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