CHAPTER 118: THE RESOLVE OF AN ALPHA

Kiel

I couldn’t breathe.

Josie’s body went limp before my eyes, and the sound of her shallow gasp as she slipped into unconsciousness ripped something vital from my chest. My legs felt weak, useless, as though the ground had been pulled out from under me.

"Josie!" My voice cracked as I reached for her, but Varen was suddenly there, gripping my arm and dragging me back.

"Let them work, Kiel!" Varen snapped, his voice tight but steady, pulling me away from the bed. My arm shook violently in his hold as I pointed back at her, my throat raw.

"No—no, I have to—"

"You can’t," Varen cut me off firmly, his golden eyes narrowing. "The doctors are already on her. Don’t make it harder for them. Don’t make it harder for her."

I froze only because I saw the blur of white coats around Josie. The doctors rushed in, their hands moving fast, voices low and sharp with urgency. One of them pushed me further aside with a clipped command I couldn’t even register. My body just moved. My mind stayed trapped in the image of Josie lying still, her lashes unmoving, her lips pale.

I couldn’t feel my own heartbeat. It was gone.

And then, as though the silence had been waiting, it broke me.

My knees gave out and I crumbled into the nearest chair. My hands shook against my face as a sob tore out of me, harsh and ugly. "This is all my fault," I choked out, my voice muffled against my palms. "Gods, it’s all my fault. I let her—no, I let Michelle—into our lives. I let her in. I gave her the chance to destroy everything, to destroy us."

The air felt thick and sharp as I struggled to breathe past the guilt pressing down on me. My chest heaved, but every inhale burned like fire.

Varen’s hand pressed against my back, heavy, grounding. He rubbed in small circles, the way a brother would, the way he always had when words weren’t enough. "Kiel," he said quietly, his tone softer now, "you can’t drown yourself here. Josie doesn’t need that. She needs you alive and strong, not... not falling apart."

But how could I not fall apart when the one person who had ever truly seen me was lying unconscious because of my failures?

"I broke her, Varen," I whispered, my throat raw. My fingers twisted into my hair, pulling until my scalp burned, as if pain could anchor me. "I should’ve stopped this sooner. I should’ve seen through Michelle’s games, but I didn’t. I let her crawl into our lives and wreck everything. I should’ve—"

"You can’t rewrite the past," Varen interrupted, his tone sharpening again.

I jerked my head up, staring at him with red-rimmed eyes. "Then what the hell do I do now? Tell me, Varen. Because I’m so damn tired of this. I’m tired of failing her. I want to fix things, but I—" My voice broke, and I pressed my fist to my mouth, biting down hard enough to taste iron. "I don’t know how. And sitting here, doing nothing—it feels like it’s killing me, too."

Varen sighed heavily, rubbing his jaw as he studied me. Then he crouched down in front of me so I had no choice but to look at him. His voice was steady, calm, the kind of voice that cut through chaos.

"You don’t need to fix everything, Kiel," he said. "That’s not what this is about. You can’t undo what’s already been done. If you keep trying to fix it all at once, you’ll only make it worse."

His words should have made sense, but they didn’t. My chest tightened until I could barely get air in. "Then what do I do?" I demanded, my voice cracking with desperation. "Tell me what the hell I’m supposed to do, because I swear to the Moon, I don’t know anymore. And I can’t just stand here while Josie... while Josie—"

"Listen to me," Varen cut in firmly, gripping my shoulder hard enough to hurt. His gaze was sharp, anchoring me. "If you want Josie to believe you’re on her side, you can’t just say it. Words aren’t going to cut it anymore. You have to show her. Prove it with your actions. Every single day. She has to see it, not just hear it."

The silence between us stretched, heavy, suffocating. My mind raced, desperate, searching for something—anything—that could make this right.

And then, like a cruel flash of clarity, it hit me.

Michelle.

Michelle, with her poisoned smile and manipulative lies, weaving herself into every corner of our lives. She was the disease that had spread into Josie’s trust, into our bond, into my own sanity. She was the one who needed to be cut out completely, exposed for what she truly was.

I straightened slowly, my body trembling but my resolve sharpening like a blade. My hand slid into my pocket, pulling out my phone. My thumb hovered over the screen, searching, scrolling, until I found what I needed. The video. The very thing Michelle thought she could use to hold power.

"No," I whispered, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of my mouth. "No more. I’m done letting her play us. I’m done letting her win."

I raised my head to look at Varen, my voice steadier now, almost calm in its fury. "If Josie is ever going to believe me, then I’ll be the one to take Michelle down. Not with words, not with excuses—with the truth. I’ll disgrace her myself. Every lie, every manipulation, I’ll burn it all down. She won’t be able to crawl back from this."

Varen frowned, clearly uneasy. "Kiel—"

But before he could finish, I snapped out of the chair, my body moving with sudden purpose. "I know what I have to do."

"Kiel!" Varen’s hand shot out, gripping my arm again. "Are you even listening to me? Think this through—"

"I have thought it through," I cut him off with a humorless smile. "More than you think. And I know exactly where I need to be."

Before he could stop me again, I tore free from his grip and mind-linked my Beta. Meet me at the pack house. Now.

By the time I stormed into the pack house, the familiar scent of liquor and recklessness hit me first. Thorne sat sprawled on the couch, a glass dangling carelessly from his fingers, his eyes glazed with that same mix of arrogance and emptiness.

For a second, I paused, watching him. Once, I might have tried to understand him, to reach for the bond of brotherhood. But not anymore. Thorne would never understand the way Josie broke and healed me all at once, never understand why I couldn’t just drown my grief in alcohol and pretend it was enough. He did what he wanted, always had, and it was a miracle I hadn’t put my fist through his face more times than I could count.

I walked past him without a word.

My Beta was waiting in my office, his face pale the moment I entered. He stood quickly, bowing his head, though his hands twisted nervously at his sides.

"You called for me, Alpha?" His voice trembled.

I shut the door behind me and stepped closer, my expression cold, controlled, though my blood burned hot beneath my skin. "You have eight hours," I said, each word sharp and deliberate, "to bring Michelle to me. If you fail..." My gaze narrowed, locking onto his. "You won’t want to know what happens then."

The Beta’s throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, his face draining of color. "Eight hours? Alpha, I—I don’t even know where to start—"

I leaned in, my voice dropping to a whisper that made him flinch. "Then you’d better start running. Because your time starts now."

His eyes widened in horror, and without another word, he bolted from the room, his footsteps echoing down the hall in a frantic rhythm.

I sank into my chair at last, dragging a trembling hand over my face. My chest still ached, my heart still torn raw, but there was a new fire beneath it all.

For Josie. For us.

I would tear Michelle apart piece by piece if that’s what it took to prove it.