Chapter 3
The rain hammered down as I followed Alex into the narrow alley, the scent of wet pavement and his anger thick in the air. He stopped abruptly, and when he turned to face me, his Alpha aura was suffocating, his eyes burning with a rage that made my wolf whimper in the back of my mind.
"Kaylani," he growled, his voice low and dangerous, the kind of tone that made even the strongest warriors flinch. "You knew it wasn’t safe out here. How could you let Brynn, a young pack member, run out into this storm? What kind of Luna are you?"
His words were a knife to my chest, but it was the disgust in his eyes that twisted the blade deeper. "How did I end up with a mate like you?" he spat. "Cold, heartless. You’re the one who deserves to be damned, not her."
Before I could respond, he grabbed me by the shoulders and shoved me hard. My back hit the edge of the open sewer grate, and I barely managed to catch myself, my fingers scrabbling against the slick metal. Nevaeh’s small voice cried out, "Mommy!" She reached for me, her tiny hands trembling as she tried to pull me back up.
"And you," Alex snarled, turning on her with a viciousness that made my blood run cold. "You little pest. If you hadn’t cried so loudly that night, if you hadn’t alerted the pack, I wouldn’t have lost you both!"
In one swift motion, he kicked Nevaeh square in the back. The force of it sent her small body crashing into me, and my grip slipped. We tumbled into the dark, icy water below, the rancid stench filling my lungs before I could even scream.
The cold was unbearable, the filth clinging to us as we sank. I tried to fight, to pull Nevaeh closer, but the current was too strong, the water too deep. My wolf howled in my mind, a sound of pure anguish, but there was nothing I could do.
When I woke, the despair clung to me like a second skin. My body was numb, but the memory of Alex’s cruelty burned hotter than ever. This time, I didn’t cry out. I didn’t even speak. I simply held Nevaeh’s hand, her tiny fingers limp in mine, and watched silently as Alex and Brynn flaunted their bond in front of us, their laughter cutting through the air like a blade.
The rain continued to fall, but it couldn’t wash away the pain. Not this time.
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