After watching it, my hustbury dropped the phone the lage renal hearths, he sat perbelly wil, not on boating
Then his face contorted, and he siendile fire the eving what again and again and a bad and the of Alpha strength
Heart–wrenching sabe extrand from the car, tereperand with how of eg that Roggend the windown with his breath, is claws emprad
beide wuntarily, poncturing the beatley
“I didn’t even question it,” he gasped between wote. “I didn’t even give her à chance.”
You see, brother? Proving my innocence wasn’t to difficult after all
You just never gave me the chance to prove it, never cared enough to investigate. One phone call censkd have saved me from a year of tactise
It took him twenty minutes to compose himself enough to contine driving. When he finally reached the hospital, his eyes were bindahert, his clothes rumpled, his hair wild from running his hands through it repeatedly
He stood outside my hospital room for a long time, his hand on the door handle, making several attempts to enter before stapping himself each time. His shoulders slumped with the weight of his guilt
“What’s wrong? Why don’t you go in?”
Selene’s voice came from behind him, her tone sickeningly sweet with tabse concern. She approached my brother, reaching out to support him as he leaned heavily against the wall
“I rushed over as soon as they told the you were here,” she lied, placing her hand on his arm. “Is there any change in her condition?”
My brother stared at her hand on his arm as if it were a venomous snake. “I want to see Shye, but I can’t face her. I’m not a good brother.” His voice broke. “I deserve to die. I’m not human.”
Selene’s expression shifted subtly, a calculation running behind her eyes before she adopted a sympathetic pout.
“What are you saying, Ethan? Skye tried to kill herself. That’s not your fault.” She lowered her voice. “We both know she’s been unstable since she came back. This was going to happen sooner or later.”
“Shut up!”
11
+25 Bonus
On his way to the hospital, my brother received a call from his Beta friend.
“Ethan, we’ve found something.” Liam, his Beta friend and head of Pack security, sounded cautious. “There seems to be more to the bullying incident involving your sister than what we were led to believe.”
My brother’s jaw tightened. “Tell me everything. Now.”
“It’s been too long to recover the official security footage from the school,” Liam explained. “But we’ve tracked down and interviewed fifteen students and three staff members who were present that night.”
The dashboard clock showed 3:17 AM. My brother hadn’t slept in over thirty hours.
“According to thirteen separate witnesses, although your sister didn’t get along with Selene, she never bullied her. Not once. Most people spoke well of Skye, saying she wasn’t the type to do something like that. Several mentioned that it was actually Selene who constantly followed Skye around, trying to get her attention.”
My brother’s hands trembled on the wheel. “And the fire?”
“That’s where it gets interesting,” Liam continued. “By sheer coincidence, a student in the next building was filming a graduation video for his social media. He captured the incident through a window. It’s somewhat blurry and at a distance, but you can clearly see that Skye never touched Selene. When Skye left the room, Selene took a lighter from her purse and deliberately set fire to her own dress, focusing on her legs. Then she started screaming.”
“Send me the video. Now.” My brother’s voice had become dangerously quiet.
“Already did. Check your email. There’s more—
”
My brother didn’t let him continue. He hung up abruptly, pulled the car over to the shoulder with a violent swerve, and slammed on the brakes so hard the seat belt cut into his chest.
With shaking hands, he opened the video on his phone. I couldn’t see it from my perspective, but I could hear Selene’s shrill screams in the recording: “Help! Skye burned me! Someone help!”
After watching it, my brother dropped the phone into his lap. For several heartbeats, he sat perfectly still, not even breathing.
Then his face contorted, and he slammed his fists against the steering wheel again and again until it cracked under the force of his Alpha strength.
Heart–wrenching sobs echoed from inside the car, interspersed with howls of rage that fogged the windows with his breath. His claws erupted involuntarily, puncturing the leather seats.
“I didn’t even question it,” he gasped between sobs. “I didn’t even give her a chance.”
You see, brother? Proving my innocence wasn’t so difficult after all.
You just never gave me the chance to prove it, never cared enough to investigate. One phone call could have saved me from a year of torture.
It took him twenty minutes to compose himself enough to continue driving. When he finally reached the hospital, his eyes were bloodshot, his clothes rumpled, his hair wild from running his hands through it repeatedly.
He stood outside my hospital room for a long time, his hand on the door handle, making several attempts to enter before stopping himself each time. His shoulders slumped with the weight of his guilt.
“What’s wrong? Why don’t you go in?”
Selene’s voice came from behind him, her tone sickeningly sweet with false concern. She approached my brother, reaching out to support him as he leaned heavily against the wall.
“I rushed over as soon as they told me you were here,” she lied, placing her hand on his arm. “Is there any change in her condition?”
My brother stared at her hand on his arm as if it were a venomous snake, “I want to see Skye, but I can’t face her. I’m not a good brother.” His voice broke. “I deserve to die. I’m not human.”
Selene’s expression shifted subtly, a calculation running behind her eyes before she adopted a sympathetic pout.
“What are you saying, Ethan? Skye tried to kill herself. That’s not your fault.” She lowered her voice. “We both know she’s been unstable since she came back. This was going to happen sooner or later.”
“Shut up!”
+25 Bonus
The sound of the slap echoed down the sterile hospital corridor. My brother’s hand left an angry red mark across Selene’s face, the force of the blow sending her staggering back.
The woman he once treasured, who he’d chosen over his own sister, now received nothing but cold contempt from his eyes. Where once there had been adoration, now there was only disgust.
“You… you hit me?” Selene held her cheek, her expression stunned with disbelief. For once, the shock in her eyes was genuine. “How dare you! I’m carrying your child!”
Two nurses down the hall stopped and stared, but neither intervened, sensing the dangerous energy radiating from the Alpha wolf.
“I forbid you to slander my sister anymore!” My brother’s voice dropped to a threatening growl. “Look what’s happened to her! Isn’t it enough? You bitch!”
“What are you talking about?” Selene began to cry, putting on an injured air as she cradled her belly protectively. “When did I ever slander her? I didn’t make her attempt suicide.”
Her voice rose with calculated hysteria. “She’s mentally unstable! She’s gone crazy after that rehabilitation place. Everyone can see it but you!”
“Argh!”
Before
Before Selene could finish her next sentence, my brother lunged forward with supernatural speed. He grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall hard enough to crack the plaster. Her feet dangled several inches above the floor.
“Eth–can’t–breathe-” she gasped, clawing at his hand.
His eyes had shifted partially, the irises glowing Alpha–red with such cold murderous intent that even Selene stopped struggling for a moment. She’d never seen this side of him before–the true predator beneath the civilized exterior.
“Don’t say another word against Skye, you venomous woman!” Each word was punctuated with a tightening of his grip.
“You stole the necklace from the clinic. You used it to torment her. You falsely accused her of hurting you at graduation. Everything— everything–has been your manipulation from the start!”
“I didn’t,” she choked out, tears streaming down her face. “You’re crazy-”
“You still deny it?” He shook her like a rag doll. “I have the surveillance footage from both the clinic and our house! I have the bank transfer records showing you paid someone to steal her necklace! And what about the graduation party?”
His voice rose to a roar that made the lights in the hallway flicker with its supernatural power. “I have video proof now! Skye never burned you. It was all your own sick performance!”
Selene’s eyes widened with genuine fear as her carefully constructed world began crumbling.
“You’ve killed my sister!” My brother’s face was inches from hers now, his fangs elongating with his rage. “You’re a murderer! You’ve murdered the only family I had left in this world!”
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