FAZER LOGINThe door clicks shut behind Kei, and suddenly the room feels unbearably quiet.It's too quiet. Too empty. Too hopeless. I stare at the door long after he's gone, a foolish part of me waiting for him to burst back in, to take it all back, to finally understand and give me the key.But he doesn't because Kei never understands until it's too late, until the damage is irreparable.A broken laugh escapes my lips, a dry, rattling sound. Then another, until suddenly the laughter dissolves into ugly, painful sobs that tear through my chest and leave me gasping for air.I curl into myself on the stiff hospital bed, my fingers clutching the thin sheets, my shoulders shaking violently.Everything hurts. My body aches from the assault, my heart is a shattered ruin, my future is a cage, and my dreams have turned to ash. I cry until my throat burns and my eyes sting, until there are simply no tears left. And when the crying finally stops, the emptiness that rushes in to fill the void is somehow
The room falls into a suffocating silence after my words.Pregnant.The word still doesn't feel real.It hangs in the air like a curse, like something spoken over my life without my permission.My hand drifts unconsciously toward my stomach, a gesture I've repeated a hundred times since hearing the unfortunate news. There's nothing there, no bump or sign. Nothing except the doctor's words echoing endlessly inside my head, and without my wolf, I can't even feel a heartbeat to be sure this isn't just some cruel, elaborate prank.A strange, unwelcome ache twists through my chest. It's not joy. It's not maternal instinct. It's guilt.The child is innocent. It didn't choose this. It didn't choose Keal's schemes, or Kei's mistakes, or me. It didn't ask to be dragged into this mess of power, betrayal, and broken destinies. My throat tightens because the thought hurts more than anything. Despite the terror and the rage, the baby is blameless. Completely innocent.And somehow, that makes thi
The first thing I feel when consciousness returns is discomfort.A strange, disorienting heaviness settles over me, like my body no longer belongs to me.Every muscle aches.My limbs feel weighed down and a dull nausea twists unpleasantly in my stomach as I slowly force my eyes open.White ceilings.The sharp scent of medicine.Soft beeping sounds somewhere nearby.The hospital.A wave of bitterness crashes through me instantly.Perfect.As if my life couldn’t become any more miserable.Then I feel it. Warm fingers wrapped tightly around mine.My gaze slowly lowers and there he is.Kei.Sleeping in the chair beside my bed with his head resting against the mattress near my arm, still holding my hand like he’s terrified I’ll disappear if he lets go.His dark hair is messy.There are dried bloodstains smeared across his jaw and throat. Fresh bandages wrap around his shoulder and chest from the fight with Keal, though most of the wounds already seem to be healing.And despite everything,
For a second, I genuinely think I heard him wrong. In fact, a part of me wishes I had gone deaf instead of hearing those disgusting words come out of his mouth.But I know I didn't, and the world around me suddenly feels distant. Like my mind has stopped processing everything except that one sentence.Yes.My entire body goes still inside his arms.Then slowly, very slowly, I pull away from him as though his touch burns my skin. His hands fall away immediately, not because I force them to, but because he sees the look on my face.And I know exactly what he sees. Not anger or rage, not even hatred. Just devastation.Pure devastation.“You're joking...” I whisper. My voice trembles so badly it barely sounds like mine, and that terrifies me more than anything.Because I never stammer but right now, I feel like I'm trapped inside another nightmare. Another cruel illusion I'll wake up from screaming.Kei goes unnaturally still, his eyes lower briefly to the ground before returning to mine.
Blood drips steadily from my knuckles onto the grass beneath me.The field around us looks like a battlefield now, the scent of death and rage burning through the night air. Bodies lie scattered everywhere, most of them belonging to the masked men, while the survivors groan weakly in pain.Around us, pack warriors stand frozen between horror and disbelief as the truth about Keal is finally exposed for everyone to see. The surviving pack members and elders keep their distance, terrified to interfere as the two sons of their late Alpha prepare to destroy each other.And at the center of it all, Keal stands across from me, breathing heavily, blood smeared across his mouth and jaw while madness gleams in his eyes. Ravelle still struggles furiously in his grip.For one long moment, neither of us moves, and the entire field feels frozen.I wipe blood from the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand before rolling my shoulders despite the pain tearing through my body.Then I stare direct
My fists clench so tightly my knuckles crack at the sight of Ravelle struggling against him.Every instinct inside me screams to tear Keal apart right here and now but I can’t.One wrong move could cost Ravelle her life, and I know my brother well enough to understand he would use her against me without hesitation.So I force myself to stay still and think.I need time.I need an opening.My wolf doesn’t understand that. The beast loses its fucking mind inside me, snarling violently and clawing at my control.Stop wasting time.Kill him.Rip him apart and take back our mate.I grit my teeth hard enough to hurt because the truth is—I understand the rage.What Keal did to her…What he forced on both of us…Is unforgivable.And now, seeing his hands on her makes something murderous crawl slowly up my spine.The worst part?A small piece of me had still hoped this wouldn’t end in blood.Despite everything, despite the betrayal and madness, Keal is still my brother. Some pathetic part of me
My blood runs cold. Did Keal just say Kei wouldn’t be able to feel me if he drank that herb?That’s when it clicks.I remember the hill—the small weird bottle Kei pulled out and drank from. Afterward, something changed. His eyes… they weren’t their usual warm green or the golden glow of his wolf. T
He blinks, clearly not expecting that answer.“What?”I fold my arms across my chest. “The laws that keep women beneath men. I want them gone.”The wind grows stronger around us, tugging at my hair as I continue.“There are women in your pack capable of far more than cooking meals and scrubbing flo
Me?Falling for Kei?I almost laugh out loud at the absurdity of it.That’s the mate bond talking. It has to be. The mate bond is nothing more than some ancient, ridiculous biological conspiracy designed to make a powerful woman like me lose her common sense over broad shoulders and a low voice.Ye
My brother snorts. “You’re her mate.”“She’s not stupid,” I snap. “She’s not naïve. The only reason her father managed to bind her before was because she trusted him. He caught her off guard.”My brother’s expression darkens. “And that won’t happen again.”Exactly.She won’t be caught off guard twi







