Chapter 10
I tore through the morgue like a man who’d lost his fucking mind, yanking open every freezer drawer, searching desperately for Kaela’s body]
My hands shook with each drawer I opened. Part of me was terrified I’d find her pale, lifeless face staring back at me. Part of me was desperate to sen proof she was really gone. And part of me–the pathetic, desperate part–kept hoping I wouldn’t find anything at all.
Because if she wasn’t here, maybe she wasn’t dead. Maybe this was all some sick joke [
The wolf hope bracelet was designed to weaken her gradually, to make her waste away over three years. Not kill her outright. There was supposed to he time. Time to figure things out, time to make this right somehowy
And Ophelia was awake now. We could all move forward. Kaela couldn’t just… leave. Not now!]
God, I was such a fucking fool
The truth was eating me alive–I’d fallen for Kaela the second she started chasing me. All those clumsy attempts to get my attention, pretending to be
ck just for an excuse to see me, too shy to actually ask me out. It was adorable.
So I’d started giving her openings. Mentioning I’d skipped lunch, hoping she’d offer to bring me food. Taking her to galleries, teaching her things, creating reasons for us to spend time together.
I was going to tell her how I felt. I’d even asked Ophelia what kind of flowers Kaela liked, planning this whole romantic confession
That’s when Ophelia dropped the bomb–told me about all the sick, twisted things Karla had been doing to her. The psychological torture, the threats. how it had driven her to attempt suicide
Ophelia had saved my life when we were kids. I owed her everything. And if Kaela was really capable of that level of cruelty…
But watching her suffer for three years had been agony. Every punishment I gave her felt like I was ripping my own heart out. She’d kneel in the rain. and I’d stand there watching, getting just as soaked, hating myself for what I was putting her through.
I’d broadcast those humiliating videos while simultaneously spending thousands to delete every nasty comment, making sure no one else could hurt her.
I’d left her dying on that operating table, then spent the entire night crawling up temple steps on my knees, begging for protection charms to keep her sate
Everything I did was meant to break her of this toxic jealousy while keeping her alive until I could figure out how to save both of them
Now
www the was gone, and three years of careful planning meant nothing.
“Soren, stop this shit!” Ophelia’s voice cut through my breakdown. She’d fallowed me down here and was watching my desperate search with barely concealed irritation. “Her body’s already been cremated!”
She held out the wolf Lone bracelet–still warm, like it had just come off Kaela’s wrist.
Something sampped inside me. 1 lunged forward, snatching the bracelet before wrapping my fingers around Ophelia’s throat. My wolf was surfacing. and she could probably smell the danger rolling off me in waves
“You’re fucking lying,” I snarled. “No one cremated shit without family consent.
for the first time, Ophelia looked genuinely afraid of no Good. She should be ||
“Suren, please,” she gasped, fears streaming down her face. “Till take her place tomorrow at the banding ceremony. We can fix this mess together and move on. Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted?
Those tears used to make me do anything she asked. Now they just passed me off ||
1 released her throat, watching her crumple to the flour like a broken doli
“Without Karla, there’s no fucking point to any of this.” I turned away from ber shocked expression and headed for the re
The wind up here was brutal, but Tharely felt it. I stood at the edge, clutching the wolf bone bracelet like it was the only thing tethering me to sanity
This fucking thing had been slowly killing the woman I loved for three years. And I’d been the one to put it on her wrist.
Boss! Boss, don’t do anything stupid!” My beta assistant’s voice carried across the roof as he ran toward me, panic clear in his scent. “The Grimweald Hybrid Alpha’s bonding ceremony is happening today]
“So forking what?” I didn’t turn around. The drop looked almost peaceful from up here. “Send flowers or whatever. I need to find Karla. She died alone and scared, and it’s my fault.“[]
“Sir, you need to see this” He shoved his phone in front of my face, and my world stopped spinning
There, in a grainy news photo from the Grimweald territory, was a figure in white ceremonial robes. The veil hid her face, but I’d know that silhouette anywhere
Kaela. Alive. And about to bond with the most dangerous Alpha in the northern territories.
Every wolf knew the stories about Nikolai Grimweald–the hybrid Alpha whose very existence was an abomination. Half vampire, half wolf, and completely fucking lethal. Parks crossed to the other side of the road when his name was mentioned []
And now he had Kaela
“Get the car,” I growled, hope and rage burning through my chest like acid. “We’re going to Grimwoald territory. Right fucking now.”
