Finally Done, Ex. I Am Mate, Not Maid のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 31 - チャプター 40

KIERAN"Alpha, you have to stay put!"Dex's voice thundered through the study in the west wing, but my Beta's warning sounded like nothing more than an irritating buzz in my ears. I wrenched my arm roughly from the clan doctor's grip. The burning heat searing my chest right now had nothing to do with the remnants of silver poison from that damned hybrid attack in the North District.This was far worse. This was a pain that clenched around my heart, a terrible premonition sent by my wolf's instincts.Leah.That stubborn, hardheaded human woman. Her bedroom had been empty for an hour, and the operational jeep at the back gate was reported missing. Her reckless determination to go to Ironveil for her stepson made my blood boil. But the unease I felt now wasn't simply anger at her defiance.Something inside my chest had snapped. The blood bond formed after she spilled her blood into my mouth last night suddenly felt cold and hollow, as though she'd been dragged by force somewhere far bey

CAINOne name suddenly surfaced in my mind—a name I'd worked so hard to discard. Leah. Through eight years of marriage to Leah, I'd never once bothered to hire a single servant to run the main house. Leah did everything herself, like some kind of maid. And through seven years of raising Brody, Leah was the only person who ever prepared this child's meals. She never let anyone else so much as set foot in that kitchen. Leah measured out his nutrition, chose the finest ingredients, and cooked every single bite Brody ate with her own two hands. A strange thought slipped into my head, unbidden: Leah had been a far better mother than Celeste ever was. And it was simply true. Celeste was his birth mother, yet the moment she moved into the main house, she immediately demanded a dozen servants. She let strangers handle her own child's food while she busied herself with the newest gowns and territorial council parties. Celeste treated Brody like a trophy, not a child who needed watching o

Leah Rough hands quickly grabbed my arms, breaking my view of the hospital's glass doors."Miss, you can't be here!"A man's deep voice mixed with the loud buzz of the crowd of reporters. I struggled, jerking my shoulders with whatever strength I had left. The smell of pine and metal reached my nose. Black uniforms. These were Ironveil security guards."Let go of me! You're killing him! Let go!" I screamed, kicking at anything within reach.They didn't hit me. Their grip was strong, but hesitant. My mind quickly understood the reason for that hesitation. For seven years I had been their Luna, running the main house they were guarding. They didn't dare hurt me badly in front of dozens of camera lenses that kept flashing.I used that opening. I bit the arm of the guard on my left until he cried out in pain and loosened his hold."Cain!" I screamed again, crawling forward on the cold pavement after I managed to break free. "The defibrillator! Don't use it!"Suddenly, the air around me s

LeahThe chill of Brody's body seeped through my clothes, damp with sweat and dust. His small chest shook hard beneath me. I locked my arms around him, making myself a shield. I refused to move, even when that awful doctor screamed curses at me."Alpha! This woman has lost her mind! The patient will die if we don't use this—""Shut your mouth!" I snapped, twisting around to glare at the doctor.My eyes scanned the medical tray by the bed. An empty tube of epinephrine. An IV line filled with warm glucose fluid. They were pumping Brody's heart with heat-based stimulants. Fools."You're the one killing him!" I shouted, pointing at the doctor with my shaking, blood-covered hand. "That poison feeds on heat! Take out the heating line! Open the window!"The nurses in the corner stood frozen. They looked at Cain, waiting for orders. I looked at him too.Cain stood still in the doorway. His eyes were locked on Brody's stiff little body in my arms. My mind raced, trying to read his silence. He

CAIN"Stop treating her."The nurse's hands stalled over Leah's wrist like she'd misheard me."Alpha, she's still bleeding—""You heard me."I pushed enough weight into it that she backed off on instinct, not choice. That was the point. In this room, obedience wasn't requested.Leah lay on the tile, gray-skinned, close enough to dead that it barely registered as a person anymore. I didn't feel sorry for her. I felt stupid — for the ten seconds back there where I'd almost respected her. That's what she'd been counting on. Walk in half-dead, save the kid, let everyone watch. Nobody checks the hero's motives. She'd poisoned my son to gut Celeste and then handed herself a stage to do it on camera. Efficient, if nothing else."Get her downstairs. Chains, both wrists and ankles. If she dies before I get answers out of her, I'll find new men to guard my cells.""Yes, Alpha."The two guards moved in. Behind me Celeste adjusted her coat, already composing her face into something photogenic. Or