Semua Bab The Alpha's Broken Pet: Bab 71 - Bab 80

VanessaEverything around me screamed danger, as if the walls themselves were watching. A heavy presence had settled over the house, poised to pounce.Something was coming.I didn’t know what, but I felt it in my bones, in the chill that ran across my skin.Nina didn’t see it, of course. Bless her heart—she was rooting for me and Alec so hard it was almost naive. All she ever saw was the storybook ending. Me, the traitor's daughter, finally getting her moment. Him, the Alpha, choosing love over an arrangement. Pack drama wrapped up in a neat little scroll.But I knew better.Nina didn’t know about Olga—about the things she said in the dark or what she was capable of when threatened. She didn’t know how deep Maya’s claws went, or how quickly people could switch sides.And now, I had to deal with Maya's brother.He’d gone quiet after the explosion, but his silence felt louder than any insult.I lifted my head when I heard Nina’s firm voice from the front door. “No. She doesn’t want to s

AlecThe scent of darkness clung to Lucas's living room. He was sitting on the floor, back against the wall, knees up. I didn’t move to touch him. Instead, I stood there, looking at the rug where the pool of his wife's blood had been. The outline was still faint. Or maybe it was my imagination.Lucas’s red-rimmed eyes locked on me.“You knew, didn’t you?”My heart skipped. Sweat ran down my back. I’d never been in this tight a spot. Ever. I could still hear their little boy’s cries even after Maya had taken him away, before Lucas lost his mind in front of the boy. And thank the stars she did.“I’m sorry.”Even I didn’t believe my apology. “Lucas, I need you to breathe. We don’t have the whole picture yet.”He scoffed. “The picture? My wife is dead. You knew she was fucking that dirty guard!”I flinched. “I tried to warn her.”“No, you didn’t. You threatened her.”I didn’t argue. He wasn’t wrong. But I didn’t mean it as a death sentence. I didn’t know that would be the last time I’d se

Alec My head throbbed from holding it together. Lucas was doing everything possible to drag this charade. I stayed quiet because grief made people stupid and I didn’t want to play the villain at a grieving husband. Still, hearing him spit that nonsense made something coil tight in my chest. I held my tongue from saying what I would regret. “I didn’t kill her,” Vanessa said again, standing in the center of the room. Her voice didn’t rise. She wasn’t pleading. She sounded tired like she had rinsed it through too many times already. “Why would I ever be that dark just because she found out about me and Alec? That’s not enough reason to take a life.”The room sat heavy after that. Then some murmurs.“I’m not scared of Maya’s damn whip,” she continued speaking unfazed by whatever they thought. “And I didn’t ask for this bond either. Isabella never once confronted me. So I had no reason to fear her or hate her or wish her dead.”“You heard her,” I said. The words came sharp, with no inte

VanessaThe minute I slipped out the back gate, I could tell the city was cracking. I ran without thinking. The edges of my wrapper kept slipping from my grip, tangling around my ankles, slowing me down.I yanked it up and kept going, eyes flicking over my shoulder every few seconds. If anyone was following, I’d see them. If they shot, I’d hear it.The smoke was thick in the air. The side alley was narrow, the walls too close, but I shoved forward. The city was folding in on itself. My legs moved faster than my thoughts.I heard the gunshots before I saw the soldiers. Pop pop pop. I dropped instantly. My elbow cracked against the concrete and split open, but I didn’t scream. I bit down and curled in. My heartbeat was all I could hear.Then I saw an old man, whose legs were bad, trying to crawl across the open street with nothing but a wooden stick. I shot up, ran toward him before my brain caught up. He looked up, eyes wide like he wasn’t expecting anyone to stop. I grabbed him under

VanessaMy chest would not stay still. Every breath felt like it landed wrong. I tried to sit, but couldn't. I tried lying down; that only made it worse. My arms were tense from gripping the window frame too long. I kept walking from the front window to the side window and back again.It was the same silence, broken only by the distant barking of dogs. It was the kind of barking that didn’t mean anything. Just noise. Not a signal.“Nina, do you know someone we can call? A guard, a neighbor, anyone? We can’t just sit here doing nothing. We need something. A message. A sign. Reassurance. Something.”She looked at the floor.“No word yet,” she said, then leaned back against the wall, her arms crossed. She was starting to worry too.I didn’t even realize my hand was still wrapped around Alec’s signet until I tried to stretch my fingers. It had been there the whole time, pressed into my palm, leaving a mark. I closed my fist tighter.“But I trust them,” Nina said quietly. Her gaze drifted