Chapter 288
Chapter 288:
I forced my eyelids open. The stark white room came into focus. Sitting in the visitor’s chair beside my bed was Blake. Her Davenport scent was sharp, completely devoid of sympathy.
“Did I…” My voice was a broken, dry rasp. “Did I really marry a monster, Blake p>
She didn’t flinch. Her eyes were cold and unforgiving. “You didn’t just marry a monster, Jase. You built her throne p>
“I didn’t know,” I choked out, desperately trying to defend the shreds of my sanity. “She lied to me. She played the victim p>
“Save it,” Blake snapped, cutting me off. “You let yourself be blinded by a rotting soul just because it came with a pretty face and a flawless pedigree. You ignored every red flag because Kira stroked your ego p>
A suffocating wave of guilt crushed my chest. I had to fix this. I reached over, my trembling fingers gripping the IV line taped to the back of my hand. I ripped the needle out, ignoring the sharp sting and the bead of crimson blood that welled up.
“I have to see her,” I panted, swinging my legs over the edge of the bed. “I have to apologize to Adelina p>
𝘘𝘶а𝘭𝗂ty 𝘁𝘳аոѕlаti𝘰n𝗌 o𝗇
Blake let out a harsh, humorless scoff. She stepped forward and shoved me hard against the pillows. “She is the Queen of the Lycan King now. She wouldn’t waste a breath on you p>
“But I love her!” I roared, my fractured Alpha pride making one last, pathetic stand.
“You don’t know what love is, Jase!” Blake yelled back, her fury echoing in the sterile room. “You didn’t love Adelina. You loved the illusion of a broken, wolfless Omega who needed you to save her. You loved the power trip p>
I froze, the truth of her words piercing my chest like a jagged silver blade.
Blake leaned in, delivering the final, fatal blow. “Kain won because his Inner Wolf saw a Queen, even when she was wolfless. He saw her soul, Jase. All you ever saw was a reflection of your own ego p>
I turned my head away, unable to look at her. My hollow gaze landed on the flat-screen TV mounted on the wall. The Pack News channel was playing on a loop.
It was footage from the night before. Kain Blackwell was escorting Adelina out of the ruined wedding. His massive hand rested possessively on the small of her back, his golden eyes daring the entire world to challenge him. And Adelina — she wasn’t the fragile, invisible girl I remembered. Even through the screen, I could feel the glacial, untouchable calm radiating from her. She was a true Luna, standing at a height I could never reach.
Staring at the screen, the last ember of my Alpha fire sputtered and died. I collapsed back into the sterile white sheets, completely hollowed out — a king of nothing but ashes and lies.
Kira POV
The heavy mahogany doors of the Parrish Estate study felt like the gates of a tomb. The air was suffocating, thick with the stench of expensive cigars and the sour, rotting acid of my father’s fear.