Chapter 56
I barely touch the damn food.
Every muscle in my body is wound tight with rage–rage I’ve been nursing since the moment I stepped foot into Red Night Pack territory. My hands twitch at the memory, and my jaw is clenched so tightly it’s a miracle my teeth haven’t shattered. My mate–Kali–was on her knees, being screamed at and shoved around like a worthless mutt by some pathetic excuse for a woman.
She slapped Kali and before I even registered my own movement, she was dead.
I snapped her neck so fast she didn’t even get the chance to scream. No warning, no second chances. Her body hit the ground with a dull thud, and the silence that followed was… satisfying. The crowd gasped, mouths hanging open in shock, but all I saw was Kali–frozen, trembling, trying to stand tall despite everything.
The screaming didn’t start until the shock wore off–wails about how I had just killed their “future Luna.”
I didn’t give a damn. If anything, I smiled because there is no future for anyone who raises a hand to
my mate.
And now, as I sit here at the dining table, watching Kali with her mother, her words echo in my head like a drumbeat.
“You’re free now.”
She whispered it so softly. But I felt the weight of it.
I know what she meant. The mark is fading–her mother finally rejected that bastard. That waste of a man who dared to call himself her father. My spies had filled me in on how he used her like a punching bag. Beat her bloody. Humiliated her.
I close my eyes for a moment, my jaw tightening again. I want to burn the Red Night Pack to the ground.
And yet, she survived it all.
She walked into my pack broken, banished, and I–I was just another monster waiting to tear her down.
The thought makes me sick. I didn’t know what she had been through. And still, I tried to force her into submission, like she hadn’t already fought a thousand silent wars.
But she didn’t bend or submit. Not then. Not now.
Not even after what that wretched excuse of a Luna did to her. Diana–who treated Kali like she wasn’t even human. And her precious son Travis–gods, if I get my hands on him. She refused him. Rejected him. Stood her ground like a damn queen.
And now the bastard ran. Escaped. But he can run all he wants.
I’ll find him. And when I do, he’ll beg for a quick death.
I scrape back my chair and rise silently, ignoring the curious looks from the omegas. I need to see the warrior in the hospital–the one who risked everything to stop Travis.
Caspian.
The name clicks into place in my mind. Kali’s best friend. The man she wanted me to test–to make alpha. I hadn’t known it was him. When I said I’d give the alpha title to the warrior, I saw the flicker of pain in her eyes. She thought Caspian lost his chance,
But now I know the truth–he is the one who stood against Travis.
It wasn’t favoritism. It was loyalty.
It was strength, and he’s earned the title more than anyone. I don’t care if he’s in a hospital bed–I’ll crown him there if I have to.
1/5
Chapter 56
As I reach the door, I hear soft footsteps behind me. A gentle voice calls out.
Alpha Jack?
I pause and tum,
Kall’s mother stands just a few steps away, her hands clasped nervously in front of her. She walks toward me, slowly, like she’s approaching a wild beast she’s not sure won’t bite.
She looks nothing like Kali, Smells nothing like her either. My spy told me Kali was adopted–and I believe it. But the woman in front of me… she loved Kali. Even when the rest of this damned pack turned their backs, she stood by her.
I see the fear in her eyes. And I hate it.
She’s afraid of me–not because of what I’ve done, but because of what I am.
The monster from Blood Fang.
So I lower my head slightly. Just enough a gesture of respect.
She blinks in surprise, then smiles softly and bows back.
We walk side by side, saying nothing, until we reach the balcony. The night air is cool, brushing against our faces as we step into the quiet space overlooking the garden.
“I wanted to thank you,” she begins, her voice gentle. “For taking care of my daughter.”
I stiffen. A bitter taste rises in my mouth.
I didn’t take care of her. Not at first.
I hurt her. Made her feel like she had no choice. I pushed when I should’ve protected. And maybe that’s why she rejected me–again and again.
But I won’t interrupt her. I let her speak.
“I never imagined Kali would be mated to you,” she says with a soft laugh. “To Alpha Jack. When she was banished, I warned her. Told her not to go near Blood Fang territory. Told her to stay far away from your kind. I’d heard the stories–about you. What you do to rogues and woman. How dangerous you
are.”
“I still am,” I say quietly, eyes fixed on the garden below.
She chuckles. “Maybe. But she needs someone dangerous. Someone who would set the world on fire for her. I see how you look at her. You’d burn kingdoms.”
glance away, my jaw tightening, “She probably hates me.”
“No,” she whispers. “She’s just scared.”
“She rejected me. Twice.”
She lets out a soft, bittersweet laugh. “That girl has always been stubborn. But it’s not hate. She’s just… guarded.”
A quiet moment passes between us.
“So thank you. For loving her.”
Love? Kali?
“I’m grateful to fate,” she adds. “That it was you who became her second chance mate. She’s strong, but she’s tired. And I know you’ll protect her now.”
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K65%
I walk to Caspian’s bedside. For a moment, I just… stare at him. His body is broken, but his spirit isn’t. I can feel it. It’s hanging on, barely, like a flickering flame in a storm.
With my uninjured hand, I part his cracked, cold lips. Then I press my bleeding palm to his mouth, letting my blood slip in, drop by drop. As I do, I begin to whisper the ancient words of the ritual–low, guttural phrases passed down through Alpha bloodlines, as old as the moon itself.
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