Chapter 53
feel the tension in the air crackle like lightning
M69%
And Then
“Kali Diana calls, her voice soft, fake kindness dripping from every syllable. “Please, speak to your mate. Talk to Alpha Jack. Tell him to put an end to this madness.
I blink at her. Is she serious?
She steps out from behind Travis, hands raised as though she’s the noble one here—the savior.
“He’s already killed Grace. Isn’t that punishment enough? Don’t let this go on any further.”
She actually dares to smile at me like we’re old friends and she hasn’t spent years making my life miserable.
“This pack took care of you,” she continues, her lips trembling as though she’s truly heartbroken. “We fed you. Clothed you. We picked you up from the dirt, Kali. You were nothing more than a stray dog when we found you.”
My hands clench into fists.
She did not just say that.
“You can’t let your mate destroy everything,” she pleads, eyes now glistening with tears as if she’s the victim“Think of your mother. Your father. This is their pack–this is their legacy.”
For a moment, all I can do is stare at her.
Then I laugh. A cold, bitter laugh that burns like fire and tastes of blood on my tongue.
“You Vile bitch,” I hiss. “You made my life a living hell. You humiliated me. You tried to force your pathetic excuse for a son on me.”
Her eyes widen in shock, as if she’s suddenly remembered what she did–how she stripped me of my clothes and threw me into the mating room for Travis to use me like some toy.
“And now you have the audacity to beg for mercy?” I shake my head, a bitter smile curling on my lips. “You locked my mother away. You broke me in every way you could.”
Her smile falters, finally.
I turn to Jack–proud, furious, standing tall beside him, blood still drying on my face.
“Well, guess what?” I whisper coldly. “Now it’s your turn to suffer.”
I look back at her, eyes blazing.
“My mate is going to make your lives miserable–just like you did to me.”
Jack wraps his arm around my waist, pulling me closer, and I let him. I want them to see.
The blood on my face.
The power standing at my side.
The fury burning in my soul.
No one notices how my wounds are healing faster than they should. How my wolf has already begun to stir with a power I don’t quite understand.
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2009%
13:30 Sat, 21 Jun GG
Chapter $3
I may not yet know who I truly am–but today, I am no longer the mutt you picked up from the dirt. I am the mate of the most feared Alpha alive.
And I’m ready to watch this pack burn to ashes
“Kali…
The voice makes me freeze.
Travis.
My head snaps in his direction. For the first time since all hell broke loose, he speaks. His voice is low, cautious–like he’s trying not to set off a bomb. But
it’s too late for that.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” he says, almost pleading, stepping forward slightly–ignoring the growls of the warriors who instantly react to his movement. “Take your mother and go. Leave this all behind. This pack isn’t worth the blood.”
1 raise a brow, silent but he dares to keep going.
“Please,” he adds softly, eyes searching mine with something that looks dangerously close to regret. “I was your mate before him. We had a bond, Kali. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
I scoff but Jack–Jack erupts.
Shit
A savage growl tears from his chest, so deep and violent it shakes the damn trees again. His grip on my waistightens, so fiercely I’m sure it’ll leave
marks.
“How dare you,” he snarls, voice guttural, dark, and deadly. “How fucking dare you claim to have been mate to what’s mine–and say it to my face like it means something?”
“You must not value your life, boy.”
I blink, startled for a split second.
Of course, he’s jealous.
And honestly?
It’s stupid, and petty, and possessive as hell. Even in the middle of a power shift, jack is acting like a possessive man–child–and somehow, it makes my heart flutter.
Despite the chaos and the blood and the burning ache in my body… I smile.
Because this is real. Jack isn’t pretending. He doesn’t just want to protect me—he wants me. Every broken, battered, messed–up part of me.
The same jealous fire that once caused half our fights now burns in his eyes–and for once, I like it.
He lifts a hand, and without a word, Fury surprisingly is who steps forward–silent and dangerous, like a storm on the edge of breaking.
Jack points at Travis, not sparing him another glance. “Take him away. I don’t want to hear another damn word from his mouth.”
Fury grins like he’s just been handed dessert.“No problem, Alpha.”
Travis stiffens as Fury approaches. For a heartbeat, panic flashes in his eyes. But he doesn’t fight. Not when Fury grabs him by the shoulder and yanks him back like a rag doll
“No–wait-” Diana screams, lunging forward in desperation, arms outstretched. “That’s my son! Please, Jack–Alpha Jack, have mercy–”
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Chapter 53
Funy yanks Travis back just as Diana Falls to her knees with a sob, clawing at the dirt
beg you, please, he’s all t have left!”
Hei screams pierce the air like knives – so satisfying – and I throw my head back and laugh. A full, wild, unhinged laugh that bubbles up from somewhere deep inside me. It tastes like revenge. Like finally breathing after drowning for years.
Tenjoy the sight of her broken.
I savor every second.
Until-
A soft voice behind me. Fragile. Familiar. My laughter dies mid–breath. I turn slowly, my chest suddenly tight.
There—just behind me–stands her.
My mother.
Tears spring to my eyes as I take in the sight of her. Her wrists are bruised, her clothes torn and stained, and her hair a tangled–mess. But her eyes- they’re still kind. Still hers.
“Mom,” I whisper, and then I’m moving–running–throwing myself into her arms so hard we almost topple over. I hold her like she might vanish again if I let go. She clutches me like I’m still her little girl.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt? Please tell me you’re not hurt–please-“I sob into her shoulder, frantically checking her face, her hands, and her arms. My tears won’t stop. “Did they touch you? Did they-”
“I’m okay, baby,” she murmurs, gently brushing my hair back. “I’m okay now.”
1 nod, choking on tears, my fingers squeezing hers like they’re the only thing keeping me anchored.
“You’re safe now,” I whisper. “You’re safe.”
Behind us, Jack’s voice thunders again.
“Lock Diana up. Put her in the cells next to her son. I want them both to feel what helplessness tastes like.”
“No!” Diana shrieks. “Please, no, not me! I’m the Luna–you can’t do this to me!”
Jack doesn’t even glance at her. His eyes are locked on mine. I straighten, releasing my mother gently, wiping the tears from my face. Then I turn to Diana with a wicked smile.
“No,“1 say calmly. “A cell is too kind.”
Jack raises a brow, intrigued.
Diana is still on the ground, shattered, shaking like the world just ended.
“I need a maid while I’m here,” I say sweetly. “And you, Luna Diana, look just desperate enough for the job.”
Her head snaps up. “What?”
I step toward her slowly, watching as her face drains of color and her eyes fill with horror.
“You’ll clean. Cook. Scrub the floors. Serye me and my mate like the little servant you always thought I was. Consider it… repayment.”
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Chapter 54
“No–no, please,” she begs, crawling backwand on her knees. “You can’t -kali, please
Aut past, kick her aside and step over her like the garbage she is.
You address me property, Imumur without looking back. “Alpha Female.”
Het scream echoes behind me, raw and broken.
It’s music.
Jack reaches for my hand, and I intertwine my fingers with his as we walk toward the Alpha house–our house now.
The same house I once scrubbed clean as punishment.
The same one I used to stare at and dream.
Now?
I’ll rule from it.
And Diana?
She’ll mop its floors.
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