<h4>Chapter 123: Who Is Ray?</h4>


    <strong>Kael’s POV</strong>


    There wasplete silence after what Roman said.


    By now every one of us knew well, we had lost that old Eira. We wouldn’t see her the same ever again.


    "Now I think about it, we should have gone to meet her in the prison at least once back then," Roman said, "Though we wouldn’t have trusted her, still...."


    He then looked at me. "Not you and Lucian or Jason, as I could understand your reason for not wanting to see her, but at least I should have gone."


    My world fell utterly silent. Because I didn’t have the courage to admit to them or to myself that in fact I went to see her after I got revenge on our enemies. And then what happened.


    Damn it! My pain and hatred back then surely got the worst of me.


    But sooner orter I will have to tell them. I wasn’t sure how they will react.


    Roman turned to Rafe. "We two should have tried it."


    Rafe said nothing and looked away. He always chose silence over revealing what was in his mind.


    Roman’s gaze shifted to Lucian and Jason, but both of them avoided his eyes, as if hiding something.


    "What?" Roman pressed. "I’m not saying you should have gone to her. I understand your situation back then..."


    "We went to see her," Lucian finally admitted, his voice low. "After we buried our mother, we couldn’t contain our anger..." He trailed off.


    "Don’t tell me you two hurt her," Roman asked.


    "What else were we supposed to do with the murderer of our sister and mother?" Jason snapped, defensive. "Praise her? Thank her for destroying our lives? At that time, everything was against her."


    Roman sighed, remembering the chaos and pain of back then. "Alright. Until we uncover everything, all I want is for none of us to treat her badly. I don’t want her to get hurt—and I don’t want to add to the burden of guilt we’re already carrying, in case she is truly innocent."


    Fortunately, we all agreed as we felt the same.


    I was sure, just like me others were hoping for her innocence, and the clear proof of it was how desperately everyone was going after finding the truth.


    My brothers had left after we discussed the next steps, leaving me alone with her. I felt lost, unsure of what to do or how to even speak to her.


    Seeing her broken again, begging to be allowed to die, tore at my heart. The pain ran too deep, the same ache I had carried for the past six years.


    ording to our findings, she appearedpletely innocent in the matter of providing information to our enemies. Yet, the video with Keiren left too many questions unanswered. Why was she connected to him in this way? Why would Keiren im it was all her doing, even sending us the video himself?


    Keiren had never mentioned Sophia. What was his n, and what was the true motive behind it? Or was someone else pulling the strings from the shadows, framing Eira intentionally, for reasons only they understood?


    A new name had now surfaced—the Alpha of the Ravenw pack—and with it came even more questions.


    Even if Eira were not a traitor, she could not be considered innocent in Alice’s death. I had to weigh Lucian and Jason’s perspective before I could even think about dering her meless.


    Had someone set her up to kill Alice? And if so, why Alice? What connection did Alice have to all of this?


    The more answers emerged, the deeper the mystery became.


    If she were found to be entirely innocent and had suffered for nothing, I would never forgive myself. I might never even be worthy of her forgiveness. Still, I prayed for her innocence, even if it meant carrying a lifetime of guilt and hatred from her.


    All I wanted now was to stop her suffering. If there were any way to make it right for her, even at the cost of my own life, I would do it. I wanted her to be like she had been before, though I knew that could never happen.


    I moved closer to the bed. Her eyes were closed, probably asleep. Liam had made sure she had enough medication to keep her drowsy, preventing her from harming herself in this fragile state.


    While she slept, I could at least be near her, aposite to how distant we were when she was awake.


    Just as I reached the bed, I saw her shifting restlessly in her sleep. Her brows were knitted, her lips murmuring something I couldn’t quite catch, and tears began to roll down the corners of her eyes.


    I slowly sat on the edge of the bed and took her hand in mine, hoping she could feel that she was not alone in whatever nightmare gued her. Her fingers clenched mine tightly as her distress grew.


    "Don’t leave me... please... I’m sorry..."


    I leaned closer to hear her more clearly, and then I caught it.


    "Ray... Don’t... please..."


    The words were barely formed, yet that name rang clear.


    Ray?


    Who was it?


    We didn’t have anyone by that name in our circle. Could it be the man we were searching for, her child’s father?


    "Ray..." she repeated, her voice desperate, and started to cry quietly in her sleep, as though in unbearable pain.


    It was infuriating to see her longing for someone else, yet I swallowed my bitterness. Perhaps in the past six years, she had found a support in him, and she clung to that memory. Or she still loved him, longed for him, and just pretended to hate him to protect him from us.


    Gosh! These twisted conclusions, changing even now and then with so much overthinking out of jealousy was going to make me crazy. The thought of her loving some man and that man wasn’t me, was infuriating.


    <i>’I need to keep calm,’ I assured myself. ’I need to wait till all the findings are there. I need to stop getting jealous and overthinking.’</i>


    I lifted my other hand to gently wipe the tears from her cheeks. She tugged at my hand tightly, as if afraid I might leave, though I knew it wasn’t for me she held on so fiercely—it was for Ray.


    Still, I pushed that thought aside. Comforting her was my priority. We would find this Rayter, and decide what needed to be done.


    I picked up the remote from the bedside table and turned off the lights. It waste, and it was time to rest. I would sleep with her, just like that night in my room, in my bed.


    The hospital bed wasn’trge, but it was enough for the two of us. I pulled her close, holding her as we shared the same thin sheets. My presence seemed to calm her, and in return, her warmth and scentforted me.


    Her scent... it had always drawn me, pulling me closer in ways I had never been able to resist. I had missed it so much. I had missed her.


    But the hatred within me had burned all that I ever felt in the past.


    She settled against me just as she was meant to, and before long, her breaths evened out. Even in sleep, she murmured that name again, a soft repetition that echoed in the quiet room.


    ’Ray!’ I repeated this name in my mind, ’Need to find the bastard.’


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!