Chapter 2
Blair’s POV
The shop owner glanced at my red–rimmed eyes but thought better than to ask.
He quickly sorted through the documents, speaking respectfully. “We’ll finalize the paperwork as soon as possible. Once everything’s ready, we’ll notify you immediately about the departure to the island.”
Without hesitation, I signed my name and pulled a black card from my wallet. My movements were sharp and decisive. As the payment went through, my hand didn’t tremble in the slightest–like the wolf inside me had already stopped struggling
and turned to ice.
Outside, darkness had swallowed the sky. The clouds hung low, and the air carried the metallic tang of a gathering storm.
Back at the pack house, I stepped into the foyer–only to be hit with the warm glow of lights… and the sound of familiar,
yet foreign, laughter.
My pupils constricted.
Christian was sitting on the couch, smiling as he peeled an apple for Carrie. His fingers were long and graceful, moving with the precision of someone sculpting a lover’s statue. My three brothers were sitting nearby, loyal guards standing
watch.
“Carrie,” Orion coaxed gently, “take the medicine.”
“It’s so bitter…” Carrie whined, her voice all sweet and delicate.
Zayden immediately pulled out a piece of chocolate from his pocket. “This was your favorite as a kid. I always keep one
on me.”
I stood frozen at the doorway, my fingertips digging hard into my palm. Blood slowly seeped out–but I felt nothing.
“Blair?” Christian was the first to notice me. He got up and walked toward me. “Where were you all day? I didn’t see you
once.”
His voice was soft. Like he wasn’t the same man who stood right in front of me earlier–sealing the mate bond with Carrie.
I didn’t answer. My gaze slid past him and landed on Carrie–the sister who’d once run away from her wedding and
shattered my entire life.
Christian followed my eyes, then offered a quiet explanation. “Carrie’s sick. Terminal. She just wants to spend her last days with family. I know she was wrong to run back then, but she’s still your sister. For your sake-”
“For my sake?” I let out a laugh, cold and low. My voice rumbled into a growl. “Or is it because you never actually let her
go?”
His expression darkened. “Blair…”
“Blair.” Lysander–my eldest brother–stepped up. He reached for my head out of habit but froze mid–air, changing the gesture into a pat on my shoulder. “Carrie doesn’t have much time left. It’s not like our pack can’t afford to take care of
one more person…”
“Yeah,” Orion chimed in, “She’s been through a lot out there. She knows she messed up. But we’re family.”
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“You’re the sensible one, right?” Zayden said from behind me, voice laced with pressure.
I clenched my jaw. My wolf snarled inside me, thrashing, ready to tear everything apart–but there was no outlet for her
rage.
Finally, I muttered, “Fine.”
Finally, satisfied smiles spread across their faces.
“Keep Carrie company,” Christian said. “We’ll go prepare a room for her.”
After they went upstairs, Carrie slowly rose from the couch and walked over. Her face looked pale, but the gleam in her
eyes betrayed her delight.
“Blair, it’s been five years. I brought you a little gift.”
I instinctively took a step back. Every instinct screamed that something was wrong.
She smiled sweetly as she shoved a box wrapped in black ribbon into my arms–then, ever so thoughtfully, lifted the lid.
“AH-!”
A pitch–black snake shot out of the box and sank its fangs deep into my wrist.
The pain hit me like lightning, tearing straight through nerves and bone. I almost screamed.
I flung the box away in pure panic–hitting her square in the shoulder.
She dropped to the floor with a dramatic shriek. “Ow! It hurts!”
Thundering footsteps echoed from upstairs. All four men rushed down–only to see Carrie on the ground in tears, and me,
standing in a pool of blood, venom dripping from my wrist.
“What the hell are you doing?!” Christian roared, shoving me aside.
I stumbled, crashing into the coffee table. Something in my ribcage cracked.
“She put a snake in the box…” I rasped, voice barely audible.
“Bullshit!” Zayden’s roar made my ears ring. “Carrie’s body is too weak–how the hell could she hurt you?!”
“Christian… Orion… please… I just wanted to make peace with Blair,” Carrie sobbed, crawling into Orion’s arms. “I don’t
know why she misunderstood me like this…”
Cold seeped into every inch of my body. I tried to reach for the box–to prove I wasn’t lying–but Christian gripped my
injured wrist and yanked me back.
“Enough!” he snapped, hurling me aside. The twin puncture marks on my wrist were clear as day. “She’s your sister! And
you would pull a stunt like this?!”
They scooped Carrie into their arms and left–without once looking back.
I collapsed to my knees–the venom spread fast, my vision blurred and my ears buzzed like bees trapped in my skull. Something inside me was screaming.
“Luna! Luna!” I barely made out Lexie’s voice–the maid of the packhouse in charge of cleaning.
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I forced my eyes open, but everything was a blur. I could only see the ceiling.
They rushed me to the hospital. But what I heard next-
“Sorry, all the pack doctors are treating Carrie. Her condition suddenly worsened. Orders are in–only she gets care today.”
I laughed a broken, blood–choked sound, a wolf’s howl dying somewhere deep in my throat.
Lexie screamed through tears, “Luna’s dying! If you let her die, I swear I’ll report you to the Alpha Council!”
No one listened.
I fumbled for my phone and called Christian. My voice was barely a whisper.
“I… got bitten by a venomous snake… can your pack… send a healer…”
“Blair!” His voice on the other end was glacial. “Carrie’s condition worsened after you pushed her! And you’re still playing games?!”
“It wasn’t me… I swear…”
Click. He hung up.
I stared at the screen, stunned. Tears slid silently down my face. Pain–sharp, burning pain–ripped through every inch of my body. But worse than that… was the ache in my heart.
My wolf howled inside me, but no one answered.
I slowly closed my eyes. And wished I could disappear–forever.
