chapter 4

Jessica’s POV

"Ryan!"

I screamed his name, but my voice was swallowed by the deafening silence that wrapped around the battlefield.

He didn’t move.

His blood soaked into the dirt beneath him, staining the ground dark red.

My heart hammered in my chest wild, erratic like it was trying to break out of my ribcage.

This couldn’t be happening.

Not him. Not my Ryan.

Darius stood over him, his chest rising and falling steadily like he hadn’t just almost killed his own brother.

A wicked smile curved on his lips, but his brown eyes...

They were empty.

Cold. Not the eyes of the Darius I used to know.

"Get up, Alpha." Darius’s voice was smooth, mocking.

Ryan’s body twitched, but he didn’t rise.

The crowd began to murmur. They could smell the blood.

They could feel the shift in power the moment the pack started turning against Ryan.

I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms.

This wasn’t a fair fight. I saw it.

I knew what Darius had done.

The faint glow beneath his skin. The unnatural strength.

He was using dark magic. Arnon’s magic.

That hybrid bastard must have given Darius something to cheat.

But no one else saw it. No one would believe me if I said it.

Not when I was the cursed wolf who barely had any respect in this pack.

A sob caught in my throat as I pushed through the crowd, forcing my way into the circle.

"Stop the fight!" I screamed. Graves, that old, bitter councilman, glanced at me like I was something disgusting under his shoe.

"Silence, girl. The challenge isn’t over."

I whipped toward him, my blood boiling.

"He’s going to kill him!" Graves’s cold eyes flicked to Darius, then back to Ryan’s unmoving body.

"If Alpha Ryan cannot defend his position, then he is not fit to lead."

My stomach twisted. They wanted him to lose.

The council wanted Darius on the throne and this whole fight was just a show to justify it.

I looked at Ryan again, his face pale, his chest rising in weak, shallow breaths.

No No, I wasn’t going to let this happen.

I stumbled forward, falling to my knees beside him.

"Ryan, please," I whispered, pressing my trembling hands against his bloody chest. "You promised me… you promised you wouldn’t leave me."

He blinked weakly, his hazel eyes flickering open.

"I’m... trying." My heart squeezed.

Tears blurred my vision.

He was trying but he couldn’t win like this.

Not with his wolf still weakened from marking me.

Not against Darius and whatever dark power was running through his veins.

I heard footsteps slow, deliberate.

Darius. He crouched down beside me, his breath brushing against my ear.

"Do you see it now, little wolf?" he murmured.

My entire body locked up.

That voice. Low. Cruel. Not Darius.

Not the brother who used to laugh with Ryan by the riverbank when we were kids.

This was something... darker.

"You don’t belong to him," Darius whispered, his fingers brushing over my hair. "You belong to me."

My stomach twisted.

I wanted to slap his hand away.

I wanted to rip him apart with my bare hands.

But my body was frozen.

The mate bond. It was stronger than I ever imagined.

"You’re sick," I spat through clenched teeth.

Darius chuckled low in his throat.

"And you’re mine." I felt Ryan’s weak fingers curl around my wrist trying to pull me back.

Even half-dead, he was still trying to protect me.

I couldn’t let him die for me.

Not like this. Not without fighting back.

I clenched my jaw and looked up at Darius, forcing my voice to steady.

"You want me?" I whispered.

His smirk grew wider.

"More than anything."

My heart slammed against my chest.

I leaned closer close enough that only he could hear me.

"Then reject me."

His smile flickered. "What?"

I swallowed hard, forcing the words out through the lump in my throat.

"If you really hate me so much... if I disgust you like you always said... then reject me."

His eyes darkened.

I saw the moment he realized what I was doing.

Rejecting me would sever the bond.

It would set both of us free.

But he didn’t want that.

No, he wanted me bound to him.

Chained. A puppet in his game.

His fingers brushed along my cheek slowly, possessively.

"I would rather have you hate me than not have you at all."

A shiver ran down my spine.

He would never let me go.

Never. Suddenly, Darius stood, turning back to the council.

"I’ve proven I’m the stronger Alpha," he declared. "But out of the goodness of my heart" his voice was mocking "I’m willing to offer a deal."

My blood ran cold.

No. No, no, no.

"You can keep your precious Alpha," Darius said smoothly. "On one condition..."

He turned his dark eyes locking onto mine.

"Jessica comes with me."

Gasps rippled through the crowd.

I felt the world spin beneath my feet.

Ryan’s weak fingers clenched harder around my wrist.

"No..." he croaked.

I couldn’t breathe.

He couldn’t be serious.

Darius’s smile widened like he could smell my fear.

"You’re a curse to this pack anyway," he said softly. "Let me carry your burden... brother."

Jessica’s Choice

All eyes turned to me. The cursed wolf.

The unwanted Luna.

I could feel the hatred of the pack pressing down on me waiting for me to leave.

Waiting for me to save Ryan the only way I could.

By sacrificing myself.

My heart hammered against my ribs.

Ryan’s hazel eyes locked onto mine pleading.

Don’t do this. But what other choice did I have?

I could save him...

Or I could watch him die.

The words stuck in my throat, burning.

I turned toward the council toward Graves, who was watching me with cold satisfaction.

"I’ll" A hand clamped down on my wrist.

Ryan’s voice hoarse, desperate cut through the silence.

"You’re not going with him."

Tears stung my eyes.

"I have to" "No." His fingers dug into my skin. "You’re mine."

Darius smirked. "Not for long."

A sudden howl split the air loud, furious, filled with rage.

The crowd parted. The pack Seer stood at the edge of the circle, her glowing silver eyes fixed on Darius.

"You’ve broken the sacred laws, Alpha Darius."

The ground shook beneath us.

"The Moon Goddess does not favor traitors."

Darius's smirk finally vanished. And for the first time...

I saw fear flicker in his dark eyes.