All Chapters of Between Hate and Fate: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

Lunch is simple, just a meal shared at one of the long communal tables in the dining hall. Ruslan grabs a tray and loads it up with food before steering me toward a quieter corner of the room. The place is packed, voices and laughter filling the air as pack members enjoy their break, but Ruslan keeps his focus solely on me.“You’re eating all of that?” I tease, eyeing the mountain of food on his tray.He smirks, sitting down and pulling out a chair for me. “I’m not sharing if that’s what you’re asking.”I laugh softly, sitting beside him and picking at my own plate of roasted chicken and vegetables. “Good thing I’m not hungry enough to fight you for it.”“You’d lose,” he says, taking a huge bite of bread, his grin cheeky as he chews.“Oh, I don’t doubt it,” I reply, rolling my eyes but smiling. It’s easy, this banter, and for a moment, I forget the tension of the morning. Ruslan has that effect on me, pulling me into his world, making me feel grounded.We eat in comfortable silence f

The tension in Anatoly’s office is thick enough to choke on as he reads the letter aloud. My jaw tightens with every word. The weight of Tomas’s demands settling heavily over the room like a storm cloud.“...propose a meeting on neutral ground,” Anatoly says, his sharp eyes scanning the last few lines before he folds the letter and sets it down on the table. “He wants to meet in St. Petersburg.”I lean forward, elbows on my knees, my hands clenched into fists. “And you’re even considering this?”Anatoly looks at me, his expression tense. “What do you want me to do, Ruslan? Reject the meeting outright and risk open war?”“Yes,” I say immediately, my voice hard. “Tomas doesn’t want a meeting. He wants an opportunity. You think he’s going to come to neutral ground and have a polite conversation? He’ll have something up his sleeve.”Anatoly leans back in his chair, crossing his arms. “I don’t trust him either, but rejecting this could send the message that we’re the ones unwilling to nego

The meeting place is an old, abandoned mansion on neutral ground, far enough from both packs to avoid accusations of favoritism. It’s quiet as hell, eerie even, with the kind of stillness that makes my skin crawl. As Anatoly and I approach the double doors, I feel my jaw tighten, the memory of Tomas’ bullshit letter simmering in the back of my mind.When we step inside, the air is tense. Tomas is already there, flanked by members of his pack, their postures rigid and their expressions hostile. It’s clear they don’t want us here. Good—I don’t want to be here either.The second Tomas’ gaze lands on me, his face twists in shock, and then rage. “What the fuck is he doing here?” he spits, pointing at me like I’m a goddamn pest.Anatoly’s growl is immediate, low and threatening, reverberating through the room. “If that’s how you’re going to speak about my Beta, this meeting will end before it even begins.”Tomas freezes, his mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. “Beta?” he fi

The first thing I notice when I wake up is the soft murmur of Ruslan’s voice. It’s low, gentle, and so unlike the rough tone he usually uses. My body aches, but the warmth of his presence pulls me out of the fog, and I turn my head toward the sound.He’s sitting in the chair by the window, cradling our daughter in his arms. The sunlight filters through the curtains, casting a golden glow over him, making the scene almost surreal. He’s shirtless, his broad shoulders relaxed as he whispers something in Russian, his voice soothing and melodic. The sight of him—the fierce Rogue Alpha who has done nothing but fight his whole life—holding our tiny daughter with such tenderness, takes my breath away.I watch as he brushes a thumb over her cheek, his expression soft and filled with something I can only describe as pure love. It’s a look I’ve never seen on his face before, and it makes my chest tighten.“You’re going to be strong,” he murmurs, his deep voice rumbling. “Stronger than I ever wa

I stand in front of the mirror, fussing with the sleeves of my dress, trying to ignore the nerves that coil tighter and tighter in my stomach. It’s a soft blue—Ruslan’s suggestion, because he said it matched my eyes—but the color doesn’t do much to calm me. My reflection stares back at me, pale and anxious, but all I can think about is Milanya.Today is her blessing. Today she’ll be presented to the pack, and everyone will see her for the first time. Everyone.A soft noise from the crib pulls my attention. I turn and see her lying there, her tiny fists curling up near her face as she sleeps. My chest tightens. She’s so small, so perfect, and the thought of anyone looking at her the wrong way—of anyone even getting too close—makes my blood boil.She’s mine.The bond hums softly between Ruslan and me, like it always does when I feel something this strongly. I sense him before I hear him, his steady footsteps approaching.“You’re going to burn a hole in the floor pacing like that,” Rusl