Chapter 4
On the night.
The pack's sleek black car sliced through the downpour, its tires hissing against the rain - soaked asphalt.
I sat in the passenger seat.
From the back seat, Diana's voice dripped with false sweetness.
"Jace, the way you defended me tonight... It made me feel so safe."
Alpha Jace's reply was a soft growl, a tender rumble I'd never heard directed at me in eight long years. "You're precious to me, Diana. I won't let anyone hurt you."
I stared out at the blurred world beyond the window, the raindrops streaking like tears down the glass.
Suddenly, the acrid stench of burning rubber filled the car.
A deafening screech of brakes pierced the night, and my werewolf hearing almost shattered under the intensity.
"Bang-!"
The impact was a violent explosion of force, sending my world into a dizzying spin.
The airbag deployed with a thunderous pop, slamming into my face.
I tasted blood, a warm, coppery flood filling my mouth.
Through the spider - webbed cracks in the windshield, I watched in horror as Alpha Jace ripped open the door.
His powerful arms cradled Diana protectively, her head nestled against his chest.
The rain lashed at them, but he didn't seem to notice.
His eyes, usually so cold towards me, were filled with a fierce protectiveness I'd only ever seen reserved for his late mate.
Mason bounded out of the car, his young form agile and quick, following his father into the storm without a backward glance.
The rain poured in through the shattered window, mixing with my blood.
It stung my wounds, the cold droplets a cruel contrast to the warmth that Alpha Jace now showed Diana.
In the hazy blur of pain, memories came flooding back.
I was transported back to that fateful snowy night eight years ago.
Alpha Jace had loomed over me in our living room, his alpha aura suffocating.
His eyes, colder than the arctic wind, had pinned me in place.
"Eight - year term. You'll raise Mason, satisfy my needs, and if you dare to carry my pup, you'll abort it. No questions asked."
Then there was the time Mason had locked me in the basement, his growls of hatred echoing through the dark.
Alpha Jace had stood at the top of the stairs, his silhouette a menacing shadow.
"He's what Hannah sacrificed herself for. Endure it."
Back in the present, the chaos of the accident faded into the background as I heard voices from the hospital.
The healer's panicked howl cut through the air.
"Both patients are RH negative! The blood bank only has enough for one!"
"Give it all to Diana. She must survive,"
Alpha Jace's voice was a cold, unwavering growl.
"But Miss Lancaster..."
"Let her die. She's served her purpose."
Mason's wailing joined in.
"Mom hated the dark! Send Ellie down to keep her company!"
When again, the sterile stench of antiseptic slammed into my nostrils, triggering a primal growl that died in my throat.
The ward was a cold, echoing tomb. My right leg throbbed beneath the thick cast, a heavy weight that sent jolts of pain shooting up my spine with even the slightest twitch.
The scent of my own rotting flesh seeped through the plaster, a sickening reminder of the injury that had rendered me helpless.
As the nurse approached with a tray of instruments.
She clicked her tongue, her eyes pitying.
"There's this Miss Whitmore," she murmured.
"She was in the same accident as you. Her mate and cub haven't left her side for a second. They've been growling at anyone who gets too close, guarding her like she's the alpha's most precious treasure. And look at you-half - dead, and not a single howl from your family."
I stared at the ceiling, tracing the cracks with my eyes as if they held the answers to my miserable existence.
The memory of Alpha Jace's cold command echoed in my mind: "Let her die. She's served her purpose."
"The mate and cub you speak of," I finally rasped, my voice as raw as the open wounds beneath my bandages, "they're mine.."
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