His Discarded Mate의 모든 챕터: 챕터 31 - 챕터 40

Ella POV. "Luna""Please." She pressed her forehead to mine, her tears hot against my skin. "I'm begging you, Ella. Sister to sister. Let Kane believe I'm his blood. Let him have that one truth to hold onto when everything else falls apart."Sister to sister. The words lodged in my chest like a knife."I barely know you," I whispered. "How can you trust me with this?""Because you understand what it means to love someone enough to protect them from themselves." Luna pulled back, her eyes searching mine. "You jumped off a pregnant cliff to escape Kane's obsession. You're about to testify against Theron knowing it might kill you. You're carrying a baby you'll protect with your last breath. You understand sacrifice."She was right. God help me, she was right."If I do this," I said slowly, "if I keep your secret and Kane ever finds out I knew, he'll hate me for lying too.""I know. And I'm sorry for that." Luna's smile was broken and grateful. "But I'd rather he hate both of us than hat

Chapter 34: Kane's OfferElla POVThe knock was so soft I almost missed it.I looked up from the hospital bed where I'd been staring at my phone, watching the countdown tick toward my father's death. Four hours, thirty-two minutes.Kane stood in the doorway.Not the obsessed Alpha who'd tried to cage me. Not the broken man who'd jumped through a window after his sister. Something in between. Something dangerous and raw and almost human."Can I come in?"I should have said no. Should have called for security. Should have done anything except nod.He entered slowly, hands visible, movements careful. Like approaching a wounded animal."How's Luna?" I asked, because the silence felt suffocating."Stable. For now." He stopped at the foot of my bed, too far to be threatening, too close to be casual. "Dr. Sarah says the next twenty-four hours are critical.""I'm sorry.""Don't be." His jaw tightened. "She took that bullet because I pushed you into a situation where bullets were flying. This

Chapter 36: Unexpected Team-UpNathaniel POVThe emergency exit banged shut behind me. Alarms wailed through Ashworth Memorial, sounding like wounded animals. I gripped the vial in my pocket—the one thing that could save Luna if I could just get out of here.Big if.I heard heavy security boots thundering above me. I'd taken the service stairs to avoid the main floors, but Theron's men were everywhere. This hospital was his turf, his twisted hunting ground.I reached the second-floor landing and then heard it.A door opened. Quiet steps.I spun around, ready to fight.Vivian Ashworth stepped into the stairwell.We just stared. She wasn’t the polished woman who’d fooled me for so long. Her hair was a tangled mess, mascara streaked under her eyes like black rivers. She wore scrubs, not her usual elegant clothes.“Nathaniel.” Her voice cracked on my name.“Move.” I started toward her, but she didn’t budge.“I can help you.” She raised empty hands, trembling. “I know where the guards are.

Chapter 38: The Choice That Screams Everything UpPOV: EllaThe address was this busted-up warehouse. Rusted metal, smashed windows—the kind of spot people vanish from.Total trap.Still, I went.My hands were shaking so badly on the wheel. Every part of me was screaming to bail, to just trust that Nathaniel and Kane would figure something else out. But my phone timer read forty-three minutes, and the image of my dad's busted fingers was burned into my head.I parked a couple of blocks away and walked the rest.The front door? Unlocked, of course. Theron wanted me to stroll right in, thinking I was in control.Inside, the warehouse was cleaner than it had any right to be. Concrete floor, swept clean. Harsh lights casting hard shadows. And smack in the middle, under a spotlight that felt way too dramatic, was my dad.Richard Montgomery was hanging from chains, barely conscious. His face? Messed up doesn't even begin to cover it—swollen, bloody, a roadmap of agony. But he was still bre

Chapter 40: The Price of FreedomPOV: EllaThe safe house looked normal from outside. A colonial-style home in what could've been any wealthy suburb, complete with manicured lawn and security gate that opened with a remote.I'd expected a dungeon. A cage.Instead, Theron led me through a foyer with marble floors and fresh flowers."Your room is upstairs," he said, like this was a hotel. "Second door on the right. There's a nursery adjacent—fully equipped, though we have three weeks yet before it's needed."My hand pressed against my stomach. My son kicked in response, as if sensing the danger."You said my father would be released.""And he was." Theron checked his watch. "Approximately seven minutes ago. The paramedics are quite competent. He'll survive.""Then let me go." I stopped in the foyer, refusing to climb those stairs. "That was the deal.""The deal was your father's freedom in exchange for your testimony withdrawal." His smile was patient, condescending. "You fulfilled your