Verity:

Flashback:

"Are you okay?" Julia asked, resting a hand lightly on my shoulder.

"I am going to speak with the Alpha King brothers," I said, rising from the couch.

"I want them to tell me how they could do something like this. How could they humiliate an innocent man?"

Julia caught my arm before I could take another step.

"No, Verity. They are not men you confront. Today it was your brother. Tomorrow it could be you, and for you, it would be even worse."

Fear trembled through her voice.

What Julia did not know was that I had already crossed paths with one of them.

Theodore.

The Alpha King of the South.

I remembered how easily he had tricked me into letting him touch me.

Then he laughed about it with his friends as if I were some kind of joke.

He had mocked my body, used my feelings against me.

And confessed that the mate bond was only a lie meant to see whether I would be foolish enough to believe him.

The humiliation surged through me all over again.

"No. I have to go. I cannot sit here while they ruin my brother’s life."

I wiped my cheeks dry, grabbed my purse and phone, and threw on my trench coat.

When I stepped back into the living room, Julia was pacing anxiously with her hands twisted together.

She stopped as soon as she saw me.

"You’re not serious," she murmured with a sigh, looking me over.

"Please keep an eye on him. Can I trust you to do that?" I asked, reaching for her hand.

She hesitated, but the look on my face must have told her I was not about to change my mind.

"Okay," she relented quietly. "I will. But please— do not get yourself into trouble with them."

I gave her a nod and headed toward the door.

I did not know how I was going to speak with the Alpha Kings.

I only knew that anger burned inside me, and I needed to direct it at someone who deserved to hear it.

I took a cab to the mansion where the Alpha Kings stayed, the headquarters from where they controlled the territories.

My hands tightened around each other before gripping the strap of my purse.

I took a deep breath and started walking toward the entrance.

That was when I noticed a car arriving.

I stopped for a moment, trying to see who it was.

Then one of the brothers stepped out.

Alpha King Jaguar.

He was dressed in a black office suit that looked slightly disheveled.

He stumbled as he stepped out of the car, holding an empty bottle of wine.

He raised it to his mouth and tilted his head back, groaning in frustration when he realized it was empty.

With a tired, careless motion, he shoved the bottle toward one of the warriors beside him, dismissing him with a flick of his hand.

I immediately understood something.

If I walked inside and demanded to speak with the Alpha Kings, their warriors would never allow it.

If I wanted to confront him, I had to do it here.

Right now.

"You cannot do this to my brother," I called out from a distance.

Jaguar stopped.

The warriors turned toward me instantly, their fingers tightening around their guns.

The wind was picking up, and the night air had grown colder.

Jaguar slowly turned around.

The calmness in his body carried a quiet kind of danger that sent goosebumps racing across my skin.

He had always been a strange mystery to people, but standing here in front of him made the rumors feel real.

"What did you say?" he asked, his voice cold and flat.

"I said you cannot do this to my brother," I repeated.

But the last words came out almost as a whisper.

He tilted his head slightly.

Standing in front of him, I could feel my courage slipping away.

Jaguar extended one hand over the roof of the car, using it to steady himself as his steps faltered.

Then Jaguar let out a low laugh.

"Look at this. The pig walked straight to the slaughterhouse."

Every muscle in my body locked in place.

I gripped the hem of my dress and straightened my shoulders, gathering what confidence I could.

"My brother is innocent, and you’re punishing him for yours—" I cut myself off, swallowing the rest.

The anger burning inside me was too strong. I ignored every warning and faced him.

"For your brother, the one in the wrong. He stole someone’s fated mate, and—"

I was cut off as Jaguar strode toward me.

I stepped back and twisted my ankle, stumbling.

Before I could hit the ground, he caught my arms and held me.

It was not a rescue.

It was control.

"Who even are you?" he demanded, his scowl hardening.

End Of Flashback:

"Verity, hey!"

I heard a faint voice waking me up.

The moment I opened my eyes, I saw a handsome face staring at me.

"Ah!" I gasped at the sudden sight of someone in my room.

"I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you, but it looked like you were having a nightmare."

It was Jaguar.

For a moment, I just stared at his face.

For a moment, I forgot that I had come here willingly to take revenge on him.

My jaw started to clench as flashes of the past returned to me.

"Verity, are you okay? It’s me, Alpha King Jaguar," he said, pointing at his chest.

Then he rested his hand there, looking deeply concerned.

I looked down and remembered.

No, time had passed.

Two fucking years.

And no, he was lying.

When he had seen me in the past, he had belittled me in the worst way possible and proudly mocked me, admitting that he had indeed tortured my brother and would do even more.

Back then, I was so far beneath his notice that he didn’t even remember my face when he saw me again.