All Chapters of Beautiful Betrayal: Chapter 191 - Chapter 200

Valduz's chest tightened the second Perry and Violetta looked away at the same time.Too quick.Too practiced.Like they'd already agreed on the lie before he entered the room.Something inside him sharpened.He shoved the doctor's hands away before the man could finish checking the wound near his ribs."What did you do?"His voice came out rough.Violetta glanced at Perry.Perry almost smiled.That was enough."Don't play games with me," Valduz said quietly. "What did you do?"Perry shrugged as if they were discussing something ordinary instead of blood and betrayal."I took a contract. It helped all of us."Valduz's wolf went completely still.Listening.Waiting."How?""I don't know every detail. We don't ask questions." Perry paused. "But your father wanted someone gone."Cold recognition slid through Valduz."And when I found out who your mate was..." Perry tilted her head. "It became easy to connect the pieces."His stomach dropped."What did you do?"This time, the question cam

Everything hurt.Not normal pain.Burning.Like Hope Elara's body no longer fully belonged to her.Even breathing felt wrong.Every inhale scraped through her chest.Where was she?Where were her babies?How long had she been unconscious?Panic tried to rise, but her body was too weak to hold onto it.Then something shifted beside her.Not movement.Presence.Something strong enough to press against her senses even with her eyes closed.She didn't recognize it.And somehow, she did.The scent reached her first.Warm.Deep.Earth after rain.Pine.And something darker underneath.It pulled at her immediately.Calmed her.Hope Elara hated that it did.Because the last time she'd trusted that feeling, everything had fallen apart."She's been like this since you left."Maria.Hope Elara knew that voice.Relief flickered weakly through her."She's waking up," Maria continued. "But this isn't how it was supposed to happen."Another voice cut through the room.Lower.Sharper."If you're not

Hope tried to shrug off the strange feeling beneath her skin.“It’s manageable. It comes in waves.”Valduz studied her, clearly unconvinced. “You need to eat.”She blinked, then laughed. “Yes. That is usually how hunger works.”He rubbed the back of his neck. For once, he looked embarrassed. “I’m adjusting.”“That makes two of us.”His smile faded. “Things are going to be different now. My wolf reacts to you, and he doesn’t understand why you’re upset.”Hope’s laughter disappeared.She felt it too, that pull toward Valduz and the warmth that came with it. But she had no idea how much of it belonged to the bond and how much came from the wolf waking inside her.“It isn’t just you,” she said. “Something in me reacts too.”Valduz’s expression grew serious. “Then we’ll learn what it means.”Hope nodded. She needed answers before she could decide whether the bond between them was something she could trust.Valduz stepped back and dragged a hand down his face. Then he gave a sudden, genuine

“I need to be careful,” Hope murmured, gripping her fork.Maria gave a soft laugh. “You’re an alpha now. Careful won’t always be part of the process.”Hope looked up. “I don’t feel like one.”“You will.”Maria sounded calm, but Hope caught the anticipation beneath her words.“Whether you’re ready or not,” Tess said, “something has already begun.”Hope glanced down at her plate. She had eaten more than usual, yet the hunger beneath her skin had not gone away. Her wolf was awake, and everyone around the table seemed to be waiting to see what she would do next.Hope set down her fork. Whatever was happening to her was moving faster than she could understand it.Later, Valduz returned with his father.Valduz looked calmer than he had when he left. Too calm. Hope could not tell whether he had settled the matter or was hiding how badly it had gone.When they walked outside, her car was waiting. She reached for the driver’s door, but Valduz held out his hand for the keys.“I’ll drive.”Norma

Hope was still trying to make sense of the voice she had heard when Valduz began to explain.“Our kind wasn’t always what it is now,” he said. “We were weaker. There were beings far stronger than us, and we had to find a way to survive among them.”Hope watched the dark road ahead. “How did we do that?”“This part sounds like a legend.” He glanced at her. “There was a woman with a child she was desperate to save. She gathered a lion, a wolf, a jaguar, a bear, and a vulture. Then she performed a ritual and called on their spirits.”“Did it save her child?”“Yes. But the ritual cost her everything.”Valduz’s hands stayed steady on the wheel, though his voice had grown quieter.“She reached beyond this world,” he said. “Something answered her. Her child survived, but the spirits didn’t disappear. They began choosing others.”Hope remembered the voice inside her head. “Choosing people like us?”“People they’re compatible with. We become vessels for them.”Hope looked down at her hands. Th