Narrative P.O.V.

"Bullshit."

"It's the truth. She was supposed to be his mate, not mine," Cain said, his voice low.

Daniel sat back in his chair, feeling absolutely shocked.

Everyone was silent as Cain's words sunk in.

"How long have you known?" Jai asked, finally finding his voice.

Cain looked down at his feet and sighed.

"Almost a week," he admitted. "Whenever we were talking in the stairwell about the possibility that Jacob was alive, it just...clicked. Everything that has happened over the past few months with Zak and her Grandfather both trying to take her and the things that they said and the warnings they tried to give... I suppose it was all just pointing back to him."

Jai's eyebrows furrowed as he caught the inconsistency in Cain's words.

"But how did they know that the two of you thought that you were mates? Only a few people in the castle besides you and Ella knew."

Cain shook his head.

"Zosak told Jacob. He's the only one who would have known about the genetic osmosis that happened when I turned Jacob. No one else would have known any better. Although," he said, turning to look at his parents, "I'm sure you've known for quite a while. He probably told you that I would end up with Jacob's mate whenever he died, didn't he?"

Evelyn nodded.

"We should have told you-"

"Keep your apologies," Cain said quickly.

"Wait," Daniel interjected. "What?"

"You're talking about the Zosak? Our Zosak?" Jai asked.

Cain nodded.

"He's been helping Jacob by relaying vital information. Zosak knew our every move and he told Jacob everything."

"Holy shit..." Jai mumbled, running a hand down his face.

"So he knew Jacob was still alive this whole time?" Daniel asked. 

Cain nodded again.

"He's the one who kept Jacob alive and hidden whenever I thought I'd killed him."

Daniel noticed the way that Evelyn and Adam both reacted when Cain said this.

"Cain, even if you're right about Zosak and about her grandfather, you have to remember that Zak was successful in kidnapping her whenever she left the cabin in Kashmir," Jai pointed out. "Why would he arrange to bring her back to you then? And why the hell would he try to kill her when he was supposed to take her to Jacob?"

"Because he found out what Jacob was doing," Cain answered. "Remember when we were on the roof... he said something, something along the lines that I shouldn't have marked her, that she was better off dead."

"That's a sick, twisted way of trying to protect someone," Jai said pointedly.

Cain scoffed.

"I think all of this is sick and twisted at this point."

"How long have you known about all of this?" Daniel asked incredulously.

"A few hours."

"Anything else you wanna run by us that we don't know about?" Jai asked sarcastically.

Cain leveled a glare and Jai shook his head.

"Look," Jai said, leaning forward. "You marked Ella, you..."

He trailed off to look at where Evelyn and Adam stood. Jai lowered his voice before continuing.

"You had sex," he said.

"Why are you whispering?" Daniel asked, amused.

Jai rolled his eyes before continuing to speak at a normal volume.

"That has to mean something," he said. "Jacob can't undo that."

"He can try," Adam interjected.

The three men turned to look at Cain's father who walked towards them.

"Back in the day, when the bloodline began to dilute and the occurrence of mates became scarce, it wasn't uncommon for male Lycanthropes to mark women who were already marked, especially if the appellant male was of a higher rank."

"And it worked?" Daniel asked, eyebrows raised in surprise.

Adam shrugged.

"I'm not sure. It wasn't practiced for very long. As it turns out, women don't seem to appreciate being bitten at all, much less more than once," he said, sarcasm lacing every word.

All four males turned to look at Evelyn, who nodded.

"I can vouch for that," she said, glaring at Adam.

Daniel turned back to Cain.

"You think Jacob would do something like that?"

"It doesn't matter," Cain said, standing from his chair.

Jai stood with him, his eyebrows furrowed.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter?" He asked incredulously.

"It's ultimately her choice," Cain said. "She has to pick."

"Oh my God," Daniel exclaimed, forcing himself to stand despite his weak state of recovery. "This isn't a fucking final rose ceremony."

Cain's jaw clenched, but Daniel continued.

"Why are you acting defeated? As if she's already chosen him? The two of you went through hell and back, that means something."

"You love her," Jai added.

"She doesn't love me," Cain said, his voice rising. "I don't stand a chance against the mate bond. The longer the two of them are together, the stronger their bond will be and there is nothing I can do about it."

He turned to walk away before Jai stopped him.

"Fine," Jai said. "If you're not going to be a mate, that's fine. It's your personal life. Do what you want. But the least you can do is do your fucking job and be the Alpha."

When Cain turned back around, Daniel spoke up.

"He's right. Jacob won't stop with her. He wants revenge for everything he thinks you stole from him, including the title Alpha."

Cain narrowed his eyes.

"He can't get the title unless he kills me or I relinquish it. Neither of those things will happen."

"There's another way," Adam interjected.

Cain turned to his father.

"Which is?"

"Alpha is a title, yes. But it's also a position. There are plenty of kings in history who have been overthrown by rebels. Their crown meant nothing, it's the power and persuasion behind it that they lacked and what ultimately led to their detriment."

Cain thought on this for a moment before speaking.

"You think if he gets enough people on his side he won't need me to give him the title to become Alpha?"

Adam nodded.

"Do you think he'll go through the Betas to do it?" Jai asked.

"He'd have to," Cain said. "They're the leaders of their respective regions. The people will follow their own kind."

"An ultimatum," Daniel said. "'Join me or die'."

Adam nodded.

"That'll be his philosophy, but what's his game plan?" Jai asked.

"That has been his philosophy," Cain corrected. "Beta Chen was the example of what not to do and Beta Agarwal was the example of what is acceptable. One of them is dead and the other is still alive. He'll make sure to note that distinction whenever he confronts the other Betas."

"Do you think he's already reached out to all of them?" Daniel asked.

Before anyone could say another word, the cellar door opened and closed with a slam and footsteps hurried down the staircase and into the cellar.

Zahra ran into the room, stopping suddenly when she noticed Adam and Evelyn.

"What's wrong?" Cain asked, seeing her frantic expression.

"I just got word that my father has been killed," she said, choking over tears.

Jai felt his face soften.

"As his only child, his title of Beta is mine now," she continued. "And I just got a call..."

"Let me guess..." Daniel interrupted.

Zahra nodded.

"It was someone speaking on his behalf," she said. "I've been invited to another mandatory meeting of the Betas; this one is in Sri Lanka."

"When?" Cain asked.

"Tomorrow," she answered. "I was told to be at the temple at sunset."

Daniel let out a long breath.

"I need a nap."

"Go back to the castle and rest," Cain said. "Both of you. I'll go to Jacob alone."

"Like hell you are," Jai exclaimed, feeling anger burning in his chest.

"You think we've been on this roller coaster for the past few months only to hop off right before it ends?" Daniel asked rhetorically. "Absolutely not, brother. We're here until the end."

Cain turned to look at his father who nodded.

"Same goes for your mother and I."

Cain drew in a deep breath before looking at the five exhausted people around him.

"Well, I suppose we have a plane to catch then."

- - -

Ella's P.O.V.

I pulled my hand from Jacob's grasp and stood quickly, nearly knocking him over.

"You're lying," I breathed out, grabbing the IV drip I was attached to and walking around him.

"Ella, I'm telling the truth..."

I walked away quickly, trying to put as much distance between myself and Jacob as possible.

He stood to his feet and began to walk towards me, slowly.

"Don't come near me," I said.

Jacob stopped and held up his hands, as if to surrender.

"You have to believe me," he said. "I know that you believe me. You can feel it in my touch."

I shook my head, feeling tears welling up in my eyes.

Accepting Jacob's words as truth meant looking back on the past few months of my life and seeing it as a mirage.

I wasn't sure I was able to believe that the bond Cain and I shared was a lie.

It couldn't have been... could it?

Did Cain know all along? Was I just a pawn in this game between brothers?

Those hard thoughts hit my chest like I was being pummeled with stones.

I sat down on a step, unable to stand upright.

"He told me he loved me," I found myself whispering aloud.

I looked up through clouded eyes to see Jacob's jaw clench. His eyes, however, were filled with pity.

"He lied to you," he told me. "Cain couldn't have loved you because you didn't belong to him. You're mine, Ella."

My face scrunched up in disgust as a tear fell.

"I'm not Cain's," I said. "I'm not yours, I am mine. I don't belong to anyone but myself."

Jacob didn't say anything else as he walked closer and reached out to pull me up off the step.

"Don't touch me," I said, pulling myself from his grasp.

Ignoring me, he lifted me off the ground and pulled me into an embrace that somehow both suffocated and comforted me.

"It's going to be okay," he said, using one hand to lay my head against his shoulder and the other to wrap around my torso and press my body into his.

I pulled my hands around to hold them in front of me, trying to maintain some distance between our two bodies.

"Stop," I told him, more tears falling from my eyes. "Don't hold me like that."

"Like what?" he asked. "I'm your mate-"

"No, you're not!" I said, trying to push him away.

"Ella-"

"Stop saying my name," I pleaded, hating the way it made me feel to hear it said from his lips.

He let go of me, allowing me to stumble backwards.

As I wiped my tears from my face with my shirt sleeve, I felt Jacob's hands on either side of my face and I looked up to see him only inches away.

It wasn't until I felt his lips touch mine that I realized what was happening and by then it was too late.

My whole body froze in shock.

In a split second, I felt something I hadn't felt in a very long time: peace. It was like the universe had snapped its fingers and everything had fallen into place exactly as it had been planned to be.

My eyes closed as I melted into Jacob's kiss; relishing in the feeling of contentment, something I hadn't felt in months.

But, just as quickly as it was there, it was gone.

Replacing it was a wretched feeling, one of hunger and a desire that made my cheeks burn and stomach twist.

Jacob pulled away from me.

It wasn't until I finally opened my eyes that I realized how dark everything around me had become.

I looked at Jacob to see him eyeing me carefully and I realized as I felt his fingers touch my lips that he was brushing the tips of my prolongated fangs.

I pulled away from him quickly, realizing what was happening.

"Just a few more hours," he said, gesturing to the IV drip that I was still attached to. "It won't take very much longer and then you'll be free of that godforsaken disease."

I stumbled backwards and fell onto the ground, suddenly feeling starved.

Dizzy and nauseated, I couldn't see straight. When Jacob stepped over me, I saw three of him floating in front of my vision.

"Ella, breathe," he said.

It wasn't until he said this that I realized I was gasping.

"I need..." my voice trailed off as I struggled for breath, doubling over as my stomach turned.

"Blood," he finished. "I know."

He sat down behind me and pulled me into his chest. Rolling up his sleeve, he placed his arm in front of me.

I only saw his skin for a moment before I had the flesh of his arm in my mouth.

I was biting down so hard I felt like my teeth would snap. Blood filled my mouth and I swallowed it without a second thought. My eyes closed as the tight feeling in my stomach loosened.

Jacob used his other arm to pull me in closer and I found myself resting against his body as I drank.

After a few minutes, I felt Jacob's arm loosen around me and I opened my eyes to see him reach up and grab the hinge of my jaw.

Pinching it slightly, I felt my jaw open and he pulled his other arm from my mouth.

I looked at the broken skin of his arm as he pulled it away. It was blooded and tattered and I instantly felt a guilt so great that I was crushed by it.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

Wordlessly, Jacob reached down and wiped the corners of my mouth with the pad of his thumb, no doubt cleaning his blood from my face.

"Just a few more hours," he repeated, this time wrapping both arms around me and pulling me in tight.

I looked out from where I lay to see the sun finally peaking over the ocean's horizon.

"We should go inside," I said.

Jacob sat upright and then stood, pulling me to my feet also.

"You go ahead," he said, nodding in the direction that I should go. "I'll stay out here. I've got a bit of a mess to clean up."

He gestured to the shards of glass that were scattered across the deck, but my eye was drawn to the pool of blood we had been laying in.

I only nodded before turning to walk away.

Once inside, I wandered for a few minutes before finding a bedroom.

I immediately walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower, making sure the water was as hot as it could get.

Stripping down as best I could while still attached to the IV, I climbed inside the shower and sat down—watching as the blood rinsed off my face and neck and rolled down the drain.

Soon, I couldn't tell if my face was wet from tears or the shower.

I cried vigorously.

What kind of monster was I that I was covered in someone else's blood?

I could hear Jacob's voice resound in my mind:

Just a few more hours.

- - -