Chapter Three: The Night I Couldn’t Speak Of
Eileen’s Pov
Beth helped me into the lounge.
The moment the door closed, I collapsed onto the sofa. Pain stabbed through my chest as if a cone were being driven into it, sinking deeper with every breath until it reached my bones.
“Eileen, I’m getting a doctor.”
I caught her hand. “There’s a white pill bottle in my bag.”
She took it out, poured a tablet into my palm, and helped me swallow it.
I closed my eyes, but Ronan’s words still echoed in my ears.
Why had he held me while we slept that night?
Because before that day, I had believed we would grow old together.
I had even planned to wait until he returned with breakfast and suggest replacing the roses at our wedding with white roses.
When my phone lit up, I thought he was calling to ask whether I wanted some pastries.
Instead, my father’s face appeared on the screen.
He was lying on the floor of the council chamber, the fabric over his abdomen soaked through with blood. Mother knelt beside him, pressing both hands desperately against the wound. The leather chair reserved for the Alpha of the Silver Crown Pack had been overturned, with shards of glass scattered around it.
The camera shifted. My little sister was dragged into view.
She was only eight years old, barefoot, with blood smeared across her nightdress. One hand was tangled in her hair, forcing her face upward.
“Big sister…”
A blade pressed against her throat.
Hector’s voice came through the phone. He had been Father’s personal guard—and the Beta who knew better than anyone when Father would be alone.
“Come back before dawn. Don’t alert anyone, including Ronan.”
I fell out of bed, clutching my phone.
“I want to hear Father speak.”
The camera turned back. Father struggled to open his eyes. His lips moved several times.
“Hector… I trusted you so much…”
A fit of coughing cut off his voice. I turned the volume all the way up and finally heard his last words.
“Don’t come back.”
A boot immediately stamped down on his hand.
I screamed for him to stop.
As soon as the call ended, I dialed Ronan’s number.
The phone rang only once before a second photograph arrived.
There was now a bloody cut across my sister’s throat.
I didn’t dare waste another moment. I ended the call, threw on my coat, and ran outside. The wind sent the wedding invitations scattering across the foyer.
By the time I reached Silver Crown, Father could no longer speak. Hector stood beside him with a bloodstained knife in his hand, and every guard at the entrance had been replaced by his own men.
I knelt beside Father and pressed both hands over his wound with all my strength, but blood kept welling through my fingers.
Hector crouched down and placed a succession declaration in front of him.
“Sign this, and I’ll spare Eileen.”
Father stared at him without moving. Hector raised a hand. One of the guards immediately seized me by the hair and dragged me away from Father. The blade pressed against the side of my neck.
“Don’t touch her…” Father struggled to lift his hand.
“Then sign.”
“Dad, don’t!”
I tried to break free, but the knife pushed harder into my skin.
Hector grabbed my sister and, right in front of me, drove the blade into her chest. He raised the knife and wiped the blood from it.
“Your sister is already dead. Don’t force me to kill you, too.”
“No!” Father and Mother screamed together, their faces streaked with tears.
“Are you signing or not?” Hector shoved the guard aside, seized my hair, and held the knife against my throat.
“Don’t… don’t hurt her… I’ll sign. Please, let her go.” Father’s voice was almost pleading.
“I give you my word.”
With the last of his strength, Father signed his name.
Then he died.
Hector put away the declaration and gestured for the guards to restrain me.
“You promised to let me go!” I struggled and twisted around to face him.
He took a syringe from a metal case.
“Sweetheart, how could I bear to let you leave?”
I recognized the name printed on the packaging: Soul-Lock Serum.
When the needle pierced the side of my neck, Luma suddenly surged upward—only to be forced back into the darkness.
Mother rushed forward and grabbed Hector’s arm.
“You monster! Leave her alone!”
Hector flung her aside and placed the empty syringe on the table.
“She needs a maintenance injection every month. Otherwise, her wolf soul will wither—and she’ll die with it.” He glared viciously at Mother. “If you reveal even a single word about what happened tonight, you’ll die too.”
Hector pushed a marriage registration form in front of me.
“Sign it.”
I didn’t want to sign. But I understood even then: only by staying alive would I have a chance to make him pay for Father and my sister.
“Are you feeling any better?”
Beth’s voice pulled me back into the lounge.
“What happened?” she asked softly.
I avoided her eyes and shook my head.
I pressed a hand against my chest and tried calling out in my mind.
“Luma?”
There was no response.
I held my breath and waited a little longer. My fingers tightened unconsciously around the edge of my clothing.
For five years, I had waited like this countless times. Every time, I had received the same silence.
But tonight, when I fell into my fated mate’s arms, I had clearly heard Luma call Ronan’s name.
Had it been his scent? Or that brief touch? Could Luma have broken through the seal for a moment through the bond between fated mates?
Slowly, I relaxed my hand. Even then, I could still feel the fabric of his shirt beneath my palm.
The voices outside gradually faded. Gavin opened the door, glanced at Beth, and quietly told her that most of the guests had already left.
She had spent so much time preparing that birthday party, and in the end, I had ruined it.
“I’m sorry.” I took her hand.
Beth shook her head and hugged me.
“I’ll take you home.”
When we left, the cake on the table had not yet been cut. The two little cream wolves pressed together on top of it already had drooping ears. Ronan and Vivian were both gone, and Gavin helped Beth put on her coat.
I insisted on taking a taxi home by myself.
Even after the taxi had driven a long way, I kept staring down at my hand.
When I had grabbed Ronan by the front of his shirt, Luma’s voice had been so clear. Then he let me go, and Luma sank back into silence.
What if I approached him again? Would Luma stay awake a little longer?
Could it be that the seal wasn’t unbreakable after all?
