Jade’s POV
The cold ointnt slid over my skin, but Ryder’s fingers were like fire.
Every slow stroke of his hand made my breath catch in my throat.
His touch was firm, yet careful.
Controlled, yet trembling just slightly.
And every ti he dragged his fingertips along a bruise, sothing sharp and hot pooled low in my stomach.
Goddess... why did it feel like this?
The heat of the spring still clung to my body, and his cool fingertips were a contrast that sent shivers racing down my spine. My pulse fluttered against my ribcage, betraying completely. I hated that my body reacted to him. I hated that the sa boy who tornted could make my skin co alive like this with nothing but a touch.
When his thumb brushed the base of my spine, my knees almost buckled.
I bit down hard on my lip to keep a sound from escaping.
This ant nothing.
Nothing.
He hated .
I reminded myself again and again, but my body refused to obey.
Ryder’s breathing was low, steady... but not steady enough. I could feel the faint tremble of it against my back as he leaned closer, concentrating on my wounds. The scent of pine and sothing darker, sothing purely him, wrapped around , unsettling and addictive at the sa ti.
When his fingers finally left my skin, I almost.... missed it.
Disappointnt pricked at , hot and humiliating. I straightened slowly, still covering my chest with my arms, and turned to face him.
“Why....” I began.
“No.” He cut off instantly.
The softness from a mont ago evaporated like it never existed. Ryder’s expression hardened back into the cold mask he always wore around .
“I do not care about you, Jade,” he said flatly. “Do not read any deep aning into this.”
My throat tightened.
“Those kinds of wounds get infected easily,” Ryder continued, voice colder than the ointnt still clinging to my skin. “And I don’t want anything happening to you yet. Not until my brothers and I are done punishing you.”
My stomach twisted painfully.
Punishing ....
Always punishing.
“You belong to us, Jade,” Ryder said, stepping closer, his eyes flicking briefly, dangerously, over my exposed skin before snapping back to my face. “So you are not even allowed to fall sick without our permission.”
My lips parted, anger and confusion tangling inside .
“But... why?” My voice cracked. “Why should I be punished? What have I ever done wrong?”
His jaw clenched.
It wasn’t hatred alone in his eyes.
It was sothing deeper.
Disappointnt. Betrayal.
“It’s disgusting when you pretend you don’t know,” Ryder said, shaking his head slowly as if my words sickened him. “Thank the goddess Linda told us everything back then.... and made sure we heard it and saw it with our own eyes.”
I froze.
Linda?
“If not for her,” Ryder added, voice sharp with bitterness, “my brothers and I would’ve still been caught in your deceptive web.”
“Ryder....”
He didn’t let finish.
He grabbed my dress from the grass and hurled it at .
“Cover up,” he snapped. “And stop showing your slutty body around.”
His voice shook.
Just a little.
Like he was fighting sothing, fighting himself, as he looked anywhere but at my naked skin.
Before I could say another word, he turned sharply and walked away, disappearing between the trees.
Leaving alone.
Shaking.
Humiliated.
Confused.
And aching in a way I didn’t want to understand.
I tried to shake the feelings off as I slipped my dress back on, my hands trembling slightly, not from the cold air brushing my damp skin, but from Ryder’s words that kept echoing in my head.
What exactly did Linda tell them?
What did they “hear and see” that made them suddenly hate so viciously?
What lies did she feed them?
I replayed every mory, every mont, but nothing made sense. One day, the boys I grew up with were smiling at ... and the next after my dad was killed and I finally resud school again, they were looking at like I was filth beneath their boots.
Whatever Linda said... whatever she showed them.... it destroyed everything.
And I didn’t even know what it was.
The confusion clawed at my chest as I began walking back ho through the woods, my feet heavy, my mind heavier. Everything hurt, my back, my pride, my heart. By the ti I stepped into our small house, I was exhausted.
Then I saw the note on the table.
Beside it was a small food flask, still warm.
I picked up the note and unfolded it.
Jade, my sunshine,
I ca ho for a mont but had to return to the mansion. There’s too much work today.
Eat the food I made. And when you lift the flask, you’ll see so cash.
Use it to take yourself out for a treat before the ceremony tonight.
I’m sorry I couldn’t give you a better birthday gift, but that is everything I’ve been saving all year.
Forgive for not being by your side when your wolf awakens tonight.
Happy 18th birthday, my Jade. I promise I’ll find a way to make things better for us one day.
Mum.
My vision blurred.
I lifted the food flask, and nearly dropped it when I saw the money hidden underneath.
“Mum....” I whispered.
It was a lot. Way more than I expected. My mum must have skipped als, worked extra hours, sacrificed sleep, and quietly saved every coin she could... all just to give this.
Tears stread down my cheeks as I opened the flask. Steam rose from the food she sohow found ti to make despite everything.
I sat down.
I ate.
And I cried.
Cried because my mum was trying so hard.
Cried because she was drowning in exhaustion every day.
Cried because all she wanted was for to have sothing nice.
Cried because I had nothing to give her in return except more worry, more pain, more humiliation.
I wiped my tears, inhaling sharply.
No.
I couldn’t afford to be weak.
I had to get stronger, for her.
But how was I supposed to save her when we were both branded as traitors’ blood? When we were at the bottom, treated like dirt, living from command to command?
There was no escape.
Unless....
My thoughts snagged on the triplets.
The boys who used to protect .
The boys who used to love .
The boys whose father destroyed our family.
The boys who now hated with unexplained fury.
If they were still good friends with ...
If things were still the sa, like they used to be....
Our lives would be so different.
Then, like a flash of lightning, an idea struck.
A stupid idea.
A reckless idea.
A dangerous idea.
But it was the only idea.
I stood abruptly, the chair scraping the floor.
If I wanted to save my mum from this lifeti of servitude...
If I wanted any chance of surviving in this pack...
Then I needed the triplets’ favor again, by force if not by choice.
And I knew exactly where to start.
I hurried to my closet and pulled out the dress.
The one my father bought two years ago.
A beautiful red gown, sleek, elegant, slightly oversized back then, and kinda revealing.
He told to keep it, to wear it for my 18th birthday.
I clutched it to my chest, breath shaking.
When they seized everything after declaring my father a traitor, this was the only item I managed to hide. The last thing he ever gave .
Tonight.... I would wear it.
I threw it over my arm, snatched the envelope of cash, and grabbed the invitation Linda had shoved at with that mocking smile.
Her “birthday party.”
Her “wolf awakening.”
Her attempt to flaunt her connection with the triplets.
I would steal that spotlight.
I would walk in looking gorgeous, confident, seductive.
I’d remind the triplets of what we once were.
I’d make them look at again.
If they wouldn’t listen to my words...
Maybe they’d listen to their eyes.... and instincts.
I rushed out of the house, determination burning through my exhaustion.
I was going to the pack’s most popular beauty parlor.
I would get my hair and makeup done.
I would spend every coin my mother saved.
And tonight, I would walk into that party looking as sexy as hell.
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