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Betrayed, Then Cherished New englishsubtitle watchfull🔥
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00:00The night we were supposed to bond as mates, bar manager Silas had the bouncers drag me out of the
00:05back chamber of the hollow and fang.
00:07He walked out with the new female bartender instead. He looked at me like it meant nothing.
00:12Nova's baby needs a father on paper. Once I divorce her, I'll marry you.
00:17Everyone thought I'd swallow my pride and wait another month. After all, I'd already waited seven years.
00:24Dad!
00:26But that night, I accepted my father's arranged match and left Dusk Hollow entirely.
00:34I vanished from his world completely.
00:41Three years later, I was back to the town. My husband had a work emergency, so he had his people
00:46in Dusk Hollow to collect me.
00:47I'll go along with whatever you say.
00:49The demon spirit tournament here was about to begin. I was here helping my husband holding this.
00:54I spotted someone holding a carved bone marker. My formal name, Ren.
00:59Nova stood beside him, along with a handful of the bar's regulars.
01:02Two wolf-bloods, a half-blood witch, a vampire.
01:05Hey, isn't that you obsessed ex? Isn't that waiter Lena?
01:08See? I told you. She'd come crawling back.
01:12She vanished without a trace. Now she sees Silas is rich.
01:16She probably cries herself to sleep every night.
01:18But Lena, if you were going to stage a reunion, at least show up in something decent. You can't afford
01:22better than that?
01:23You look this pathetic?
01:25I used to dress sharply every single time I knew I'd see Silas. Best clothes. Best version of myself. Not
01:30anymore. No point.
01:32I was pregnant now. My husband had told me to wear whatever was comfortable.
01:35The clothes I'm wearing were chosen by him. I noticed. They only knew my old name.
01:40They had no idea I was the person they'd been sent here to collect.
01:43Lena, hey, it's good you're back. Silas been asking after you for years.
01:48Yeah, our son is entering the young training co-court soon. From now on, you're in charge of the drop
01:51-off.
01:52He was still so incredibly arrogant, but I wasn't that naive girl anymore.
01:55Hey, Lena, this is Nova.
01:57I didn't want to waste another second on them.
01:59Please don't blame Silas. He's just trying to take care of you.
02:02Who knows what kind of shady stuff you had to do to survive these years.
02:05Maybe a hooker.
02:06Three years. Nova still wore that exact same expression. It still made my sin wrong.
02:11All right, Lena, drop the attitude. You clearly can't survive out there, so stop throwing tantrums and learn your place.
02:17Damn, Lena. Look how good Silas is to you. He's given you free room and board.
02:22Isn't babysitting better than whatever trashy life you're doing now?
02:25Hurry up and say thank you.
02:26Don't worry, dear. If my son acts up, I'll handle him myself. You won't be mistreated.
02:31Why would she be mistreated? She bolted over nothing. She's back because the outside world didn't want her.
02:38A little humility is good for her.
02:40The Silas who used to love me was long gone.
02:43He was no longer the one who protected me when I was sexually assaulted in the bar.
02:47That was fine. It was over. No point. I was about to have my second child.
02:51Aren't you here to pick me up? Let's go.
02:56Pick you up? Please.
02:58Read this carefully. We're here for Rin. You even know who that is?
03:02Rin is the Lady of the Ashwheel line. She's mated to the Lord Caius, our bar's mistress.
03:06Yeah, Caius is a legend, child of the dark. He is coldest creature alive in the field, but completely devoted
03:10to one mate.
03:11Rumor is he refused every offer for years, just waiting for win.
03:14Everyone who matters knows the rule. You want Caius' favor, go through Rin. She is everything to him.
03:19Three years of marriage. Caius' bussiness had doubled. So had his reputation as the most fiercely devoted mate any supernatural
03:26alive had ever witnessed.
03:28Caius had a one-of-a-kind piece commissioned. The Night Gloom Pendant, an enchanted moonstone set in black iron.
03:34He paid a witch lord's ransom for it, just to give to Rin.
03:38She's the most envied woman in every territory.
03:44That pendant! That's it!
03:47Everyone quieted down and looked at me. Silas grabbed my wrist, looked at the pendant, then laughed.
03:53Nice knockoff. Is this your salary for fucking man?
03:57I pulled my arm back. I ran my thumb over the moonstone. Silas saw me smiling, and his expression changed.
04:03He grabbed my wrist again and ripped the pendant free. I wasn't ready for that. He got it.
04:08Better quality than the replica I had made?
04:11Not that I'd ever wear mine outside. This outer territory imitation is something else.
04:16Then she laughed.
04:20Wait, don't tell me you're Rin. Don't tell me you're Lord Caius' mate.
04:24The whole group fell apart. Of course they did. It was absurd to them.
04:29Three years ago, I was just the wolf girl who'd been abandoned.
04:33Caius was a myth-walking. No one had ever seen his face and lived to gossip carelessly about it.
04:38They certainly wouldn't believe that two people like that could have any connection.
04:42Nova swung the pendant around her finger.
04:44I'll buy it off you, Lena. Double what you paid.
04:47Give it back. Caius gave me that.
04:50Shut up! You do not say that man's name!
04:53You want to spread rumors about being connected to him? You're trying to get us all killed?
04:57Caius is the bar boss. We all answer to him. Everything depends on staying in his favor.
05:03Whatever he saw in my eyes made him flinch.
05:06Pathetic.
05:08For old time's sake, I'm letting this go.
05:11Take the gold. Get yourself something decent to wear.
05:14If you don't want to watch my pup, I'll find you something tolerable. Don't worry.
05:17No thanks. I don't take things from strangers.
05:19The Hollow and Fang is hosting the Grand Convocation in three days.
05:22I was going to bring you. Show you something real.
05:24But you need to actually look the part. You can't embarrass me.
05:26I'm good. But thanks.
05:27Fine. I'll take Nova.
05:29I won't let you down.
05:32Hope you're still this confident in three days.
05:36I put on a little charm ink, wore my comfortable travel leathers, and made my way to the Hollow
05:41and Fang alone. Silas saw me the second I pushed through the iron door. His eyes lit up.
05:46Couldn't stay away. But if you're trying to win me back, you have to put in more effort. You can't
05:50show up to the Grand Conclation dressed like that. I'm talking to you. Our staff table is over here.
05:54Where do you think you're going?
05:55That's your table. Mine is up there.
05:57He followed my gaze to the raised platform at the far end of the bar. His face went pale.
06:02Nova spotted my pendant from across the room and screamed.
06:05How did she get in here?
06:06How dare she wear that pendant tonight of all nights?
06:10Tonight is Lord Caius' first public appearance with his mate at the Congeration.
06:14Is she trying to humiliate Rin?
06:18Silas, is this woman with you? No.
06:21Take that pendant off and get out.
06:24You sure you want me to leave?
06:31Trash. Acting like it's something sacred?
06:36Moonstone shards scattered across the old wood.
06:39Throw her out.
06:40Stop. I'm Caius'-
06:43Oh, now. You're his what, exactly? His kept wolf?
06:48You wish!
06:50I hadn't planned to make a scene tonight. Wasn't worth it.
06:52Are you done?
06:53But she'd made it worth it.
06:54You show up chasing after me? Wearing the pendant? Dressed down on purpose? You wanted me jealous? Just say it
07:00and I'll give you what you want.
07:01Silas, you're a dead man!
07:04The enchanted chandeliers above the bar pulsed once. Deep gold. That light only activated for one person. The child of
07:12the dark.
07:15Boss is coming.
07:17Boss is coming. Behave. Nova and I broke it off by the way.
07:23I don't understand what this has to do with me. Did he think I still like him? Gross.
07:32And every supernatural in that bar went quiet watching him. His guardian scrambled to keep up.
07:38Lena, I'll forgive you for the three years. I'll give you another chance. Have my pup. I promise I'll get
07:43rid of Nova.
07:47Mom! What happened? Who hurt you? Why is there so much blood?
07:52One word. Mom. Every creature in that venue turned from the boy to me.
07:56I'm okay.
07:57The ones who'd watched me get knocked around without doing a thing. All of them staring.
08:02Who did this to you?
08:03My chest ached looking at him.
08:05Caius was already toward us. That quiet, controlled walk that made the air in a room feel different.
08:11Supernatural creatures moved aside without knowing why.
08:14I felt him before I saw him. He was going to be angry. I knew that.
08:17Since I'd started carrying our second, the sickness had been brutal.
08:21Caius had barely let me out of his sight. The only reason I'd arrived separately was because of his business.
08:26If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have come ahead without him.
08:29Our son's white shirt made the blood on my wrist look worse than it was.
08:34Dad! Someone hurt Mom!
08:36Lena! What happened? I'm right here and you're already hurt. I can't take my eyes off you.
08:41Whoever did this?!
08:43He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to. The whispers completely stopped.
08:47Not the comfortable silence of last call. The kind that fell when every predator in a room recognized something far
08:53above them on the food chain.
08:55Silas's friends shaking hard. The female they'd spent three days calling Silas's pathetic ex.
09:00was Lord Caius' mate. They'd seen the pendant. She told them, multiple times.
09:06Nice performance, Lena! Where'd you dig up these two?
09:10Nova can get them booked with a traveling carnival if they need the work. Not that you could afford the
09:14commission.
09:15Petra had arrived late. She had no idea who Caius was or what his child looked like.
09:21She dressed up tonight to find a high-ranking mate.
09:25The fastest way to do that, in her experience, was to make Nova happy.
09:30Making Nova happy meant making me miserable. The entire venue stared at her like she'd lost her mind.
09:35That finally got to her.
09:37You're actually quite something.
09:39For someone standing next to her. If you ever want to leave, I wouldn't mind taking care of you.
09:45My mouth twitched. She was propositioning my husband. In front of me?
09:49I genuinely could not decide if that was grave or catastrophically stupid. Caius found it funny in the way a
09:56man finds something funny right before he makes it permanently stop.
10:00Over the years, anyone who tried to get close to him, slipping notes under the bar's private door, sending signals
10:08through intermediaries, making moves at the convocation, had vanished from every territory entirely.
10:14Petra finally registered the bar's energy. Nova wanted nothing to do with her.
10:22You just insulted Lord Caius and his mate? Do you want to be exiled from every territory at once?
10:28Lena is Wren? I just offered to take care of Lord Caius?
10:32Caius's reputation as the most protective mate in any supernatural circle was not a rumor. Petra's magic had misfired completely.
10:41It happened to witches when their nervous system went into freefall. Every suppressed spell she'd been holding activated at once,
10:48and the result was a spectacular, humiliating, involuntary display.
10:53Caius's jaw tightened slightly. Two of his people materialized from the shadows and quietly walked her out.
11:00Nearby, a healer Caius had summoned was cleaning the wound on my wrist.
11:04Could you be slightly more careful? The healer's hands started trembling. He's helping me. Stop.
11:09They immediately turned identical wounded expressions on me. Okay. I know. I'm sorry. Keep going.
11:15She's fine. The baby is fine. The wrist is the worst of it. I'll use the best healing balm we
11:20have, do everything possible to make sure there's no scarring.
11:23Caius said nothing. I knew that silence. It was the one that came right before something irreversible.
11:28Silas was sweating. He'd spent the last three days telling his ex to care for his pup, and she was,
11:33in fact, his boss's mate.
11:34Watching Caius with me now, Silas felt something he hadn't expected. He recognized it as jealousy and hated himself for
11:41it, but he couldn't afford to act on it. Not with his position on the line.
11:45I want to know exactly what happened. Everything. From the beginning. If I have to piece it together myself, the
11:54outcome will be significantly worse for every single one of you.
11:58It was a misunderstanding, my lord. It was a misunderstanding, my lord. As Lena's... As her former intended, I was...
12:05I was simply connecting with her. Things got out of hand.
12:08He said former intended with a particular emphasis. Male ego. The absolute worst moment for it. Caius was holding a
12:14glass. I heard it crack.
12:16You probably know she was quite devoted to me before she left. Reconnecting after years apart, it's natural that emotions...
12:21The glass shattered in Caius's grip. Blood ran down his fingers.
12:25Stop! Stop trying to get between us. You had your chance, and you threw it away. Don't flatter yourself.
12:33I have loved exactly one person my entire life, and it's you. Every creature here can hear me say it.
12:40Lena. Nova and I are finished. Completely done. I know you mated with Caius to punish me. I get it.
12:48I'm not angry. Just come back.
12:51Nova can disappear. Just come home with me.
12:54I stared at him for a long moment. I honestly could not believe what I was hearing. His arrogance had
12:59no floor.
13:00Caius's blood was smearing onto my wraps, but as I urgently pressed the binding to his palm, he suddenly let
13:05out a low, genuine laugh.
13:07Why are you laughing?
13:09Lena. You just said I'm the one you love most.
13:12Our son made a face and looked away. His cold, fearsome father was currently acting like a lovesick hatchling, all
13:19because I defended him. The rumors are real. He is completely devoted to his mate.
13:25Silas stood there, his knuckles white with humiliation.
13:29Cub tender? My mother is the most protected one in our den. You think you deserve her?
13:36I know all about you. You're the one who broke my mother's heart. You're not as impressive as my father,
13:41not as strong, not as well formed. And you smell like someone who peaked too early and never recovered. It's
13:46making my eyes water. Is your hatchling gonna grow up leeching off others just like you?
13:51The guests surrounding us erupted. They couldn't help it. Everyone in that clearing knew the truth. He had coasted for
13:58years on Nova's family resources. It was not a secret.
14:03Hearing all of this, Nova had completely lost her grip on rational thought. Talked bad about her son made her
14:10mad.
14:10You little rat shit! I'll kill you!
14:14I didn't think. I let go of Caius' hand and threw myself entirely over our son. A blinding, searing pain
14:21ripped through my back. The color drained from my face.
14:25Joel, where are you?
14:29I wanted to tell him not to cry. I didn't get the chance.
14:33I woke up in the bar owner's private office, which had a bed specifically for the owner to rest.
14:38Oh, thank God! You're awake! If you had stayed under any longer, your mate and your son were going to
14:44tear this entire bar apart.
14:45What? She was definitely exaggerating.
14:48You're both fine. The healer said it was shock and pain. That's why you went under. The unborn is completely
14:53safe.
14:55That Nova is something else. Going after a cub with a blade?
14:59My son. Caius. Are they-
15:02Both fine. Physically completely fine. Slow down. Drink.
15:08You didn't need to throw yourself in front of him. Your husband will protect him.
15:12That's chot. I know, I know. He's your whole heart. That terrifying little creature.
15:18He doesn't need protecting. He's more dangerous than most full-grown warriors.
15:22Where are they?
15:23Getting revenge. I wanted to come along, but your mate and your son are genuinely terrifying when they operate together,
15:29so I volunteer to stay with you instead.
15:31When I arrived, you were already under. From what I pieced together from the witnesses still standing, your son watched
15:36you collapse and went completely still for about two seconds.
15:39Then he picked up the knife Nova had dropped and drove it straight through her hand, into the stone below.
15:45A cub. I don't know where he gets that kind of strength.
15:48Caius found out about the strike at the border crossing three days ago, and the pendant, and everything they said
15:54to you.
15:55He had his people hold Silas down, and they dealt with the hand he used to hit you.
16:03Nova's face received the same treatment, and then Caius had a chest of gemstones brought into the clearing.
16:08All the shards from your broken pendant, and he told Nova that since she loved taking things that belonged to
16:14you so much, she could have them.
16:15All of them.
16:20She had to swallow them.
16:22You know what Caius said?
16:26You love taking what is hers.
16:28You love taking what is hers.
16:30So here.
16:32I am giving you everything you wanted.
16:34The stones.
16:36And the mail.
16:37She refused at first.
16:39So Caius had her hatchling brought in.
16:41Then she did it.
16:42She swallowed a great many shards.
16:45They worked her over until she was barely conscious.
16:48Then Caius had her dropped beyond the outer bounders.
16:51Face first.
16:52Everyone who stands by and watches you get hurt is banned from the bar's transaction list.
17:01That's my boy Caius.
17:03The child of the dark was precise and he was cold.
17:06But every time I so much as bruised my arm, he acted like he'd personally failed.
17:11He was brutal because he was afraid.
17:13Not of losing power.
17:14Of losing me.
17:19Lena.
17:20It's me.
17:21His face was still swollen.
17:23He'd managed to find a decent cloak.
17:26The one I'd given him years ago.
17:28The one he'd told me was plain and unworthy of his rank.
17:32He had his methods for getting past sentinels, apparently.
17:36I stayed where I was.
17:37Last time I'd moved too fast, it'd cost me.
17:40He seemed to read that.
17:44I'm not going to hurt you.
17:45I just needed to-
17:47What?
17:47I still love you.
17:49Every time I think about you with him, I can't breathe.
17:52I know it's too late.
17:54I know what I did.
17:55But I can't just-
17:56Raelynn.
17:57You were with another female while we were still bonded.
18:01You let me humiliate myself.
18:03You abandon me and destroy me.
18:05And then tonight, when you had the chance to do literally anything else, you stood in front of my mate
18:11and told him I was devoted to you?
18:12You've had seven years and three more to figure out what you want.
18:16What you want keeps shifting based on what you can reach.
18:19That's not love.
18:21I was always your contingency.
18:23And you were never mine, not really.
18:28You gave me this for the winter solstice.
18:30I told you it was plain.
18:31I know.
18:32I kept it.
18:38Lena.
18:40You're up.
18:41Are you-
18:42Does anything hurt?
18:43Do you need-
18:43Father.
18:44She was fine two minutes before you got here.
18:46She was talking and everything.
18:48Are you okay?
18:49Tell me you're okay.
18:51I'm okay.
18:52You say that every time.
18:54Because it keeps being true.
18:56Mom!
18:56Are you upset that Father raised his voice at me?
19:00Did he raise his voice at you?
19:03Chal?
19:04He didn't yell.
19:06Caius.
19:08He was scared.
19:10We both were.
19:11He wasn't really yelling.
19:12He was just loud.
19:16Protecting you is also my job.
19:17I'm not sorry.
19:18I know.
19:19I know, Mom.
19:20I-
19:21Amy eventually took Chal to find food.
19:23And it was just the two of us.
19:25I'll do better.
19:26You won't be alone like that again.
19:28Caius.
19:29This wasn't your fault.
19:31You were alone and you got hurt.
19:33I got hurt.
19:34That's not the same thing as being alone.
19:36I'm not made of glass.
19:37I'm also not leaving.
19:38You understand that?
19:40I'm here.
19:42I chose this.
19:43You chose it because your family arranged the alliance.
19:46I chose to stay.
19:47Every single day for three years I chose to stay.
19:49That's not an arrangement.
19:51That's me.
19:52I thought about the hidden chamber behind the clan tapestry.
19:56His quiet, years-long devotion that he'd never once spoken aloud.
20:00The young, unblooded creature eating alone at the edge of the training grounds every day
20:05while I stuffed a pouch of resource tokens into his pack
20:08and told him he was my honorary younger clansman.
20:12You want to know what I was thinking?
20:14I said.
20:14Every time things got hard and someone told me I'd bonded with the wrong mate.
20:18That they'd never seen you bring me warmth stones when the cold fever took me.
20:22Or stay awake beside me through three full nights because I was homesick and couldn't sleep.
20:29Or look at me the way you look at me when you think I'm not watching.
20:33They were comparing you to whoever they assumed you were.
20:36I know who you actually are.
20:41I don't need you to be fearless.
20:43I just need you to stop assuming I'll leave.
20:46I'm not going anywhere.
20:48He brought my hand.
20:49Didn't speak.
20:49Didn't need to.
20:50They kept me in the healer's den two extra days.
20:53Kyus and Dre's insistence, not the healer's.
20:56The morning they finally let me return to our den, I walked back through the entrance and stopped in front
21:01of the bonding tapestry.
21:03We were both so young in it.
21:04Kyus, already composed, already guarded.
21:07The barest pull at the corner of his mouth.
21:09Like he'd practiced not smiling until it became habit.
21:12Me, looking sideways.
21:14Like I hadn't fully believed in the moment yet.
21:16Image after image after image.
21:18Etched in the old way.
21:19Dragon memory stone.
21:20The kind that holds a moment in its surface like pressed light.
21:27Lina, I can explain.
21:30You noticed me first.
21:32I gave you resource tokens at the training grounds because I thought you couldn't afford to eat.
21:36I told you that you were my honorary younger clansman and I never even asked your name.
21:41I didn't know it was you until I found these.
21:43I'm a little upset it took us this long.
21:45Think about all the time we wasted.
21:47Y-you're not-
21:48Upset about the stones?
21:50No.
21:51I'm glad.
21:52I'm glad you kept looking.
21:56I never thought you'd say that.
21:58I know that's the problem.
21:59You've been waiting for me to leave since the day I arrived.
22:03I'm not leaving.
22:04I've told you.
22:05I'll keep telling you.
22:07For how long?
22:10As long as it takes for you to actually believe me.
22:13Outside, the ancient forests of the abyssal reach kept moving.
22:16Wind through the canopy.
22:18The distant sound of wings.
22:20The slow pulse of a territory that had stood for 10,000 years.
22:24And I stayed exactly where I was.
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