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