Janine's POV
“Revenge?” The word slipped from my lips as my pulse thundered through my ears.
Killian eased himself into the chair beside my bed, the silver-gray of his wolfish eyes sharpened into something cold and lethal.
“Exactly that,” he replied quietly. “Think about it, Janine. The two people who swore loyalty to you carved your heart out. Why should they walk away untouched?”
Something fierce stirred in me, a dark spark I hadn’t felt since the night Tommy was taken from me. This wasn’t despair—it was hunger. The kind that demanded blood.
Ignoring the ache still coiled through my body, I pushed myself upright. “So you want to make Avery pay,” I said slowly.
His lips curved, but there was no warmth there. “I gave her everything I had. She trampled it into the dirt. So yes, I want her to suffer. She may share your blood, but—”
“That doesn’t matter,” I cut in flatly. “Why come to me?”
A predatory gleam lit his gaze. “Because I don’t like winning alone. You’re essential to what I have planned.”
I folded my arms across my chest. “Then stop dancing around it. What’s your plan?”
“Become my mate,” Killian said, as casually as if he were asking me to share a drink.
—
Once I was discharged, I hailed a cab back to the pack manor. I checked my phone with a humorless smile—no missed calls, no messages, not even a token inquiry from Lester. Two days in the infirmary, and I might as well have vanished from the world.
My thoughts replayed Killian’s outrageous proposal. It was madness. I wanted revenge, yes—but not another hollow bond built on convenience and lies. I had turned him down immediately, even when he slipped me his number “just in case.”
There would be no case.
At least, that’s what I’d told myself.
Lester’s car wasn’t in the driveway when I arrived, but Avery’s sleek silver sedan was. That alone told me why my absence had gone unnoticed.
The manor door creaked open, and I froze as faint sounds drifted down the hall. My wolf bristled. I followed the noise toward the master chamber—our chamber, the place where I had once believed in forever.
The door was ajar.
What I saw inside shattered whatever restraint I had left.
Lester had Avery pressed against the bed, their attention so fully tangled in each other that they never sensed me. Clothes lay strewn across the floor like evidence at a crime scene.
I had always known they were crossing lines. But witnessing it—seeing how naturally they fit together—was a different kind of wound.
Tears burned behind my eyes as their voices reached me.
“I’ve missed you more than I can say,” Lester murmured.
Avery laughed softly. “Is that because your Luna isn’t enough for you?”
“She never was,” he breathed. “Once I claim my father’s Alpha seat, I’ll give you everything.”
That was the moment everything hollowed out inside me. The grief that had been gnawing at my heart didn’t disappear—it simply went numb, replaced by something sharper, colder, and far more lethal. My wolf, silent until then, rose to her feet within my soul, eyes burning with the same resolve settling into my bones.
I lifted my phone with hands that no longer shook. One picture. Then another. And another. Proof framed in silent flashes. When I was done, I didn’t confront them. I didn’t scream or cry. I just slipped back into the hallway, plucked Lester’s car keys from the console table like I’d done a thousand times before, and walked out of the house that had once been my sanctuary.
Behind the steering wheel, I let myself look at the images only once, just long enough to feel the betrayal solidify into resolve. Then I opened my messages and typed four words to Killian.
I accept your offer.
His response came before I could even lock the screen, the vibration in my palm almost mocking how ready he had been for this.
Killian: Good. This is where the real game begins.
I leaned my head back against the seat, a broken laugh slipping out. It felt like I had just bargained with a demon—but demons were exactly what I needed.
I drove straight to the law firm Killian had mentioned earlier.
The receptionist looked up with a polite pack-trained smile. “Good afternoon. How may I help you?”
“I’m here to see Jonathan Hayes,” I said evenly. “Killian Romano sent me.”
Recognition flickered across her face. “One moment, please.”
Minutes later, I was ushered into a sleek office where a tall man rose to greet me.
“Ms. Blackward,” he said, extending his hand. “I’m Jonathan Hayes. Please, sit. What brings you here today?”
I met his gaze without flinching.
“I want to sever my bond to Lester Campbell.”
