Chapter 6
Marissa held the phone against her ear, her gaze drifting toward the window where the forest stretched out under a clouded sky. Her father’s voice came through the line, deep and reassuring, yet tinged with a
she hadn’t heard in a long time.
worry
“I know this isn‘ t an easy decision. You’ll be bound to someone you haven’t chosen,” he murmured, his tone carrying the weight of a thousand unspoken words. “But this Alpha–the one chosen for you- is strong, perhaps the strongest among them all. With him, you‘ ll be stable.”
The idea of marrying a stranger might have once sent shivers down her spine, but now, it felt like just another part of the life she‘ d accepted. Her strength, her very survival, relied on the stability of her blood -and that meant finding a mate capable of keeping her safe from herself.
“I understand, Dad,” she replied, her
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voice calm, almost detached. “It’s not as though I have much choice. My blood…” she trailed off, glancing at her bandaged leg, where the faint remnants of pain still pulsed. “It’s been acting up.”
Her father sighed, the sound laced with an understanding only a fellow Lycan could share. “I’m sorry to hear that,” he uttered, his voice carrying sympathy.
She felt a flicker of curiosity, almost against her will. The man she’d be bound to for life, the one who‘ d anchor her blood and become part of her very existence. Who was he?
“Who is he?” She started to ask, but before she could finish, she sensed movement in the hall outside her room. The familiar scents of Hunter and Caleb drifted toward her, bringing with them an ache she had tried to bury.
“Marissa?” Hunter‘ s voice called softly from the other side of the door, followed by a quiet knock.
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She let out a breath, feeling her wolf stir uneasily within her. “I’ll speak to you soon, Dad,” she said in a low tone, and ended the call before the door swung open.
Hunter and Caleb stood in the doorway, their eyes filled with curiosity and concern. For a moment, they looked exactly as they had when they were children, innocent and full of questions, ready to fix any problem she had. But those days were long
gone.
Hunter glanced from her to the phone in her hand, his brow furrowing slightly.
“Who were you talking to?”
Caleb, standing beside him with his arms. crossed, echoed his question with a sharp look. “Yeah, and what was it about?”
Marissa pocketed her phone and lifted her gaze to meet theirs, her expression cold and unyielding. “It’s none of your business.”
The sharpness in her voice left them both
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visibly stunned. Hunter‘ s mouth parted as though he had been about to say something but had lost the words. Caleb‘ s gaze hardened, and he took a step forward, his hand raised as if to catch her attention.
“What?” He echoed, confusion and a hint of hurt coloring his tone. “Why are you shutting us out?”
Her wolf bristled at the edge in his voice, a reminder of how quickly their loyalty had shifted to Ivy. They had no right to demand swers from her now, not after all they‘ d
her through. She kept her face
impassive, refusing to let even the faintest flicker of emotion betray her.
“There’s nothing to tell,” she replied simply, her tone icy and dismissive.
Hunter’s eyes darkened as he took a tentative step closer. “Marissa, what s going on with you? You‘ ve been… different. Distant.”
She scoffed, her gaze unwavering. “Oh, so
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now you care? Now that it suits you?” Her voice held a note of sarcasm that even she hadn’t intended, but the bitterness was impossible to hold back. “Don’t pretend like you care, Hunter.”
Caleb‘ s expression turned defensive, and he exchanged a look with Hunter, a silent communication passing between them that only made her irritation grow. They were so close, always so perfectly in sync–now with Ivy included. Once, she had been part of that bond. Now, she was an outsider in her own life.
Caleb crossed his arms, his jaw clenched as he spoke. “You‘ ve become… cold.”
“Cold?” She raised an eyebrow, feeling her wolf‘ s anger bubble to the surface. “Don’t mistake silence for coldness, Caleb. I simply have nothing left to say to either of you.”
The words hung in the air, and she saw the faintest flicker of disbelief cross Caleb‘ s face, while Hunter’s eyes filled with
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something closer to regret. She steeled herself against it, refusing to be drawn back into their world of hollow promises.
Hunter’s voice softened, and he reached out, his hand hovering just inches from her arm. “Marissa… don‘ t do this. Don’t
push us away.
She stepped back, pulling herself out of his reach, her expression as closed as the door she wished she could slam between them. “I’m not pushing anyone away. You did hat on your own when you decided that vy was more important.”
At the mention of Ivy, Caleb‘ s face tightened, and he stepped forward, his gaze hardening. “This isn‘ t about Ivy. You‘ re acting like we abandoned you when all we did was show her a little kindness. She‘ s part of this pack, too.”
Marissa clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms as she struggled to keep her wolf in check. They couldn’t see it, could they? They couldn’t see how
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much they had turned their backs on her, how quickly they had cast her aside.
“Kindness?” Her voice was barely more than a whisper, but it held a dangerous edge. “Kindness isn’t forgetting the promises you made just because someone new catches your eye. You don’t get to tell me what kindness is, Caleb.”
