- 5 weeks ago
The False Mate Engsub Alpha Werewolf Romance
Category
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Short filmTranscript
00:00I look almost exactly like their first love, Sarah.
00:03Who made her fall in love with him first?
00:05The loser. Give up Sarah.
00:07They made a bet.
00:08Whoever could win my true heart first would be the one to mate Sarah.
00:12Evelyn, will you marry me?
00:15The Alpha King lavished me with every luxury the world had to offer.
00:20Zane, the aloof and distant Gamma Zane will grant all my wishes.
00:24Do you need me to do anything?
00:27Evelyn, please love me more.
00:33I won't let you down.
00:35They all begged for my love. They vowed they would never fail me.
00:40I never expected that the second I agreed to marry Zane...
00:44You made me lose.
00:47Look how ugly you are. Never dream of marrying me!
00:53You were just a dirty secret.
00:55Caden had his men strip me of my clothes and throw me into the deep forest.
01:02Then I reborn.
01:03The famously powerful Alpha King and Gamma actually enjoyed sharing women.
01:07It is well known that they were infatuated with a witch named Sarah.
01:11They toyed with her daily, possessing her madly.
01:14Until Sarah couldn't take it anymore and ran away forever.
01:17When they first met me, I was being bullied by several rogue wolves, barely clothed.
01:22Let's see who dares touch her.
01:24Their fragrance wafted towards me.
01:26They were my mates. I had two mates.
01:31That night, they knelt beside my bed, gently caring for me and marking me.
01:38Evelyn, marry me.
01:40Evelyn, you should have married me.
01:41They were all whispering possessively in my ear.
01:49But beautiful things never last long.
01:52Three months later, I passed by the pack house.
01:55She's just a substitute.
01:57Don't take it seriously.
02:00Hey! Sarah's coming back!
02:02But we're already sharing Evelyn now.
02:04Forget about that poor Omega.
02:06Have you forgotten how painful it was for us when we lost Sarah?
02:10Evelyn was just a bet.
02:12Fine.
02:13Anyway,
02:15I'm the one who won the bet.
02:17According to the agreement,
02:19the winner gets Sarah all to himself.
02:22So, they were pursuing me relentlessly,
02:25begging me to marry them.
02:26It was just a bet.
02:28Whoever wins my heart can mate Sarah Zane.
02:31Zane happily left to prepare for the mate pairing ceremony.
02:36I managed to sob.
02:40Kayden overheard and turned.
02:45Now,
02:48I am back.
02:53I want revenge.
02:54I am not reconciled.
02:57Still here?
02:59You heard all?
03:00He didn't even bother to explain.
03:03He looked at me like I was a trash.
03:05Whatever happens,
03:06I will never hurt you.
03:08I will protect you.
03:09I will keep you close forever.
03:12I didn't have much to say either.
03:15I swallowed the sting and turned to leave.
03:17A pack Omega stopped me at the door.
03:20Miss Evelyn.
03:22Nights,
03:23my chinked guns on the vladders.
03:25Nothing from Alpha King's pack house leaves with you.
03:28I closed my eyes,
03:30reached up,
03:30and started taking it all off.
03:32Piece by piece
03:34until I was standing in nothing but a plain white undershirt.
03:37The coat,
03:38the pins,
03:39the jewelry.
03:42Enough.
03:43What do you think yourself?
03:47Do you think that the things we gave you in the past was for free?
03:51Never!
03:54I think you need to pay me for oral sex right now.
04:02You promised me one thing.
04:04Does that still stand?
04:06I once had taken an attack for him.
04:09He had made his promise in front of the whole pack.
04:11Whatever I asked for,
04:13as long as it was in his power,
04:15he would give it.
04:21Zane doesn't want you.
04:23Neither do I.
04:26Don't think any of this was real.
04:28My mate will be Sarah.
04:30No one else comes close.
04:32I only ask one thing.
04:34Let me walk out of here in what I'm wearing.
04:36I just wanted to leave with my dignity intact.
04:38That was all.
04:39That's all you want?
04:41Nothing else?
04:42He had expected screaming.
04:44Threats.
04:45A scene he could use to justify getting rid of me for good.
04:48He didn't know I had lived this before.
04:51I stopped wanting anything.
04:52Get out.
04:53He waved his hand.
04:54I stood and pulled open the door without looking back.
04:57It was just after December.
04:59The snow was still heavy.
05:01The cold swallowed me the second I stepped outside.
05:05I walked barefoot into it.
05:07My feet went numb fast.
05:08My face went white.
05:10I didn't make a sound.
05:11I just moved toward the pack gate.
05:14One step at a time.
05:16By the time I reached the gates,
05:17my feet were red and aching.
05:20I crouched down and wrapped my hands around my ankles,
05:23trying to get some warmth back.
05:25A convoy of vehicles rolled past.
05:28Sarah only came back half a month ago,
05:29and already the Beta is sending her the rarest gifts to court her.
05:32He really never stopped.
05:33Didn't the Beta and the Alpha King both treat that Omega sexoy differently?
05:37Like they actually cared?
05:38That's old news.
05:39Everyone always knew she was just something they used to pass the time.
05:42If Sarah hadn't come back,
05:44they never would have bothered finishing the game.
05:45The voices faded.
05:46I felt nothing.
05:48Just numb.
05:50So everyone had known all along.
05:52They both loved Sarah.
05:54Only I had been stupid enough to believe it was real.
05:57I didn't find out until I was already dying.
06:00I don't know how long I crouched there.
06:03Then I stood,
06:04wrapped my arms around myself,
06:06and walked out past the gates.
06:08Outside, the wind was worse.
06:10My hands and feet had gone completely rigid.
06:12At some point, my legs gave out,
06:15and I went down in the snow,
06:16darkness flooding in at the edges.
06:18But I made it back to my own family house,
06:21same as last time.
06:23One extra layer of clothing.
06:25Same stairs.
06:26I walked through it without looking at anyone,
06:29and knocked on the door.
06:31No one answered.
06:32My eyes burned.
06:33I let out a short, bitter sound,
06:36and knocked harder.
06:37The Omega servant inside finally spoke,
06:40low and reluctant.
06:41Miss Evelyn,
06:43the family can't take you in.
06:46Please go.
06:47My hand froze in the air.
06:49It felt like something small and dense
06:51was pressing through my ribs,
06:53spreading out slow.
06:55I pulled my hand back.
06:56The tears came without permission.
06:59In my last life,
07:00the moment my family found out
07:02the Alpha King had passed me off,
07:04they shut the door on me.
07:06They were afraid of what my presence would cost them.
07:09Afraid of what people would say.
07:11So they put me in a vehicle,
07:13and drove me to a border outpost to be forgotten.
07:16They had me poisoned.
07:17I died somewhere,
07:18no one would find me.
07:19But I still remember.
07:21Before I was chosen by Alpha King,
07:23my grandmother and my father
07:25held my hands with tears in their eyes.
07:27Evelyn,
07:29if the Alpha King is ever cruel to you,
07:31come home.
07:33We'll always be here.
07:35They said that,
07:36and then they locked the door.
07:37I could have gone somewhere else,
07:39but I knew they wouldn't let me disappear quietly.
07:42The only way to be free
07:44was to disappear completely.
07:45So I came back.
07:47The door opened.
07:48My father stared at me with his jaw set
07:51and contempt in every line of his face.
07:53Do you have any idea
07:55what you've done to this family?
07:58Why didn't you just go?
08:00You got thrown out.
08:01Why come back
08:02and drag your sisters into this?
08:05Behind him,
08:06my half-sister's eyes
08:07were full of something vicious.
08:09My grandmother stepped forward
08:10and took my hand
08:12with practiced tenderness.
08:14Evelyn,
08:14this isn't your fault
08:16that the family
08:17can't have a daughter
08:18like you.
08:19Let grandmother
08:20send you to the border outpost.
08:22We'll tell everyone
08:23you passed away.
08:25The past stays buried.
08:27Doesn't that sound better?
08:28Her voice was gentle,
08:30but her eyes held
08:31something sharp and ruthless,
08:33and underneath it,
08:34a sliver of guilt
08:36too faint to name.
08:37So it wasn't only
08:39Caden and Zane
08:40who wanted me dead.
08:41It was my family, too.
08:42In the end,
08:43I got into the vehicle.
08:45I kept my hand wrapped
08:46around a small pin
08:47the whole way.
08:48I didn't let go.
08:50Same as last time.
08:52The estate manager
08:53at the outpost
08:54had his orders,
08:54and he followed them
08:55without hesitation.
08:57He locked me
08:58in a storage room.
09:00Now he stood over me.
09:01You really thought
09:02you'd survive this?
09:03You humiliated
09:05the Alpha King
09:06and the Beta.
09:08The family can't keep
09:09something like you alive.
09:11Samey words
09:12as last time.
09:13I stared down
09:14at the floor
09:15and tightened my grip
09:16on the pin.
09:17He moved toward me
09:18with a small bottle.
09:19I raised my hand
09:21without thinking.
09:22The pin aimed
09:23at his throat.
09:24Then the door
09:25exploded inward.
09:26The estate manager
09:27went sideways
09:28as the shape
09:29moved through the room.
09:30A figure in white
09:31caught my arm
09:32and pulled me upright.
09:33Voice calm and even.
09:35I heard you make
09:36good osmangra cake.
09:38Want to come work
09:39in my kitchen?
09:40She lifted her veil
09:41as she said it.
09:42The face underneath
09:43matched the portrait
09:44Caden kept locked
09:45in his private office.
09:47Stunning,
09:48unmistakable,
09:49one look and I knew.
09:50This was Sarah,
09:52the fated mate.
09:53Both Zane and Caden
09:54had built
09:55their whole obsession around.
09:57In my last life,
09:58the poison went down
09:59and the body burned.
10:00No one came.
10:02I had planned
10:03to take the estate manager
10:04out myself,
10:06start a fire,
10:06and let the world
10:07think I was dead.
10:09But this changed
10:10everything.
10:11She must have seen
10:12something in my face
10:13because her expression
10:14softened,
10:15and before I could speak
10:16she draped her outer coat
10:18over my shoulders.
10:19It's cold.
10:21Don't get sick.
10:23Most girls
10:24from high-ranked families
10:25smelled like powder
10:26and perfume.
10:27She smelled like
10:28green wood
10:29and clean air.
10:30I was still processing it
10:32when Zane appeared
10:32in the doorway
10:33behind her,
10:34dropping his black coat
10:35over her shoulders
10:36before she could shiver.
10:38You matter more
10:39than anything.
10:40He looked at her
10:41with a warmth
10:41I had never seen
10:42aimed at me.
10:43Not once.
10:44Everyone said
10:45the beta was cold,
10:47that the softness
10:48he showed me
10:49had only ever been strategy.
10:51Looking at him now,
10:53I could see it.
10:54Whatever was in his eyes
10:56when he looked at Sarah
10:57was something else entirely.
10:59He seemed to feel my stare.
11:01He turned.
11:02His voice was flat.
11:04Sarah wants your baking.
11:06So you'll go to her estate.
11:08You were sent here to die,
11:10which means you were
11:11guilty of something.
11:13Be grateful you're still breathing
11:15and don't reach
11:16for anything more.
11:17The warmth he had shown
11:19was completely gone.
11:20This was the beta
11:21I had never been allowed to see.
11:23The boy I thought I knew
11:25dissolved out of memory
11:26and left a dull ache behind.
11:28So my real feelings
11:29had been a death sentence to him.
11:31I pulled the corners
11:33of my mouth up slightly.
11:34I'm grateful Sarah
11:36saved my life.
11:37I'll serve her well
11:38and I won't reach
11:39for anything else.
11:40I moved to follow Sarah
11:41to the vehicle.
11:43Someone caught my wrist.
11:45I looked back
11:46into Zayn's warning stare.
11:47I pulled my wrist free.
11:49Voiced flat.
11:50You don't have to worry.
11:51I won't say anything
11:52to Sarah about
11:53what happened between us.
11:55Everything before this,
11:56I'm burying it.
11:58As far as I'm concerned,
12:00we never met.
12:01He didn't speak after that.
12:02He just got into the vehicle
12:04ahead of me.
12:05At Sarah's estate,
12:06I followed them inside
12:07and watched the two of them
12:08walk side by side
12:09through the entrance hall.
12:11My chest stayed quiet.
12:12After Zayn left,
12:13he looked back at me once.
12:15Something unreadable
12:16moving across his face.
12:17I didn't look up.
12:18Then arms came around me
12:20from behind.
12:21You're okay.
12:21Thank God.
12:22Sarah held on to me.
12:24And despite everything,
12:26despite the softness
12:27of her face
12:27and the slender look of her,
12:29she was taller
12:29than I expected.
12:31Close to Zayn's height,
12:32her arms were solid.
12:34Her voice was lower
12:35than I remembered too.
12:36I pushed her back gently,
12:38keeping my voice even.
12:40Thank you for coming for me.
12:41She kept her eyes on me.
12:43I'm sorry.
12:45You got used to it
12:46because of me.
12:47That wasn't fair to you.
12:49I thought she was
12:50drawing a line,
12:51a warning dressed up
12:52as an apology.
12:53But then she said,
12:54I'm not going to bond
12:55with either of them.
12:57I don't want either of them.
12:59I didn't understand
13:00what she meant.
13:01I didn't try to.
13:02I just let her set me up
13:04in a room and stayed.
13:05My family had shut the door.
13:07Right now,
13:08I had no leverage
13:09and no choices.
13:10I wasn't in a position
13:12to say no.
13:13Sarah seemed to mean
13:14what she said.
13:15She never made things
13:16hard for me.
13:17And whenever Zayn
13:18or Caden sent gifts,
13:19she turned them away
13:20immediately
13:21and then came to find me
13:23and explained quietly,
13:24I'm not keeping them.
13:25I didn't understand
13:26why she kept doing that.
13:28I just sent her a portion
13:29of fresh Osmanthus cake
13:31every day.
13:33Zayn and Caden
13:34showed up at the estate
13:35together.
13:36In the side kitchen,
13:38Zayn had his hand
13:39around my throat
13:39and his eyes
13:40were pure dark fury.
13:42What did you say to her?
13:44She just pulled out
13:45her brother's copy
13:46of the late Alpha's
13:47standing order
13:47to dissolve
13:48the bonding agreement.
13:50Caden watched
13:51from a few steps back
13:52and laughed,
13:52low and sharp.
13:54Should have finished
13:54it properly.
13:56Evelyn,
13:57I should have gotten rid
13:57of you when I had
13:58the chance.
13:59I hadn't done anything.
14:00The pressure on my throat
14:02made my vision blur.
14:03My back hit the wall,
14:05hard and cold.
14:07It wasn't me.
14:09Something in my expression
14:10made Zayn's grip
14:11loosen slightly.
14:12I used it.
14:14I swung my open hand
14:16and caught him
14:16across the face
14:17hard enough
14:18to snap his head
14:18to the side.
14:19He felt the heat
14:20in his cheek.
14:21His eyes went dark.
14:23Evelyn.
14:24I pressed my hand
14:26to my chest
14:27and pulled in
14:27long, slow breaths.
14:29Whatever Zayn said
14:31after that,
14:31I let it pass
14:32through me.
14:33He yanked me
14:34back up by the arm.
14:35Go tell Sarah
14:36there's nothing
14:37between us anymore.
14:38Whatever trick
14:39you pulled is done.
14:40If you don't,
14:41I will take apart
14:43everything you've built
14:44and your family
14:45goes down with you.
14:47Caden hadn't spoken yet,
14:48but the intent
14:49in his eyes
14:50was already building.
14:52Two men
14:52who use someone else's
14:53feelings as a bet chip.
14:55And you think
14:56you get to accuse me
14:57of playing games.
14:58I drove the pin
15:00into Zayn's wrist.
15:01He pulled back
15:02with a hiss.
15:03Caden moved toward me,
15:04jaw tight.
15:05For a second,
15:06I was ready
15:07to take them both
15:08down with me
15:08if that is what
15:09it came to.
15:10Then Sarah
15:11stepped between us.
15:12Same as the outpost.
15:14Caden stopped.
15:15His face
15:15went complicated.
15:17Sarah,
15:17don't listen to her.
15:19Whatever you decide,
15:20whether you bond
15:21or with Mean,
15:22you'll be protected.
15:24You'll have everything.
15:25He pushed hard,
15:27but Sarah
15:27just let out
15:28a slow breath.
15:29I really can't bond
15:31with either of you.
15:31Then she reached up
15:32and started undoing
15:33her coat.
15:34Zayn had brought guards.
15:36I stepped in front of her
15:37and grabbed her arms.
15:38Even if you don't want them.
15:39Don't ruin your own reputation
15:41doing it like this.
15:42I got my arms
15:43around her waist
15:44to stop her.
15:44And then I felt it.
15:46No softness.
15:47Solid muscle,
15:48flat and warm
15:49and very clearly
15:50not what I had been expecting.
15:52Sarah wrapped me in close
15:54and murmured into my hair.
15:56Easy.
15:56Stop touching.
15:58My brain went
15:59completely blank.
16:00Sarah was a man.
16:01He looked up
16:02at the two stunned alphas
16:03in front of him
16:04with total calm.
16:06Still want to claim me now?
16:08Both of them stood frozen.
16:10The fury drained
16:11and something ugly
16:12took its place.
16:17Warrior Asher,
16:18why are you impersonating
16:19your own sister?
16:21They had seen
16:21the near-identical faces
16:23and assumed it was
16:24some kind of prank.
16:26There has never been
16:27a daughter in my family.
16:28Anyone who looked
16:29would have found that out.
16:32Wearing women's clothing
16:34is just a preference of mine.
16:35I hope neither of you
16:37are telling me
16:37you've developed
16:38a thing for men.
16:39Zane's fist
16:40tightened slowly.
16:42He thought back
16:43over the last few days
16:44and it sat in his gut
16:45like something rotten.
16:47Caden's expression
16:47stayed perfectly still.
16:49He turned
16:50and walked out.
16:51He didn't want to stay
16:52in the room
16:52another second.
16:54The moment they were
16:55both gone,
16:55Asher looked down
16:56at me, amused.
16:57Done yet?
16:59Or did you need
17:00more time?
17:01I realized my fingers
17:02were still curled
17:03against him.
17:04I'm sorry.
17:05I didn't know
17:06you were dressed.
17:07I made my exit fast.
17:09I wanted to leave
17:09the estate,
17:10leave the whole city.
17:11But Asher caught my hand
17:13and his voice
17:13when he spoke
17:14was easy and direct.
17:15I've been stuck
17:16out at the border
17:16for years,
17:17which means I've aged
17:18out of the easy options.
17:20What do you think
17:21about staying on
17:21as a warrior's mate?
17:22We had known each other
17:23for less than a week.
17:24Where was this coming from?
17:26I didn't get the chance
17:27to answer.
17:27The kitchen door
17:28exploded open again.
17:29Both men were back.
17:30Faces dark.
17:31Caden's eyes locked on me.
17:33Cold and direct.
17:34She's not bonding with him.
17:38Evelyn,
17:39come here.
17:40Zane said nothing.
17:41His bandaged wrist
17:42said it for him.
17:44Same as inside
17:45the stronghold.
17:46Come when called,
17:47go when dismissed.
17:48A wolf they could use
17:49and discard
17:50whenever the mood shifted.
17:52What exactly
17:53are you two doing right now?
17:56Are you telling me
17:56a warrior of this pack
17:58can't choose his own mate?
18:00Evelyn,
18:01come back with me.
18:03I'll make you a ranked mate
18:04inside the stronghold.
18:07Our agreement still stands.
18:09I'll bond with you.
18:10Their fated mate
18:11had turned out to be a man,
18:12so now they reversed
18:13course
18:13and tried to pull me back
18:15into the same fire
18:16they had thrown me into before.
18:18Both of them looked at me now
18:19with that warmth
18:20I used to fall for.
18:21For a second,
18:22the image wavered.
18:23Before everything happened,
18:25two men who had seemed
18:26so sure about me,
18:27but I knew there was
18:27nothing real in any of it.
18:29I was just the new prize
18:31in a new round
18:31of the same game.
18:33My voice came out
18:34steady and empty.
18:35I believe the Alpha King
18:37and the Beta
18:37both told me not to reach
18:39for anything beyond my place.
18:40I haven't forgotten.
18:42Both of them went still.
18:44The silence stretched
18:45between them
18:46and somewhere inside it.
18:47Guilt surfaced.
18:48They had assumed
18:49I would always orbit them,
18:50always react to them.
18:52Years of shared history
18:53had a weight to it,
18:54and they had just
18:55started to feel it.
18:56I'm sorry.
18:57He finally understood.
18:58I was not going
18:59to trust him again,
19:00not by one degree.
19:01They moved in close.
19:02Please don't.
19:03Evelyn,
19:05come with me.
19:06Everything I promised you,
19:07it still counts.
19:08I was still working out
19:09how to make them leave
19:10when Asher's voice
19:11cut through the room.
19:12Five years ago,
19:13you two were ambushed
19:14at Silvermore Lodge.
19:15A girl saved you,
19:16and you've held on to that.
19:17Has it occurred to you
19:18that the girl
19:19might not have been me?
19:21You mean the girl
19:21who covered our escape
19:22wasn't you?
19:23If it had been Asher,
19:24protecting the Pax leadership
19:26would have been part
19:26of his duty,
19:27but if it wasn't him,
19:29then neither of them
19:30had been unknowingly
19:31fixated on a man
19:32for years.
19:33The brief flicker
19:34of something like hope
19:35showed before they
19:36could stop it.
19:37Asher confirmed it.
19:39Neither of them
19:40looked at me again.
19:41They exchanged one glance
19:43and walked out together.
19:44I had seen that look before.
19:46Stakes.
19:47A score to settle.
19:49They didn't know
19:50the first thing
19:50about caring for someone.
19:52They only knew
19:52how to compete,
19:53how to manipulate,
19:55how to turn
19:55everything into a game,
19:57thinking that
19:58the weight I had carried
19:59in my chest
20:00since my last life
20:01finally broke apart.
20:02These two weren't
20:03worth the grief
20:04when I turned
20:05to say goodbye
20:05to Asher.
20:06Five years ago,
20:08were you the boy
20:09whose father forced him
20:11into a dress to perform?
20:12I can't believe
20:13you still remembered.
20:14The person in front of me
20:16slowly matched the memory.
20:17A rail-thin boy
20:19covered in marks
20:19being forced
20:20into a costume.
20:22Backstage at
20:23Silver Moon Lodge,
20:24I stepped in.
20:26Blocked the knife.
20:27When I get out of this,
20:28I'm going to find you
20:29and claim you.
20:30Put on the dress
20:31and went out
20:32onto that stage.
20:33You're a ranked warrior now.
20:35That means you got out,
20:36so why keep wearing the dress?
20:40The old man's gone.
20:42He asked me before he died
20:43to be his mate's reflection
20:44a few more days.
20:46His ghost wanted to see.
20:48He told me
20:49his mother had died
20:50in labor because of him.
20:51His father couldn't kill him
20:53but couldn't forgive him either.
20:54The face was too much like hers,
20:56so from the time he was small,
20:58he was dressed
20:58and trained
20:59as the family's daughter.
21:00Forced to learn performance,
21:02music, painting.
21:03Same as five years ago,
21:04I pressed my hand lightly
21:05to his forehead.
21:07Asher, I told you then
21:08and I'll tell you now.
21:09You are a good person.
21:12You have never,
21:13not once,
21:14been anything else.
21:15In my last life,
21:16he made warrior rank
21:16and never came back.
21:17Thank you
21:20for choosing
21:20to come back for me.
21:22One sentence
21:22and he understood.
21:25How could I let my moonlight
21:26disappear from this world?
21:28His voice was barely
21:29above a whisper.
21:30You were mine too.
21:31But I heard it
21:32and I smiled.
21:32What I said before
21:34about claiming you,
21:35I was being stupid.
21:38Wherever you end up,
21:40bonded or not,
21:41just stay safe.
21:41Asher didn't try to hide
21:43how much he didn't want me to go.
21:44I was one step too slow.
21:47Zane came in fast
21:48on horseback
21:49and pulled me into his arms.
21:52Where are you going?
21:56The ground tilted.
21:57When I got my bearings back,
21:59Caden was there too.
22:01Both of them looking at me
22:02with that heat I recognized
22:04and wanted nothing to do with.
22:05I felt Zane's hand at my waist
22:07and drove my knife
22:08into his arm without pausing.
22:10He had been stabbed by me
22:11enough times now
22:12that he released me on instinct.
22:14Asher stepped between us
22:15and pulled me behind him.
22:16Voice like ice.
22:17What are you doing here
22:18at this hour?
22:19I'm here for my mate.
22:20Evelyn already agreed
22:21to bond with me.
22:23What I did was wrong.
22:24I know that.
22:25But if I had known
22:26from the start
22:27that you were the one
22:28at Silvermoon Lodge,
22:29I never would have hurt you.
22:31You want to be angry at me?
22:32Fine, yell at me.
22:33Hit me.
22:33Just come back.
22:35I went too far before.
22:37I shouldn't have made you
22:38leave in almost nothing.
22:39Come back to the stronghold with me.
22:41We can go back
22:42voice full of the kind
22:44of sincerity
22:44he was very good at.
22:47I think the Alpha King
22:47and the Beta are confused.
22:49I'm a mid-rank wolf's daughter.
22:51Five years ago,
22:52I would have pulled anyone
22:53out of that situation,
22:54including a stray.
22:57If that's the reason
22:58you're both standing here,
22:59you can let it go.
23:00It really doesn't matter to me.
23:01I understood them now.
23:03They were unpredictable.
23:05Performative.
23:06Asher had his hand at my back
23:08and was moving me
23:09toward the estate entrance.
23:10The door shut behind us.
23:13Solid.
23:13And final.
23:14From the upper floor,
23:15I could see Zane and Caden
23:17still standing in the snow,
23:18letting it fall on them.
23:20Asher came to stand beside me.
23:22I'll find a way
23:23to get you out of the city.
23:24A few days.
23:26In the meantime,
23:26I'll teach you
23:27some defense techniques.
23:28Sound good?
23:29But he knew me well enough
23:30to understand
23:31that wasn't what I needed to hear.
23:32And I said yes
23:33without hesitating.
23:34Every woman I had ever known
23:36had been told
23:36to be soft and steady
23:38and careful.
23:39No one had ever asked
23:40what I actually wanted.
23:42I had read about fighters
23:43and wide open borderlands
23:44my whole life
23:45and never been allowed
23:47to reach for any of them.
23:48I wanted to be strong enough
23:50to protect myself.
23:51To never be at someone
23:52else's mercy again.
23:54In the days that followed,
23:55Caden and Zane
23:56seemed to understand
23:57they had lost the right
23:58to force anything.
23:59They didn't come at me directly.
24:00But every day they showed up
24:02and ran through
24:03the same performance
24:03they had used before.
24:05Rare items kept arriving
24:06at the estate.
24:07Then they finally ran out
24:08of patience
24:09and sent my family.
24:10My half-sister showed up
24:11at the gate crying.
24:13Half-sister,
24:14the things that happened
24:14at the outpost
24:15that was father making
24:16a terrible mistake.
24:18Grandmother found out.
24:20She's been sick ever since
24:21and she only wants to see you.
24:22The tears were convincing.
24:24The calculation in her eyes
24:26wasn't.
24:26I didn't refuse.
24:28I smiled.
24:32Alright.
24:33Let's go see Grandmother.
24:36The snow had stopped.
24:37But the streets
24:38got unfamiliar fast.
24:40And my smile went thin.
24:41Asking me to come back.
24:42Asking me to think
24:43of the family name.
24:44But the splinter
24:45was already in.
24:46It wasn't coming out easily.
24:48I had known since my last life
24:49exactly what my family was.
24:51They could accept me
24:52when I brought them
24:53something to gain.
24:54They could also leave me to die
24:55when I stopped being useful.
24:57I stopped being easy to manage.
24:59So they sent the half-sister
25:00who looked most like me.
25:02I watched the streets get worse
25:04and jumped out
25:04of the moving vehicle.
25:07My half-sister came after me
25:09with a knife.
25:10Before,
25:10she might have succeeded.
25:12Now I had her wrist
25:13and my other hand
25:14at her throat.
25:15Grip tightening slowly.
25:17It was father's idea.
25:19He said if you wouldn't cooperate
25:20he'd replace you.
25:21I just didn't want to be
25:22invisible anymore.
25:23She was going for sympathy.
25:24Someone else got there first.
25:26Kayden looked down at her
25:27from a few feet away.
25:28Expression flat.
25:29I asked your family
25:30to speak on my behalf.
25:31Is this what they call helping?
25:33She went pale
25:34and started shaking her head.
25:35But Kayden didn't want to hear it.
25:37He had her removed.
25:38Then his attention
25:39came back to me.
25:40Evelyn,
25:41stop making this hard.
25:43Are you really done
25:44caring about your family?
25:45I moved back
25:46before he could.
25:48I am.
25:50And the Alpha King
25:51doesn't wipe out
25:52whole families
25:52without reason,
25:53does he?
25:54I turned and walked away.
25:55Everything has consequences.
25:57I didn't owe my family anything.
26:00Zane had been stationed
26:01outside the estate every day,
26:02making sure I couldn't
26:03leave quietly.
26:04But now,
26:05following Kayden's lead,
26:06he was gone.
26:08I looked at the broken
26:09down buildings
26:09along the road
26:10and headed straight
26:11for the city's
26:12outer boundary.
26:13I had already told Asher
26:14I wouldn't let any exit
26:16go to waste.
26:17We didn't need to
26:17draw this out.
26:18Time to go.
26:19Everything moved smoothly.
26:21I found a vehicle
26:21heading for the coast,
26:22but something sat wrong
26:24in my stomach.
26:25We need to move fast.
26:27The city's shifting.
26:28Asher's estate
26:28just got raided.
26:29The ruling family
26:31doesn't care.
26:31Use people up
26:32and throw them away.
26:33That's what tyrants do.
26:34Three years of watching Kayden,
26:36I knew how much
26:37he cared about
26:37how the pack saw him.
26:39He had never done anything
26:40this openly reckless before.
26:42I closed my eyes.
26:44Then I turned my horse
26:45around and rode back.
26:48I am very happy with him.
26:50I cannot lose him.
26:53I will find you
26:55and claim you.
26:57Evelyn,
26:58ready to come home now?
26:59Release, Ashel.
27:01Done.
27:02I went back
27:03into the stronghold.
27:05This time,
27:06Kayden outdid everything
27:07from those three years.
27:09He cleared out
27:09the stronghold.
27:10He overruled
27:12every council member
27:14and announced
27:15he would make me
27:16his official mate.
27:18A permanent bond.
27:20Just the two of us.
27:22He stayed close
27:23every day.
27:25Warm and obsessive
27:26and relentless.
27:28Every Omega
27:28who had watched me
27:29be humiliated
27:30was reassigned.
27:31When he found out
27:32what my family
27:33had tried to do
27:33at the outpost,
27:34he acted on it immediately.
27:36A new attendant
27:37helped me prepare
27:38one morning
27:38and shook her head
27:40in admiration.
27:41My lady,
27:41the Alpha King
27:42loves you so much.
27:43Everyone in the whole
27:44territory knows it now.
27:45He has a chosen one.
27:46Her name is Evelyn.
27:47One bond,
27:48one mate,
27:49forever.
27:49People are saying
27:50it everywhere.
27:51Through them,
27:52I found out
27:52what I needed to know.
27:54Asher was being held
27:55in the pack dungeon.
27:56Zane had been confined
27:57to his estate.
27:58Kayden was loudly
27:59performing his devotion
28:01to the whole kingdom.
28:02But I had not forgotten
28:03what he looked like
28:04when he told me
28:05I was nothing but a bet.
28:07A plaything.
28:08Not worth the air
28:09between us.
28:10Every moment
28:10of my last life
28:11was still in me.
28:13So I helped
28:14Zane get out.
28:15At the bonding ceremony,
28:16he came in
28:17with a blade raised.
28:18His eyes were burning.
28:20Aiden dropped
28:20every pretense
28:21of being a patient
28:22older brother.
28:23Brother,
28:24Evelyn belongs with me.
28:25They tore the masks
28:26off for the first time
28:27and showed each other
28:28the actual hatred underneath.
28:30Everyone said
28:30they were close,
28:31that the bond
28:32between them ran deep.
28:34No one knew
28:34they had always
28:35despised each other.
28:36So they competed
28:37for the same things.
28:39Wanted the same people,
28:40just to settle
28:41the score.
28:43While the stronghold
28:44descended into chaos,
28:45I stepped behind
28:46a dividing screen.
28:47Dropped a fire starter
28:49and ran.
28:50I already had
28:51a mount ready.
28:52I had Caden's seal
28:53and I used it
28:54to open the dungeon.
28:55I came to the dungeon
28:56to rescue Asher.
29:08Caden was unconscious
29:09for two weeks.
29:11By the time
29:11he came back
29:12and gave the order,
29:13there was no trace
29:14of me or Asher
29:15left anywhere
29:16in the kingdom.
29:16In a village
29:17no one had heard of,
29:19Asher and I stayed.
29:20The people there
29:20were mostly fighters
29:21he had mustered out
29:22from the border.
29:23They had helped
29:24pull him free.
29:25He had shed the dress
29:26for good.
29:27Dark clothing,
29:29straight-backed,
29:29easy in his own skin.
29:31The village women
29:32could not stop talking
29:33about how handsome
29:34he was
29:34and they kept looking
29:36between us
29:37and nudging each other.
29:38Little Evelyn,
29:39you two even have
29:40the same eyes.
29:41Made for each other.
29:43The way that boy
29:44watches you,
29:45his eyes are practically stuck.
29:46Why aren't you
29:47together yet?
29:48It had been because
29:49of the resemblance
29:50to Asher
29:50that I had become
29:51Caden and Zane's
29:52target in the first place.
29:54Now that all of it
29:55was finally behind me,
29:56I wanted peace.
29:58Morning training
29:59with Asher
29:59and eventually
30:00to get out
30:01and see the borderlands
30:02I had read about
30:03my whole life.
30:04After saying goodbye
30:05to the woman,
30:06I turned toward the house
30:08and walked straight
30:09into Asher's face.
30:10My cheeks went hot.
30:11Before I could speak,
30:12he said,
30:13Don't listen to her.
30:14She talks too much.
30:16I don't have feelings
30:17for you.
30:18You're my sister.
30:19There's conflict
30:20at the border.
30:21I'm going.
30:22Take care of yourself.
30:24And then he was gone,
30:25voice cold like
30:26it had never been warm,
30:27like the tenderness
30:28I had seen in him
30:28was something
30:29I had imagined.
30:30I didn't stop him.
30:31I just watched him go
30:32and something hollow
30:33opened in my chest
30:34without warning.
30:35I thought about
30:36what the woman had said.
30:37I let out a quiet,
30:38slightly sad sound.
30:41Six months passed.
30:42I had no news
30:43from outside.
30:44Then I went into town
30:45for medicine
30:46and found out
30:47everything had changed.
30:48Six months ago,
30:49the Alpha King
30:50had turned tyrant.
30:51Asher had gone back
30:52to the capital
30:52voluntarily
30:53to end the conflict.
30:55Caden had chained him
30:56to the outer wall
30:57of the stronghold
30:57for three days
30:58in the open
30:59before exiling him
31:00to the border.
31:01These last six months,
31:03rogue forces
31:03had grown stronger
31:04than they had been in years.
31:06But Caden spent
31:07his days in a rage,
31:09locked Zane
31:09in the estate
31:10and sent people
31:11across the whole
31:12territory looking
31:12for a girl
31:13with Evelyn's face.
31:14For reasons
31:15no one fully understood,
31:17Caden's hatred
31:17for Asher
31:18had become personal.
31:19He cut the border supplies.
31:21People were talking
31:21on every corner.
31:23The rogues are closing in.
31:24The Alpha King
31:25has lost his mind
31:26and the pack is falling.
31:28I sent back the medicine
31:29and rode for the border.
31:31The fighters
31:32who had been with Asher
31:33saw me ride in
31:34and the relief
31:34in their faces
31:35shifted to grief fast.
31:37Evelyn,
31:38you should say goodbye
31:39to him while you can.
31:40I gripped my reins,
31:42got off the horse,
31:43and walked into
31:44the command tent
31:45one step at a time.
31:48Asher was laid out there,
31:49barely breathing.
31:50He was worse.
31:53He's basically
31:54invincible in a fight.
31:55How did this happen?
31:58Since about six months ago,
31:59he's been coughing blood.
32:02Getting weaker.
32:04The healers couldn't explain it.
32:06He kept going out
32:07to fight anyway.
32:08Last time he had
32:09an episode mid-battle
32:10and took a blade
32:11directly to a vital point.
32:13The healer said
32:14there wasn't much time left,
32:15but he kept saying your name.
32:17We were just writing
32:18the message
32:18when you showed up.
32:22Asher.
32:24I'm here.
32:26You said
32:27you needed a mate.
32:29How are you allowed
32:29to go down like this?
32:32Asher has been through
32:33worse than this
32:34since he was small.
32:36Even what his father
32:37put him through
32:37didn't break him.
32:39The coughing blood,
32:41the weakness,
32:42that's because he went
32:43to the Eclipse Pack
32:44and paid with his
32:44Lifestyle for something.
32:46I asked him what he got.
32:48He wouldn't say.
32:50But that same day
32:51he left the border
32:52for the first time
32:53and went straight
32:54to an outpost
32:55at the edge
32:56of the territory.
32:58Word was
32:59you almost died there.
33:01I stood very still.
33:02Everyone knew
33:03about the Eclipse Pack.
33:04A reclusive wolf clan
33:05who could reverse fate
33:07and bend time.
33:08The cost was always
33:08the same in your life.
33:10Now I knew
33:10why I had come back.
33:12At some point
33:12the fighter left.
33:14My tears came down
33:15and my vision blurred.
33:17Asher,
33:18you absolute idiot.
33:23In my last life
33:24I loved the wrong people
33:25and I paid for it
33:26the way I deserved.
33:27This life
33:28I felt everything fully
33:29and I didn't regret
33:31a single choice I made.
33:32But now I regretted
33:34stepping in that night
33:35at Silvermoon Lodge.
33:36If we had never
33:37crossed paths
33:38he would have been fine.
33:39He would have made
33:40warrior rank
33:41without owing anything
33:42to anyone.
33:43He would have had a full,
33:44clean life.
33:45Instead,
33:46because of me
33:47all of it changed.
33:48Another tear fell
33:49and fingers caught it.
33:51Asher's lip curved slightly.
33:53What are you crying for
33:54if not for you?
33:56I would have died back then.
34:00I don't regret it.
34:04I just...
34:05He stopped.
34:06I really wanted
34:07to claim you.
34:09I wanted to take you
34:10to the border
34:11and show you everything.
34:13All of it.
34:19I guess I can't anymore.
34:21His voice was rough
34:22and full of want
34:23but he still managed
34:25to smile.
34:25When you find someone
34:27be smart about it
34:28he needs to at least...
34:30He needs to love you
34:32more than I did.
34:33That's the only way
34:33he deserves you.
34:35Another wave hit
34:36and I couldn't hold it.
34:37Tell me where they are.
34:40Please.
34:41What happened to him
34:42was my fault.
34:43He shouldn't have
34:44to carry it.
34:45He closed his mouth
34:46and kept it shut
34:47no matter how many ways
34:48I asked.
34:50I asked every fighter
34:51close to him.
34:52No one told me
34:53anything useful.
34:55In the end
34:55I found red ceremonial clothing
34:57and I brought it back.
34:58We held the bonding ritual
35:00right there.
35:01Asher,
35:03I'm yours.
35:04Even now
35:05with no time left
35:06the tent was filled
35:08with red.
35:09Asher leaned
35:09against the frame
35:10and the light
35:11in his eyes
35:12was scattered
35:13and bright
35:13like something broken
35:14and beautiful
35:15at the same time.
35:17Evelyn,
35:19I'm so glad.
35:20He laughed
35:21and blood ran down
35:22his cheek.
35:23I reached up.
35:25Don't talk.
35:26He went quiet
35:28and then his lips
35:29pressed against mine.
35:31It lasted a long time.
35:32When I finally
35:34opened my eyes
35:35all the tears
35:36had gone.
35:38Asher wasn't
35:39breathing anymore
35:39but the smile
35:41was still on his face.
35:43I held his hand
35:44and I didn't let go.
35:46Sometime later
35:46the rogue forces
35:47attacked again.
35:48The fighters
35:49who had nothing left
35:50stood in their gear
35:51quiet and certain
35:52ready to fight
35:53one last time
35:54for the pack
35:55they belonged to.
35:56The fighter
35:56who had told me
35:57everything offered
35:58to take me
35:59and Asher
35:59somewhere safe.
36:00I shook my head.
36:01I want to stay
36:02at the border
36:03with him.
36:04That day
36:04I put on
36:05Asher's battle armor
36:06and picked up
36:07his sword
36:07and used
36:08everything he had
36:09taught me
36:09to go out
36:09onto that field.
36:11The first kill
36:12blood everywhere.
36:13I didn't freeze
36:15because I knew
36:16he was right there
36:16beside me.
36:17I could protect
36:18myself
36:19and I could
36:19protect everything
36:20he had cared about.
36:21I wore Asher's helmet
36:23with the mask down
36:24and they thought
36:24I was him.
36:25The legend of a warrior
36:26who couldn't be killed
36:27unnerved them
36:28and they wanted out.
36:29I wore that mask
36:30and signed the agreement.
36:31After the battle,
36:33Caden tried to pin
36:34the charge of betrayal
36:34on Asher's name.
36:36He had the fighters
36:37who had been with Asher
36:38hunted down
36:38and destroyed.
36:39His rule got darker
36:40by the week.
36:41For half a year
36:42we scattered and moved.
36:44Caden unable to find me
36:45or Asher grew more brutal.
36:47He taxed and squeezed
36:49the pack into misery
36:50using the search
36:51as an excuse
36:51for everything.
36:52The fighters
36:53who had followed Asher
36:54found me eventually.
36:56They looked exhausted
36:57and they looked like
36:58they were asking
36:58for something
36:59they weren't sure
37:00I could give.
37:00My lady,
37:01every wolf in this territory
37:03knows what kind of man
37:04Asher was.
37:05Caden is not fit to lead.
37:07We're asking you
37:08to put on the mask.
37:09Use his name.
37:10Call the fighters together
37:11and take the stronghold.
37:12I put my hand
37:14over the pendant
37:14at my chest.
37:16I put on the mask.
37:17This time
37:18under his name.
37:20The people lined
37:21both sides of the road.
37:23Caden stood
37:23on the stronghold wall.
37:25Fury and something else
37:26tangled together
37:27in his face.
37:28Asher,
37:29you stole my mate
37:31and now you have
37:32the nerve
37:33on my territory.
37:34Our eyes met
37:35from a distance.
37:36He could always
37:37read me in a way
37:38that other people
37:38couldn't.
37:40Evelyn,
37:40you came back.
37:41Get in here.
37:42We'll finish the ceremony.
37:43You'll be my only mate
37:44forever, please.
37:45I was wrong before.
37:47Can you forgive me?
37:49His expression
37:50went strange.
37:51Open the gates.
37:52Let Evelyn in.
37:54He came down fast
37:55and moved toward me.
37:56I raised my bow
37:57and put an arrow
37:58through his chest.
37:59A tyrant falls
38:00to the people
38:01he failed.
38:05Caden looked down
38:06at the blood
38:07on his hand,
38:08completely at a loss.
38:09Evelyn.
38:10I had already
38:11walked past him
38:12and taken the fighters
38:13inside.
38:14The arrow
38:15hadn't killed him.
38:17I found a member
38:18of the ruling bloodline
38:19with a clean record
38:20and helped him
38:21take the seat.
38:22Under Asher's name,
38:23I became the pack's
38:24commander.
38:25If Asher had lived,
38:26it would have been his.
38:28Now it was his,
38:29regardless.
38:30He had earned it.
38:31The new alpha
38:32was declared
38:33in front of the whole pack.
38:34The old one
38:35was dealt with
38:35in the open,
38:36giving the pack
38:37somewhere to put
38:38its grief and anger.
38:39Zane had been
38:40let out of confinement.
38:41Not long after
38:42the new alpha
38:43took power,
38:44he walked out
38:45of the capital
38:45and was never
38:46found again.
38:47I applied to the station
38:48at the border
38:49permanently
38:49and left the capital
38:51with the fighters
38:51who had been
38:52Asher's family.
38:54Time passed.
38:55I rode across
38:56open grassland
38:57with the pendant
38:58at my chest
38:58catching the light.
38:59Asher appeared
39:00in front of me.
39:01So,
39:02what does it feel like
39:04being a warrior?
39:05I laughed
39:06and rode toward him.
39:07He drifted
39:08the way things
39:09drifted in the wind.
39:10The neighbor lady
39:11was right,
39:12you know.
39:12We really did look
39:14like we were meant
39:14for each other.
39:16Next life,
39:17we do it right.
39:19Deal.
39:19I closed my eyes.
39:21One tear
39:21disappeared
39:22into my hair.
39:23Deal.
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