CHAPTER 257: PAIN AND RAGE

Natalie~

"Trust me," Jacob said, and the words landed in my chest like a promise etched in stone. "You’re not alone. Not now. Not ever. You will always have me."

And gods—those words... they were everything.

Tears welled in my eyes as the weight of his voice settled into me like sunlight through a storm. I felt it—a tether, warm and unbreakable, pulling me back from the brink. I clung to that thread like it was my last breath, because maybe it was. Because if he was coming for me, then nothing could harm me again. Everything would be alright. Zane would be alright. Even Griffin would be alright.

I’d hold her. I’d trap her. I’d own this war in my blood. Because Jacob was coming. I just had to wait.

"I’ll keep her here," I whispered into the void, into myself. "I’ll hold her back with everything I have. I promise."

But then—

A sound cracked through the silence.

Not a crack of glass. Not the groan of a weakening prison.

It was laughter.

Cold. Low. Echoing. Laugher.

And it was hers.

"Oh, sweetheart," Kalmia cooed from within her shimmering silver cage, her smile like poison dipped in sugar. "You really are naive, aren’t you?"

I blinked. "What’s so damn funny?"

Her grin widened until it was nearly feral, stretching inhumanly across her face. "Jacob," she drawled, mocking. "That was sweet. Real tearjerker. But I hate to break it to you, cupcake... that wasn’t your beloved brother."

My heart skipped. "Liar."

"I am many things," she said, circling within the dome, her fingers trailing the glowing runes like she was caressing secrets. "But not this time, honey. That voice you heard? That promise?" She leaned in, pressing her face to the barrier, her eyes gleaming like oil. "That was me."

I stared at her. My throat clenched. "No."

"Oh, Nat," she laughed, the sound crawling over my skin like cold needles. "You really think he’d waste his time on you, with everything going on with him? Don’t be stupid. I’m in you, remember? I am you, whether you like it or not. I know your every thought now, your every ache. I saw how your heart fluttered when you thought of him. I felt that pathetic hope bloom."

I gritted my teeth. "Shut up. You’re bluffing."

"Oh?" She tilted her head, then—her voice shifted. Morphed.

"Natalie. You’re not alone. Not now. Not ever... You will always have me." It was Jacob’s voice. Down to the rhythm. Down to the timbre. Perfect.

My breath hitched.

Kalmia giggled. "You should see your face right now. You look like I told you Santa’s not real."

"That’s not possible..." I whispered. "You can’t..."

"Oh, but I can," she sang, spinning dramatically. "Your faith is a delicious little thing. So easy to manipulate. Your sweet big brother wouldn’t come for you even if you were dying—and you are, by the way."

"You low rate demon." My fists clenched.

"Please, compliment me harder," she purred, her smile crueler now. "Maybe then I won’t do this."

With a shriek of laughter, she shoved her hands against the runes—and to my horror, they cracked. Thin lines of black split through the silver cage like spiderwebs across ice.

"No," I gasped, charging forward. "No no NO—"

Too late.

BOOM.

The cage exploded in a shimmer of light and ash, runes dissolving like smoke around her. Kalmia stepped out, slow and graceful, brushing the stardust off her shoulders like she had just walked out of a salon.

"I told you," she grinned. "You let your guard down. All that brotherly love stuff? Weak. Predictable. Ugh, even I’m disappointed."

I didn’t move. I couldn’t—not for a heartbeat.

Not because of fear.

Because of rage.

"You dared..." I said slowly, my voice trembling not from pain—but fury. "You used him."

Kalmia blinked innocently. "I am inside your head, Natalie. Everything you love is mine to exploit."

"No," I said, stepping forward, eyes blazing. "You’re wrong."

"Am I?"

"You think you’ve won because you tricked me once? You think you’ve seen fury? Bitch, I was born in it."

"Oh no," she said, mock gasping. "Is this the part where you monologue?"

"No," I whispered.

I raised my hand.

And called a whip.

Silver and white, braided with ancient magic and fury, it snapped into existence, cracking through the air with a thunderclap. Kalmia flinched—then grinned again.

"You gonna spank me, princess?"

I lunged.

The whip screamed through the void, striking her square across the chest. The sound that came from her throat was not laughter this time.

It was pain.

"THIS," I roared, cracking it again across her legs, "is for every scar I buried."

She stumbled back. "Stop—"

Another lash. "For every night I cried myself to sleep."

Her voice shrieked through the void. "NATALIE—"

"FOR TAKING JACOB’S VOICE!"

I struck again. And again. My arm burned. My chest heaved. But I didn’t stop.

The whip became fire. It lit up the darkness, its glow reflecting in Kalmia’s terrified eyes. She tried to raise a shield—I shattered it. She tried to run—I caught her by the throat with moonlight, slammed her back, and lashed her again.

"You want to live in my body? Then you feel my pain. My rage," I hissed.

Each strike was a memory, a scar, a scream swallowed. The rejection. The abuse. The nights in the dungeon. The Alpha who ruined my childhood. The mate who tossed me aside. Being banished. Losing my parents. Almost losing myself.

And now this... this parasite thinking she could take over my body and wear my brother’s voice like a coat?

No. More.

Kalmia began to beg. Her screams dissolved into gasping, trembling whimpers.

"Please... Natalie... stop—"

I raised the whip once more. Her knees hit the ground.

She was bleeding light. Flickering. Weak.

But I didn’t feel mercy. I felt power.

"I warned you," I said, voice hoarse. "I’m not powerless anymore."

With a scream, she tore herself out of my body like an animal caught in a trap and fled, leaving a gaping void in her wake.

The second she ripped out of me—

I woke up.

I shot upright with a gasp, heart pounding hard. Sweat clung to my skin, and moonlight bathed my room through the open window. The world was quiet—but I wasn’t.

I could still feel her.

The anger didn’t leave.

It festered. It burned hot in my chest like a second heart.

She escaped.

After everything, she still ran.

"No," I whispered, standing. My legs trembled, but I didn’t care. "No. This isn’t over."

My wolf stirred inside me, awake and furious.

"Let’s hunt, Mara," Jasmine growled. "Let’s finish this once and for all."

I nodded, and my eyes flashed silver in the dark. I couldn’t see or feel anything past my rage.

"I’m not waiting for anyone anymore," I said aloud. "Not Jacob. Not the Moon. Not the stars. I’m finishing this."

And this time?

Kalmia runs... but I will find her.

And when I do?

She will beg again.

But I won’t be listening. I’ll be ending her.