All Chapters of Chain My Heart Too, Gamma: Chapter 81 - Chapter 90

KAELThree days.That is how long it has been since we lowered her into the ground. I know the number because Stephen keeps saying it under his breath when he thinks I am not listening. Three days since the burial. Three days since the pack gathered in silence, heads bowed, eyes lowered, while I stood there like a statue carved from something that no longer bleeds.I have not eaten in those three days.I sit on the edge of the bed in my room, the curtains half drawn, the air stale because I have not bothered to open the windows. The scent of her is fading from the sheets. I notice it and it makes something in my chest tighten so sharply I have to press my fist against my sternum.There is a knock at the door.I do not answer.The door opens anyway.Stephen walks in carrying a tray. I can smell the broth before I look at it. Chicken, herbs, something light. He moves slowly, like I am a wounded animal he is trying not to startle.“You need to eat,” he says quietly.I do not look at him

KaelThe council hall is full before I even step inside, and I can hear the low murmurs through the heavy wooden doors, voices blending together in that restless way they always do when the pack senses something is wrong. The guards straighten the moment they see me, and I know what they are thinking because I look nothing like the Alpha they are used to seeing, my hair uncombed, my face leaner than it was a few weeks ago, my eyes carrying a weight I have not bothered to hide.I push the doors open myself instead of waiting for someone to announce me, and the sound cuts through the room, making every head turn at once. The hall falls quiet so quickly that the only thing I can hear is the faint crackle of the torches lining the walls and the soft scrape of chairs as some of the elders rise to their feet out of habit.I walk to the front slowly, not because I want to drag this out, but because my body feels heavier than it should, as though each step is arguing with me. The Alpha seat s

KaelLala is standing in front of me suddenly, barefoot on the wooden floor of the island house, her hair loose over her shoulders, looking at me like she always does when she wants something and refuses to say it first. The window behind her is open and the sea breeze moves the curtain gently, and for a second it feels so real that my chest actually loosens.“Kael,” she calls softly.I step toward her without thinking. “You should not be out of bed.”She smiles, that small knowing smile that used to irritate me because it meant she had already decided something and I would only realize it too late. “You are the one who refuses to sleep.”“I am sleeping now,” I tell her, reaching for her hand.She takes a step back instead, and the air shifts, her smile fading into something else, something distant.“Kael.”This time my name sounds farther away.“Kael!”I wake up with my heart slamming violently against my ribs, the room dark, the sound of my own breathing loud in my ears. For a secon

KaelI sit there, frozen, as the old man’s words sink in. The fire at Silvercrest. The night my father sent me there. The screams. The smoke. The chaos. The orders to wipe out my mother’s pack because she refused to stay with him. I should have done my duty without hesitation. I should have obeyed my father like the soldier I was trained to be. But I couldn’t. I froze. I looked at her and everything stopped. The screams, the fire, the orders—they became background noise.I reach out with my mind, trying to grasp the memory, trying to hold it steady so it doesn’t slip away. I remember bending down, lifting her up into my arms, feeling her weight, so fragile, so small against my chest. I remember the fear in my own body, the way every instinct screamed at me to leave, to finish the mission, to survive. I remember staring at her and feeling something I’ve never allowed myself to feel before.I whisper her name. Rosella. My fingers curl against my knees, my body trembling slightly. It fe

KaelI close the door behind me and drop into the chair in my room, the wood creaking under my weight. My hands cover my face, and for a moment, I just sit there, letting the reality settle like a weight in my chest. The quiet is loud, every sound in the pack house amplified—distant footsteps in the corridor, the faint rustle of paper from the office, the hum of the heater somewhere down the hall.Rosella comes running in before I have time to think about how long I’ve been sitting there. Her small feet patter against the floor, a sound I’ve heard a thousand times, but today it stings differently. Mabel must have told her I was back, because she didn’t hesitate. She’s here before I can even react, arms wrapping around my waist with all the force a child can muster.“I missed you, Uncle Kael,” she says, her voice muffled against my jacket.I stiffen at first, surprised by how tightly she’s holding me. Then I relax a little and nudge her back gently, running a hand through her hair. “I