Chapter 23
The air was thick with grief, suffocating, drowning me in the stench of blood and the overwhelming silence left behind. I stood beside my father’s lifeless form, his once- warm presence now reduced to a hollow shell, an echo of the strength he had once radiated. I couldn’t tear my eyes away. How could he be gone? My chest felt like it was caving in, the ache of loss ripping through me, jagged and relentless. My hands trembled, and I clenched them into fists, my nails digging so hard into my palms that I barely noticed the sting.
My wolf was a frantic, furious force within me, clawing and howling, desperate to escape and avenge the one who had been the rock in
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breath felt heavy, thick with denial. This was impossible. How could the one constant in my world be gone?
“Why?” I whispered, my voice fragile and broken as I stared down at his still face. “Why him?” The words barely escaped my lips, swallowed up by the oppressive silence surrounding us.
Then, footsteps a sound that tore through the fragile cocoon of grief I had built around myself. I turned to find Kayden and Francis approaching, their faces twisted with sorrow and shame. Of course, they would come now, when it was too late, when he was already zone. Their pity was a wound I couldn’t bear to see, a reminder of what they hadn’t done.
“Malinda…” Kayden’s voice was soft, cautious, as he reached out a hand toward
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Francis, ever the one to try to smooth things over, took a hesitant step forward, but my glare stopped him in his tracks. I felt the surge of my wolf rising, hungry for
retribution, aching to unleash every shred of the fury roiling within me.
Francis swallowed, his voice barely a whisper.
“Malinda, we… we’re so sorry. If we‘ d known-”
“Known?” I cut him off, my voice deadly quiet, vibrating with barely restrained anger. My gaze shifted between the two of them, sharp and unyielding. “What were you two doing while my father was being torn apart?”
The silence that followed was suffocating, heavy with words left unsaid. Kayden’s jaw clenched as he looked away, unable to meet
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He opened his mouth, but no words came. The silence was worse than any confession, pressing down on me, fueling the rage that already burned so fiercely within. I turned away, fists clenched, feeling utterly betrayed. Then, Sharon appeared. Her steps were slow, hesitant, her face twisted in what might have once seemed like grief. But to me, it looked like an act, a carefully curated facade of innocence. She moved closer, hand reaching out as if she had the right, as if she had the right to comfort me.
“Malinda,” she whispered, her voice thick with a sadness I couldn’t believe was real.
“I… I’m so sorry. I… I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
Her touch felt like ice against my skin. I shrugged her hand off, a growl rumbling
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back, Sharon. My father is dead. Dead. Because of you.”
Sharon’s lip quivered, and she let out a soft, pitiful whimper, turning those wide, tear- filled eyes on me. “Please, Malinda, I… I never wanted this. I didn’t mean for this-‘
“You didn’t mean it?” The words left my mouth dripping with disgust. I stepped forward, my vision tinted red with rage, my wolf thrumming with anger, every fiber of my being screaming for vengeance. “My father died protecting this pack, protecting all of you. And where were you? Hiding behind Kayden and Francis, acting helpless while he was out there dying.”
Sharon’s eyes searched for support, darting to Kayden and Francis, but they stayed silent,
