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.Kayla POV I didn’t know how long I’d sat there beside him — my father. My real father. The man everyone thought was dead, the man my mother, Lady Rina, had apparently spent her last days protecting me from a world that was never meant to keep us safe. Every few minutes, I found myself studying the lines at the corners of his eyes. Trying to memorize him — this gentle way he spoke my name, the cautious way he kept brushing a hand over my hair like he was making sure I was really here. “I used to dream about this,” I murmured, my fingers curling tighter around the tea cup he’d pressed into my hands. “About you.” He smiled at me, and it did something strange to my chest. “I dreamed too, little one. Dreamed of a thousand ways to find you again, to pull you back from the hands that tried to snatch you from the enemies side.” I swallowed the tight knot in my throat. I could feel Adrian’s eyes on my back — hovering at the threshold of the small study. He hadn’t moved closer, hadn’t
Kayla’s POVMy mind was still spinning from the word that had slipped so easily from King Konstantine’s lips: My daughter.I felt like the world had tilted under my feet — but I forced myself to stand firm between the snarling boys.“Enough!” I snapped, planting my palms on both their chests. “You’re not tearing each other apart, not for me.”Adrian was instantly at my back. I felt his warmth before I heard his voice — low, protective.“Kayla, get behind me. Now.”Before I could protest, I felt him step in front of me for the second time , shielding me with that broad, infuriatingly stubborn back of his.King Konstantine’s deep chuckle rolled through the clearing like distant thunder.“She really is Brave, boy. Very brave.”Adrian’s shoulders stiffened. He glanced back at me, confusion and suspicion battling in his eyes.“Kayla,” he murmured, just loud enough for me to hear, “why is he calling you his daughter? What is going on?”My throat bobbed. My mouth opened but nothing came out.
Kayla's POV Adrian’s words echoed in my head: Stay here. Wait for me. But the longer I sat in this ridiculously luxurious room, the more restless I became. I paced back and forth, my fists clenching at my sides. “Kira,” I whispered to my wolf, “what if he’s in trouble again? Or what if he’s… hiding something that can cause us to drift apart again?” 'He is our mate, Kayla, nothing in this world can make us drift apart from him,' Kira hummed in my mind, but I felt her unease too. I pressed my palm to my chest. No. I was not going to sit here like a pretty porcelain doll while my mate might be facing danger without me. I was not that weak, obedient Luna anymore. “I’m going to help him,” I muttered. I strode to the mirror and paused at my reflection because the necklace was still glowing. For a fleeting moment, I worried about the necklace’s dark whispers. Would it take control of me again? If I tried to use my powers, would it take over again? — but then Kira’s voice broke throu
Adrian's POV I had barely managed to herd all eight of the infamous Lycan brothers into my largest conference room. It felt like trying to pin down a tornado with silk threads — pointless and guaranteed to shred my patience. “Sit,” I ordered firmly, gesturing at the polished oak table that I already regretted letting them near. Instead of obeying immediately, the biggest of them — Boris, I think — snarled at his younger brother for brushing past him too hard. Within seconds, two more joined in, hurling curses in that thick Lycan dialect that made my temples throb. “For the love of the goddess—!” I stepped between them just as Boris lifted the other one off his feet. Before I could bark again, the door cracked open. Louisa slipped in, a vision of calm in her sleek navy dress, despite being my cousin by marriage, technically one of their cousins too. “Brothers.” She lifted her chin, and the room fell eerily silent. For a whole three seconds. Then the youngest brother — Lev, if I
Adrian's POVThe second Louisa’s voice left her lips, a headache bloomed behind my eyes.“How much time do we have?” I asked, trying to keep my voice level, even though my wolf was pacing restlessly inside me.Louisa flicked her wrist, checking a slim watch. “Twenty minutes, maybe less if the royal guards don’t find traffic amusing today.”Connor cursed under his breath. Logan muttered something about locking every single side door. Ingrid just blanched and vanished toward the west wing before I could even assign her a task.And Kayla… poor Kayla looked completely lost beside me.“Adrian, what’s happening? Why is he coming?” she asked, tugging at my sleeve. Her wide eyes always undid me.I forced a calm smile, which probably came out more like a grimace. “Nothing for you to worry about, love. Everything’s under control.”She folded her arms, not buying it for a second. “If it’s under control, why did Connor just sprint down the hall like he’s about to fight a war?”I took her hands in
Kayla's POVWhen I walked into Adrian’s room and saw all my things neatly arranged—my things on the shelf, my brush in the bathroom, even my favorite pair of slippers already the bed—I stopped in the doorway and just stared.It was overwhelming.The scent of fresh linen mixed with his cologne, so familiar, so grounding. It wrapped around me like a memory I hadn’t dared to hope for again. And now here I was… back.I slowly stepped further in, my fingers brushing over the smooth wood of the dresser.“I’m actually back…” I whispered to myself.My wolf Kira practically purred inside me.Kira: Finally! We get to sleep beside our mate. We get to touch him, kiss him, have sex--"Hey! Hey! Hey! Stop there!" I cut her off with a little smile but kept my voice firm.“Don’t get ahead of yourself. We’re only sleeping. That’s it. No funny business.”Kira: Ugh, you’re such a killjoy. We can still snuggle him at least, right?“Snuggle, fine. But behave.”Kira huffed, but she quieted.Just then, stro