, controlling me and making fun of me behind my back, thinking I would never find out. Well too bad for them, I was prepared this time. They would not get away with this. I would find a way to stop them. And I would make them pay for everything they had done to me. But first, I had to had to find someone powerful enough to protect my pack from Jack when I broke up with him. But who would that be? My mind came up with only one answer and my mood turned sour. Alpha Dante. Alpha Dante, was the only name I could think of. He was the most powerful Alpha in the region, powerful enough to protect me from any attack Jack could bring. But he was also the same person who would kill my parents in the future, he was famous for being greedy, heartless and cruel, so how could I trust or even ask him for help? Maya my wolf spoke up. “But Alpha Dante hasn’t killed them yet in this timeline. So if we can convince him to not attack us, then we can save our parents and every one else. Then we can also use him to frighten Jack off.” Maya said and I felt like shouting in joy. Maya was brilliant as always. She had found a solution. If we could convince Alpha Dante to form a partnership with us, we could build a relationship and find a way to stop him from killing our parents. It was brilliant! Now I just had to talk to Alpha Dante and convince him to stop hating me.Ivonne’s POVI inhaled slowly, shoved the phone aside, and forced my voice into the iciest tone I could manage.“What do you want, Lincoln?”The door cracked open and, just as I suspected, he stood there. His expression was calm—too calm. That in itself was enough to make me wary. He wasn’t calm by nature. Lincoln thrived on storms, on anger, on fire. But now, he stepped in as though he were just an old friend dropping by.“I brought wine,” he said, holding up a dark bottle. In his other hand, a stack of papers. “And these. Peace offerings.”I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t drink with enemies.”He chuckled. “Enemies? That’s what we are now? No, Ivonne. I think we’re far too entangled for that word.”I crossed my arms, doing everything I could to keep from throwing him right back into the hallway. “Say what you came to say and leave.”“I came,” he said, stepping inside without permission, “to call a truce.”That stopped me cold.“A truce?” I repeated, my voice dripping disbelief.“Yes.” He
Ivonne’s POVThe first thing I did when I finally shut my bedroom door behind me was collapse onto the bed and grab my phone. My head was still hurting from everything—Archibald’s will, Hector’s furious face, Alison screaming like a banshee, Lincoln trying to lunge at me. It all replayed in my head like some twisted drama.There was only one person I could think of calling. Lady Elizabeth.I scrolled until I found her number, my thumb hovering. She had been my only anchor before I returned here. She was the one who comforted me when I thought I was falling apart. She was the one I had clung to like a mother I had lost.When the line rang and she picked up, her warm, steady voice immediately made my chest tighten.“Ivonne?” she said. “Is everything alright? You sound… shaken.”I laughed bitterly. “Shaken is an understatement. Elizabeth, you won’t believe what just happened.”“Try me.”So I switched to video call and told her. Everything. I spilled the entire insane story, pacing back a
Hectors POVI stormed out of the manor like the place was on fire.My boots pounded against the marble steps, echoing through the night, and my fists were clenched so tightly I could feel my knuckles popping. Leonard and Sevrin trailed behind me, silent for a moment, though I could feel their eyes burning into my back.The cool night air hit my face, but it did nothing to douse the heat boiling in my chest. My whole body shook with anger, like my veins were molten. I didn’t even realize I’d stopped until I was at the stone wall bordering the garden. With a guttural roar, I drew my fist back and slammed it into the wall with everything I had. The crack of stone splitting reverberated through the night. Dust rained down, and pain shot up my arm, but I welcomed it. Pain was better than helplessness.“Alpha!” Leonard rushed forward, grabbing my arm. “You’ll break your hand!”“I don’t care!” I snarled, yanking my arm free. I could feel the skin tearing across my knuckles, but I didn’t even
Lincoln’s POVI slammed the door to my room so hard the frame rattled. My chest heaved as if I had sprinted a marathon, but it wasn’t exhaustion—it was fury. Pure, boiling rage. My grandfather. That old man. How could he… how could he hand everything over to her?My hand curled into a fist before I could think, and the nearest thing within reach like a glass paperweight on my desk—was sent flying against the wall. It shattered into glittering fragments. The crash echoed through the room, but the sound barely scratched the surface of the chaos tearing inside me.“Damn it! FUCK!” I roared, grabbing the edge of the desk and flipping it. Papers scattered, wood cracked, and the lamp tumbled, clattering loudly to the floor. My breaths came out ragged, almost animalistic. I wanted to destroy everything. Every reminder of this cursed family, every piece of furniture that mocked me with its stillness while my world collapsed.And all because of her. Ivonne.I ripped a framed photo off the wall
Ivonne’s POVWhen I walked back into that suffocating hall, every pair of eyes swung toward me. My face must have been pale, my hands trembling just slightly, but I forced myself to straighten my spine. The letter from Archibald burned in my chest pocket like a live coal. My heart still pounded from what I had just discovered, but no one in this room could ever know.Not yet.I had wanted revenge before, yes. I had wanted to see Lincoln and Alison lose everything. But somewhere along the way, I had let go of that bitterness. I had convinced myself I wanted peace. Now, though, peace wasn’t enough. Justice was. Justice for my mother. And for that, I would take everything Archibald had given me, no matter the cost.I cleared my throat. “I accept the inheritance.”The silence that followed was thick enough to choke on.Mr. Briggs adjusted his glasses, nodded once, and scribbled something on his papers. “Very well, Mrs.—or rather, Miss Ivonne. Your acceptance of the inheritance has been no
Ivonne’s POVMy fingers were trembling so badly that I almost dropped the sealed packet when Mr. Briggs slid it across the table toward me.It looked so plain... yellowed paper, worn edges, tied neatly with string. It didn’t look like it should weigh a ton, but in my hands it felt heavier than a boulder. My stomach churned, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that whatever was inside was going to change everything.Before I could even blink, Alison darted forward, her heels clacking against the polished floor. She leaned so close I could smell her perfume choking the air between us. Her eyes were wide, desperate, her manicured nails digging into the table.“Ivonne, listen to me,” she hissed, her voice dripping with urgency. “You don’t want this, remember? You said it yourself, you don’t want anything to do with us, with this house, with all of this nonsense. So just… just hand it over. Give everything to me and Lincoln. We’ll take care of it. You’ll be free.”Her tone was almost pleading