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