- 4 hours ago
My Alpha Stepbrother Marked Me, Then Rejected Me
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Short filmTranscript
00:00The year I turned 18, I was drugged at a party and stumbled into my stepbrother Reed Sterling's
00:05room. He marked me against his will. It was a full moon night he lost control. All I remember
00:09is the pain. After that night, I was carrying his child. That was after the Sterlings learned
00:14the truth. The truth that adopting me had cost them their real bloodline. Ten years.
00:18It took them ten years to realize that the day they chose me, the daughter they'd been
00:23searching for was right there too. Ten years ago, five-year-old me smiled at Reed and he
00:28chose me, the wrong choice, without question. So he hated me, couldn't stand me, and couldn't
00:32stand the thought of his child growing inside me. That day, I took his hand and placed it
00:37on my stomach. I thought he'd want to feel it. You know what? You disgust me. You stole
00:42my sister's life. Why didn't you die instead? His cold, hard rejection sent a pain through
00:47me I'd never felt before. He could feel something tearing away inside me. He got his wish. My
00:52baby died, and so did I. Before my eyes closed, I thought back on this life. From five to fifteen,
00:57I was truly happy. The Sterlings were good to me. The lakefront house in Bellevue always
01:02smelled like coffee in the morning. On Sundays, the warm scent of fresh laundry drifted from
01:07the laundry room. And Reed, we weren't even in the same grade. But he still took me to
01:11school and picked me up every day. When I was little, I'd do homework at the kitchen
01:15island, and he'd sit on the couch pretending to watch TV. He wasn't really watching. He
01:20was just there. By the time he started college, he was already 6'1", the kind of guy people
01:24just moved out of the way for. But with me, he was always close. Always put me first.
01:29I fell for him so easily, it was almost embarrassing. He was in my diary, locked
01:33behind a passcode no one could crack. Then one day, everything changed. Reed wasn't the
01:37Reed I loved anymore. After that night, he hated me even more. Before I died, I wasn't
01:41scared. Not even a little. I even thought it wasn't so bad. But somehow I opened my eyes
01:46again. I was back to the day they came to the group home.
01:51Nola, what are you doing back here?
01:55Mrs. Linda, I don't want to go.
01:58Silly girl, it's the Steelers. If they pick you, you'll finally have a real home, sweetheart.
02:02Just smile, okay? That's all you have to do. Just one smile.
02:05One smile. I thought of Reed's eyes in my past life. Cold, hateful. The moment that black
02:10range rover pulled up, I hid in the storage closet. I don't know how long I sat in there.
02:14At some point, I fell asleep. By the time they found me, the Sterlings had already left.
02:19They didn't end up choosing anyone. I didn't know why. Didn't care either. Three other kids
02:23in the room. Just like me. No family. I didn't know who the Sterlings' biological daughter
02:28was. The one who'd been taken from them. But in my past life, I'd overheard it on one
02:32of Ms. Linda's phone calls. The Sterlings believed she was here. In this group home,
02:36I didn't want anything to do with the Sterlings. Not this time. But in my last life, the first
02:40ten years with them, the Sterlings and Reed had been good to me. Really.
02:44Genuinely good. If their real daughter could find her way back to them, we'd be even.
02:48But before I could do anything about it, the Sterlings came back a second time. All the
02:52girls around five or six were lined up for a DNA test. A cotton swab along the inside
02:56of the cheek. Dropped into a vial. This never happened in my past life. Word was, this DNA
03:01test had been requested by the Sterlings' young master himself. Could it be? Had Reed been reborn
03:06too?
03:08I lowered my head and stepped aside. Even though his wolf hadn't awakened yet, I could feel
03:12it. Something about him that made you not want to get too close. The next day, the girl
03:17who slept across from me, Iris, was gone. Iris never talked much. She cried all the time.
03:23A total crybaby. Turns out she was the Sterlings' biological daughter. Two days later, the Sterlings
03:28came back again. This time they said they wanted to adopt a girl to keep their daughter company.
03:31And this time I didn't hide. All of us, me included, lined up in a row, waiting for the
03:35Sterlings to come pick. The first one out of the car was the Sterlings' little girl. The
03:39crybaby who used to cry over everything. Now treated like a princess by everyone around
03:43her. There was something around Iris I couldn't quite name. Not perfume. More like a warmth.
03:48The Sterling family's warmth.
03:50A bunch of kids rushed up to her. We were all young. A group home kids learn early. You learn
03:55to read adults. You learn to read a room. Everyone knew. If you got to leave with Iris today,
04:00you'd get to wear pretty dresses like hers. Live in a big house. Have your own room. But for some
04:04reason, Iris stopped in front of me. My stomach dropped. Before I even realized what I was doing,
04:09I shoved her away. Nola! Iris!
04:13That day, Ms. Linda made me stay in my room for three hours. No coming out. I thought there was
04:18no way the Sterlings would still want me after what I did. But three days later, I was sitting in
04:22that
04:23black Range Rover. Ms. Linda said the Sterlings had filed for my foster placement. The paperwork was
04:27already done. I froze. But it was already settled. All I could do was accept it. Iris, at least,
04:32was easy to be around. And the Sterlings, just like the first ten years of my past life, were kind
04:36to
04:36me. The coldest one in the house was Reed. He barely spoke to me. But sometimes, I'd catch him
04:41watching me in silence. A flash of gold in his eyes. Gone before I could be sure. A few days
04:45later,
04:45after dinner.
04:46Dad, the group home's furnace is ancient. It keeps breaking down every winter. Can we get them a new
04:51one?
04:51The truth was, I'd been trying to figure out the same thing. How to keep the group home from the
04:56disaster. In my last life, the group home caught fire. An old space heater short-circuited in the
05:01middle of the night. Those heaters were all second-hand donations, used for god knows how
05:05many years. And those kids, their wolves were still dormant. They didn't have the adult wolf
05:08instinct to sense danger in their sleep. Smoke, temperature, completely unaware in the haze.
05:13They were just like any normal child. The group home never had enough funding. A second-hand space
05:18heater could last ten years. You're right, I should have thought of that. They looked
05:22after Iris for years. The sterlings replaced the group home's entire furnace, and donated
05:26a large sum on top of it. I hadn't expected Reed to do something like that. I still kept
05:30my distance from him. But honestly, I was grateful, setting aside everything between us from the
05:34past. Reed's rebirth had genuinely saved a lot of people from a terrible fate.
05:40In the blink of an eye, Iris and I were both old enough for high school. Reed was still in
05:45college, but he'd already started interning at the family firm. He and I still barely
05:49crossed paths. I kept my distance on purpose, and Reed was just as cold toward me as ever.
05:53The contrast with how he treated Iris couldn't have been more obvious. I knew the deal. The
05:57sterlings adopted me to give Iris a companion. That was always the point. So for all those
06:01years, school and Iris, that was my life. When everyone found out I wanted to transfer from
06:06the PAC school to a human high school, the sterlings, even Reed, looked at me in surprise.
06:11Norla, why would you want to transfer to a human school all of a sudden?
06:14Your grades are great, but you know there's no PAC support over there, right?
06:18No PAC support meant everything would be on me. But I didn't want to stay. This time,
06:22I wanted to live my own life. The sterlings took turns trying to talk me out of it. I didn't
06:26budge.
06:26Let her go.
06:28The living room went quiet for two seconds. No one argued after that.
06:31One night during finals, I stayed in the library studying until almost 11. By the time I came out,
06:36the school entrance was deserted. November. The wind was brutal. I walked along the sidewalk,
06:40shoulders hunched, streetlights flickering on and off in patches. The streets around the human
06:45school were nothing like Bellevue. No sterling security. No one who knew my name.
06:52Where are you?
06:53I didn't answer.
06:54You're just now heading home?
06:56Yeah.
06:56Where are you?
06:58By the 7-Eleven near school.
07:00Don't move. I'm coming to get you.
07:01It's fine. I can...
07:04Ten minutes later, a black Mercedes turned the corner. He didn't kill the engine. Just
07:08rolled down the window and looked at me. I got in the passenger seat. I reached for
07:12the seatbelt. Pulled. It wouldn't budge. Reed reached over and yanked it free in one pull.
07:16When his fingers brushed past my collarbone, my whole body flinched toward the door. He
07:20didn't say anything.
07:24Are you afraid of me?
07:27In my past life, I was at the pack school. Those kids always knew which side to be on.
07:33A girl splashed milk on me.
07:35Sorry.
07:36I pulled myself out of those memories.
07:38The car had already turned into the Bellevue neighborhood. There was a faint scent in the
07:42car. Cedar and rain. My wolf was still dormant. I shouldn't have been able to pick up on it.
07:46But it was there.
07:49The car pulled into the garage. He killed the engine. I stared at the clock on the dashboard.
07:54It's 11.47. He pulled the key, pushed the door open, and got out.
08:00I followed behind. Two, three steps back.
08:04After that night, everything was swallowed up by schoolwork. Every night, I sat hunched
08:08over my desk doing homework until my eyes burned. Iris' college was already set.
08:13Nora, I thought once summer started, you'd finally hang out with me. You're seriously
08:16doing a summer program?
08:17It is what it is.
08:18But it's been so long since we've done anything together.
08:21It's fine. Have fun. Send me pictures of everything. Cool stuff. Good food. All of it.
08:25It'll be like I went too. After Iris left, I started spending every day after school
08:29in the library until the staff kicked me out. Then I'd walk to the McDonald's on the corner,
08:34order a coffee, and sit there until late. Catherine wasn't happy at first. Me coming home so
08:39late every night. But in the end, she didn't say much about it.
08:45Senior year. A whole week off. Iris came to pick me up from school the second it started.
08:49But when I walked out, Reed in the driver's seat, I thought about what Catherine always said.
08:53How after all these years, Reed still hadn't sensed his mate.
08:57Nona! Noah! We're right here!
09:00Every time she brought it up, Iris would volunteer to find him a boyfriend.
09:04Reed! I want to go to that new steakhouse in Belleville!
09:07When we got there, Reed gave a name.
09:11The hostess took us straight to a window table.
09:14Nora! What do you want to eat?
09:15I shifted in my seat. A little uneasy.
09:17I'm good with anything.
09:19Mushroom soup and herb crust filet instead.
09:21I quietly let out a breath.
09:25My stomach had been bad lately.
09:27I'd been trying to eat on time every day.
09:29But when the pain hit, after dinner, we headed back to Bellevue.
09:32My stomach kept getting worse.
09:33I dug out some Pepto and took two.
09:37I was trying to finish a paper due right after spring break.
09:39Used up every last bit of energy I had.
09:41When I got home, I crashed.
09:43I didn't wake up until the next day.
09:44It was the stomach pain that woke me up.
09:46I was about to go find something to eat.
09:47I opened the door, and there was Reed, leaning against the hallway wall.
09:51We both froze for a second.
09:52His eyes flashed gold.
09:54Then he looked away.
09:56Mom says come down for food.
09:57Iris pushed a sandwich she'd made for me across the table.
09:59Nola, you're seriously amazing.
10:02You're going to get what you want.
10:03I know it.
10:05April.
10:06College offers started rolling in.
10:07The day results came out.
10:09The whole Sterling family stayed home.
10:10I sat on the couch in the living room and logged into the application portal.
10:16The page loaded for two seconds.
10:22Oh my god!
10:24My hands were shaking.
10:25I hugged her back.
10:26I'd gotten offers from several schools.
10:29East coast.
10:29West coast.
10:30But I chose Boston.
10:32Five hour flight from Seattle.
10:33Three hour time difference.
10:34He was on the west side.
10:35Then I'd go east.
10:36Catherine wasn't happy about it.
10:38She nearly backed out of the graduation trip we'd already planned.
10:40Iris talked her mom around.
10:41Again, Iris.
10:42She was so good.
10:43She didn't always understand my choices.
10:45But she always respected them.
10:47April.
10:48Prom season.
10:49The hallways were full of promposals.
10:51Within one week, three different guys asked me to be their prom date.
10:55One slipped a note into my locker.
10:57One did it at lunch in front of the entire cafeteria.
11:01One sent a friend to ask on his behalf.
11:04Sorry, I can't.
11:05I turned them all down.
11:07After that, Iris and I went to Europe together.
11:10Just the two of us.
11:11Our own trip.
11:13When we got back, I made one more stop.
11:15The group home in Portland.
11:16Ms. Linda still remembered me.
11:18When she heard I'd gotten into college, she almost cried.
11:20Good.
11:22Good sweetheart.
11:23Once she'd pulled herself together, she asked if the Sterlings had been treating me well.
11:26I nodded.
11:27Yeah.
11:28Really well.
11:29This life.
11:29I really had been lucky.
11:34The night Iris flew to England, I packed my bags too.
11:38Catherine couldn't understand why I wanted to leave for school so early.
11:42That night, walking past Catherine's room, I heard her voice through the door.
11:46She's never going to see us as her real family.
11:48No matter what we do, she's always going to leave.
11:55I went back to my room.
11:56Didn't turn on the light.
11:57Just sat there in the dark until morning.
12:00The next day, the Sterlings drove me to Sea-Tac.
12:02Call us if you need anything.
12:04Don't forget to eat.
12:06We're always here.
12:08Okay, Mom.
12:09At the airport, I said goodbye to each of them.
12:11I reached for the suitcase in Reed's hand.
12:13Let's go.
12:18Then board the same plane.
12:20He sat down next to me.
12:24What?
12:25Then he slipped a gray neck pillow behind my head.
12:27When his fingers grazed the back of my neck, my whole body was stiff.
12:31I kept my earbuds in.
12:32Sat rigid the entire time.
12:34Didn't sleep for a single second.
12:36After we landed, Reed carried my luggage all the way from the parking lot to the dorm.
12:42My roommates thought he was my boyfriend.
12:44After he left, they found out he was my brother.
12:46Every single one of them came at me for his Instagram.
12:49Girl, that is not a brother faith.
12:54The truth is, in this life, Reed and I barely interacted at all.
12:58I knew he didn't like me, so I always kept my distance.
13:00Not once.
13:01And it wasn't just him.
13:02I kept my distance from everyone.
13:04In my past life, he hated the smile I gave him when I was five.
13:08I never understood why.
13:09But that day, at the group home, he looked at every girl in the line.
13:12And in the end, he walked over to me.
13:13All because I smiled at him.
13:15He chose me.
13:16And Iris was left behind.
13:17The reborn Reed, he probably hated my smile too.
13:21So in the Sterling house, I was always guarded.
13:24Always careful.
13:25The only time I could relax was around Iris.
13:27Now that I was in Boston, I didn't have to face any of them anymore.
13:31I could finally breathe.
13:33The only hard part was Christmas.
13:35Every year, I had to come up with a new excuse not to go back.
13:37The first year, Iris FaceTimed me.
13:39She looked a little hurt.
13:40The second year, I still didn't go back.
13:42Nola?
13:43What's going on with you?
13:45I feel like you didn't just go to college.
13:47You left us.
13:48For good.
13:49Iris waited for a long time.
13:51Then she hung up.
13:51That night, I made myself a cup of hot cocoa.
13:54That gray neck pillow was still at the bottom of my closet.
13:57Some nights, a trace of cedar and rain would drift through.
13:59I was never sure if I was really smelling it.
14:01Or just remembering.
14:06The truth is, in this life, Reed and I barely interacted at all.
14:10I knew he didn't like me.
14:11So I always kept my distance.
14:12Not once.
14:13And it wasn't just him.
14:14I kept my distance from everyone.
14:16In my past life, he hated the smile I gave him when I was five.
14:19I never understood why.
14:21But that day, at the group home, he looked at every girl in the line.
14:23And in the end, he walked over to me.
14:25All because I smiled at him.
14:26He chose me.
14:27And Iris was left behind.
14:29The reborn Reed.
14:30He probably hated my smile too.
14:33So in the Sterling house, I was always guarded.
14:35Always careful.
14:37The only time I could relax was around Iris.
14:39Now that I was in Boston, I didn't have to face any of them anymore.
14:43I could finally breathe.
14:45The only hard part was Christmas.
14:46Every year, I had to come up with a new excuse not to go back.
14:49The first year, Iris FaceTimed me.
14:51She looked a little hurt.
14:52The second year, I still didn't go back.
14:54Nola?
14:55What's going on with you?
14:57I feel like you didn't just go to college.
14:59You left us.
15:00For good.
15:01Iris waited for a long time.
15:02Then she hung up.
15:03That night, I made myself a cup of hot cocoa.
15:05That gray neck pillow was still at the bottom of my closet.
15:08Some nights, a trace of cedar and rain would drift through.
15:11I was never sure if I was really smelling it.
15:13Or just remembering.
15:18I finished the hot cocoa and lay in bed.
15:22The dorm was almost empty.
15:23Not a single person in the hallway.
15:26I forced my eyes shut.
15:28Then my phone buzzed.
15:34Iris?
15:35Nola!
15:35Come downstairs!
15:39Iris had already spotted me.
15:40And it wasn't just Iris.
15:42David, Catherine, even Reed.
15:43All of them standing there.
15:45Catherine was holding a bag of groceries.
15:46David had a little tabletop Christmas tree.
15:49Nola!
15:50I suddenly felt like I'd been so selfish.
15:53I knew it.
15:54I knew you missed us.
15:56In that moment, wrapped up in Iris' arms, I felt a gaze settle on me.
16:00That night, Catherine cooked Christmas dinner in the communal kitchen on my floor.
16:04A big pot of pasta, garlic, olive oil, parmesan.
16:08The whole floor smelled like it.
16:09It's picnic-style Christmas.
16:12Halfway through eating, Iris noticed something was off.
16:14I couldn't stop shaking.
16:15She touched my forehead.
16:17You're burning up!
16:18Iris dragged me to the ER.
16:20When the blood work came back, they said I couldn't go home.
16:23If we hadn't come, how long were you gonna let yourself burn like that?
16:26She always showed up when I needed her most.
16:29Everything went black.
16:33When I opened my eyes again, I was in the ICU.
16:37The doctors at the human hospital said it was acute kidney failure.
16:40But the pack doctor the Sterlings brought in, after reviewing all my charts, pulled David
16:44and Catherine into the hallway.
16:46I caught fragments through the door.
16:48Incomplete first shift, her wolf tried to emerge but failed.
16:51The shift damaged her organs on the way out.
16:53My wolf had finally tried to wake up, but she was too weak.
16:55The shift stalled halfway, never completed.
16:58My kidneys were torn apart in the process.
16:59Dialysis of the human hospital could only buy time.
17:02The pack doctor said I needed to be transferred to the pack hospital in Seattle.
17:05But it didn't matter, human hospital or pack hospital.
17:07The conclusion was the same.
17:09The only way I'd survive was a kidney transplant.
17:10I stared at the ceiling.
17:12I didn't understand.
17:13I'd been trying so hard, so hard to break free from the Sterlings, to build my own life.
17:17I'd gotten into a good school.
17:18Two more years, and I'd be working.
17:20And now, everything had gone dark.
17:23I was transferred to the pack hospital in Seattle.
17:25I saw Iris, eyes swollen from crying.
17:27Her school was about to start.
17:29She didn't go.
17:31Took a leave of absence.
17:32Refused to leave my side.
17:34And the pack doctor said that because my kidneys were damaged by an incomplete shift,
17:37a human kidney might not be compatible.
17:39A wolf's kidney would be best.
17:40The pool of potential donors shrank to almost nothing.
17:43What I didn't expect was that Iris went behind everyone's backs and got herself tested.
17:47And she was a match.
17:53I lay in the hospital bed, listening to Catherine's voice in the hallway.
17:56Iris, have you thought about this?
17:59If you give up a kidney, what happens to you for the rest of your life?
18:02Stop telling me you'll be fine with one kidney.
18:04You don't know that.
18:06I won't allow it.
18:07Do you hear me?
18:08I won't allow it.
18:09Tears rolled down my face.
18:12Iris, I won't let you do this either.
18:14I waited until no one from the Sterling family was around.
18:17Then I packed my things and left the hospital.
18:20I had nowhere to go.
18:22And I didn't want the Sterlings to find me.
18:24I couldn't even fly.
18:26The pack hospital had my information on file.
18:28The second I booked a ticket, the Sterlings would know.
18:31I called a car from outside the hospital.
18:34I told the driver to keep heading south.
18:40Sacramento.
18:41A city I'd never been to before.
18:43I'd always planned to pay the Sterlings back.
18:45Every dollar they'd spend on me over the years.
18:48But now, that was clearly never going to happen.
18:51This life I'd always owe them.
18:54I found a tiny studio on a quiet side street.
18:58Craigslist listing.
19:00Cheap rent.
19:01Everything old.
19:02To keep myself looking somewhat normal,
19:04I got a job at a flower shop wrapping bouquets.
19:07The owner was a Mexican lady in her 60s.
19:09She didn't ask me any questions.
19:10She looked at me once,
19:11and told me to come in at 9 the next morning.
19:13The hours weren't long.
19:15Six a day.
19:16It wasn't hard work.
19:22But every time I came back to that little studio,
19:24I felt lonely.
19:30Valentine's Day.
19:31The flower shop was slammed until late.
19:33By the time I clocked out,
19:35it was almost one in the morning.
19:36Sacramento was quiet at night.
19:38The last bus was long gone.
19:40All I could do was walk home.
19:45But on the way,
19:46I kept feeling like someone was behind me.
19:48Up ahead was a narrow stretch.
19:50No streetlights.
19:51No one around.
19:52I started walking faster.
19:53And faster.
19:55But the footsteps behind me,
19:56they sped up too.
19:58I panicked.
20:00Tripped.
20:01Hit the ground.
20:03Someone was coming toward me.
20:04I screamed, scrambled backward.
20:06The headlines started flooding in.
20:08Rape.
20:08Murder.
20:09Body found three days later in a ditch.
20:11A hand closed around my wrist.
20:13Please.
20:14Please let me go.
20:15Please.
20:15I'm sick.
20:16I swear.
20:17I don't have any money.
20:18Please.
20:18Just let me go.
20:23I kicked and hit it whoever was in front of me.
20:26Then someone pulled me in.
20:27Held me tight.
20:29Nola.
20:31Nola.
20:33It's me.
20:34I'm here.
20:35It's me.
20:36I froze for one second.
20:38That scent came back.
20:40In the dark.
20:41It wrapped around me completely.
20:46After a long time,
20:48I pulled myself free and went back to the little studio.
20:50I didn't know how Reed found me here.
20:54I didn't want to know why he came after me.
20:56In our past life, he hated me.
20:58So why?
20:59Over the next few days,
21:00Reed was just there.
21:01Following me.
21:02Quietly.
21:02He didn't talk.
21:03Didn't explain.
21:04Didn't get too close.
21:06He was just there.
21:07He sat in the cafe across the street.
21:09Pretending to look at his phone.
21:10When I walked home after work,
21:12he walked behind me.
21:13Half a block back,
21:14I didn't want to deal with it.
21:16Didn't want to ask.
21:18But the flower shop owner noticed.
21:20She glanced out the window at Reed sitting in the cafe.
21:23Then looked back at me.
21:24Boyfriend trouble?
21:28I didn't answer.
21:32Just walked out in silence.
21:36I refused to take anything from the Sterlings.
21:39Not anymore.
21:41One time,
21:42Reed showed up outside my building again.
21:45I couldn't hold it in.
21:47I walked up to him.
21:51Let me go.
21:52Clean.
21:54Is that too much to ask?
21:55His eyes changed.
21:57Gold.
21:57Deep gold.
21:58Not the usual flash that came and went.
22:01His wolf had surfaced completely.
22:03But he didn't move.
22:07Nola.
22:09I'm sorry.
22:10He just stood there.
22:12Eyes full of grief.
22:16My condition was getting worse.
22:18The next time I ended up in the ICU,
22:20I was transferred back to the PAC hospital in Seattle.
22:26Iris sat at the edge of my bed again.
22:29She held my hand.
22:31Pressed her forehead against the back of it.
22:33Her shoulders were shaking.
22:36Nola, please.
22:37Let me do this.
22:39Let me save you.
22:40Please.
22:45You're my sister.
22:46Do you hear me?
22:49Do you hear me?
22:51You're my sister.
22:52That was the first time Iris ever said that to me.
22:55I held her hand.
22:56Weak.
22:57Shook my head.
22:58I was happy she said it.
22:59But no matter how many times she did,
23:02I couldn't let Iris give me her kidney.
23:05Before, the reason I refused was because I couldn't go through it again.
23:08What if something happened to Iris because of me?
23:09I couldn't imagine how the Sterlings would treat me after that.
23:12But now, the reason was different.
23:14I simply couldn't ruin the rest of Iris' life.
23:16She was young.
23:17Her wolf had only just awakened.
23:18Losing a kidney, no one knew what that would do to her wolf.
23:21Catherine had aged so much these past weeks.
23:25The elegant Alpha's wife.
23:27Now with lines carved deep around her eyes.
23:30I knew she regretted it.
23:32After what she'd said, Iris still refused to speak to her.
23:36Catherine blamed herself.
23:37Thought she'd been a terrible mother.
23:40That her selfishness had made my condition worse.
23:42But I never blamed Catherine.
23:44Not really.
23:45Because I knew.
23:46It wasn't just Iris who went and got tested.
23:49Catherine did too.
23:50She just wasn't a match.
23:51And she never told anyone she'd tried.
23:53Then, just when everyone was about to lose hope,
23:56the PAC hospital called.
23:58They'd found a kidney for me.
24:04I made up an excuse.
24:05Told them there was a problem at the West Coast branch.
24:08Said I had to fly out.
24:09Mom gave me grief for it.
24:10Said Nola had finally gotten a donor match.
24:12She was about to go into surgery.
24:14And me, her brother, couldn't even be bothered to care.
24:17Then she started...
24:18You remember Iris' birthday every single year.
24:20Every single year.
24:22But Nola's, you've never once remembered.
24:25She's your sister too.
24:28But you're the only one in this family who's always treated her like an outsider.
24:33I smiled bitterly.
24:34The truth was, when it came to Nola, I never knew how to face her.
24:38Every time I saw her, my past life came rushing back.
24:42What I did to her, I always knew.
24:44Deep down, I knew.
24:45Iris' death in our past life had nothing to do with Nola.
24:48But back then, we were all drowning in grief.
24:51None of us could see straight.
24:52So I watched.
24:53Every time Nola was bullied, humiliated.
24:55I clenched my jaw and looked the other way.
24:57Iris was dead.
24:59Nola should be in pain too.
25:00I even went out of my way to say things that would cut her.
25:03Until that party.
25:05The one where someone slipped something in Nola's drink.
25:08I heard about it at school that day.
25:10I went after her immediately.
25:12What I didn't expect was Nola clinging to me the moment she saw me.
25:17Refusing to let go.
25:18I lost control.
25:20My wolf broke free for the first time.
25:23He chose her.
25:24And from that night on, he never went quiet again.
25:27Afterward, the regret was instant.
25:30When I found out Nola was pregnant.
25:34That day, she begged me.
25:36Pleaded.
25:37Said no.
25:37Please no.
25:38I didn't listen.
25:39I rejected her.
25:41Brutally.
25:42And that's when I finally understood what I was.
25:45A complete and utter piece of shit.
25:50In this life, I brought Iris back.
25:52And I brought Nola back too.
25:54I thought I was making things right.
25:55But slowly, I started to realize.
25:58Nola wasn't happy.
26:00It's not like I didn't notice.
26:02Back at the group home, she was already hiding from us.
26:05But I told myself, the Sterlings could give her a better life.
26:07And besides, in our past life, we owed her.
26:09So this time around, when Nola wanted to go to a human high school, I convinced the family
26:14to let her.
26:15When she wanted to go to a school five hours away, by plane, I convinced them again.
26:20What Nola didn't know was that over her two years in Boston, I flew out to see her more
26:25than once.
26:26The lecture halls.
26:27The library.
26:28Even outside her dorm.
26:30Every time, I suppressed my scent.
26:34Every time, my wolf fought me.
26:36He wanted to get closer.
26:37I wouldn't let him.
26:41Then one day, she was suddenly in the hospital.
26:44Incomplete first shift.
26:46Her wolf had finally tried to wake up.
26:48But she was too weak.
26:50The shift never finished.
26:52Her kidneys were damaged in the process.
26:54I watched mom fight Iris on the kidney donation.
26:58I also watched mom quietly get herself tested.
27:01Then drag dad to get tested too.
27:04Neither matched.
27:05So I went and got tested on my own.
27:08My kidney was a match for Nola.
27:14I used the West Coast branch as my excuse.
27:17I went into surgery first.
27:19Before they wheeled me in, I looked down the hallway.
27:22The light above the door of the next OR was on.
27:25She was behind that door.
27:26I knew.
27:28I stopped the doctor before we went in.
27:31Take care of her.
27:33Whatever it takes.
27:41The surgery went well.
27:44I was transferred to a different hospital to recover.
27:47My family was happy.
27:48Messages kept coming in, one after another.
27:51The surgery was a success.
27:54Nola's numbers were improving.
27:56No one knew whose kidney it was.
27:58And me, I realized that missing a kidney didn't really change much.
28:02If it weren't for the scar, I'd sometimes forget there was something missing inside me.
28:07Once I was healed up, I went back to doing what I'd always done, flying to Boston to see Nola.
28:16After that, Nola went back to Boston to finish school.
28:18I knew her grades were good.
28:20I knew she'd gotten into a top research lab by her senior year.
28:24One day, I saw Nola walk out of the campus gate.
28:26There was a guy next to her, walking close.
28:29And Nola's eyes, that look she had, shy, bright.
28:33A smile she couldn't hold back, even if she tried.
28:36I'd never seen her smile like that.
28:38Not once.
28:39Not at me.
28:40Not at anyone in our family, never.
28:43And it hurt so bad I couldn't breathe.
28:44I thought to myself, maybe the surgeons made a mistake last time.
28:48Maybe they gave Nola half my heart along with the kidney.
28:51Because what else could explain this kind of pain?
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