Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 31 - Chapitre 40

Ariana povI woke to the familiar smell of the pack hospital and the steady beep of machines. My body felt like it was made of lead, every muscle aching, every joint stiff."She's awake," Kane's voice, rough with exhaustion.I opened my eyes to find both twins beside my bed, looking like they hadn't slept in days. Beyond them, I saw Dr. Morrison talking quietly with Morgana near the door."What happened?" I croaked."You had a seizure," Kade said, his hand finding mine carefully. "At the execution grounds. You've been unconscious for six hours."Six hours. I'd lost six hours to darkness.Dr. Morrison noticed I was awake and approached with Morgana. Her expression was grave, and I already knew what she was going to say before she said it."The stress triggered a cascade reaction in your body," Dr. Morrison said gently. "The cancer has spread rapidly. Much faster than we anticipated. It's now in your liver, lungs, and brain."Brain. The cancer was in my brain now."How long?" I asked, s

"You are beautiful," Kade said softly. His lips moved down my neck. They felt warm and light on my skin. "So fucking beautiful, Ariana. Even with these bruises. Even when you are thin from the cancer. You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." His words made my eyes fill with tears. I felt ugly and weak most days. But he called me beautiful. It touched my heart deep inside. "Kade," I whispered. My fingers slid into his hair. I gently pulled him lower. I needed more of him. He smiled against my collarbone. He knew what I wanted. His mouth moved to my breast. His tongue circled my nipple slowly. Then he sucked it in. The feeling shot straight down to my belly. It made me lift my body off the couch. "Yes," he said in a low voice. "Let me hear you moan. No one else is here. Just you and me." His hand slipped between my legs. His fingers found me already wet. He did not rush. He stroked me softly. Up and down my folds. Each touch was careful. It made my legs shake. "Please,"

Ariana's POVI pretended to sleep and tried not to let him hear my heart breaking.Because Kane was right about one thing.I was dying. And when I was gone, I'd just be another forgotten contract. Another problem solved. Another useless thing they'd used and discarded.Just like the five women before me.My phone buzzed on the nightstand. The vibration was loud in the quiet room. Kade stirred in his chair, reaching for it, probably to silence it so it wouldn't wake me.I heard his sharp intake of breath."What the fuck," he muttered under his breath.Through barely cracked eyelids, I saw him staring at my phone screen, his expression shifting from confusion to fury. His jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscle jumping. His free hand curled into a fist.He set it down carefully, like he was afraid he might crush it if he held on any longer. Then he stood and moved to the window, pulling out his own phone. I heard him typing rapidly, his fingers stabbing at the screen with barely co

I left the hospital that morning against Marcus's protests. My body was still healing, still weak from the beating and the stress and the cancer. But I couldn't stay in that room anymore, couldn't keep waiting for Elena to decide when and how to finish me.Kade tried to stop me. "You need more rest. Your body—""My body is dying anyway," I interrupted. "I'd rather spend whatever time I have left doing something other than lying in a hospital bed.""Then stay in your room. Stay somewhere safe—""There is nowhere safe." I met his eyes. "Elena proved that last night. She was outside my window taking pictures while we slept. She can get to me anywhere. At least if I'm moving, I'm a harder target."He didn't like it, but he couldn't argue with my logic.I spent the morning walking the pack grounds, forcing my weakened body to move, to rebuild strength I'd lost. Pack members stared as I passed. Some with curiosity. Some with contempt. Most with the uncomfortable expression of people who'd v

Sarah's claws, which had been moving too fast to track, suddenly seemed to crawl through the air. I could see every detail, I could see the dirt under her nails, the way the muscles in her arm tensed, the trajectory of the strike aimed at my head.Sound exploded around me. The crowd's laughter became deafening, each voice distinct and separate. I heard heartbeats, dozens of them, pumping in chests all around the ring. Heard Sarah's breath, ragged from exertion. Heard blood rushing through her veins, a rhythmic whoosh that seemed impossibly loud.I could smell everything. Sweat, blood, dirt. Fear—my own and others'. The faint scent of pine from the forest beyond the training grounds. Sarah's shampoo. The leather of someone's boots in the crowd.Every sense I had amplified beyond anything human. Beyond what I'd ever experienced.This was how wolves perceived the world. This overwhelming flood of information that they filtered through instinctively.But I wasn't a wolf. Didn't have the i