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17. Ruslan
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Between Hate and Fate 1. Katya
The fire crackles in front of me; flames licking at the sky as Andrei’s pyre burns. The scent of smoke fills the air, and the heat from the blaze is so intense that it almost feels like it’s burning me from the inside out. I stand there, frozen in place, clutching the fabric of my black dress as if it can somehow ground me, somehow stop the spinning inside my head. It doesn’t. Nothing does.Tears blur my vision and I blink them away, refusing to let myself fall apart in front of the pack. I’m their Luna, their leader now, and I can’t show weakness, not even when the man I loved more than anything is nothing but ash and memory. But it’s impossible to hide the way my body trembles, the way every breath feels like I’m suffocating under the weight of the grief crushing my chest.I look up, and there’s Andrei’s face, still so vivid in my mind. His laugh, the way his eyes crinkled at the edges when he smiled. How he would rest his hand on my belly, even before I told him I was pregnant. I
Between Hate and Fate 2. Katya
Three weeks of building anger, of restless nights, and waking up to an empty bed that should still belong to Andrei. Three weeks of watching the pack try to move on, while I can’t seem to move past the moment I lost him. Every breath I take feels tainted by the fact that the man responsible for his death is still alive, breathing the same air as the rest of us. But today, that changes.Today, the Rogue filth dies.I stand at the front of the clearing, my heart pounding in my chest as I watch the pack gather, their faces filled with cold satisfaction and pure anger. They want blood, justice for their Alpha, and I want it more than anyone.Every nerve in my body is taut with fury. My hands shake at my sides, but not from fear. From rage. The kind of rage that’s settled into my bones, burning hotter with every passing day. How dare he live while Andrei’s body is ash? How dare he get to breathe even for a second longer?Tomas approaches, his face set in a grim line. “It’s time.”I nod,
Between Hate and Fate 3. Ruslan
RuslanThe second I lock eyes with her, my chest tightens, and something snaps deep inside me. No. No fucking way. This can’t be real, it has to be some sick joke. There’s no fucking way the Goddess would curse me like this—mate me to the Luna of the bastard who took everything from me and made me watch.I can feel the bond pulling at me, stronger than anything I’ve ever felt in my life. It claws at my insides, trying to drag me toward her, as if my body doesn’t even belong to me anymore. I grit my teeth, my muscles tensing, and fight the urge to give in. It’s not possible. It’s not fucking possible.Her scent hits me again—fucking peaches and honey— it’s something that stirs parts of me I’ve buried for a long time. But I don’t want it. I don’t want her. My mind rebels against the very idea. I look at her, the way her face is twisted in shock, her lips parted, and her hand gripping her chest like she’s trying to stop her heart from breaking out. She’s just as confused as I am, but
Between Hate and Fate 4. Katya
KatyaI pace back and forth in Andrei’s office, the one place I used to feel safe, where everything felt secure, and now it feels like a prison. My heart pounds in my chest, my breaths coming in uneven, angry bursts. I’m furious. Not just at Ruslan, though he’s a big part of it, but at myself.How could I let this happen? How could I let that Rogue get under my skin like that? The way he looked at me, the way he spoke to me like I was nothing. Like I didn’t matter at all. The nerve of him, sneering at me, laughing like the bond was some kind of joke. I grip the edge of the desk, my knuckles white, trying to steady myself. But nothing helps. I want to scream. I want to tear something apart. I can still see his face, the way his cold silver eyes locked onto mine, that damn smirk on his lips. He acted like he didn’t care about any of it—about me, about the bond. Like he’s above it all. What’s worse is the way my body responded to him, like it was out of my control. The bond hit me li
Between Hate and Fate 5. Ruslan
The chains bite into my wrists, burning like fire as the silver seeps into my skin. My arms feel like dead weight, hanging uselessly above me, held up only by the restraints that have become a part of me now. I don’t know how long I’ve been here. Days? Weeks? Time doesn’t exist in this cell. There’s only the darkness, the endless ache in my body, and the gnawing emptiness where food and water used to be.I try to remember when I last ate, but the memory slips away, lost in the fog of pain. My mouth is dry, my throat raw, but even the need for water has faded into something dull and distant. It doesn’t matter anymore. Nothing does. The only thing I can feel now is the burn of the silver and the weight of my past pressing down on me.I close my eyes, letting the darkness swallow me. Maybe if I concentrate hard enough, I can disappear. But even in the dark, the memories come.Mina. Mila.I see their faces so clearly, so full of life and laughter. The way Mina would chase Mila around th
Between Hate and Fate 6. Katya
I step into the dimly lit cell, the cold stone walls making it feel more like a tomb than a prison. The scent of damp air and blood hits me immediately, and I pause at the threshold, my stomach twisting. I shouldn’t be here. I know that. But I need to face him. I need to tell him the verdict and make this right.But as soon as I see him, hanging there by his wrists, half-dead, my breath catches in my throat. He’s broken. His silver hair, matted and tangled, clings to his sweat-slick skin, and his bare chest is covered in fresh and old scars. His wrists are raw, the silver chains biting deep into his flesh, burning him. There’s blood, so much blood, but that’s not what hits me hardest. It’s the look on his face, the way he’s staring at me with a distant, haunted expression, his eyes glassy, lost in some memory I can’t reach.For a moment, I hesitate. I was prepared for anger, for defiance, for that cold indifference he always wears like armour. But this… this is something else. He lo
Between Hate and Fate 7. Ruslan
When I wake up, everything hurts. My head’s pounding, my throat feels like it’s been scraped raw, and my wrists sting with a familiar burn from the silver chains. But the softness beneath me is all wrong. I’m not hanging from the cold, unforgiving ceiling of the cell anymore. No, this... this is a bed. A pristine, clean bed.I blink, my vision blurry, trying to get my bearings. No stone walls, no damp smell, no distant sounds of guards or prisoners. Just silence. My arms are still chained, but they’re lying at my sides now, the cuffs digging into my skin and attached to a long chain. My muscles ache, screaming from the strain of being bound for so long. I want to move, to shift, but I’m too weak. Too drained.Where the hell am I? How did I get here?I try to sit up, but my body protests, the pain shooting through me like fire. Before I can even try again, the door creaks open, and she walks in.Katya.The moment I see her, my blood starts to boil. Her sweet scent hits me first—peaches
Between Hate and Fate 8. Katya
I rush out of the room, the door slamming behind me and my breath coming in short, uneven bursts. My chest feels tight, and I can’t shake the feeling that I’m suffocating. The hallway seems too narrow, the air too thick, and I feel like I’m on the verge of falling apart. Every step away from Ruslan makes it harder to hold it together.His words, sharp and cutting, still echo in my mind. The way he looked at me, the way he hated me—it’s everything I expected, but somehow, it still hurts. More than I thought it would. I shouldn’t care. I should be stronger than this. But being close to him, being trapped in the same room as him, it’s getting harder. Harder to stay angry. Harder to push back the pull of the bond. Harder to pretend his words don’t hurt.I can still feel the bond thrumming inside me, alive and constant, tying me to him whether I like it or not. My body reacts to him even when my mind screams for distance. Every time I walk away, the bond tugs at me, like it doesn’t want
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