My fingers dig deeper. Fury claws at my wrist, the alpha wolf in him straining to fight back, his aura prickling sharp, but he doesn’t let it surface. He holds it in, and the woman sobbing at his side pleads through her tears, but her voice is just noise to me.
Kali’s scent hits me before her voice does–sweet, grounding, dangerous in the way only she can be. Her footsteps reach my heart, then her hand presses against my arm.
“Jack,” she whispers. “Let him go. You’re about to kill him… in front of his mate.”
I freeze. Fury… found his mate? My eyes flick to the trembling woman reaching desperately for him. The sight only sharpens my anger, but then Kali’s palm slides higher up my arm, her voice wrapping around my fury like chains.
“It’s not Fury’s fault Jasmine left,” she says softly. “This is what she wanted–her own path. And it’s my fault… for letting her.”
I whip my head toward her. “Your fault? What do you mean your fault?” My voice cracks, raw with desperation. “Don’t you dare blame yourself. Fury didn’t protect her-”
“No,” Kali cuts me off, her eyes fierce. “This is what Jasmine desperately wanted. She didn’t want to live in anyone’s shadow–not yours, not mine. This was her choice.”
My hand slackens against Fury’s throat. He drops to the ground, gasping for air, clutching at his neck while his mate crouches beside him, sobbing into his shoulder. My chest feels like it’s been hollowed out with a dull blade. I can’t breathe. My twin… out there, alone. Fragile. And I can’t protect her.
“For Jasmine’s sake, we can’t go after her. If you want her to heal, to come back stronger to us… you have to let her go.‘
I close my eyes, but it does nothing to dull the ache. It doesn’t stop the image of Jasmine breaking apart without me. My fists tremble uselessly at my sides. I failed her as a brother again.
“You haven’t failed her,” Kali whispers, as though she can hear my thoughts. “You have nothing to worry about, love. Jasmine is safe. I made sure she has the strongest, most trustworthy warriors protecting her. And my mother helped choose them. Isn’t that right, Mother?”
“Yes,” the Queen’s voice answers from behind me, calm and assured. “In fact, before you even arrived, Jack, I received a letter confirming her safety in the place she’s gone. You needn’t worry.”
I spin on her, chest heaving. “Then why the hell didn’t you tell me? You nearly made me kill Fury.”
The Queen only laughs, her eyes glinting with mischief. “I wanted Tom to feel a fraction of
the pain Jasmine felt when she left. He is, after all, the main reason her heart was broken. Let him carry some of that weight.”
I blow out a shaky breath, forcing myself to let go. The rage seeps out, leaving nothing but exhaustion. I turn back to Kali, pulling her into my arms. Holding her feels like breathing again. But then… I notice something strange.
Her heartbeat. It’s too fast. Her breath, shallow against my chest. I pull back, frowning. down at her. “Kali… why are you breathing so hard? Your heartbeat-‘
11
She smirks up at me, her lips curling like she’s been keeping a secret. “Even you couldn’t tell? I’m with a baby, Jack.” Her hand slides to her stomach. “Our baby.”
For a moment, I swear the ground disappears beneath me. My eyes nearly fall out of their sockets. “You’re-” My voice stammers uselessly. “You’re pregnant?”
And then I see it–the tiredness etched into her face, the subtle lean of her body into mine, like she’s been carrying this weight in silence all along.
Before I can speak again, the queen gasps and pushes me aside, tears streaming down her face as she clasps Kali in her arms. “I’m going to be a grandmother. This is a dream come true.”
Kali laughs softly, hugging her back, then returns to me. I sweep her off her feet, spinning her in the air, laughter and relief bursting out of me. “I’m going to be a father,” I say, voice cracking with joy. “This is the happiest day of my life. I just know it–it’ll be a boy. Our little prince.”
The queen snorts, an amused smirk on her lips. “Weren’t you just crying about your sister? And now it’s the happiest day of your life? What a brother you are.” She shakes her head.” And it’s not a boy. It’s a girl.”
Kali giggles, still in my arms. “How do you know that, Mother?”
The Queen’s smile softens, though something Heavier lingers beneath her tone. “I just know. A gut feeling. A very strong and powerful girl, just like you, my lovely Maya.”
But as she says it, I swear the flicker of her smile never reaches her eyes.
