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