Chapter 21

IVYAll of a sudden, Vladimir’s eyes widened like he’d just been struck by something impossible through the mind link. The color drained from his face. Unease slithered into my chest, cold and sharp.I sat up instantly, my heart racing. "Vladimir?"He turned to me, his expression fractured between disbelief and despair."What happened?" I asked, dread curling around every word."You need to come to the hospital," he said, voice low but trembling, as he gently pulled me from the bed.My heart froze. No. No, please, no.Adrenaline surged through me as I stumbled to my feet. The sick, twisting feeling in my gut told me everything my mind refused to accept, something was horribly wrong.The drive blurred into fragments, flashes of headlights, the engine’s low growl, the way Vladimir gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white. I kept begging him with my eyes for answers. What happened? What’s wrong? But he only looked away, jaw tight, voice barely audible when he final

Chapter 22

IVY Days passed, but I still couldn’t accept the reality that my mother was gone. No matter how much I tried to convince myself, the truth refused to sink in. The world felt quieter now, too still, as if even the air mourned her absence.Uncle Amos had come to mourn with me, his presence filling the silent corners of this place. I had arranged for her body to be transported back to the Risemoon Pack. That was where she belonged."But Risemoon has fallen," Uncle Amos said when I told him. "What dignity would it be if she were buried there?"His words struck me like a dull blade. I turned toward the window, staring at my reflection; black hair that fell across silver eyes drained of emotion. I barely recognized the woman looking back. Her shoulders carried too much weight, her gaze hollowed out by loss. That woman was me."I would rather bury my mother in the pack she fought for," I said quietly, "than in the pack that wasted her strength and that of her ancestors."Uncle Amos sighed a

All Chapters of Hated and His to Claim : Chapter 21 - Chapter 22

Chapter 21

Chapter 22