ATASHA’S POV
And that clearly caught the Luna by surprise.
Genevieve’s hand went to the wound at her neck, blood spilling between her fingers. Her eyes were wide, darting from the dagger to my face like she was trying to piece together something that didn’t make sense. I could almost see the question in her head. How could I still move, let alone stab her, when I looked like I was seconds from copsing or dying?
She staggered back, her knees hitting the floor. The sound of her armor scraping against the stone echoed on the cave walls. I stayed where I was for a moment, forcing air back into my lungs despite the stabbing pain in my side. Each breath was a battle, but I didn’t blink, didn’t look away from her.
Finally, I pushed myself off the wall. My legs trembled, but I straightened..
Her eyes
widened a fraction. “You you should be on the ground by now.”
I took one slow step forward. “I’ve been on the ground enough times in my life,” I said, my voice. “I’m not staying there for you.”
Keeping my gaze locked on hers, I gripped the dagger buried in my side and yanked it free in one smooth pull. I tossed it aside, the metal ttering across the stone. Pain red, but it wasn’t from the wound, it was from the flesh knitting itself back together, muscle and skin stitching faster than even my eyes could track.
“Witch!”
Genevieve’s breath hitched, her gaze darting to my side as the realization hit. She scrambled to rise, but the moment she shifted her weight, her palm slid through the slick pool of her own blood. Her eyes widened, panic flickering there for the first time, just as I closed the remaining distance between us.
She reached for her own knife, but I kicked it aside before her fingers could curl around the hilt. The ng of metal against stone rang through the space.
I stood over her now, her gaze tilting up to meet mine. For the first time, there was something in her eyes that wasn’t contempt. It wasn’t fear exactly, just the realization that she might not
win this.
“You’re making a mistake,” she rasped. “You kill me, and the whole pack will hunt you.”
I crouched, ignoring the pain in my side. My wound had closed, but healing organs was slower than flesh. “Let them hunt.”
“You-”
<b>79 </b>
E55 vouchers
“My dagger’s poisoned,” I said. “They say it’s deadly to most… but poison doesn’t hurt me.” The look on her face made me smile. “Even if I leave now… you won’t have a chance to live through this.”
She was about to speak when she suddenly started to vomit blood. “Mendez said the poison on this dagger was from the west. Just like the one that you used… when you wanted to kill me,” I added. “You should know more about the western poison… right?”
Genevieve gagged, another wet cough sending a dark spray across the stone.
“Mendez told me something about this poison,” I said, leaning closer so she couldn’t look away. “It doesn’t kill fast. It drags you through it. First, you lose your strength. Then your senses. Then it puts you under,atose. Your werewolf genes will try to heal you… but every time they do, the poison attacks again. Over and over. Heal, tear apart, heal, tear apart, until there’s nothing left to heal. I thought it was ruthless, and it perfectly suits you.”
Her eyes widened, and for the first time, I saw it. Fear.
She tried to speak, but her throat worked uselessly before another gush of blood spilled from her mouth.
I reached out, gripping her chin and forcing her to meet my gaze. “For years, I couldn’t look into your eyes. I was afraid I’d see disappointment. When I failed to awaken, I thought you’d see me as useless. Now…” I let out a short breath. “I can see them clearly. They’re beautiful, Genevieve. Your eyes are very beautiful, they look like gems. Shame Celeste didn’t inherit them. She got William’s instead.”
Her eyes flew open wider, the shock cutting through the pain for a second before she doubled over, vomiting blood again.
I tilted my head, watching her. “What do you think the Alpha will do when he learns his wife has been ying with his Beta? What do you think he’ll do when he realizes Celeste isn’t his?”
She shook her head weakly, but the motion ended in another violent cough, blood running down her chin.
I chuckled. “I guess you won’t find out. You won’t be alive by then.” I stood, wiping my hand on my sleeve. “Don’t worry, I’ll send flowers to your grave. And maybe the next time I visit this ce, I’ll tell you the ending of that story.”
The horror in her eyes didn’t fade, it only deepened, before her body gave out. She copsed, limp against the floor.
I crouched onest time, ripping the dagger from her neck, the slick warmth of her blood
<b>79 </b>
55 vouchers
coating my hand. A sharp breath tore from my chest, relief and exhaustion mingling. When I opened my eyes again, they went straight to the shadows at the far side of the cave.
“Are you nning to hide forever?” I called out.
From the darkness, Cassian emerged, a slow smile tugging at his lips. “I was trying to let you savor the moment,” he said.
I didn’t answer. My eyes stayed on Genevieve, her breaths so faint they were barely there.
“You didn’t ask her about your real parents…” he prodded.
“She wouldn’t tell me,” I replied without hesitation.
“Oh? And how do you know that?”
“She’s spent her life using me like a tool,” I said tly. “The moment I stopped being useful, she tried to kill me for her and her daughter’s gain. Why would she waste time talking about where the tool came from?<b>” </b>
He chuckled. “I didn’t know you could be that ruthless…” He closed the distance to my side in seconds. “But I like it.” Without warning, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to my temple. “Then you don’t need to think about your family. You have me. And that’s enough.”
I held his gaze, trying to decide if that was meant asfort. Then I nodded. Obviously, a tool is still a tool. At least with him, I knew I was being used.
田
AD
Comment