The Price Of Fate Chapter 35

The Price Of Fate Chapter 35

My mouth went dry. My fingers twisted in my lap until my knuckles turned white. “I… I don’t even know where to start.”

Toren didn’t move, didn’t blink. His voice was low, measured, almost too calm. “Then start here-why aren’t you allowed to shift? Why

was it taken from you?”

The words hit like a lash. I flinched, my chest tight as I forced myself to answer. “Because I have a twin sister. Lyra.” I swallowed hard, staring down at the pattern in the rug so I didn’t have to see his eyes. “Ever since we were born, I was blamed for her not having a wolf. They said I… stole it. That I was too strong, that she was too weak because of me. My parents-” My throat closed, the words splintering. “They treated me like I was a curse. And the pack followed. No one wanted to risk my father’s wrath. Beta Maverick made sure of that.”

The silence stretched, heavy.

Toren’s jaw flexed, the muscle ticking beneath his cheek. His voice, when it came, was rough. “And the other Beta. Darin.”

Shame crashed over me like a wave. I lowered my head, my hair falling like a curtain to hide my face. I couldn’t meet his eyes. The burn of tears prickled hot at the corners of my vision.

1 opened my mouth-nothing came out.

Elder Thora’s voice filled the silence, cool and sharp as steel. “They starved her.”

Toren’s head snapped toward her, but she didn’t flinch.

“As punishment,” she continued, her silver gaze burning. “They withheld food. Days at a time. And Darin-” Her voice caught with disgust. “He used it to his advantage. Trading favors for scraps. Preying on a hungry girl.”

The room shifted. The air thickened until it was hard to breathe.

Toren went utterly still. His broad shoulders tensed, his chest rising once, twice, before the change rolled through him like a storm. His eyes darkened, wolf bleeding into man, and every line of his body vibrated with barely leashed violence.

“What kind of favors?” His voice was raw silk over iron, deadly quiet.

I wanted to disappear. I wanted to sink into the couch and never speak again. But his stare pinned me in place, unrelenting, demanding

the truth.

I couldn’t hide. Not from him. Not anymore.

Slowly, I lifted my eyes to his. My voice shook, breaking with each word. “He wanted… a kiss. For half a sandwich.”

The words seemed to tear the air in half.

The room erupted-not with sound, but with heat. It was as if the walls themselves were shuddering beneath the force of Toren’s rage. His

hands curled into fists so tight his knuckles went white. His breath came harsh, uneven, his chest heaving as if every inhale was a battle

to keep control.

His wolf was right there, straining at the surface, dangerous and wild.

I shrank back instinctively, the weight of his fury pressing into me, around me, until it felt like a volcano had erupted in the room.

And still, beneath the fear, a shameful part of me thrilled at it. That he was furious for me. That someone cared enough to burn this hot,

this violently, on my behalf.

Elder Thora’s voice cut through the tension, sharp and commanding. “Alpha Toren.”

His head snapped toward her, eyes glowing, lips curled back just enough to bare teeth.

“Control yourself,” she said firmly, though her voice was steady, not afraid. “Kira does not need your fury right now. She needs your

strength.”

His gaze flicked back to me. For one heart-stopping moment, I thought he’d shatter. That he’d lose control right here, right now.

Instead, his fists slowly uncurled, though the tremor in them betrayed how close he was to unleashing hell.

When he spoke again, his voice was a growl, low and vibrating through every inch of me. “He touched what’s mine. For food.” His eyes blazed into mine. “I will kill him.”