Yula's POV
"I came back to rebuild our broken bond," he said, guilt creeping into his voice.
She stood up and rushed at him but fell before reaching him. She groaned in pain. Ivan gave me a hand, and we lifted her from the ground. She slapped Ivan's hands away.
"Take them off me. I don't need you anymore!"
"Valeria," I called, about to say something when she cut me off with a raised palm. I fell silent.
"Don't start the sermon. If you were in my shoes, wouldn't you do the same?" she asked, pain clouding her eyes.
"Valeria, please hear me out. I know—"
"I don't want to hear it. Save your explanations for someone who cares. Maybe Yula."
She started scanning the bed as if searching for something.
"What is it?" I asked, offering to help, but she stayed quiet. Ivan was at a loss for words. He knew this would be tough, and I didn't think he was ready to handle it. She soon snatched up the small brown poison bottle that had followed her from Varkos' territory and dashed toward the door, but Ivan stepped in her way before she could leave.
"You have to listen to me." His voice was thick now, full of frustration.
"You have nothing to explain!" Valeria yelled back. Her eyes burned like flames, but behind that was pain: deep, unexplainable pain, the agony of being a slave to the man who murdered your father before your eyes—a memory turned nightmare.
After a heavy silence, Ivan spoke. "I never left you… I'm here because of you."
"It's too late now, Ivan. My enemies have already done too much. Your coming now is what they call medicine after death."
That hit me differently. Maybe she was right. Ivan was too late.
"You were supposed to stand by me and protect me, like you always said."
"Valeria, if I hadn't left, things would have been worse than they are now. They would have killed us all because no one would have been strong enough to face the other packs."
"You're talking nonsense! What other packs? When Damien was alive, the city was peaceful. No attacks. You just decided to leave for nothing! Maybe you saw what was coming and left us to face it alone. Now you return when Varkos has done his worst. We don't need you here. Go back to wherever you came from.
Eight years, Ivan! Eight years of being a slave to my worst enemy. My father died because you failed to protect me, like you swore you would." She paused, letting out a frustrated breath.
"I wanted to avenge my father's death, even if that was the least I could do. I started rebuilding from the ashes, gathering stragglers, forming the beginning of a pack—not for power, but for revenge and survival, with Yula's help. But Varkos sent his men after us. They scattered us, wounded us. Yula escaped, but I was taken," she said, crying harder.
After trying to gather himself, Ivan said, "Valeria, my father also went missing. There was no trace—"
"Your father never went missing," she cut in. "He works for Varkos now," she snapped. I remembered—the familiar man who led Varkos' men was his father. Oh. Now I get it. That was why he was so eager to know who I was. Maybe my face looked familiar to him too.
"Yes, Magnus controls a large part of Varkos' territory," I added. Surprise flickered in Ivan's eyes.
"You've got to be kidding me."
"Ivan, Varkos is using your father to get to you. He's using him to expand his territory. Believe me, he will get you if you don't learn to bond with the reincarnated beast inside you," I said. Valeria looked at us suspiciously.
"What reincarnated beast?" she demanded, her expression hard.
"Valeria, we read in the Book of Alphas that his missing rib is the only one who can help him control the beast, bond with it, and keep it from consuming him."
"That's interesting! So where is he supposed to find his missing rib?" she asked, mocking.
"She's right here. Right in front of us," I said softly. Ivan's eyes flickered between us, his expression pleading with Valeria to cooperate.
"I will be the last person on earth to help someone who abandoned me when I needed him most!" she shouted, then fled like a flash. Ivan stood there, broken, but he didn't cry. He held back the tears to prove his masculinity. We were both weak.
"How can she move that fast?"
"She's regained her strength. Varkos isn't just a heartless Alpha; he has potions for everything. While I was treating her, I discovered a sedative had thinned her blood. He must have been slipping it into her food or drink to suppress her wolf, her powers, and her senses so she wouldn't react to what he was doing to her. Now that she's changed her environment and met her fated mate, her strength has returned. That's why she can move like that. She couldn't in Varkos' territory."
I wasn't done explaining when a sudden gust of wind blew through. We remembered it was the night of the seventh moon in the 22nd century—just as the book described. Our minds raced. It was dangerous for her to be out tonight. Varkos would kill her if he found her. We dashed into the woods, swallowed by the darkness.
"Come with me," Ivan ordered, and I followed calmly. The woods were quiet, with no signs of rogues or anyone else.
"Do you smell her?" I whispered. He nodded.
"She knows we're here. I just don't know why she came to such a dangerous place," he said. As we moved deeper into the woods, Ivan caught the scent of rogues. "Don't panic, we have no business with them." I stayed close behind. Rogues were like dismissed soldiers in the human world—dangerous and unpredictable.
"Valeria?" he called, stopping, sniffing the air. He could sense she was about to get into trouble.
We needed to find her before the moon appeared. I looked up; the moon was slowly revealing itself.
A distant growl echoed.
"Varkos' pack," I snapped.
Ivan and I moved freely, passing some rogues who backed away at Ivan's presence.
The overshadowing beast inside Ivan began to grow, towering above him. That was what scared the rogues away.
Then we saw her, sitting at the top of a small hill with her back to us. I sighed. She looked different somehow. The moment Ivan saw her, the beast shrank back into him.
We approached cautiously. The edge of the hill was steep; a fall would kill her, her body shattering on the rocks below. A dark chasm opened at the bottom, the drop dizzyingly deep, with jagged rocks ready to tear apart anyone who fell. At the bottom, a narrow river twisted between the stones, glinting coldly.
"I thought I warned you to stay away from me," she said without turning.
"Calm down, Valeria," I said, my chest tightening, heart pounding. Varkos' men were coming. I could feel it.
"One more step, and I'll throw myself over."