Karl’s POV

Outside the hospital room.

+8 Pearls

Theo and I ran into each other head–on. He didn’t bother hiding his annoyance. “I’d advise you not to go in there. She’s pissed off, and if you walk in now, all you’ll get is yelled at.

I didn’t banswer/b. My eyes locked on the hospital bed through the narrow ss window. Riley’s frame was so small, so bruised, it was like staring at the aftermath of a war. My wolf growled low in my chest, a restless thrum of fury.

“How’s bshe /bdoing?” I asked, my voice hoarse from everything I hadn’t said.

Theo scoffed, “She had enough energy to argue with me, so I’d say bshe’s /bfine.”

Then he bpaused /band looked at me more seriously: “Why did your dad beat her like that, anyway? That was.. excessive.”

1 clenched my jaw but didn’t speak. I couldn’t.

Seeing my silence, Theo kept poking “What, was it because she bhurt /bScarlett or something-?”

“Don’t talk nonsense. I cut him off sharply, the words like a whipcrack. My brow furrowed bdeep/b, my entire body tense.

“It wasn’t?” he pressed.

“It wasn’t,” I repeated coldly.

“Alright, alright.” He raised his hands and backed off. “I’ve got stuff to do anyway. You should go home and get some rest.” I didn’t respond. I just kept staring at Riley through the window like I could somehow reach her bacross /bthe ss.

It was a long time before I finally turned and walked away, my steps as heavy as my heart.

The moment I stepped into the kitchen of the Vale estate, I caught the scent first. Not just the lingering aroma of herbs and. wolfberries in a tonic, but something sharper–burni pride, fear, and old bblood/b.

Mia stood stiffly near the counter, her eyes wet, bhands /bclenching a cloth that had long since stopped wiping anything. Across from her stood Scarlett, holding a porcin bowl of tonic. The steam curled upward like smoke from a wildfire.

I bknew /bwhat it bwas/b. I’d smelled it yesterday in Riley’s hospital room. The same tonic Mia made to help her recover,

Scarlett always said she hated it–bird spit, she called it. Said it made her gag

But now? She was guarding it like a prize.

“That’s for Riley, bMia /bsaid. Her voice bwas /bbcalm/b, but I could hear the quake in her chest.

Scarlett snortedb. /b“You forget your bce/b, Mia. You’re a servant. This isn’t your decision.

My jaw clenched.

Mia stayed quiet, but Isaw the fury in her. She didn’t say it, but bI /bcould feel it in her scent. She was reliving everything Riley had suffered the orphanage, the prison, the injuries, the bmissing /bfinger. The fact that she had to beg for her own recovery.

And here Scarlett wasb, /bholding that bowl like it was a trophy. Like Mia hadn’t spent hours preparing it before dawn.

gripped the railing at the top of the stairs.

bCRASH /b

A vase exploded against the marble floor below.

Scarlett shrieked. Zara and ric jumped.

I was already descending, each step slow, deliberate. My boots echoed like war drums.

337 PM

Scarlett’s smug smile vanished, She clutched the bowl tighter, shrinking back.

I didn’t stop

I reached her, snatched the bowl from her handsb, /band hurled it at the bfloor/b.

It shattered, herbal broth sttering across tile and cabs.

bScarlett /bscreamed.

“You were smiling.” bI /bbsaid /bcoldly, staring into her widened eyes. “What was so funny?”

T–I wasn’t!” she stammered, bgrabbing /bonto Zara’s arm.

Zara turned pale. ric’s expression darkened.

+8 Pearls

“You weren’t smiling?” I challenged, stepping closer. “So I imagined it? The same way Riley imagined being framed? Imagined being beaten until her bones cracked? Imagined carving off her own finger in this very house?”

Nobody answered.

I turned to Zara, You knew Scarlett hated that tonic. You knew Riley needed it more bthan /banyone in this house. And you let her have it

bZara’s /bmouth opened, but no sound came.

“She’s your daughter!” I snapped “bShe’s /byour blood.”

Her face crumpled. Tears welled in her eyes.

“If you really cared, you’d be in that hospital room right now, not babying the girl who damn near drove her sister to suicide.” ric growled, low and warning. That’s enough. You forget who you’re talking to?”

“No,” I said. “I know exactly who I’m talking to. bAn /bAlpha who let his daughter rot in prison. A Luna who let her scream in silence. bAnd /ba so–called sister who steals from her while she bleeds.”

My voice was a snarl now.

Zara shook her head. “Kael… you’re out of line.”

“No. 1 hissed. “This whole pack is.“.

I turned, stormed out the door, and mmed it behind me. But in my chest, I carried the weight of Riley’s silence. And I knew bthis /bwasn’t over.

It was just beginning.

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