Blood trickled down my back as Olivia''s whip cracked against my skin again. Eachsh burned like fire, but ! remained motionless. My face showed nothing while my back became a canvas of pain.


    Her emerald eyes zed with hatred as she delivered another strike. The hot blood ran down my skin in


    rivulets


    I deserved this punishment. The memory of locking her in that basement with rats her greatest fear -


    shed through my mind. Yet I couldn''t stop thinking about Victoria, trapped with the snakes she feared


    above all else.


    "Did you vent your anger? Can we put this matter to rest now?" I asked, my voice steady despite the searing


    pain.


    Her emerald eyes narrowed instantly. She knew exactly what I meant. I wanted Victoria released.


    "No," she whispered, her voice hoarse. "Never."


    She tried to raise the whip again, but her strength failed her. Her body swayed dangerously


    Without thinking, I lunged forward. I caught her limp body before it hit the cold stone floor.


    She felt impossibly light in my arms. Like a fragile bird with broken wings. Her chestnut hair fell across her pale face as her head dropped against my chest.


    Grandmother watched from near the entrance, her eyes sharp with judgment. "Take her to your bedroom," she


    I carried Olivia through the long corridors of our ancestral home. With each step. I felt my blood seeping into


    her clothes.


    Her face, rxed in unconsciousness, looked younger and vulnerable. She reminded me of the girl I''d rescued


    from that same basement years ago. The same basement I''dter thrown her into without a second thought.


    Dr. Harold Bet arrived quickly. His weathered face grew grave as he examined Olivia with practiced


    movements.


    "Her heart condition has been exacerbated by extreme emotional distress," he announced. The basement


    incident nearly killed her, Alpha. Her heart simply couldn''t handle the terror"


    Grandmother''s eyes shed with rage. "As I told you, Ethan. You nearly killed your mate with your


    foolishness."


    "I didn''t know," I said. The words sounded hollow even to my own ears.


    "You didn''t want to know," she fired back. "Too busy believing Victoria''s lies to remember your own mate''s


    trauma"