Jade’s POV
I was discharged just before the moon fully ca out into the sky.
The nurse removed the last of the monitoring leads with a careful, almost curious look, as if she didn’t quite understand how I was still breathing, much less sitting upright. The doctor had muttered sothing about “accelerated healing” and “mate bond activation," then he finally waved off with strict instructions to avoid combat, stress, or any intense physical exertion for at least a week.
I knew the wounds on my chest weren’t gone, not completely, but the jagged pain had dulled into a tight ache, the skin drawn together by faint lines instead of open gashes. It felt unreal. Just this morning, I’d been bleeding out on a training ground, convinced I was about to die.
And now I was being told to go ho.
I slid off the hospital bed slowly, my feet touching the cold floor. My body felt... different. Warr. More aware. Like sothing inside had finally woken up and refused to go back to sleep.
It’s because of them, my wolf purred softly.
I flushed, gripping the edge of the bed.
That brief, confusing but sensual mont with Ryder and Renzo, had lit sothing inside like a struck match. Their closeness. Their scent. The way the bond had tugged, pulled, demanded for more.
I wanted more from them, I needed more.
But instead they had touched just enough to wake my wolf from her weakness. Enough to force my body to start knitting itself back together.
That might have been enough for my body to start healing but that only opened a pit of sensual lust within , making crave their touch like a wolf in heat.
That realization sat heavy and shaful in my chest as I changed into my clothes. I wanted to feel that closeness again. Wanted the heat, the connection, the way my wolf had surged with life instead of fear.
I hated myself for it.
After everything they’d said to . After the way they looked at like I was sothing dirty, sothing unwanted. How could a part of still crave them?
They’re our mates, my wolf said simply. Our body knows what our heart refuses to accept.
I ignored her.
I stepped out of the hospital doors and took a breath, steadying myself, already bracing for the walk ho, for the whispers, the stares, the mockery.
That was when a sleek black car rolled to a smooth stop in front of .
The driver stepped out imdiately, straight backed and professional, and opened the back door.
“Jade Knight?” he asked.
“Yes....?” I replied cautiously.
“I’ve been sent to take you ho.”
My brows furrowed. “By who?”
“The Alpha’s sons.”
My heart skipped, then stumbled.
“What?” I blurted before I could stop myself.
“They asked that you be driven ho safely,” he said calmly, as if this was the most normal thing in the world.
I stood there for a mont, frozen, my mind racing.
Ryder and Renzo.
They sent a car.... for ?
My wolf practically spun in circles inside my chest, a burst of joy blooming before I could stop it. They care. They wouldn’t do this if they didn’t care.
“Stop,” I muttered under my breath, clenching my hands into fists.
I couldn’t afford hope.
Hope had never done anything for except make the fall hurt worse.
Still, I got into the car.
The interior was quiet, plush, faintly scented with leather and a scent sharp and familiar that made my chest ache. As the car pulled away from the hospital, I stared out the window, watching the world blur past.
Why would they do this?
They have never really cared for . Their concern, if it existed at all, had been tangled in resentnt, anger, sothing dark and unresolved.
They hated .
Despised even.
They’d made that very clear.
The idea of them starting to care, even a little, made my heart beat a little faster. But I forced myself to stay grounded. Sending a car didn’t an like . It didn’t an acceptance. It didn’t an anything more than obligation.... or guilt.
And I refused to let myself read more into it.
As the car turned onto my street, my thoughts drifted back to my mother, to her tired smile and aching hands, to the way her world would shatter if anything happened to .
That was the only thing that mattered right now.
Not the bond. Not the boys. Not the dangerous longing humming beneath my skin.
I leaned my head back against the seat and closed my eyes.
Whatever Ryder and Renzo felt, or didn’t feel, was their burden.
For now, I just needed to survive.
One day at a ti.
The car soon slowed to a stop, smooth and quiet, and for a second I didn’t even realize we’d arrived.
“We’re here,” the driver said, glancing at through the rearview mirror.
I opened my eyes.
The Servant Quarters stood in front of . Low, worn buildings lined in a row like an afterthought to the grand estate around them. This was ho. Or at least, the place I was constantly reminded was the only one I deserved.
I reached for the door handle and my fingers had just brushed the tal when sothing outside the car shifted, an unfamiliar, heavy presence that made my wolf stir uneasily.
I looked up.
Ronan.
He was leaning against the wall of the nearest quarter, arms crossed, posture deceptively relaxed. Like he’d been waiting.
The mont his eyes locked onto as I stepped out of the car, sothing feral flashed across his face.
He pushed off the wall and strode toward the car.
My heart lurched.
“Ronan, what’s go....”
I didn’t even finish the sentence.
His hand closed around my throat with brutal force.
The world tilted as my feet left the ground.
I gasped, air ripped from my lungs as he slamd back against the wall beside the building. The impact rattled through my already weakened body, pain blooming sharp. His wolf power crushed into like an invisible weight, pinning there as easily as if I were nothing.
I clawed at his wrist, my fingers scraping uselessly against skin that wouldn’t budge.
“R...Ronan....” I choked, panic flooding my veins.
His eyes were glowing now, blazing with fury.
“Stay away from ,” he snarled, voice low and shaking with rage. “And stay the hell away from my brothers.”
I struggled harder, my vision blurring as my lungs scread for air.
“And Linda,” he continued, grip tightening just enough to make stars explode behind my eyes. “You stay away from her.”
My wolf whimpered, curling in on herself, too weak to fight him off.
“You think I don’t see what you’re doing?” he hissed. “I know your plan. I know exactly the kind of person you are.”
Tears burned in my eyes, not just from the lack of oxygen, but from the sheer confusion slicing through .
“What... plan...?” I rasped.
His lips curled in disgust.
“You’re an evil, selfish bitch,” he spat. “A manipulative slut who can’t stand not being wanted. And if you don’t stay in your servant’s lane, your lowly, dirty little place...”
His face moved closer, his voice dropping to sothing deadly calm.
“If you ever cross Linda again. If you ever try to seduce my brothers again,” he said, “I won’t hesitate to kill you.”
Those words made my heart almost stop, cause Ronan looked and sounded like he ant every word.
Before I could even process everything, his hand dropped.
I crumpled instantly, my knees giving out as I fell to the ground, coughing violently, dragging in desperate gulps of air. My throat burned, my chest heaved, and tears spilled freely now, splashing onto the dirt beneath .
I barely registered his footsteps as he walked away.
And he didn’t look back.
Not once.
The car was already pulling away, the driver wisely pretending none of this had happened. I stayed there on the ground, shaking, gasping, my hands clutching at my throat as I tried to breathe through the pain.
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