Chapter 8
Zane’s POV
The crowd had gone quiet. Murmurs began to ripple through the hall as Elder Thom tumed slowly toward me. “Zane, is it true? You forced a blood transfusion?”
I couldn’t answer My mouth opened, but nothing came out. The truth burned at the back of my throat S
“Answer me!” my grandfather bellowed, his voice booming across the room, and for a second, his eyes flashed and his face twisted, caught mid shifting into his wolf
I dropped to my knees, head bowed. “Yes, Grandfather,” I choked out. “I was scared. The healers said Nina might lose the pup. I didn’t want to nsk it. I forced Quinn to donate blood ”
Elder Thom’s body trembled with rage as he glared down at me. Then his gaze snapped toward Nina, who stood frozen near the far wall, pale as ash “And now she’s gone. She lost my great–grandpup because of your mistress, you fool!”
“I didn’t know she was pregnant!” I sobbed into my hands.
He lost control. With a roar, he shifted halfway and hurled me with one arm across the hall. I crashed into a table, splintering it beneath
or not to meet
gone, carrying the pup we never got
Pain shot through my ribs, but it didn’t compare to the ache in my chest. She was go
Quinn’s POV
The second I stepped out of the car, I walked straight toward the massive gate ahead of me, where my only living family was already waiting
“Finally, Quinn
Tony was exactly the same Leather jacket, messy hair, and that constant twitch in his jaw like he was ready to punch someone. He grabbed my bag from my hand and then wrapped me in a hug so tight I nearly crumpled
“You’re late” he muttered. “I was about to come find you myself ”
I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. My throat was thick My chest was tight. I just stood there in his arms, swallowing back every scream that still hadn’t found its way out since the blood draw, since the baby, since Zare.
Tony pulled back and studied me. His eyes skimmed over the bruises under my eyes, the cracked lips, the way I flinched when he touched my shoulder “What the hell did they do to you?”.
“Not here” I whispered “Please, just get me inside
He nodded once and led me past the gate. A pair of guards glanced at us but didn’t stop him. Tony Sterling was the Alpha to the Norththom Ridge Pack, and judging by the silence, they already knew who I was, too.
The estate still smelled like pinewood and coffee and something sweet baking in the kitchens. Homey. I hated it. My chest clenched the comfort I didn’t feel I deserved I
Tony brought me to a private wing. Not too big Clean Windows frosted over but letting in just enough light. There was a fireplace in the comer already burning, like he knew I’d be too cold. He set my bag down and turned to me.
“S1” he said, motioning to the couch
I didn’t argue I sank into the cushions, fingers shaking as I pressed them to roy lips # He leaned against the door “You didn’t miss the first flight on purpose, right? I keptwondering-
didn’t miss it. Zane had me strapped to a chair and drained like livestock!” Tears streamed down
He didn’t blink or speak. He just stared at me like he was trying to piece together if I meant it literally So I continued. “He said Nina needed more blood. That she needed my blood And when the healer said nu, he forced them ”
my eyes as I confessed.
didn’t just breathe instead, he snapped He let out a furious exhale through clenched teeth, tuned, and slammed his fist into the enough that framed photo rattled to the floor The sound cracked across the room like a shot “Goddamn it. Quinn!’ he “You could we died, and I wouldn’t have even known! You don’t disappear on me and come back with that haunted look and just
ke it’s a line in a reportti
i couldn’t afford to anymore Tony’s fists still clenched, chest heaving, then dragged both hands down his face like he was gang the rage off tamsett He exhaled hard and straightened his shoulders, calmer now–but his jaw was still tight. The fire hadn’t gone outh was put burying it deep, where it could wait “You’re here now You’re not going back. Not ever”
I shock my head But as going to look for me He’s not going to stop ”
1 locked down at my hands. The bruises from the restraints were still faintly there. I turned them over slowly, flexing my fingers “I don’t
to destroy lam “T
Tony net in front of me, meeting my eyes ‘Good Because I already have people on the inside Wolves who still remember you as Luna They’ve been wating They’ve been watching’s
That night after Tony left me to rest I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled out my phone My fingers hesitated over the screen, but i forced myself to
ely. I didect let him talk much Fonly said one thing. “Send me the pregnancy
report Tonight’s
questions. Few hours later, it arrived by encrypted courier i
3.53 PM S
report Tonight.”
He didn’t ask questions. Few hours later, it arrived by encrypted courier!
–
I held the report in my hands, reading it once, twice, as if maybe the words would blur and change. But they didn’t. Confirmed pregnancy Miscarriage. Severe blood loss. Maternal trauma,
I didn’t cry. I didn’t scream. I just sat there, staring at it, jaw clenched so tight it ached. My body hadn’t stopped shaking since the infirmary, but this was different. This wasn’t grief. This was the seed of war taking root in my chest
I wrapped the report with care, folding it into a neat parcel. Then I took out the two other things I’d brought: the tapestry I’d stitched with my own bloodied fingers and my grandmother’s heirloom jewelry–the only piece of her I had left. I stared at them for a long time I didn’t want to give them away. The thought made my throat tighten..
But I had to.
This wasn’t a gesture of peace. This was a message. A declaration. Zane wanted to make me small, wanted to erase me, wanted to strip. me of everything that made me who I was. So I’d use the very pieces of myself to break him;
Two days later. Tony walked into my room like he had news burning a hole through his throat. His grin was practically carved into his face.
“You need to see this,” he said, pulling out his phone.
I raised an eyebrow, wary. But the second I saw the familiar setting–the council hall in Silverclaw, Elder Thorn’s birthday celebration–I sat up straighter
Tony hit play.”
Elder Thom read the report aloud. Out loud. In front of every Alpha, Luna, Elder, and dignitary in the room. The silence was bone–deep
Then he turned to Zane. “You bled her dry? My grandson did this? For this woman?“%
He pointed at Nina like she was something he stepped on. Then his body trembled–not from age, but from rage. In the video, Elder Thom shifted halfway into his wolf form. He moved faster than anyone expected, even in his advanced age, and he grabbed Zane by the front of his shirt and hurled him across the room like he weighed nothing. Zane crashed into the corner wall, groaning, stunned, humiliated. The entire hall fell deathly silent. No one dared to interfere. Elder Thom turned back, still partially shifted, and snarled toward Nina like a final warning.
Nina started to cry, saying she was in a crucial state, that the baby was stressed. But Elder Thom cut her off so sharp it could’ve drawn
blood
“I don’t want a bastard great–grandson, girl, he snapped. “I wanted a child with Quinn’s blood. That was the legacy. You were a mistake.” The camera jostled slightly as chaos broke out. Zane lunged forward. Elder Thorn struck him–one clean blow with his walking stick that knocked Zane onto one knee.!!
I pressed a hand to my mouth. Not because I was horrified. Because for the first time in what felt like forever, I felt my heart was hugged by a warm hand_
Maybe it was hearing my name spoken with pride. Maybe it was the acknowledgment I never got while I was bleeding out on a hospital cot. For a second, my walls cracked
“Don’t do that” Tony said quietly. “Don’t soften now. You sent a message That was the first blow.“U
“You’re night.” I nodded slowly, wiping away my stupid tears. This would be the last tear I shed for Zane. No more grief. No more pity. Only fire from here on out
