Cassandra’s POV

My wolf recoiled inside me.

Asher kept going, his voice cold and measured. "In our past life, I died for you in that siege, but you refused to mark me even as I took my last breath. Now in this life, you suddenly claim you love me." His eyes bore into mine. "Tell me, Cassandra—how am I supposed to believe that?"

His fingers clamped down on my jaw, the pressure so brutal I could feel my bones grinding together.

"I took a wolfsbane bullet for you, so now I want to see exactly how far you're willing to go for me."

He released me, and his gaze turned calculating. "Once I'm sure this mate bond is real, I'll claim you completely. No holding back."

Then he paused, and his following words came out with a chilling indifference that made my blood run cold. "As for those two pups—if you want them so badly, you can just regenerate new ones later."

Ice shot up from my feet and flooded through my entire body.

My wolf howled inside me, mourning for those two lives that would never even get the chance to form.

I never saw it coming—that this would be the reason he'd drag me into hell.

It was so absurd.

After Asher left the hospital room, I broke down completely. Tears streamed down my face, but I was laughing too—hysterical, unhinged laughter that scared even me.

A nurse burst through the door, her face pale as death.

"Cassandra! Your brother—something's happened!"

Two hours ago, Vivian had fallen down the stairs at the packhouse. She was hemorrhaging badly, and they had her in emergency surgery right now.

She had a rare blood type, and in the entire pack, there was only one compatible donor—my brother Ethan.

By the time I made it to the medical center, they'd already drained 2000cc from him.

His face was ghostly white, his body looking like a shell that had been completely emptied out.

Asher stood next to the healer, his Alpha command sharp and merciless. "Keep going."

"No—!"

I charged forward like a wild animal and shoved the nurses away with everything I had. "Stop! Stop right now! If you take any more, Ethan will die!"

Asher turned to look at me, and his brow furrowed. "What are you doing out of bed? You haven't recovered yet." Irritation crept into his voice. "Go back to your room."

"Are you even listening to me?!" My voice cracked. "I said stop!"

Asher's expression darkened, and his voice dropped to a dangerous low. "Cassandra, don't start with me. Vivian's carrying my pup—you want me to just stand here and let them both die?"

I screamed back at him, my voice breaking. "Her life matters, but Ethan's doesn't?!"

But he didn't stop. He didn't even hesitate.

I watched them draw another 1000cc from Ethan's body, and my hands went numb. The monitor beeped slower and slower until the line went flat.

"I'll get the best healer to work on Ethan," Asher said, already turning away. "He'll be fine."

But it was too late.

Ethan had barely survived the last rogue attack, and his wolf was still recovering. Now he'd lost too much blood, and his body couldn't take it.

An hour later, they told me he was gone. He died in that ER, and there was nothing anyone could do.

Before Ethan died, he held my hand, and his voice came out so weak I could barely hear him.

"Promise me," he said, and tears rolled down his face. "Stop letting him treat you like this. Leave the pack. Leave him."

I couldn't stop crying, but I nodded hard.

Ethan had paid back the life I owed Asher in my past life with his own. And on top of that, I'd lost the two pups in my belly who never got the chance to see this world.

I no longer owed Asher anything.

The next afternoon, I held Ethan's urn close to my chest and boarded a plane out of the country.

I muttered, "Asher, we're done."