LOGINShare
CHAPTER 8
publish date:
2026-03-23 21:32:51No one moved.
Not even the air seemed to breathe. The man in black stood at the doorway like he owned the place. Calm. Unbothered. Dangerous. Thalia could still feel her heart pounding hard in her chest, but something else was there too… something strange. That same feeling from before. Like her body recognized him. And she didn’t understand why. “Step away from her.” His voice was quiet, but it carried weight. The kind that made people listen… even when they didn’t want to. The man who had grabbed Thalia earlier took a slow step back. “Who are you?” the leader asked, his tone no longer as confident as before. The man in black didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he walked in. Slow. Steady. Each step echoed against the broken floor. Thalia watched him carefully. So did everyone else. “You don’t need to know who I am,” he said finally. “You just need to leave.” The leader scoffed.“We’re not here for you.” “I know,” he replied calmly. “Then stay out of it.” Silence. Then—“No.” Simple. Final. Dorian growled low in his throat, still in his wolf form. Damon stood close to Thalia, ready to move if needed. Dracula…Dracula hadn’t taken his eyes off the man in black since he entered. There was something sharp in his gaze now. Something calculating. Like he was trying to figure him out. And failing. The leader let out a breath, clearly irritated. “You’re making a mistake,” he said. The man in black tilted his head slightly.“Am I?” “Yes. This has nothing to do with you.” He smiled faintly.“It has everything to do with me.” That made the room go quiet again. Thalia frowned. What does that even mean? The leader’s expression hardened. “Last chance,” he said. “Walk away.” The man in black didn’t even blink. “No.” That was it. That one word broke whatever patience was left. “Fine,” the leader snapped. “Take him too.” Everything happened at once. The attackers moved again. But this time—It didn’t go the same way. The man in black didn’t shift. He didn’t need to. He moved fast. Too fast. One second he was standing still…The next, he was already in front of the first attacker. A sharp crack echoed in the room. The man dropped instantly. Thalia’s eyes widened. “What the…” Another attacker lunged at him. He stepped aside easily, grabbed the man’s arm, and twisted. A scream followed. Then silence. Body down. Just like that.Dorian paused mid-fight for a second. “…What is he?” he muttered. Damon didn’t answer. Because he didn’t know either. The fight shifted. Fast. What had been chaos a few seconds ago… Turned into something else. Fear. The attackers hesitated now. They weren’t expecting this. None of them were. “Fall back!” one of them shouted. But it was already too late. The man in black stepped forward again. “You came for her,” he said quietly. “So why are you leaving?” No one answered. They couldn’t. Because now… They were the ones being hunted. Within minutes—It was over. The room fell silent again. Bodies on the ground. Broken wood everywhere. The air thick with the scent of blood and tension. Thalia slowly stood up. Her legs felt weak. Her head spun slightly. But her eyes stayed fixed on him. The man in black. He turned toward her. And just like that… Everything else faded. “Are you hurt?” he asked. His voice was softer now. Different. Thalia blinked. “…No.”She hesitated. “Thank you.” He nodded once. Like it was nothing. Dorian shifted back, breathing hard. “You mind explaining what the hell that was?” he demanded. The man in black glanced at him briefly. “No.”Dorian scoffed. “You just walked in, took down five wolves like it was nothing, and you’re saying ‘no’?” “Yes.”That only made Dorian more annoyed. Damon stepped in before things could escalate again. “Look… we appreciate the help,” he said. “But we need answers.” Dracula finally spoke. “You knew they were coming,” he said. It wasn’t a question. The man in black met his gaze. “Yes.” “Then you know why they’re after her.” A pause. Then—“Yes.” Thalia’s heart skipped. “Then tell us,” Damon said. Silence. The man in black looked at Thalia. Long. Careful. Like he was deciding something. “You’re not safe here,” he said instead. Thalia frowned. “That’s not what I asked.” “I know.” “Then answer me.” His expression didn’t change. “I will,” he said. “But not here.” Dorian crossed his arms. “And where exactly is ‘not here’?” The man didn’t look at him. “Somewhere they can’t reach you.” “That’s not happening,” Dorian said immediately. Thalia looked at him. “Why not?” “Because we don’t know him,” Dorian replied. “And I’m not letting you go anywhere with a stranger.” She raised a brow. “Since when do you care?” The words slipped out before she could stop them. A small silence followed. Dorian’s jaw tightened.“That’s not the point.” “It kind of is.”Damon sighed. “This isn’t the time for that.” Dracula stepped forward slightly. “Where are you taking her?” he asked. The man in black answered without hesitation. “To the truth.” That made Thalia’s chest tighten. “Look,” she said slowly, “I don’t even know your name.” He looked at her.“ You don’t need to.” “I think I do.” A pause. Then—“…Kael.” The name settled in the room. Simple. But it carried something. Thalia didn’t know what. “Kael,” she repeated quietly. He nodded once. “You said I’m not safe,” she continued. “Then explain why.” His eyes softened… just a little. “Because now they know you’re awake.” Her brows pulled together. “Awake?” “Yes.” “I’ve been awake my whole life.” He shook his head slightly. “No,” he said. “Not like this.” Silence. Heavy. Confusing. Frustrating. Thalia let out a breath. “I’m tired of people speaking in riddles,” she said. “If you know something, just say it. ”Kael looked at her for a long second. Then—“You’re not just a hybrid,” he said again. Her heart dropped. “You said that already.” “And it’s still true.” “Then what am I?” The question came out softer this time. Almost unsure. Kael opened his mouth to answer—Then stopped. His gaze shifted slightly… past her. Toward the door. His expression changed again. Serious. “Not here,” he said quietly. Dorian groaned. “You keep saying that—” “They’re coming back.” The words cut him off. Everyone went still. Again. Damon looked toward the door. “I can’t hear anything.” “You won’t,” Kael replied. “Not yet.”Thalia’s chest tightened. “How many?” Kael didn’t answer immediately. Then—“More than before.” Silence. Heavy. Dangerous. “Then we don’t have time,” Damon said. Dorian ran a hand through his hair. “Great. Just great.” Dracula’s eyes went to Thalia again. Sharp. Focused. “We move now,” he said. Thalia swallowed. “Move where?” No one answered. Because the truth was—They didn’t know. Kael stepped closer to her. “Stay close to me,” he said quietly. She hesitated. Then nodded. Because right now… He was the only one who seemed to understand what was happening. Even if he wasn’t saying everything. Outside—The night grew darker. Heavier. And somewhere in the distance… Something howled. Not like a wolf. Something else. Something worse. And for the first time—Thalia realized this wasn’t just about being a hybrid anymore. It was bigger than that. Much bigger.
Latest chapter
MY STEPBROTHERS, MY RUIN CHAPTER 150
Spring arrived on a Thursday in the last week of March.The real spring. Not the tentative suggestion of March’s earlier weeks but the committed thing, the spring that knew what it was and was not provisional about it. The oak tree leafed out over four days — Tuesday the buds, Wednesday the first unfurling, Thursday the specific tender green of new leaves fully open, the canopy restored.The ribbons were partially hidden again, as they were every year when the leaves came back, the twenty-two years of them — the new ribbon her mother had tied in November, the ribbon Anya had tied at the solstice, all the accumulated years of marked moments — held by the tree in the private way the tree held things when it was in full operation.She stood under the oak tree on the Thursday morning and looked up through the new leaves at the sky beyond.She’d been doing this for twenty-two years.She would do it for as long as she was here.The continuity of it — the same gesture, the same tree, the sam
MY STEPBROTHERS, MY RUIN CHAPTER 149
The fellowship acceptance came in March.Elena brought it to Anya in the garden — not to dinner, not to the household gathered, but to Anya specifically, privately, the way she brought things that were hers first before they were the household’s.She found her at the oak tree. Of course she did. The oak tree in March was beginning its true spring now — the buds fattening toward the leaf that was coming, the patience of the tree evident in the quality of almost-but-not-yet that the branches held.“I got in,” Elena said.Anya turned and looked at her.Twenty-one years of this face. The specific quality of it — the precision, the self-possession, the thing underneath both of those things that was less visible and more essential. The quality of someone who had grown up inside an unconventional household with unconventional parents and had made from that growing-up something that was entirely and specifically hers.“I know,” Anya said.Elena looked at her. “How do you know?”“You found me
MY STEPBROTHERS, MY RUIN CHAPTER 148
The book published on the fourteenth of March.A Tuesday. Clara had chosen Tuesday deliberately — the publication day that gave the most runway for reviews and word-of-mouth to develop before the weekend, when the majority of book-buying happened. Anya had not been involved in this decision and had no opinion about it and was happy to defer to the expertise of people who understood the mechanics of how books moved in the world.She woke early.The fourteenth of March and the property in early spring, which was not yet the real spring — that was still weeks away, the tentative provisional maybe-spring of mid-March, the kind that came and then could be taken back by a late cold snap without notice. The garden under its mulch. The oak tree showing the first suggestion of bud. The suggestion of green that was not yet green, not yet committed.She stood at the kitchen window with her coffee.The book was in the world.She held this.Not as an abstract fact but as a specific physical realit
MY STEPBROTHERS, MY RUIN CHAPTER 147
The curriculum paper was accepted in February.Elena brought the news to dinner — not dramatically, not with ceremony, in the specific way she brought most significant things to the household, which was directly and without building toward it.“The paper was accepted,” she said, sitting down.The table looked at her.“The curriculum paper,” she said. “The journal accepted it. Revisions required but they’re minor. It’s accepted.”Sophia, beside her, had the expression of someone who had known for six hours and had been waiting for the right moment to share it, which turned out to be Elena’s moment.“Sophia,” Dmitri said. “You knew.”“Since noon,” Sophia said.“Why didn’t you —”“Elena’s paper,” Sophia said simply. “Elena’s moment.”Elena looked at Sophia with the expression she wore when Sophia had done something that was exactly right and Elena wanted to acknowledge it without making a performance of the acknowledgment. A look that was its own form of intimacy.“Our paper,” Elena said
MY STEPBROTHERS, MY RUIN CHAPTER 146
The advance reading copies went out in January.Anya knew the date because Clara told her, and she’d thought she would feel something large when the date arrived — the specific gravity of the thing she’d written being in the hands of strangers for the first time. What she felt was something smaller and more precise. Not the overwhelm she’d anticipated but a quality of completion. The handing-off that she’d been moving toward for two years — the moment when the book passed from being hers alone to being in conversation with people whose reading of it she couldn’t control or anticipate.She’d been preparing for this moment all year.The preparation had been, she understood now, not a practical preparation — there was no practical preparation for having written honestly about your life and sent it into the world. The preparation had been the internal work. The writing of the gray years. The conversation with her mother. The open hands. The understanding that she was allowed to be seen wi
MY STEPBROTHERS, MY RUIN CHAPTER 145
The paper was submitted for the second time on the twenty-second of December.Anya and Dr. Voss had worked through the revision in a concentrated three-week push — the reading, the reframing, the building of the know-who argument into the theoretical architecture that the reviewers had required. The final version was twenty-seven pages, which was four pages longer than the first submission, all of it earned. The new pages did what the reviewers had asked — located the argument in the existing literature, took a position within the debate rather than adjacent to it, demonstrated that the claim they were making was in conversation with what had already been said and was adding something rather than simply asserting something.The paper was, Anya thought, reading the final version before they sent it, genuinely good. Not good in the way that things were good when you’d done what was required — good in the way that things were good when the doing of what was required had made the thing mo
MY STEPBROTHERS, MY RUIN CHAPTER 66
The mansion was quieter than usual that afternoon.Elena moved through the halls, carrying a tray of tea. Every step echoed off the marble floors. Guards walked past silently, eyes sharp. Servants hurried by, their voices low. Even the walls seemed to hold their breath.Dante had instructed her to
MY STEPBROTHERS, MY RUIN CHAPTER 65
Elena woke to the sound of distant footsteps. The sun had not fully risen, but the mansion was already alive. Doors opening. Soft murmurs. Guards moving silently along the halls. Every sound reminded her she was never truly alone here.She dressed quickly, keeping her uniform neat. Today, she was a
MY STEPBROTHERS, MY RUIN CHAPTER 64
Elena woke to the sound of heavy curtains brushing the floor. Sunlight peeked through the windows of her small room. For a moment, she forgot where she was. Then it came rushing back—the gates, the guards, the impossible mansion.Her stomach twisted. Today was her first full day as Dante Moretti’s
MY STEPBROTHERS, MY RUIN CHAPTER 62
Elena woke to the sound of distant footsteps. The sun had not fully risen, but the mansion was already alive. Doors opening. Soft murmurs. Guards moving silently along the halls. Every sound reminded her she was never truly alone here.She dressed quickly, keeping her uniform neat. Today, she was a
You may also like
Unwanted
Karima Sa'ad Usman714.3K viewsAccidentally Pregnant By My Alpha Best friends
Alexis Dee501.1K viewsAlpha Brock
C.J. Primer574.6K viewsIN THE ARMS OF MY ALPHA
Cassandra M675.1K viewsMY STEPBROTHER ALPHA'S DIRTY OBSESSION
ADORA155 viewsThe Rogue's Forbidden Luna
Authoress Kemira96 viewsContract Marriage with My Hockey Alpha
Write 51 viewsTHE ALPHA OBSESSIVE CLAIM
Ruth070372 views
