CHAPTER 20: The Echo of Regret"My lady," Mia said softly, "you must be careful. You’re playing a dangerous game."Hana nodded, her tears falling freely now. She knew Mia was right. She had been reckless and had let her hatred for Jarrel blind her to the risks. And now, Mia was paying the price.As the medication was brought back by the healer, Hana stood aside helplessly and observed as he engaged in his task. She felt like an intruder who was standing on the edge of the horrible dream she had created. The guilt gnawed at her and became a constant unending pain that would never go away.Hana’s thinking was full of self-hatred and regret. How had things gone so wrong? All her energy had been concentrated on ending Jarrel’s reign of terror; she had never stopped to contemplate any other consequences. However, now, there was Mia who was suffering and Hana was helpless.The healer worked fast; his hands danced deftly through the air with practiced ease. Yet Hana knew it might not be eno
CHAPTER 21: A Test of loyalty Jarrel waved a hand dismissively. "She won’t. Her emotions are a trap; they don't let her see things clearly and she is blinded by them. She is so much in need of revenge that it's affecting her focus. ““She’s going to mess up sometime soon, but I am here waiting for that moment when she does. Until then, let her play her little games. They mean nothing in the grand scheme of things."Magnus shook his head again, his worry evident in the lines of his face. "You’re playing a dangerous game, Jarrel. You’re allowing your mate to plot against you, to try and undermine your authority.”“ The pack is already uneasy. They see her change in behavior, and they wonder what’s going on. If she continues like this, she could turn them against you."Jarrel’s gaze hardened, his eyes glinting with a dangerous light. "Let her try," he said softly, his voice carrying an edge of menace. "Let her try to sway the pack, to turn them against me. They’ll see soon enough who
CHAPTER 22: The Fragile Alliance Jarrel sat at his desk, the weight of leadership pressing down on him as he reviewed the latest reports from the pack’s borders. His thoughts, however, kept drifting back to Hana. Despite her outward attempts to integrate into the pack and her efforts to appear as though she was accepting their bond, something in his gut told him she was hiding something. His instincts had never failed him before, but this time, they were up against the complex emotions of a mate—someone who should be trustworthy but who seemed to have her own agenda.His Beta, Magnus, entered the room with a grim expression on his face, his presence immediately drawing Jarrel’s attention away from the papers in front of him. "Magnus," Jarrel greeted, noticing the concern etched into his Beta’s features. "What is it?"Instead of taking a seat, Magnus continued his pattern of pacing back and forth when he was upset. With a heavy voice, he said, "It's Mia." "I just received word fro
CHAPTER 23: Doom In Mia’s room, the smell of illness hung heavy in the air like a poisonous cloud continuing to spread its infectious presence all over the objects in the room. The once energetic maid was now stunned and rigid on the bed with a pale ashen complexion and sunken eyes. She had difficulty breathing and her panting was a constant suffering of the death that she was gradually experiencing. Hana was standing beside the bed listening to every sound she could hear and feeling guilty for such thoughts. She had never intended for this to occur out of her own device. When she had sought out the wolfsbane, she had been thinking only of violent, vengeful actions – ending Jarrel’s murderous cycle, liberating herself from his grasp, as it were. And again and again, she had been thinking not of other people, other lives, other deaths, but of herself and her own suffering, her own need for revenge. But now, as she watched Mia’s life ebbing away, the guilt submerged her and gave
CHAPTER 24: The Unbearable Weight of RegretBut the only answer that ensued was the sound of Mia’s ragged, shallow breathing interrupted, at best, by the gentle rise and fall of her chest. As much as the two of them tried to swallow the bitter truth, the bitter truth could not be avoided anymore — Mia was to die, and Hana could not do anything to change it.For hours, Hana sat beside Mia, and all she could think of was how much she hated herself and wished she never made that decision. In her mind she went over all the events of the past few days and tried to find anything she could have done differently; something that could have made the outcome different. However, every choice she made brought her to this: she held the wolfsbane, she sought revenge.Hana was in no state to go on for very long before she began to become weary and fall asleep. Her eyes began to droop and her body was exhausted owing to the stress that her emotions had put on her. She struggled to keep her eyes open,
CHAPTER 25: Tears and Regret Hana felt like time completely stopped after Mia died; it has been a week without Mia already but she still acts as if there is nothing else to do but sit in silence remembering her friend had passed away. The walls that used to be her luxurious prison now close in around her suffocating with the weight of guilt and regret. It was as if each day bled into the next – an endless loop of sorrow from which she could not escape. Her bed was both comforter and torturer; the sheets were tangled together because of restless sleepless nights while pillows were soaked in tears without end.Every morning, one of the maids would bring food to Hana’s small table near the bed. Yet it repulsed her whenever she saw it. Eating seemed to mock her somehow just like if somebody brings fish while you are still hungry after your family has eaten all its food – as if by doing so, they should imply that their life could go on despite Mia being gone. She hardly touched any me
CHAPTER 26: Unbearable Grief The room was silent and motionless, the meal unaltered. Hana stayed still and couldn’t think about anything else apart from the burden of grief that was unbearable. She had become a prisoner to her own creation, unable to break free from the cage of sadness and shame.If only she could turn back time, and undo the terrible mistake she had made. But no way was that possible. All that remained was living with its aftermath no matter how painful it was for her.So she lay there shedding tears freely as if they were just water running down her face while holding so tightly to the weight of everything she had done. It was indeed a great error on her part hence consequences followed in the form of hardships faced thereafter by Hana. But there’s always a limit when it comes to suffering – this sort of feeling made life unbearable at times including right now when there was uncertainty about how much longer such a state could persistThe days blurred together ju
CHAPTER 27 : Emotional Distance With her gaze glued to the elaborate designs woven into the carpet underfoot, Hana stood at the edge of the bed. The beautiful glimmer of the moon peeking through the drapes formed lengthy shadows that danced across the walls, filling the room with a dull light. Behind her, she could hear Jarrel moving, the sound of linen rustling as he undressed, and the soft creak of the bed as he took a seat. But she stood there, expressionless, her thoughts safely tucked away behind a solid wall she had built around herself.In the days that followed Mia's passing, she discovered that she could no longer afford to show her feelings by showing them off. In order to endure here, in this life, she needed to become someone else—someone untouchable, someone who could endure the pain without flinching. She had built an emotional barrier around herself, a fortress that kept Jarrel at bay, even as he believed he was breaking her down."Hana," Jarrel's voice called out to