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00:00My throat slit, I was pushed off the cliff, but the last seen before me was my devoted mate over
00:06there kissing the hand of my dear sister.
00:08Reborn, I had returned to the day I chose my beast.
00:11The little fox looked at me eagerly, his crimson eyes glistening.
00:15I raised my hand, and under his expectant gaze, pointed past him to the frail white snake behind him.
00:21I want him.
00:23You don't want me anymore?
00:25I had returned back to the day of the choosing, vendors shouting in the black market, voices clashing with the
00:31snarls of caged beastmen.
00:32The truth is clear, I had returned to the day father had brought us to the black market to choose.
00:37Pac's unspoken blood lot, every young man and woman, three years before coming of age, personally select an equally young
00:45beastman as their future mate.
00:48Bonded for life, no betrayal, no abandonment.
00:51Beastmen matured much quicker than humans.
00:54A puppet's love was to prevent a bonded beastman from growing into a resentful predator, but I had never fully
00:59understood why.
01:00Beastmen ranked beneath humans, caged and passive, waiting to be claimed like livestock.
01:06So why would our bloodline insist on binding us to them?
01:10Weren't they afraid of us being betrayed?
01:13Suddenly, I locked with Kale's eyes, still young and naive.
01:16Memory of my past life resurfaced.
01:18The stinging pains of my throat being slipped are so vivid.
01:22I bit it back and steadied myself with a fist, pressed hard against the pain of my chest, and looked
01:28around.
01:28The massive holding cage ahead contained no fewer than 20 beastmen.
01:33Unsurprisingly, every one of them bore fresh wounds.
01:36My gaze locked instantly on Kale, hunched in the corner, arm torn by bite marks, his fox ears and tail
01:42no longer able to stay hidden.
01:44He caught my gaze, and something lit in his eyes, then he moved toward me.
01:48Alara, which one do you like?
01:50Serafina appeared at my shoulder, her smile perfectly gentle.
01:54She was father's daughter from his first wife, a woman who had bled out in labor and never held her
02:00child.
02:00Father had remarried, and my brother and I came after.
02:03For years, Serafina had maintained a flawless image, gracious and elegant to the outside world, warm and devoted sister within
02:11the walls.
02:12In truth, she burned with rabid jealousy, convinced that my brother and I had stolen father's attention and her birthright.
02:19So she had delayed her own choosing.
02:21Father, I'd like to wait a bit before choosing an orc.
02:24I want to go with my sister.
02:28Laying a trap she'd been tightening for years.
02:30Watching Serafina now, poised as a flower, I understood perfectly.
02:35This was the moment Kale had first set his sights on her.
02:38Serafina spotted Kale too and murmured,
02:41You've always had a taste for pretty things.
02:43That fox suits you.
02:45Pretty, and nothing else.
02:47The color drained from Kale's face.
02:50In my last life, those words had fallen from Serafina's lips, and they had shattered him on the spot.
02:56This time was no different.
02:58He stared at me, ashen, his eyes flooding with disbelief.
03:01A question stirred in my gut.
03:03Serafina gave a small smile, drifted away, and began her own careful selection.
03:08Just as in my last life, she chose the powerfully built Shadow Wolf.
03:13Now I was the only one who hasn't chosen.
03:15Few beastmen remained in the cage.
03:17A quick sweep found Kale watching me with naked hope.
03:21My gaze moved past him and settled on the beastman behind,
03:25half human, half serpent, coiled and utterly still.
03:28If memory served, no one had chosen him in my last life.
03:31But a beastman had risen in this city after that.
03:34A name that made even hardened predators go still.
03:37Silas.
03:38Single-handedly, he had dismantled the black market,
03:41led a mass exodus of captive beastmen,
03:43and years later stood across a negotiating table from the humans,
03:47and won equal rights for every last one of his kind.
03:50I had crossed paths with Silas once,
03:52and that white serpent tail was burned into my memory.
03:55Right now, Silas could barely hold his human form,
03:58every inch of him fragility.
04:00Made up your mind?
04:01Father's voice cut through the noise.
04:03Yes.
04:07I want him.
04:08Kale's expression cracked.
04:10He spun around to stare at the frail serpent in disbelief.
04:14You're not choosing me?
04:15I didn't acknowledge Kale.
04:17Behind him, Silas cracked open his eyes.
04:19A pair of serpent-slit pupils,
04:21fixing on me without a flicker of warmth.
04:23I held that gaze, my voice steady with conviction.
04:26Come with me, and I'll heal you.
04:27Silas pressed a palm to the floor, crawled toward me.
04:30He stopped at my feet.
04:31I crouched down and pressed a palm to his cheek.
04:34I'm taking you with me.
04:36Kale lunged forward and seized my wrist.
04:38Choose me. You're supposed to choose me.
04:41He's half-dead already.
04:43Why would you pick him?
04:44That settled it.
04:45Kale had been reborn, too.
04:47Before I could react, Silas's brow furrowed,
04:50and the blood-streaked serpent tail uncoiled
04:52and snapped around Kale like a whip.
04:54Kale hit the wall hard enough to rattle the iron bars.
04:58Silas's eyes were cold-slit.
04:59Come closer again, and I'll kill you.
05:02Watching Kale clutch his ribs,
05:04I felt something close to joy rise in my chest,
05:07and I rewarded Silas with an approving pinch of his cheek.
05:10That was impressive.
05:12Silas's lashes trembled.
05:13He dropped his gaze fast.
05:15After Father paid and sent us home with our chosen beastmen,
05:19Kale's voice chased me out of the black market,
05:21shouting my name with a fury that echoed off the iron.
05:24I glanced sideways at the bodyguard beside me,
05:27and, as if deeply inconvenienced,
05:29He's so irritating.
05:31Understood.
05:33I let the corner of my mouth curl.
05:35In the black market,
05:36every unchosen beastman was sent to the fighting pit,
05:39a place where survival was measured in blood and screaming iron.
05:42I was very much looking forward to that.
05:44The good mood carried me all the way home.
05:47Father spared no resources on beastman care.
05:49Manuals, medicinal compounds,
05:51and supply crates flowed into my room like a tide.
05:54Silas's wounds weren't deep,
05:56but a congenital defect in his body
05:58slowed his recovery to a crawl.
06:00It made me only more curious.
06:02How had he survived the fighting pit in his last life,
06:05dragging that broken body through it all?
06:07My stare must have been too obvious,
06:08because a slow flush crept up Silas's neck.
06:11Mistress?
06:14Do you need something?
06:16In my last life,
06:17Kale had never once called me anything but my name,
06:20saving reverence for Serafina.
06:22Being called Mistress had a strange, particular weight to it.
06:25I tossed the medicine kit onto his lap.
06:28Dress your own wounds.
06:30Silas caught it and nodded,
06:31docile as still water.
06:33A few days of rest,
06:34and Silas had reclaimed his fully human form.
06:37Taller, too.
06:38His frame filling out overnight like a plant after rain.
06:42Beastman really did grow at an inhuman pace.
06:45That morning,
06:46Father tracked me down.
06:47A beastman healer had come to the city,
06:48he said.
06:49A merkin named Mira.
06:51She could treat both beastmen and humans.
06:54Father wanted me to take Silas to see her.
06:57The merkin carried innate healing gifts from birth,
07:00the strength of which scaled with individual talent.
07:03Even the weakest among them could mend their own bodies,
07:05but the most gifted could restore life to the near dead.
07:09Father turned to leave.
07:10I stopped him with a question that had been sitting in my chest for days.
07:13Our bloodline status over beastmen is absolute.
07:16So why does the PAC law bind us to them as mates?
07:20He paused,
07:22let out a long breath.
07:23Elara, remember this.
07:24A beastman's loyalty is something no human being can replicate.
07:28Whether you earn that loyalty,
07:30that depends entirely on you.
07:32He waved the conversation closed and walked away.
07:35I knew as well as anyone how rare a beastman's loyalty was,
07:39but in the mess I'd inherited from my last life,
07:42rare felt like a polite word for impossible.
07:44Wasn't this just gambling with our lives?
07:47I watched father go,
07:48then turned back and called Silas from his room,
07:51leading him out into the city for the first time.
07:54Mistress, what's that?
07:56Ice cream.
07:57He cataloged everything.
07:58Stall signs, storefronts,
08:00passing vehicles,
08:02with wide, hungry eyes.
08:04Mistress, what's that?
08:05An amusement park.
08:07Mistress!
08:08When we get back, I'll teach you to read,
08:10then you'll figure it out yourself.
08:12Okay.
08:13Silas beamed,
08:14falling into step just behind my shoulder.
08:17Out of the corner of my eye,
08:18I caught him eating the ice cream with total indifference.
08:21He didn't like it at all.
08:23While his gaze moved in quick,
08:24methodical sweeps across the street around us,
08:27the carefully performed helplessness had cracked.
08:30Just for a second.
08:31He didn't trust me,
08:32not even close,
08:33and beneath the docile surface,
08:35he was calculating.
08:36Of course he is, I thought.
08:38We arrived at the address father had given me.
08:40I had expected something imposing,
08:42a high-rise,
08:44gilded signage,
08:45because a beast man healer of rare power
08:47commanded human respect as much as fear.
08:50Instead,
08:50I found the most unremarkable courtyard I'd ever seen,
08:54identifiable only because it was packed shoulder to shoulder
08:57with people waiting.
08:58Inside,
08:59I spotted Kale.
09:00He was slumped against a girl's shoulder,
09:02barely breathing,
09:04more absent than present.
09:05As if he sensed me,
09:07Kale opened his eyes
09:08and found mine instantly.
09:10That one look was packed with a lifetime of grievances.
09:13He pushed himself upright from the girl's arms,
09:16eyes red-rimmed,
09:17and fixed me with an expression that begged without words.
09:20Then a hand closed over my eyes.
09:22Don't look at him.
09:24Glamour rat.
09:26I laughed and pulled his hand down.
09:28Get in line.
09:31Of course I could feel Kale's fox allure threading through the air,
09:35but it couldn't touch me now.
09:36Not with only hatred and wariness where softness used to live,
09:40and not when his glamour was still this juvenile.
09:44Silas gave me one more uncertain look,
09:47then moved to join the queue.
09:48What was Kale even doing here?
09:50But I wasn't the only one questioning it.
09:52A fox and an heiress whose family treats beasts like dirt?
09:56The pair drew everyone's attention.
09:58Someone gossiped among the crowd.
10:00On Kale's first day in the fighting pit,
10:02he had weaved his fox allure around a girl named Talia,
10:06making her desperate to buy him.
10:08Her father was a business partner of fathers.
10:10And when the black market saw how badly she wanted Kale,
10:13they drove the price up.
10:14Talia didn't have enough,
10:16went home to scrape together the rest,
10:18and spent several days doing it.
10:20During those days,
10:21on the bodyguard's quiet instruction,
10:23every beast man Kale faced in the pit
10:26was as brutal as they came.
10:28Taria had come back just in time
10:30to pull him out at death's door.
10:31I understood now.
10:33Kale was wounded badly enough
10:34that Talia had brought him here.
10:36I took a proper look at Talia.
10:38Peach bloom skin,
10:39wide eyes,
10:40all open sincerity.
10:42Not a calculating bone in her body
10:44by the look of it.
10:45No wonder Kale had reeled her in so easily.
10:47He never does change.
10:49Suddenly,
10:50Kale tore free of Talia's grip
10:51and lurched toward me.
10:53Hey, where are you going?
10:54Talia reached for him
10:56and he shoved her hand away viciously.
10:58Don't touch me!
11:00He glared at her with an expression
11:02I knew by heart.
11:03Revulsion.
11:04The specific kind reserved for things
11:06that had already served their purpose.
11:08He was certain Talia couldn't live without him,
11:11so he treated her with careless cruelty.
11:13Something sour moved through me
11:15and I set my jaw.
11:16Silas's brow creased,
11:18his weight shifted.
11:19I stopped him with a look.
11:21Kale staggered to me in a few short steps,
11:24those steps costing him everything.
11:25His legs gave.
11:27He dropped to one knee,
11:28barely catching himself
11:29before he hit the ground entirely.
11:31He forced his chin up
11:33and his eyes were sincere
11:34in a way that made my skin crawl.
11:36I'm sorry.
11:38I know what I did.
11:40He reached out,
11:41small and careful.
11:42Can you forgive me?
11:43So,
11:44he'd guessed I'd been reborn too.
11:46I didn't move
11:47and a flicker of relief crossed his face.
11:49He was almost close enough to take my hand.
11:52I looked past him at Talia instead.
11:54Let me show you how to handle a beastman who won't behave.
11:57The next second,
11:57I drove my boot into the center of Kale's chest
12:01with every bit of force I had.
12:03He flew backward
12:04and crashed through a low stone table
12:06in the courtroom.
12:07A choked sound,
12:08then a mouthful of blood
12:09hit the flagstones.
12:11Kale sat in the wreckage,
12:12white-faced,
12:13hand pressed to his chest.
12:15Talia sprinted over
12:16and rounded on me.
12:17What do you think you're doing?
12:19He's my beastman!
12:20Even if he's mishaving,
12:21that's between us!
12:22Who gave you the right?
12:24I tilted my head.
12:25You can't control him.
12:27And I don't like fox beastmen
12:28getting too close to me.
12:29They carry a certain...
12:31musk.
12:32Kale coughed up another mouthful of blood
12:34and stared at me
12:35with the expression of someone
12:37whose world had just inverted.
12:39Talia flushed scarlet.
12:40There's no...
12:41There's no musk!
12:42You're making that up!
12:43That's beastman discrimination!
12:44Careful.
12:46Statements like that
12:47tend to offend my beastmen.
12:49Silas looked at Talia,
12:50then let his gaze drop
12:51to the barely breathing Kale.
12:53You should be grateful
12:54it was my mistress who hit him.
12:56He said,
12:56his voice carrying the disinterest
12:58of someone announcing
12:59a weather forecast.
13:00Otherwise,
13:01I would have killed him.
13:02The undisguised kill intent
13:04sat in the air like a blade.
13:06You...
13:07Talia sputtered at him,
13:08then whipped around
13:09to stare at me.
13:10At last,
13:11she made a disgusted sound,
13:12hoisted Kale up
13:13with visible effort,
13:15and marched straight
13:16for the door.
13:19Out of the way!
13:21Can't you see he's dying?
13:22Everyone in the queue
13:23had been waiting far longer
13:25and had no interest
13:26in being cut.
13:27Talia ended up wedged
13:29at the entrance,
13:29Kale sagging against her.
13:31She raised her voice
13:32in desperation.
13:33Miss Mira,
13:35please,
13:35I'm begging you,
13:36save him!
13:36He really is!
13:37From inside the room
13:38came a voice,
13:39smooth as river water.
13:43He won't die.
13:45Wait your turn.
13:46I raised an eyebrow.
13:48I liked this Mira already.
13:49Talia had no choice
13:51but to stand there,
13:52seething.
13:53Kale was losing his grip
13:54on his human form.
13:55The fox's ears and tail
13:57slipped free,
13:58trembling.
13:59She glared daggers at me.
14:00This isn't over!
14:01I looked at her.
14:03Does your father know
14:04how much you paid
14:04for that beastman?
14:05The Talia family
14:06and mine were nothing alike.
14:08Our bloodline maintained
14:09some measure of regard
14:11for beastmen.
14:12The Talias treated them
14:13like livestock.
14:14If her father found out
14:16she'd spend a small fortune
14:17on a useless fox,
14:19the fallout would be spectacular.
14:21Talia blinked.
14:22Do you know my father?
14:23Then her eyes went wide.
14:24You're threatening me!
14:25I just smiled.
14:27Talia's lip trembled.
14:28Tears spilled down her face
14:30and she cried openly,
14:31chest heaving.
14:32I hadn't expected
14:33the waterworks.
14:34A headache bloomed
14:35behind my eyes.
14:36Stop crying.
14:37Your beastman isn't worth it.
14:39I won't let you say
14:40that about him.
14:41He's weak.
14:41Yes, but to me
14:42he's worth a thousand times more.
14:44Right.
14:45I had nothing left
14:46to say to that.
14:47The queue crawled forward
14:49for several more hours
14:50before it was finally,
14:51mercifully,
14:53Kale's turn.
14:53I had arrived later
14:55and stood behind them.
14:56By the time Talia helped Kale
14:58out of the treatment room,
14:59an hour had passed
15:00and his color had returned.
15:02He looked at me
15:03and the wounded helplessness
15:04was gone,
15:05replaced by something
15:06close to resentment.
15:07You're heartless, Alaksa.
15:09I made a dry sound.
15:10I can't compete with you.
15:12Stop wasting breath on her.
15:13Let's go.
15:15Steering Kale away
15:16with a huff in my direction.
15:18Behind me,
15:19Silas spoke quietly.
15:20You know them?
15:24I pointed toward
15:25the treatment room door.
15:26Your turn.
15:29Silas pressed his lips together,
15:31said nothing,
15:31and stepped inside.
15:32I followed and watched
15:34Mira work.
15:35The merkin were extraordinary.
15:36No instruments,
15:38no diagnostic tools,
15:40only a touch,
15:40and she already knew.
15:42I said it without thinking.
15:43That's remarkable.
15:45Mira looked at me
15:45with a faint smile.
15:46Nothing special.
15:48There are dozens
15:49in my bloodline
15:50more gifted than I am,
15:51and the greatest
15:52among them is
15:53her expression dimmed.
15:54A shadow of grief
15:55crossed her face,
15:56and she let the sentence die.
15:58His body has
15:59a congenital gap.
16:01It's why he appears
16:02far weaker than
16:03other beastmen,
16:04and it will shorten
16:05his lifespan.
16:06The hand resting
16:07at Silas' side
16:08closed into a fist,
16:09and his voice
16:10came out tight.
16:11Please, help me.
16:12Then he turned to me,
16:14and the look in his eyes
16:15said everything.
16:17Money is no obstacle.
16:19But Mira shook her head,
16:20her smile faint and tired.
16:22A congenital gap
16:23is beyond my reach.
16:26I can't mend
16:27what was never formed.
16:28Silas' face fell in a way
16:30that was visible
16:30to the naked eye.
16:31Thank you anyway.
16:34He turned to leave,
16:35and Mira looked at me.
16:36If you happen to know
16:37Lucian, Miss Alara,
16:39there may still be a chance.
16:40I was caught off guard,
16:42not only because
16:43Mira had recognized me,
16:44but because of
16:45the name itself.
16:46Lucian was the most gifted
16:47and most ungovernable
16:49of the Vos bloodline,
16:51the family's golden heir,
16:53known to everyone
16:53as their little crown prince.
16:55We had attended
16:56the same school once.
16:57I knew him
16:58after a fashion,
16:59but his health
17:00had declined,
17:00and he'd withdrawn
17:01from classes years ago.
17:03We hadn't spoken since.
17:04Does Lucian
17:05keep someone gifted near him?
17:07The Merkin are born
17:08with healing in our blood.
17:09It's simply a matter of degree.
17:11Even the least gifted of us
17:13can mend our own bodies
17:14through instinct alone.
17:16But the rarest among us,
17:17the ones born with song,
17:20they can restore the dead to life.
17:22I stared at her.
17:23That sounds impossible.
17:24I've never heard of anything like it.
17:25It isn't surprising.
17:27Our bloodline hasn't produced
17:28that level of gift in centuries.
17:30Then her voice shifted,
17:31quiet, deliberate.
17:33But in the past 20 years,
17:34one Merican was born
17:36carrying that gift
17:37from her very first breath.
17:38Something clicked into place
17:40at the back of my mind.
17:41What is her name?
17:43Lyra.
17:44Of course.
17:46I understand.
17:47Thank you, Mira.
17:48I set a payment card
17:49on the table
17:50and left with Silas.
17:52The moment we were outside,
17:53he asked,
17:54barely containing himself.
17:56Are we going to find Lyra?
17:58His eyes were bright
17:59with something almost desperate.
18:01If it's possible,
18:02I'll take you to her.
18:02I had heard Lyra's name once
18:04in my last life.
18:06Lyra.
18:07She had been offered
18:08to the Vos bloodline
18:09by the Merican
18:09as a gesture of protection.
18:11Her extraordinary healing talent,
18:13the price of her bloodline's safety.
18:16And with her,
18:18Lucian had finally been free.
18:19She seemed to care for him
18:20or so the rumors said.
18:22Lucian cared for someone else entirely
18:24and treated her accordingly.
18:25What happened after that?
18:27I didn't know.
18:29Because by that point,
18:31I was already dead.
18:32Given Lucian's erratic temperament,
18:34approaching him directly
18:35and asking for Lyra
18:37would be met with a flat refusal
18:39no matter how I framed it.
18:41The better path
18:42was to go around him,
18:43reach Lyra herself.
18:45Silas must have sensed my hesitation
18:47because some of the heat
18:49faded from his expression.
18:51Mistress doesn't need to worry.
18:53I'm fine as I am.
18:55That word,
18:56mistress,
18:57spoken aloud on a public street,
18:59turned heads up and down the block.
19:01A flush crept up the back of my neck.
19:04I cleared my throat twice.
19:06In public,
19:08you don't have to use that.
19:09Just call me by my name.
19:11Silas adapted without hesitation.
19:13All right, Alara.
19:14When I got home,
19:15I sent Talia's father
19:17an anonymous letter,
19:18a quiet, detailed account
19:20of exactly how much
19:21she had spent on kale
19:22at the black market.
19:24I didn't want Talia
19:25to become what I had been.
19:26It took less than two days
19:28before the news reached me.
19:29Miss Alotta, the news is here.
19:30Talia had been confined
19:31to the house,
19:32but the money was already spent
19:34and her father was too proud
19:35to return kale to the black market,
19:38which meant he would find ways
19:39to extract that investment
19:40from kale's skin.
19:42The Talia household
19:43would be its own kind of hell.
19:45I was still turning that over
19:46when a servant came running.
19:48Miss Alotta,
19:48something's wrong.
19:49Silas,
19:50Simus and Raven are fighting!
19:52Raven was Serafina's beast man.
19:54I was on my feet
19:55before the sentence finished.
19:57I followed the servant
19:58to the garden outside the mirror,
20:00where Silas had been pinned
20:01beneath the flowering hawthorn tree,
20:03and Raven's massive fists
20:05were falling on him
20:06again and again,
20:08each blow landing like a hammer.
20:10Miss Alara, please!
20:11You have to help him!
20:12He'll be beaten to death!
20:14The servant pulled at my arm.
20:16I raised a hand.
20:17Silence.
20:18My eyes stayed fixed on Silas.
20:20After days of recovery,
20:22his body was mostly healed.
20:23And this was the Silas who,
20:25in his last life,
20:26had survived the fighting pit
20:28on a broken frame,
20:29which meant there was
20:30no possible world
20:31in which he was simply
20:32being dominated by Raven right now.
20:35He was hiding what he could do,
20:36because he didn't trust me.
20:38So I wouldn't save him.
20:39I had no use for a beast man
20:41who might drive a blade into my back.
20:43This first step towards trust,
20:45he would have to be the one to take it.
20:47Silas still didn't move.
20:48Arms folded over his head,
20:50the crack of breaking bone
20:52cutting through the garden
20:53like a gunshot.
20:54He turned his head,
20:55spat blood onto the flagstones,
20:57and through the gap
20:58in the flowering branches,
20:59saw me.
21:00Disbelief in his eyes,
21:02hurt.
21:02A silent, furious question,
21:04why aren't you coming?
21:06My hand clenched at my side,
21:07and my jaw locked.
21:09Raven, scenting blood,
21:11found the animal in himself
21:12rising to the surface.
21:13Both ears pushing through his hair,
21:16every muscle lit up
21:17with predatory excitement,
21:18barely a step from the edge
21:20of a full, feral shift.
21:22I held my breath,
21:23my entire body strung tight as a wire,
21:25and stared at Silas.
21:27Just take this one step towards me,
21:29and I swear I will never stop protecting you.
21:32Silas' pupils elongated,
21:34the calm human iris
21:36collapsing into serpent slit.
21:37In the moment before Raven lunged
21:39to bite himself,
21:41Silas moved.
21:42His legs dissolved
21:43into a white serpent tail
21:44that coiled around Raven's body
21:46in one fluid motion,
21:48and then his fangs,
21:49long and curved
21:50and appearing from nowhere,
21:52drove into the side of Raven's neck
21:54without hesitation.
21:55Raven screamed and thrashed,
21:57every muscle in his body convulsing.
21:59Silas' tail contracted
22:01like a closing vice.
22:02I watched Raven's face shift
22:04from red to violet
22:05in the span of seconds,
22:06and understood instantly
22:08Silas' fangs were venomous.
22:10So he's a viper, I thought.
22:12Serafina arrived then,
22:13late and unhurried,
22:15and when she saw what was happening,
22:16Simus,
22:18you dare kill him.
22:20I stepped forward without hesitation.
22:23What if he does?
22:25Serafina's fierce expression
22:26shifted through several versions of itself
22:29when she saw me.
22:30She drew a breath,
22:32steadied herself.
22:33Allara, tell Silas to stop.
22:35Raven will die.
22:36I smiled.
22:37My brother keeps his head.
22:39Don't worry, Serafina.
22:40I glanced at Raven's
22:42stillening body with meaning.
22:43I won't let my sister
22:44become a widow this early.
22:46Allara!
22:47Serafina finally snapped.
22:49One finger leveled at me.
22:50Aren't you afraid
22:51father will punish you for this?
22:52I put on an expression
22:54of perfect innocence.
22:55Silas has always been
22:56fragile and obedient.
22:58He wouldn't provoke Raven
22:59without reason.
23:00This was self-defense
23:01and you know it.
23:02Why would father punish me?
23:03My voice cooled.
23:05Shouldn't the punishment
23:06fall on the one who started it?
23:08You!
23:08Enough!
23:09Everyone stop!
23:10Father's voice rolled through the garden
23:12from somewhere behind me,
23:14heavy with displeasure.
23:15Before Serafina could arrange her face
23:17into something pitiable,
23:18I got there first
23:19and let tears spill down my own.
23:22Father!
23:22She started it
23:23and now she's turning it around on me.
23:26Serafina went pale.
23:27I didn't, father.
23:28Please, save Raven.
23:30He'll die.
23:31Father let out a cold sound,
23:33spared Serafina one flat look.
23:34A lesson he needed to learn.
23:36And you,
23:37don't think I don't know
23:38what you've been doing.
23:39The handbook I gave you
23:40covers how to suppress
23:41a beast man's feral instincts.
23:43What exactly have you been doing with it?
23:45Father's voice rose.
23:47Serafina's chin dropped.
23:48I was wrong, father.
23:50Serafina,
23:51Raven is going to be your mate.
23:52Your work isn't only to tame him,
23:54it's to build him.
23:56Otherwise,
23:56his gaze cut across her,
23:58cold and quiet,
23:59and said nothing more.
24:01Serafina dropped to her knees.
24:02Yes, father.
24:03As Raven finally went still,
24:05the desperation broke through Serafina's composure
24:08and tears ran down her face.
24:10Father, please, save him.
24:12He's still going to be my husband one day.
24:14Please.
24:15Only then did father look at me.
24:17I nodded at Silas.
24:19Let him go.
24:19Silas released the coil.
24:21Raven's limp body hit the earth
24:23beside the hawthorn tree,
24:24scattering petals across the flagstones.
24:27I moved quickly to catch Silas.
24:29He had burned through everything he had,
24:31the serpent tail refusing to retract,
24:34his legs unable to carry him,
24:35his full weight dropping into my arms.
24:38Father made a sound of pure displeasure.
24:40I bought you beast men to bond with,
24:42not to put them against each other.
24:43If it happens again,
24:44you're both out of this bloodline.
24:48Understood, father.
24:51Quick, carry Raven inside.
24:57I looked at Raven's violet face and asked,
25:00will the venom kill him?
25:03I don't make problems for myself.
25:05Look at him and found his face stripped of everything he usually wore around me.
25:10The deference, the careful performance, all of it gone.
25:13What remained was cold and still,
25:15the slit pupils unmoved.
25:17This is who he actually is.
25:18Then Silas went boneless against my shoulder,
25:21head lolling,
25:22as if the last of his strength had left him at once.
25:25But I didn't believe it.
25:26Then again,
25:27a performance was only worth running to its end.
25:29So I slid an arm around that ice-cold tail,
25:32settled my other hand at his waist,
25:34and lifted him.
25:36Silas stared at me,
25:37startled into actual surprise,
25:39a flush climbing fast up his neck.
25:41Hold still.
25:44I carried him back to his room,
25:46where the physician was already waiting.
25:48The broken ribs were set.
25:50Silas endured it with his face gone paper white,
25:52the scales along his tail rippling open and closed with every wave of pain,
25:57until the sight made my own skin crawl.
25:59I turned away and rubbed the goosebumps down my arms.
26:02When the physician finished and left with a list of instructions,
26:06I looked at the pale expanse of serpent tail.
26:10Silas pressed his lips together,
26:12and under my gaze,
26:13drew it back in,
26:14the tail dissolving into human legs again.
26:18Oddly fascinating, man.
26:20And met those still unrecovered slit pupils,
26:23blinking at me without looking away.
26:26He was asking why I'd stood there and watched.
26:29I smiled.
26:29Have you ever heard the saying,
26:31which one?
26:32Real trust is earned in kind.
26:34You didn't trust me,
26:35so don't expect me to trust you first.
26:37After I left Silas' room,
26:39I did a quiet round of inquiries and pieced together what had happened.
26:43Silas had developed a fondness for the hawthorn tree in the garden.
26:46It was full bloom,
26:47and he'd been spending idle hours beneath it.
26:50He'd had the misfortune of crossing paths with Raven,
26:53who was wound tight and looking for something to hit.
26:56Serafina's standard for a beast man was raw power,
26:59and since a beast man who had learned to suppress their feral instinct lost much of that,
27:03she had never taught Raven to pull back from the edge.
27:06Instead, she trained him to his limits,
27:08and then patched him up herself with careful, gentle hands.
27:12Two sessions of that, and Raven was completely devoted to her.
27:15If I hadn't been blinded by Kale's fox allure in my last life,
27:19heart given over to him,
27:21every alarm in me silenced,
27:22I wouldn't have died so stupidly.
27:24Speaking of which,
27:26I wonder how Kale is doing in the Talia household.
27:28I asked, and promptly had to swallow a laugh.
27:31The Talia patriarch had been putting Kale's fox allure to work,
27:35entertaining guests with it,
27:36men and women alike,
27:38sparing no categories.
27:39Kale had always been beautiful.
27:41With his glamour on top of that,
27:43more than a few people had wanted him in my last life.
27:46To protect him,
27:47I had taken on damage I never should have absorbed.
27:50And every time,
27:51he had one thing to say,
27:52that's what you're here for,
27:54that's what I'm here for.
27:55As if I were furniture,
27:56a plan began to form in the back of my mind.
27:59I was humming to myself on the way back to my room,
28:02when I heard voices inside Silas's,
28:04and pressed myself quietly to the wall.
28:07Seraphina's voice,
28:08all warmth and remorse.
28:10Silas,
28:10I'm so sorry.
28:11I should have kept Raven under control.
28:14You're hurt so badly.
28:15Can I help you with your bandages?
28:17I raised an eyebrow and leaned closer.
28:19Silas's voice came back flat as a locked door.
28:22Get out.
28:23Where's Alara?
28:24Didn't she stay with you?
28:25With injuries this serious,
28:27isn't this your future husband's work?
28:29Silas said.
28:30And the chill in his voice could have frosted glass.
28:32I bit down on a laugh hard enough to hurt.
28:35Seraphina had clearly caught a glimpse
28:37of what Silas was capable of,
28:38and immediately wanted to pull him into her orbit.
28:41When it didn't work,
28:42she said a few perfunctory words of concern.
28:45and prepared to leave.
28:46I moved quickly back to my own room.
28:48But the next second,
28:49there was a knock on my door,
28:50and Silas was standing in the frame,
28:52eyes dark and steady,
28:54looking at me.
28:55I was genuinely surprised.
28:57He'd looked critically wounded moments ago,
28:59and he was already on his feet?
29:01Beastman healing was fast,
29:03but not that fast.
29:05Something you need?
29:06You said you'd teach me to read.
29:07I'd completely forgotten about that.
29:09Huh, sorry.
29:10We can start now.
29:12Silas pressed his lips together and stepped inside.
29:14I started from the very beginning,
29:16the phonetic alphabet,
29:17and we sat across from each other
29:19until he looked up and said,
29:21Am I what you expected?
29:22I blinked.
29:23Hmm.
29:23Silas raised his eyes.
29:25Earlier,
29:26was it worth watching?
29:27He meant,
29:28Why didn't you come in?
29:29I smiled.
29:30Honestly,
29:31it was.
29:31Silas's brow drew together immediately.
29:34He looked genuinely displeased,
29:36the question in his voice coming out sharper
29:38than he probably intended.
29:40You have history with her.
29:41He'd picked up on the tension between Serafina and me.
29:44Of course he had.
29:45I let my lashes fall.
29:46Yes,
29:47that history.
29:48He was quiet for a moment.
29:50I can't.
29:50That one,
29:50I genuinely hadn't seen coming.
29:53And then my father kills you in return?
29:55Silas's gaze didn't waver.
29:57You said it yourself.
29:58Real trust is earned in kind.
30:00For the first time,
30:01I saw it.
30:02Actual sincerity in his eyes.
30:04But still,
30:05why?
30:06Trust for trust was one thing.
30:07But I hadn't done anything to earn it yet.
30:10A flicker of tension moved through his expression.
30:12I want Lyra to treat me.
30:14If I had a body that worked the way it should,
30:17I wouldn't have had to spend today looking as pathetic as I did.
30:21I softened my voice.
30:22You were anything but pathetic today.
30:24In your last life,
30:25you survived the fighting pit using exactly that.
30:28Fain weakness,
30:29let them close in,
30:30and coil and bite through their throats.
30:33Thinking that,
30:34I reached up without meaning to
30:35and touched my own neck.
30:37Learn what you need to learn first.
30:40Lyra,
30:41I'll find a way.
30:42Okay.
30:43For the first time,
30:44the usually cold boy
30:45let a genuine smile break across his face.
30:48A few days later,
30:50word came that the Voss family's grandmother
30:52was turning 80,
30:53and the Voss household
30:55had sent a formal invitation to ours.
30:57Because of the garden incident,
30:59father took only me
31:00and left Serafina behind.
31:02Beastmen were barred from formal events,
31:05so I left Silas at home.
31:07In the banquet hall,
31:08I found Talia
31:09beaming at guests with practiced ease
31:11until she caught sight of me
31:13and her expression went flat as stone.
31:15I fell and stepped beside her
31:17after the gift presentation.
31:20Where's Kale?
31:21You have a nerve asking.
31:22This is all your fault, you know.
31:25Talia,
31:26do we have a problem?
31:30I don't know.
31:31You're the one who's had it out
31:32for me from the start.
31:33I've never had a problem with you.
31:34Only with Kale.
31:37If you don't believe me...
31:42I don't believe he'd do that to me.
31:46Then test him.
31:47While the crowd was distracted,
31:49Talia guided me quietly
31:51toward the cellar below the manor.
31:54Go in and remember,
31:57don't look directly at his eyes.
31:59Talia wrinkled her nose,
32:01gripped her composure,
32:02and clicked into the cellar
32:03on high heels.
32:05I slipped in behind her.
32:06It took a while
32:07before the light reached Kale's cage.
32:09He was chained at the neck like livestock,
32:12locked behind bars,
32:13filthy and broken-looking.
32:15A picture of wreckage.
32:16I stayed back around the corner,
32:18out of sight.
32:19Kale had his eyes closed,
32:21the fox ears flat and still.
32:23If his chest hadn't been faintly moving,
32:25he could have passed for dead.
32:28Kale.
32:30Kale.
32:31Talia's voice barely reached a whisper.
32:34He opened his eyes slowly,
32:35and when he saw her,
32:37something electric came back into his face.
32:40The chain snapped and rang at his sudden movement.
32:44You came to get me out?
32:46I can't get you out yet.
32:48My father is still angry.
32:50He's still angry.
32:53Then she rushed to add it.
32:56But I promise.
32:58I'll come back for you.
33:00I will.
33:01Talia, look at me.
33:02Just look at me.
33:04I'm begging you.
33:06Get me out.
33:07The way you did.
33:08In the fighting pit.
33:11You were everything to me then.
33:13You were the only light.
33:15Please, just look at me.
33:16Talia kept her chin down,
33:18listening.
33:18Kale ran out of patience fast.
33:21Talia.
33:22Get me out.
33:24Now!
33:26Why not?
33:27Why can't you?
33:28You did it fine at the fighting pit.
33:30You were falling over yourself to help me then.
33:32Why is now any different?
33:34You're blaming me?
33:36When you were the one begging me to save you?
33:39Who even gave you permission to be that gullible?
33:42You were practically throwing yourself at me.
33:44Just like Alara.
33:47Alara.
33:49You've done this to her too?
33:51No.
33:57Do you see it now?
33:58He barely had to try,
34:00and you couldn't hand yourself over fast enough.
34:03Talia turned to look at me.
34:04And you ended up being the one blamed for it.
34:07I rested a hand on her shoulder.
34:09Go wait outside.
34:11She glanced back at Kale, uncertain.
34:16But...
34:18You'll be fine.
34:19Talia looked over her shoulder three times on the way out,
34:22and then the cellar was just the two of us.
34:24Kale watched me, something testing in his voice.
34:27What do you want?
34:30I'm curious.
34:32How were you reborn?
34:33Let me guess.
34:35After I died in our last life, you went to Serafina,
34:37but your fox-alore never worked on her, did it?
34:39She kept her guard up.
34:41She knew what you were, and what you were capable of,
34:43so she was always watching.
34:44But your gift was too valuable to waste,
34:47so she put it to use.
34:49Until the very end,
34:50when you'd served your purpose completely,
34:52and her shadow wolf finished you the same way he finished me.
34:55That's not true.
34:56She cared about me.
34:57She cared about me.
34:58You don't know anything.
35:00Then why were you hoping I'd choose you in the black market?
35:04Alara!
35:05Alara!
35:07You have to take me back!
35:09Why won't you choose me?
35:10Why?
35:10I stepped back, just out of reach.
35:13The chain snapped taut around his neck.
35:17I'll give you something.
35:21One chance.
35:23To take back what was done to me.
35:28When I came up from the cellar,
35:30Talia was still outside,
35:32eyes raw.
35:32I almost sighed.
35:35I told you he wasn't worth it.
35:37Why are you this upset?
35:39Sorry.
35:40For what?
35:43I was...
35:44I was so stupid before.
35:47I thought it was destiny.
35:54I thought we'd be this epic human and beast man love story.
35:59She broke into full, shuddering sobs.
36:02I rubbed a spot on my temple.
36:04Even if you wanted an epic love story,
36:06you'd need your father's blessing first.
36:09Come on, let's go.
36:12She wept.
36:13Okay.
36:14After managing Talia back to some level of composure,
36:17I asked,
36:18Is Lucian on the guest list?
36:20That was the second reason I'd come tonight.
36:24Did he bring anyone with him?
36:27I didn't pay attention.
36:29He sent a gift and went to rest.
36:30His health isn't great.
36:31Where is he resting?
36:33I'll take you.
36:34Talia led me to the VIP lounge.
36:36And before we'd even reached the door,
36:38we both heard it.
36:39A melody,
36:40rising and falling,
36:42like water over stone.
36:43The music moved through the air
36:45and straight into my chest.
36:49I feel like someone just told me it's going to be okay.
36:52I could go back in there and stab him about 15 times right now.
36:55I turned to look at her, surprised.
36:58It had that effect too?
37:00Then this was Lyra.
37:01It had to be.
37:03Walking up to Lucian directly and asking for her was out of the question.
37:08He was far too volatile for a frontal approach.
37:11Better to reach Lyra herself.
37:13I sent Talia off.
37:15Opened the door directly across from Lucian's suite.
37:18Sat down in the frame.
37:20And listened.
37:21The melody flowed without pause.
37:23And something in my bones began to unknot.
37:26The grief of a whole past life starting to quiet.
37:30I yawned.
37:31Fighting it.
37:32I kept my eyes open by force and waited.
37:35What I hadn't counted on.
37:37Waiting the entire night.
37:39Lyra's voice never stopped once.
37:41When I realized how angry I was on her behalf,
37:44the feeling surprised me.
37:46The morning meal arrived for delivery.
37:49I opened the door at the right moment.
37:51Lyra was stepping out of Lucian's suite,
37:54waving off the breakfast tray.
37:55I raised a hand.
37:57Hi.
37:58Lyra turned at the sound of my voice and smiled.
38:01She was genuinely beautiful.
38:03Skin that caught the light like satin.
38:05Eyes clear and bright.
38:07But what stayed with you was something underneath the beauty.
38:10Something that made you want to draw closer and stay.
38:14Her voice came out sand rough.
38:16That made the next part awkward.
38:18She seemed to read the awkwardness on my face
38:20and gave a small, tired smile.
38:23Do you need something for me?
38:24I stepped aside and gestured.
38:26Would you mind coming in for a moment?
38:28Lyra nodded and walked in.
38:30I poured her a glass of warm water first,
38:32let her settle, then said,
38:34I have a beastman.
38:36He was born with a congenital gap.
38:38I took him to see Mira.
38:40She can't mend it, but she directed me to you.
38:42Lyra listened and nodded.
38:44Mira is my aunt.
38:45I blinked.
38:46Mira looked barely older than Lyra.
38:48Lyra checked the time.
38:50I have about two hours.
38:52You can bring your beastman to a nearby hotel.
38:55The fee for a congenital repair is two million.
38:58She said it with her lashes lowered,
39:00the expression beneath them hidden.
39:02What I was thinking about was her voice.
39:05Right now?
39:06Your throat?
39:07It doesn't matter.
39:09Every day is like this.
39:11If you're waiting for it to recover,
39:13you'll be waiting forever.
39:14Something dropped in my chest.
39:16Every day is like this.
39:21Is Lucien not ill?
39:22I said.
39:23He isn't.
39:25Then why?
39:26Lyra's smile went pale at the edges.
39:28Cruelty, mostly.
39:30I thought of the rumors I'd heard once
39:32in another life.
39:33You don't have to stay devoted to one tree.
39:35You're overthinking it.
39:37Get the hotel sorted.
39:38If Lucien wakes and finds me gone,
39:40there won't be another chance.
39:41I booked the nearest suite fast,
39:43then contacted Silas.
39:45After I hung up,
39:46I turned back to Lyra.
39:47She was working through breakfast
39:49in small, unhurried bites.
39:51Every movement neat
39:52and somehow restful to watch.
39:54But there was something about that narrow back
39:56that made the chest ache
39:58for no clear reason.
39:59I sat down across from her,
40:01words rising and dying on my tongue.
40:03In the end,
40:04I said nothing.
40:05Silas arrived minutes later.
40:07He had clearly run the whole way,
40:09sweat still at his temple.
40:10Lyra extended her hand.
40:12He glanced at me first,
40:13and only after I nodded
40:15did he approach with any care.
40:17Lyra laid her palm over his,
40:19and her brow began to draw together.
40:21I felt the tension move up
40:23through my own spine.
40:24I was desperate to intervene,
40:26but I forced myself to stay back.
40:29Lyra wasn't faring any better than Silas.
40:32Every note she sang
40:34seemed to tear something loose in her throat.
40:37Slowly, blood appeared
40:39at the corner of her mouth.
40:41I started forward.
40:43She stopped me with a look
40:45and a small shake of her head.
40:47An hour later,
40:49the singing stopped.
40:51Silas and Lyra folded to the floor
40:53at the same moment.
40:55I moved fast to catch Lyra,
40:57wiped the blood from her mouth.
40:59Sorry.
41:00I didn't know it would be like this.
41:01Are you all right?
41:02She was breathing hard.
41:04You paid.
41:05I gave what was asked.
41:09There's nothing to apologize for.
41:12Let me take you back.
41:14Lyra looked at Silas,
41:15still on the floor,
41:16catching his breath.
41:19One moment.
41:22The gap is sealed,
41:24but he'll need a course of medicine to follow.
41:28And because the deficiency
41:30has held his body back,
41:32he's been presenting as a juvenile.
41:34But he's actually an adult beastman.
41:37Grown beastmen enter a heat cycle.
41:40Be careful.
41:41Don't let him hurt you.
41:43I understand.
41:44Rest for a moment.
41:45I nodded fast.
41:48Mmm.
41:49Lyra let her eyes close and went quiet.
41:52I arranged transport
41:54and personally saw her back to the Talia estate.
41:57My plan had been to slip her back to her suite unnoticed.
42:05But standing at the front entrance when we arrived was Lucian,
42:09jaw set and expression like incoming weather.
42:12Behind him, Talia,
42:14red-eyed and...
42:18We'd been found out.
42:19I moved to step out of the car with Lyra.
42:22She stopped me with a hand on my arm.
42:24Go home.
42:26I shook my head.
42:27Lyra.
42:29I went to school with Lucian.
42:31He should give me at least a little room.
42:35Lyra smiled.
42:36If he were the type to give you room,
42:38you wouldn't have had to come to me directly.
42:42I'm alright.
42:42He still needs me.
42:44Go.
42:45Trust me.
42:47I gritted my teeth.
42:49In the end,
42:50I pressed the payment card into her hand.
42:53She gave it back.
42:54Give it to my aunt.
42:56She'll know what to do with it.
42:59I can't use it.
43:01There's nowhere it would go.
43:04She pushed the door open.
43:06The moment Lucian's eyes found her,
43:09his face darkened in a way that was visible from a distance.
43:14On the drive back to the hotel,
43:16I couldn't settle.
43:17What had happened?
43:18I asked Talia and she told me.
43:20Lucian had woken 30 minutes ago,
43:22couldn't find Lyra anywhere and had made a scene.
43:25Everyone knew how much Lyra mattered to him.
43:29So they'd all started searching too.
43:31Eventually, someone reviewed the security footage and traced it to me.
43:35Under pressure from Lucian's people,
43:37Talia had been forced to give up the whole story
43:39of how I'd spent the night waiting outside his door
43:42and caught a thorough dressing down for it.
43:46I had a feeling I was out to receive one too.
43:48But my worry about that was smaller than my worry about Lyra.
43:52I gripped the payment card in my hand
43:54and pushed into the hotel room,
43:56ready to call Silas and head home
43:57when he launched himself at me the second the door opened.
44:00His usual cold was gone.
44:02He was burning.
44:03And he was bigger, taller, broader.
44:06The change in him unmistakable.
44:08Then Lyra's warning came back to me in a rush.
44:10Grown beastmen, enter a heat cycle.
44:13Be careful.
44:14Don't let him hurt you.
44:16Heat cycle.
44:17Not this fast.
44:18Surely not this fast.
44:21Silas, it's me.
44:22Look at me.
44:23Look at me.
44:24I pushed against his chest.
44:26His scorching hands closed around my waist.
44:28His forehead pressed down to mine.
44:30Mistress.
44:31Mistress.
44:32That word in a voice dropped three registers.
44:34A fully adult male's voice.
44:36I had vastly underestimated Lyra.
44:41Let go of me.
44:42You can't do this.
44:42It isn't right.
44:43Silas tilted his head just slightly
44:45and the tip of his nose grazed my cheekbone.
44:48The heat off his breath landed against my face in waves.
44:51I threw every bit of strength into pushing him away.
44:54He didn't move an inch.
44:55That hurts.
44:56The grip at my waist drawing tighter.
44:58My waist was flesh, not iron.
45:01Silas buried his face at my shoulder
45:03and his breath came out ragged.
45:04Help me.
45:05Please.
45:06I had absolutely no idea how to help with this.
45:10All right.
45:10Okay.
45:10I'll help.
45:11Just let go of me first.
45:13Silas loosened his hold by a fraction.
45:15The next second, I spun for the door.
45:17My fingers were almost on the handle
45:19when a serpent tail coiled around my waist
45:21and reeled me back.
45:23I turned.
45:24The slit pupils had bled fully through
45:26and faint scales had begun appearing along his cheekbones.
45:30Full shift starting.
45:31That was a catastrophically bad sign.
45:35Help me.
45:36The vertical pupils went deep and still.
45:38You promised.
45:40Okay.
45:41Okay.
45:41Okay.
45:42I'll help.
45:43In my last life,
45:44Kale had gone through heat
45:45and made it very clear he wanted nothing from me.
45:48He was saving himself for Serafina.
45:50So this particular experience was new territory.
45:53My hand, trapped in Silas's grip,
45:56had lost all sensation.
45:58By the time we made it back to the estate,
46:01night had fallen.
46:02I felt deeply and specifically guilty about several things.
46:07Father was in the main hall, waiting.
46:10I walked in,
46:12dropped to my knees on reflex,
46:13and grabbed Silas down with me.
46:16His voice shook the walls.
46:19Elara,
46:22have I been too lenient with you?
46:24Is that why you act like there are no rules?
46:26If you wanted Lyra to treat Silas,
46:29you could have come to me.
46:31Instead, you took her without permission.
46:34Did it ever occur to you
46:36what would happen if Lucian collapsed while she was gone?
46:40If that had ended badly,
46:41how would I face the Vos bloodline?
46:44Father's chest heaved with every word.
46:47I bent my head lower.
46:49I was wrong, Father.
46:51Please don't stress yourself over it.
46:57If your brother were here,
46:59I wouldn't have to.
46:59Be more like your sister.
47:02She's composed,
47:03well-mannered,
47:04and makes no trouble.
47:05I kept my head down,
47:07and let the rest of it wash over me.
47:10Then Silas tapped my hand twice.
47:13I looked up.
47:15Serafina was coming in from outside,
47:17with Kale behind her,
47:19looking considerably less like something dragged through gutters.
47:22So,
47:23Kale had made his move.
47:25I couldn't stop one corner of my mouth.
47:27You think this is funny?
47:30I flattened my expression instantly.
47:35No, Father.
47:36Serafina came to Father's side,
47:38and made all the right soothing gestures.
47:40Alara,
47:40what did you do this time to upset him this badly?
47:45So Father ran through all of it again,
47:47from the beginning.
47:49Thanks for that, Serafina.
47:50In the retelling,
47:51she managed to look concerned,
47:52while adding fuel to every sentence.
47:54The verdict,
47:55one month's house confinement.
47:57When you're done,
47:57go back to your room.
47:58Don't leave without permission.
47:59Yes, Father.
48:00When Father finally released me,
48:02and I turned to go,
48:03Serafina said,
48:07Alara,
48:08is this Silas?
48:10I looked back.
48:11Silas was nearly the same height as me now.
48:14His features sharpened,
48:16and settled into something older.
48:17The boyishness almost entirely gone.
48:21Yesterday,
48:22he had still looked like a boy of 12.
48:24But that whole development,
48:25was connected to the heat cycle.
48:27And I was not going to explain the heat cycle,
48:30to anyone in this room.
48:32Enough.
48:33I know.
48:35Go.
48:36Yes!
48:39I turned and walked.
48:41Quickly.
48:41Back to my room.
48:43Naturally,
48:43I did not miss the flash of jealous hatred,
48:46in Serafina's eyes as I left.
48:48Back in my room,
48:54I crooked a finger at Silas.
48:57More?
48:57The look on his face was,
49:00entirely too knowing.
49:01Silas!
49:02He laughed then,
49:04easy,
49:04unbothered.
49:05What does mistress require?
49:09I took a breath,
49:10steadied myself.
49:12All of this was exactly what you planned,
49:15wasn't it?
49:16The body that looked like a boy's,
49:18had hidden a mind,
49:19that had never been a boy's at all.
49:22Which meant from the beginning,
49:24I had been played.
49:26No.
49:28You choosing me,
49:29that was the thing I didn't plan for.
49:36He looked at me,
49:37and his eyes were level and serious.
49:41So everything else,
49:42he had.
49:43I can't even be surprised.
49:44The beast man who dismantled the black market,
49:47and negotiated equal rights for his entire species.
49:50Of course he was always three moves ahead.
49:52I was gnashing my teeth.
49:54Silas smiled,
49:55just slightly.
49:56You came out ahead,
49:57didn't you mistress?
49:59He drew that last word out deliberately.
50:02I turned away.
50:02Please leave my room.
50:05I could take the loss,
50:06but I wasn't staying in the same space as his satisfaction.
50:09The month of confinement passed.
50:11I had the bodyguard route the payment card to Mira with a note.
50:15She would know what to do with it.
50:16During that time,
50:17I searched every channel I could find for news of Lyra,
50:20and found nothing.
50:21Every thread dead.
50:23The silence worried me.
50:25Meanwhile,
50:25Silas had grown at a pace that defied any reasonable measurement.
50:29Two days gone,
50:30and he was noticeably taller.
50:32The ease of a predator settling into his posture with every passing hour.
50:36Father approved of the development,
50:38in ways that visibly extended to me.
50:40Since Serafina had brought Kale into the house,
50:43Kale had been reporting to me daily.
50:44Small details,
50:46careful observations,
50:47while his fox allure went to work on Serafina.
50:50Drop by patient drop.
50:52Everything I had suffered in my last life,
50:54I was going to make her feel every inch of.
50:57Serafina had been resistant at first,
51:00but with Raven diminished after his confrontation with Silas,
51:03and with my own quiet efforts pulling her reputation apart from the seams,
51:07her composure was starting to fracture.
51:09She was getting volatile,
51:11reaching for Kale's attention at any hour,
51:13storming when she didn't get it.
51:15Kale was doing to her exactly what he had done to me,
51:18and she was falling,
51:19piece by piece.
51:20The ugly incidents mounted,
51:22scenes in public,
51:23a shouting match that had left witnesses unsettled,
51:26a round of self-pity so deep,
51:28it had shaded into something worse.
51:30The worst incident?
51:31She had nearly used a blade on her own wrist.
51:34A servant had caught her in time and run for father.
51:37Father arrived home from the office to find her,
51:40and the fury on his face was something I had never seen before.
51:44He slapped her,
51:45once open-handed.
51:50For a beastman,
51:51have you lost your mind?
51:55Isn't this exactly what you wanted, father?
51:58You were the one who said we had to bond with beastmen.
52:01One mate, one life, no betrayal.
52:04So why is it wrong now?
52:06Father's fury and grief fought each other visibly.
52:10Wake up!
52:14Serafina surfaced for a moment, blinking.
52:17Father pressed his fingers hard into his temple.
52:20I know you've resented me for a long time.
52:23You think I failed you.
52:26That I shouldn't have remarried.
52:27That Alada and her brother took something from you.
52:30That the bloodline's legacy belongs to you alone.
52:32But Serafina,
52:34have I ever actually neglected you?
52:36He looked at her,
52:37and something wet moved through his eyes.
52:39You're older than Alira by a few years.
52:41You know as well as I do
52:42why this bloodline requires us to choose a beastman companion at 18.
52:45It isn't cruelty.
52:46It is what gives us the right to lead.
52:48I spoke up from the side,
52:49genuinely confused.
52:51What does that mean?
52:52Father looked at me and let out a long, slow breath.
52:56It's the old law,
52:58the founding rule.
52:59To inherit and hold the family's work,
53:01you must be in true accord with a beastman.
53:05Serafina,
53:06you've always known the bloodline standard.
53:09Leadership goes to the most capable,
53:11regardless of birth order or gender.
53:13Three years ago was when you should have begun.
53:16Chosen your beastman,
53:18prepared yourself,
53:19entered the business with intent.
53:21Instead, you waited.
53:22And while you were waiting,
53:24you were building a trap.
53:28Don't dress it up, Father.
53:30Answer me honestly.
53:32Did you treat us the same?
53:34Ever?
53:35I was born with no mother.
53:37You were busy.
53:38You gave me to the nurses.
53:40You gave me everything material I asked for, yes.
53:43But how many hours did you spend with me?
53:46How many times did you hold me
53:47or come to quiet me when I was scared?
53:51After you remarried,
53:52you held Elira.
53:54You came when Elira cried.
53:56You gave her the pair because she wanted the pair.
53:58You gave me what you thought I should want,
54:00not what I asked for.
54:04Every one of those small things you thought didn't matter,
54:07they were scars, Father.
54:08Every single one.
54:10This bowl was never level.
54:12You just couldn't see it.
54:14Serafina,
54:15I'm sorry.
54:17You were right to feel it.
54:19I failed you.
54:21Sorry doesn't fix it!
54:22I want Elira dead!
54:24I want all of them dead!
54:29She lunged for me,
54:31hands in my collar,
54:32and her face had gone somewhere I hadn't seen it go before.
54:36Alada,
54:37I had a dream.
54:38I dreamed you died.
54:40The fully shifted raven bit you right through the throat.
54:45You were dead!
54:48You were dead!
54:49The blood in my veins turned to ice water and stopped.
54:53It wasn't a dream.
54:54It happened.
54:55Father couldn't watch anymore.
54:56He had her removed and confined to her rooms.
55:00When Kyle came to me later,
55:03pleased with himself,
55:04I took him directly to Serafina's door.
55:06In the cellar of the Talia estate,
55:09I had made him a single offer,
55:11his freedom in exchange for his obedience.
55:14Seduce Serafina and do it until she broke.
55:17He'd agreed,
55:18and she had broken.
55:20So now,
55:21it was his turn.
55:22Through the door,
55:23Serafina's voice rose and fell,
55:25cresting and breaking.
55:27Kale!
55:27Why aren't you answering me?
55:29Don't you love me anymore?
55:31You said I was the one person who mattered most to you.
55:35You said you'd never leave.
55:37You said you'd give me anything I wanted.
55:40Serafina, you've gone insane.
55:42Alara, open this door.
55:44Open it!
55:44I stood still and listened to what was happening on the other side.
55:48The frantic banging,
55:49and then gradually,
55:51silence.
55:52I went to father's room instead.
55:55I've sent for your brother.
55:56I should never have sent him away.
55:58Little Alara,
56:00everything she said, it was true?
56:02Or you wouldn't have done what you did,
56:05that's on me.
56:06It's all on me.
56:07Father didn't punish me.
56:09He showed me the Bloodline's founding records,
56:11and without exception,
56:12every paired name on the page
56:14was a human and a beastman.
56:16Long ago,
56:17the family's founding grandmother
56:19had a beastman against all opposition,
56:22and the world had denied them both.
56:25A disaster came,
56:26and the beastman gave his life to save her.
56:29Out of grief and out of conviction,
56:31she had used her authority to set the law
56:33that had governed every generation since.
56:36So that one day,
56:37humans and beastmen might live in peace.
56:39When I came out of father's study,
56:41Silas was in the hallway,
56:42leaning against the wall.
56:44All of it handled?
56:44I nodded.
56:46He had been busy this past month.
56:48I'd barely seen him,
56:49and I was starting to recognize,
56:51in the way he moved and held a room,
56:53the shape of who he was going to become.
56:56Father had warmed to him
56:57in ways he hadn't bothered to hide.
56:59Since Kale had moved into the house
57:01as Serafina's beastman,
57:02he'd been reporting to me faithfully,
57:04while in the background,
57:06Serafina's image had been quietly
57:07and methodically demolished.
57:09She had done to herself
57:10everything Kale once did to me.
57:12Then father had stepped in.
57:14My brother came home,
57:15took over the business under father's guidance,
57:18and the household found its footing again.
57:20As for Silas,
57:21the heat cycles kept coming back,
57:23more and more frequently as it happened.
57:25Every deep night,
57:26a cold serpent tail would find its way around my ankle.
57:29Silas.
57:30Hmm?
57:32I have a knife.
57:33The tail withdrew.
57:35As I thought,
57:35he had been exaggerating all along.
57:39Silas, explain yourself.
57:40He leaned in and grazed his lips
57:42against the shell of my ear.
57:44Is it really so hard to understand?
57:46I turned on him.
57:48Plain words.
57:49He was quiet for a long moment.
57:50In my last life,
57:52you buried me.
57:54I jolted upright.
57:56You...
57:57You also...
57:58Silas sat up unhurried.
58:01After that, my spirit wouldn't leave.
58:03I stayed.
58:04And I watched you grieve for Kale,
58:06suffer for Kale,
58:07and finally die for nothing.
58:08And then...
58:09With you,
58:10I came back.
58:13Remarkable.
58:14And then he spoke again.
58:15Alara,
58:16do you remember the bloodline's founding law?
58:21What?
58:22He smiled,
58:23and the look in his eyes
58:24held something that had been there for a long time.
58:27Choose a beastman to raise.
58:29Bond with them for life.
58:30No betrayal.
58:33No abandonment.
58:35His voice dropped low.
58:37You chose me.
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