LOGINJakeI let her go.As much as I tried to follow her down the hallway, she shouted at me in front of everyone to leave her alone. I had no choice. I think there was nothing left but to accept her decision this time. Something had broken, and she was right when she said I would never love her the way I loved Kiara. I couldn’t deny it anymore. Every reproach and every absence Irina endured because of me was because my feelings for the mother of my children always got in the way.I swallowed the lump in my throat as I watched her disappear at the end of the hallway when she stepped into the elevator. She cast me a quick glance as she got in, sad and devastated.I turned around, noticing the few people around, and went back to the waiting room. Mom didn’t take long to appear alongside Jason, one of my Betas.“There’s news, son,” Mom said, hugging me. “He’ll be out of surgery soon, but they say they don’t think he’ll wake up for a few days.”“Are you telling me Thomas is in a coma?” I pulle
JakeIrina had no intention of responding, and I couldn’t stay silent, so I decided that continuing to talk to her was the best option. I needed her forgiveness.“I know that sometimes I’m an idiot and that I hurt you, but it’s not my intention to do it. I’m asking for your forgiveness—I’m begging you. You don’t deserve me like this. You deserve someone much better than this. It wasn’t you, you have nothing to do with this, I know that.”She let out a small laugh. It surprised me.I knew that laugh couldn’t mean anything good. Not now.“Yes, you’re sorry—I know,” she nodded, unconvinced.“I mean it, Irina,” I assured her.“I want a divorce, Jake,” she stated, this time looking at me. There was no trace of playfulness in her eyes. Only determination. She looked at me with so much anger and disdain that I knew there would be no going back to her. “I want you to sign the divorce papers. I’ll take care of everything and have my lawyers contact yours so we can end this once and for all.”“
Jake“I seriously can’t believe the man I married is accusing me of something like this,” Irina said, her voice breaking, yet firm. “I really can’t believe you, Jake.”Her words stuck in my head for a moment, and I began to doubt myself. I began to doubt everything. She didn’t say anything else. She simply turned and walked toward the waiting room, with no intention of leaving, but also no intention of continuing to speak to me. The tension between us clouded the clean air of the hallways.She sat down in one of the chairs, alone, her back somewhat straight, trying not to look at me—but I knew she wanted to. And I didn’t want to see her eyes filled with anger or pain because I didn’t know what to believe. I was going crazy, and I didn’t want to keep doubting Kiara’s words either.She lowered her gaze, clasped her hands together, and didn’t look at me again.I stayed where I was, feeling as if the weight of the whole world was on my shoulders. My own words began to echo, and the flood o
JakeIrina uncrossed her arms when she saw me and ran to hug me as I approached. Her arms wrapped around my neck, and she stood on her tiptoes to kiss me on the lips. I didn’t refuse her, but I didn’t feel like kissing right now.“You’re okay, darling! Thank God you’re okay! I was so scared, I thought something had happened to you when those werewolves showed up at the house, saying something had happened. I thought you’d been killed. I would never have forgiven myself for letting you go there,” she tried to kiss me again, but I pulled away.“I’m fine, but Thomas isn’t, and that keeps me worried, and I feel guilty.”“It’s not your fault, Jake. You didn’t shoot him.”“No, but I’ve realized my brother matters to me more than I’d like to admit. I guess the betrayal didn’t make me stop loving him; it was just hatred covering the love. But I saw him die in my arms. He died… If help hadn’t arrived… he wouldn’t be fighting for his life right now.”She nodded and looked down for a moment.“He
JakeKiara’s comfort was all I needed to soothe the pain in my heart—a pain I never thought I’d feel again because of Thomas or because of her after the betrayal. But the number of recent events showed me just how wrong I was.Kiara’s arms around me rested gently against my body, giving soft pats to help calm me, something typical of her hugs. Not even my wife’s embraces would help me as much as Kiara’s did.“At least I know you’re okay,” I admitted, offering her a sad smile.“Thanks to you,” she nodded, holding my cheeks. “Thanks to Thomas. You both helped me be here.” A tear rolled down her cheek.“I thought I was going to lose you,” I confessed, letting myself be vulnerable.I felt like I was on my knees, my ego shattered, as exposed as if my flesh had been skinned.“You are two good men. You’re a good Alpha, Jake.”“An Alpha protects his woman—I mean, the people he loves,” I corrected myself, though the correction tasted bitter in my throat. Kiara was beyond that. She was much mor
JakeI punched the wall, denting the cement. My hand started bleeding, but I didn’t care. There was so much pain inside me that my hand was the least of my problems.One of my betas, George, tried to calm me down, but I shoved him away. I didn’t want to see anyone right now. I wanted to be alone. I did want to be with Kiara, but I knew she would hate me when she found out. She wouldn’t want to see me.“It’s my fault… I didn’t stop them from shooting him. I should’ve been faster. I should’ve seen the bullet coming and stepped in just in time,” I lamented, dragging my hand over my head.“Alpha Jake, it’s not your fault,” George told me.“He’s my brother, George. I should’ve protected him. I’m the older one.”I felt disgusted with myself.After what happened between him and Kiara, I thought I would never feel love for him again, but that day I understood that, beyond any resentment, he was still my brother, and I still loved him.My breathing was ragged. I couldn’t breathe normally.I wa
JakeTreating her with indifference hurt me more than it hurt her. Seeing the confusion and disappointment in her eyes broke my heart. I tried to bandage the pain by telling myself this was better for both of us, but I knew I was lying to myself.Irina was still asleep when I returned to the room.
Kiara My body was leaning toward his, my hands gripping his leather jacket mercilessly. Jake was kissing me with an urgency that stole my breath, and I responded without thinking, letting myself be carried away by everything I had tried to deny for far too long. In that kiss, everything was laid b
Jake What happened hadn’t been an impulsive mistake; it had been a truth I carried inside me, one my heart constantly asked me to uncover instead of cowardly hiding it. But accepting that truth and kissing Kiara brought another kind of inner chaos with it.I parked in front of the house and stayed
Jake Kiara settled into the passenger seat in silence, staring straight ahead. She closed her door while I walked around the car and got into the driver’s seat. I started the engine, and we pulled out of the hospital parking lot without exchanging a single word. The silence wasn’t something I coul







