All Chapters of Married For Love, Claimed By Fate: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

LUCA——The first rays of dawn cut through the blinds, soft and fragile, brushing over the small forms of the children still clinging to me. I had driven quietly back to the pack house, careful not to wake Kiki, careful not to let anyone else see the weight on my shoulders. The car smelled faintly of lavender from the air freshener I had ignored until now, and the smell made my stomach twist. Life had to go on, and yet the world felt broken beyond repair.I carried the little girl inside first, holding her close to my chest like she was a fragile fragment of glass. Her brother’s hand was still in mine, small fingers curling around my thumb as if the connection could tether him to something solid in a world that had spun violently out of control. I could feel their fear and it made my wolf bristle in instinctive anger, but I forced it down. This wasn’t the time to rage. This was the time to build a home, even in the shadow of a massacre.Kiki’s door was still closed. I had left her sle

LUCA——“Breakfast is served,” I announced as I turned from the counter.Kiki was just stepping into the living room with the children. One on each side of her. Their small hands wrapped tightly around her fingers like she was the only solid thing left in their world. The sight of them together did something strange to my chest. Something warm.I had dismissed every omega in the house earlier that morning. No noise. No whispers. No curious eyes. I needed the pack house quiet today. These children had already seen enough chaos for a lifetime and I refused to let them wake up to it again.Kiki looked up when she heard my voice.She tried to smile.It did not fully reach her eyes but it was real enough to hurt. There was effort in it. Strength. The kind you use when you decide to keep standing even though your knees are shaking.I knelt slightly and spoke softly to the kids, keeping my voice low and easy. “Food first,” I said. “Then we can talk about anything you want.”The boy nodded se

Luca—-“Everything is ready, Luca.”Kingsley’s voice came from beside me, calm but heavy, like he was holding himself together by force and nothing else. I didn’t answer him immediately. I just stood there, staring ahead, letting the silence press into my chest like it belonged there.Graves.Too many of them.They stretched across the land in a way that didn’t feel real, like my eyes were playing tricks on me and any second now everything would snap back to normal. But it didn’t. The smell of fresh soil, the quiet murmurs of grieving pack members, the dull grey sky hanging over us like it was mourning too… all of it was real.Last night, it was too dark to see all this clearly and take it all in.I swallowed hard, my gaze moving slowly from one grave to another, counting without meaning to, until my eyes landed on one coffin in particular.Stella.My chest tightened.For a second, just one second, I forgot how to breathe.Burning the bodies would have been easier. Faster even. But w

Kiki—-“Auntie Kiki!”Jane’s voice came before I even stepped fully into the pack house, loud, bright, and painfully happy in a way that made my chest tighten before I even saw her. Then she came running toward me, her little legs moving too fast for her tiny body, her smile wide like nothing in the world was wrong.Like her world hadn’t just been shattered.I didn’t even think.I dropped to my knees instantly, my arms already open before she reached me, and the moment she crashed into me I pulled her in tight, holding her like if I let go she would disappear too.Goddess.She smelled like home. Like innocence.Like everything that didn’t deserve this.“I missed you,” she mumbled into my shoulder, her small hands gripping my clothes like she needed to make sure I was real.“I missed you too, baby,” I whispered, my voice already shaking even though I tried to hold it together.Then she pulled back slightly, her eyes looking up at me, bright and hopeful.“Is mama back?”That was it.Th

Kiki—-“How are you feeling, firecracker?”His voice came the moment the door opened, calm like nothing in the world had shifted, like everything was still the same as it was a few hours ago when I fell asleep in his arms.The light came on right after.Too bright and sudden. I didn’t want the light on, it felt like the light was mocking me.I didn’t move.I just sat there on the bed, exactly where I had been since that video ended, my body stiff, my eyes dry even though it felt like I had cried out everything inside me already.“Kiki… why are you sitting like this?”His footsteps came closer, slow at first, then faster when I didn’t respond. I could feel his presence before he even reached me, that same energy that used to calm me down now doing the complete opposite.“Firecracker… are you in pain?” he asked, his voice softer now, concerned.Pain.I almost laughed.Instead, a tear slipped out.“Why?” I asked my voice sounded strange, like it didn’t belong to me, like it came from so