Bonus Chapter 2

Then, seeming to come back to reality, I hear Kelly’s voice at the same time that I notice the softness in his face completely changes, immediately hardening to firm edges when he turns his eyes at her before shifting to his white wolf.  
I run impulsively. He can’t kill Kelly. No! I let Jordan die. I can’t let the only family on my daughter’s father’s side die, too.
Everything happens too fast. Too abrupt. One second, Kral and I are in front of Kelly to defend her and the next, Allie is calling for *her brother*. I already knew that. It’s him.
Still, I watch, paralyzed, as they interact. The big wolf howls at the dark sky with joy for finding his sister while she hugs him tightly. I can even hear the sullen growl that Kral tries to swallow as he faces the two so close with each other.
Besides that, I remain numb, though, unable to process everything before my eyes. My heart hurts from having just lost the mate bond with Jordan. It’s when I hear Allie’s soft voice that I realize what’s going on around me again.
“Vi? Come over here,” she says, confused. “Why are you so far away?”
I frown when I realize that there are three pairs of eyes staring at me. Hers, Ian’s, and Cedar’s. Instead of doing what she says, I do the opposite, going to the window of the other room, even further away from them.
But I stay alert this time, listening to everything the blond haired man has to say. Although every now and then I feel deep down that he tells Ian and Allie less than what has really happened to him, probably for Allie’s sake. I don’t blame him. I tend to do that with Ian, too. I frown even more when my heart skips a beat for the way he shows his love for his sister. 
I remain silent but increasingly horrified by everything he tells them, and it’s not until my brother forces Kelly to confess everything she and Jordan had done that I realize how everything I’ve been feeling up until then could get worse. Much, much fucking worse.
“You bitch!” I punch her face hard. And I only stop because Ian drags me away from her.
Shaking my shoulders, Ian says when we’re out of her cell, “Vi, calm the fuck down!” 
“I can’t believe they did this to me. To us!”
I scream so loudly that even my ears get hurt. Yet, I don’t miss Kelly’s laugh on the other side.
I feel so sick and angry and—
“Vi, we need to talk,” Ian begins to speak, but I cut him off angrily, making him let go of my shoulders. 
As soon as he releases me, I say to my brother, although it means for him, Allie, and her brother. “I want to be alone, Ian.”
Then I shift, letting Roxy control my body, ripping apart the pretty red dress I wore just for Jordan. They don’t know. Only I know the real reason I’ve chosen this dress and it was not just because it was beautiful, but because it was the only one with a neckline in the front and nothing exposed in the back, which allowed me to hide Jordan’s angry betrayal marks on my body.

🐺 🐺 🐺

‘My. Office. Now. Violet!’
Fucking Ian!
I make my way with clenched fists to his stupid office. I’ve been avoiding him for the past few days. Didn’t he take the hint?
Ugh. I know I need to talk to him. I know that. But I feel so lost. I don’t want to. Not now.
Two nights ago, I was feeling too overwhelmed, and I stupidly went after my best friend when she was finally alone. I should have walked away, but I ended up telling her everything that was suffocating me. We both cried; she was more than me. Allie has the kindest and softest heart I’ve ever seen. I asked her to keep it a secret until I was ready to tell Ian, and she said she’d wait for me, but from the impatient tone my brother used in my mind, he’s the one who can’t take it anymore.
I look down at my baggy black pants and long sleeved dark blue shirt and let out a long sigh before walking into his office.
“What do you want, Ian?”
Leaning against the open window wall and with his arms crossed, he stares at me with a frown. “Close the door.”
I roll my eyes but do as he asks. Then I walk nonchalantly over to him, stopping before his massive desk. I cross my arms as well. “So?”
“I’m mad at you.” 
“You’re not alone,” I mutter, looking at the papers on his desk. 
“I’m fucking mad at you, Violet!” 
His tone makes me lift my head and look at him. 
I hate that disappointed tone in his voice. I can feel my sinuses starting to sting and a lump forming in my throat.
I clear my throat and sniff. “Why?” I ask.
Ian uncrosses his arms, shoulders slumping slightly. He takes a deep breath. “We don’t keep shit like this from each other, Vi.” 
“What-what do you mean?” 
I do know what he means.
“Don’t!” Ian blinks his eyes hard. “That’s fucking enough, Violet. You know what I’m talking about.” His tone grows firmer, his gaze more intense.
I nervously fidget with the cuffs of my long-sleeved shirt for a moment before I say, “I’m sorry, Ian...” 
His frown deepens. “I don’t want your apologies. I want the truth!” He steps forward. “I tell you everything. Since we’re kids!” Ian’s voice softens. “You’re my sister, Vi. My best friend. You help me through the bad days. And Goddess knows it wasn’t days but years. I always knew something was off, and every fucking time I tried to talk to you, you just made it about two sentences before cutting me off and asked me to leave you alone.” 
Ian takes another step towards me. Tears well in my eyes, and I instinctively hug myself.
“Fuck, Vi! You didn’t even give me the chance to be there during your bad days.” 
Even with the lump in my throat, I try to say, “I’m so—” 
“Drop it. I don’t want to hear you are sorry.” Ian comes closer. “You’re brilliant. You’re an incredible sister, and you have been helping me so fucking much! Not just me but everyone in our pack, too. But, goddessdamnit, Vi! You suck at letting anyone help you. But I’m not anyone. I’m your big brother. Would it be so hard to talk to me? Trust me?” 
I finally cry, unable to bear hearing all the truths he’s dropping anymore. Ian is immediately by my side, hugging me tightly. “Hey, hey. Stop crying, Vi.” His voice isn’t harsh, but it’s firm. “I don’t like seeing you crying.” 
“It’s your fault why I’m crying, you jerk!” I hold him tighter. 
“That.” I can hear his smile. “Much better when you’re angry and not ignoring me.” 
“I’m so sorry, Ian. From the bottom of my heart, I swear,” I say, wiping my tears away. 
With an arm around my shoulders, he leads me to the couch close to the gray wall, and we both sit, facing each other. 
“Here.” He reaches for a tissue and hands it to me. Someone knocks on the door, but Ian ignores them. He has probably mindlinked Josh to fuck off. Even though his office is soundproof, I wait until I don’t sense anyone nearby in the hallway before I start talking. 
But Ian begins first, “Why are you avoiding Cedar? Is it about Jordan? Is it because you think you should remain loyal to him after everything that fucker did to you? Because that’s bullshit.” 
“I had a daughter with Jordan, Ian.”
“You were manipulated, Vi! You didn’t know—”
“No!” I yell. “Don’t you get it? It’s my fault! Kelly herself said I was so eager to have my fated mate that I made their lives easier. The problem, Ian, is that I’d felt something was wrong. All these years, Jordan acted differently from what I’ve seen with the other fated mates, and every time I complained to him about it, in the end, I always felt like I was being too clingy! Wanting everything my way! As he always made sure to remind me!” I throw my arms in the air.
My brother lets out a low growl. But I don’t let him talk. I’m on a roll now. 
“It’s my fault. I should have realized it sooner. I should have realized from the first pain mark I got.” 
Ian slowly asks through clenched teeth. “What do you mean?” 
I slowly shake my head, tears starting to fall from my eyes. Goddess, I feel so ashamed. So dirty, so stupid!
“Violet! Tell. Me. Now!”
I don’t tell him, though. I don’t have the strength to explain it, so I take off my loose shirt and in just my bra, I turn around, still sitting on the couch.
I feel the heavy weight of Ian’s gaze on Jordan’s betrayal marks on my back. It takes him a few seconds to understand, then Ian flies off the couch. He abruptly grabs one of the chairs in front of his desk and throws it against the other wall.
My brother lets out a loud roar as I cover my face with my hands, crying.
“Fuck! I want to kill that fucker! Cedar should have let him live!” The mention of his name makes my heart skip a beat. “So all those times I’d seen you wearing those clothes—fuck! Fuck! FUCK!”
The next thing I know, I feel Ian hug me from behind, and I rest my face into the crook of his arm. I sob uncontrollably in his arms, and my brother, who is always extremely impatient with everything, lets me.
When I calm down a bit, Ian turns me to face him again. With a hoarse voice, I say, “The first time these marks appeared, I got into this fight with Jordan. A really big one. But it never crossed my mind that... or considered that something was wrong with our mate bond.”
“It’s not your fucking fault. You hear me?”
I nod for his sake and continue, “I can’t tell you at what point I started to get used to having them.”
“Oh, Vi... You should never have had to see these marks on your skin!”
“That’s exactly what Allie told me,” I say quietly with a small smile.
“Why are they still so noticeable like that? That fucker is dead, for Goddess’ sake!”
“I don’t know, but Allie guessed it might be because of that fucking potion. That bitch said Jordan had to take it every full Moon, so we guessed that’s why the effect is still active. Maybe they’ll disappear by the next full Moon in a week. Well... I hope so.”
“Why didn’t you ever tell me anything, Vi? Why?” He asks me, even though his voice remains the same, he has a sad gaze.
“In the beginning, I didn’t want to discourage you from breaking the curse.” *Which was also my fault*. “And then, I kind of didn’t want to bring you more trouble. You were already going through so much—”
Ian growls. Loud. “Seriously, Violet? You know you’ve always been my priority! You know you could interrupt me at any time!”
I keep my mouth shut for a moment before confessing, “I know. I’m sorry. I should have told you about this a long time ago... I promise to tell you everything from now on.” 
“Thank fuck! You can lean on me for once, Vi. Not because you can’t deal with something on your own but because it’s important to me that you give me the chance to show up on your fucking bad days too. Got it?” 
I sniff and give him a single nod. “Got it.” Then, to tease him, I add, “Moon Goddess, is this what we are now? Is this what you’ve become since Allie accepted your bond? She changed you! Now we have to talk about feelings and shit?” 
Ian gives me a hard push on my right shoulder. “Shut up.” A smile tugs at his mouth. “You pull your head out of your ass, and we won’t have to.” 
I smile back, feeling better as I wipe my tears away.
“So what are you going to do about Cedar?”