Growls exploded around me. I couldn’t see, but I could feel them circling, closing in.
“Drake!” I screamed. “Please—!”
He roared, furious, desperate. “Stop! I said stop! I’ll choose!”
The wolves snapped closer. Claws brushed my leg.
“Who?” Jakobi asked, amused. “Her? Or the pregnant one?”
My chest tightened.
For a second… I waited.
I still waited.
His voice came out strained. “I—”
Then Chiara cried, choking, “Drake… please save me… our pup… I can’t… I can’t die…”
Everything went quiet. Even the wolves seemed to pause.
And then—
“Chiara.”
Just one word.And that was it. Something inside me broke so quietly I almost didn’t notice.
The wolves lunged.
Pain exploded as teeth tore into my flesh, claws ripping, my body dragged and thrown like I wasn’t even human. I screamed until my voice disappeared.
Then they pulled me out only to throw me back again.
And again.
I lost count.
By the time they dragged me out for the last time, I couldn’t even move. I could barely breathe.
“Are you trying to kill her?” Drake shouted, his voice breaking. “She won’t survive this!”
Jakobi laughed softly. “You chose this. Don’t look at me like that.”
I was thrown onto the ground. My body felt numb, heavy, like it wasn’t mine anymore.
“Second game,” Jakobi said casually. “Let’s make this more interesting.”
Something was dragged. Metal scraping.
“A silver whip. Ninety-nine lashes. Alpha Thornhill… choose again. Who takes it this time?”
Drake didn’t answer right away. His breathing was rough, uneven.
My lungs burned. I coughed, choking on blood, my whole body shaking. I couldn’t even lift my head anymore.
So this is it…? Is this how I end
The next second, his answer came.
“Chiara.”
Chiara broke into tears, clutching her chest and looking at me like she’d been saved from death itself. “Chloe already suffered so much. I… I don’t know what to say! I didn’t mean for things to turn out like this.”
I didn’t look at her. I looked at him. Drake. “Why…?” My voice barely came out. “Why is it always her? Tell me, Drake, just once, tell me why.”
He didn’t answer.
The whip came down before I could hear anything else. A sharp crack split the air and pain exploded across my back. I gasped, my body jerking forward, my fingers digging into the rough ground.
Stones cut into my skin and blood smeared under my nails. “One.” Another strike. “Two.” I bit my lip, but the sound still slipped out. “Three…” The pain kept building, tearing me apart piece by piece.
“Drake…” I choked out, my voice shaking. “Does it hurt you at all watching this? Or am I just nothing now?”
No answer.
By the time it reached fifty, I couldn’t think straight. My back was soaked, blood dripping down my sides. “Fifty-five!” someone called out. My vision blurred. My body swayed.
“Stop!” Drake roared, “I said stop hitting her! Can’t you hear me? That’s enough, she can’t take it anymore!” Chains rattled as he broke free, rushing toward me.
For a second I thought, I really thought… But then—
“Drake!” Chiara screamed, “My stomach!! It hurts… something’s wrong! I think I’m losing our babies— please, help me…”
Everything froze. I felt it. That hesitation. Drake stopped. Grabbed her. “What’s wrong? Talk to me. Are you in pain? Don’t scare me like this… breathe, okay? I’m here.”
I laughed weakly.
It came out broken. So this is it… right? Another whip came down. I coughed, blood spilling from my mouth.
“Chloe!” Drake shouted. His voice sounded far away now.
Jakobi laughed, slow and cruel. “Alpha Thornhill, this is getting interesting. I’ve got a medical team ready, but you can only save one. Think carefully… are you choosing her again? Or do you finally want to change your answer?”
Another strike. Another. I couldn’t hear properly anymore. Everything rang. I forced my eyes open. I saw Drake and Jakobi talking, mouths moving, but I couldn’t hear the words. Then Jakobi nodded.
Drake picked Chiara up, held her close, and turned away. He walked off without even looking back. Not once. A laugh slipped out of me, weak and shaking.
“Ha… so this is it…” Ninety-nine lashes, and somehow none of them hurt as much as that moment.
The sky turned red as the sun set, like the world was bleeding with me. Something soft landed on me, a white seabird, its feathers turning red instantly.
“Drake…” I whispered, “Your fate… your bond… all those things you said… they meant nothing, didn’t they?” I tried to breathe but it hurts. Everything hurts. “If there’s another life… I won’t love you again.”
Then darkness swallowed everything.
