(03
Caspian’s face, initially tinged with guilt, shifted instantly. His expression hardened as he positioned Ophelia protectively behind him, his eyes narrowing at me. “Claire, what are you doing? She is your sister!”
I glared at Ophelia, my fury barely contained. “You’d better watch your mouth.”
Ophelia her eyes wide and brimming with mock hurt, leaned closer to my mate, making my wolf uncomfortable. “Alpha, don’t let me come between you two. If my sister won’t admit that Kylo is faking his illness, I’ll just drop it.”
My brow furrowed in disbelief. I turned to Caspian, my voice trembling. “You think Kylo is faking it too?”
His silence was all the confirmation I needed. He didn’t believe me. He never did.
Then, I saw him glance around, hoping to catch a glimpse of Kylo, but he was nowhere to be seen. “Where did you hide him again?” The accusation in his voice cut deep. If only he would come home more often, he’d see the table covered in medications and herbal medicine, the endless pile of medical records written by our wolf healers, and the truth of our son’s condition. But he never did. He preferred to listen to Ophelia’s lies, the lies that painted Kylo as a manipulative child rather than the sick boy he truly was.
I remembered the day Kylo told me he didn’t have much time left. He had one final wish: a trip to the ocean. He had always loved the sea, fascinated by its mysteries and beauty, a love nurtured by the stories his late grandmother used to tell him. But we lived far from the coast, and the only way to make his wish come true was to convince Caspian to join us.
I had begged him–no, I had humiliated myself, kneeling before him, clinging to his pants as I pleaded for Kylo’s last wish. “Please,”
I had whispered, my voice breaking. “This will be the last time I ever ask anything of you. I promise… I’ll set you free.”
Caspian had looked down at me then, a flicker of emotion in his eyes. Was it joy? Was it relief? I couldn’t tell. “You mean that?” he had asked, his voice cold and calculating.
“Yes,” I had murmured, tears streaming down my face as I closed my eyes, feeling my heart shatter.
The truth was, when Caspian was young, his parents were killed in a rogue attack, leaving him a wanderer. I still remember the day
I found him, a skinny, half–starved boy lying on the forest floor, barely alive. I was just a child, playing among the trees, when I stumbled upon him. He was nothing but skin and bones, too weak even to speak.
My heart ached for him. “You poor thing,” I whispered, brushing a strand of hair from his dirt–streaked face. “You must be
starving.”
He looked up at me with those haunted eyes, and something inside me broke. I couldn’t leave him there. I couldn’t let him die.
I took his frail hand in mine and pulled him up with all the strength I had. “Come with me,” I said, determination flooding my young
voice. “I’ll take care of you.”
When I brought him home, my parents–Alpha Aldous and Luna Eveline Laurentia of Bloodvenom Pack–were reluctant to take him in. My father’s stern voice echoed in my ears. “Claire, he’s a stranger.”
But I wouldn’t back down “Please, Father,” I pleaded, my voice breaking with desperation. “He has no one else. If we don’t help him,
he’ll die!”
My mother, ever the gentle soul, looked at the boy with pity. “Aldous,” she whispered, “he’s just a child.”
My father’s resolve wavered, but he still wasn’t convinced. It was then that I made the boldest decision of my young life. I went on
hunger strike, refusing to eat until they agreed to adopt him.
Days passed, and my strength waned, but I never gave up. Eventually, my parents relented. “Alright, Claire,” my father sighed, his voice tinged with resignation “We’ll take him in.”
That day, Caspian became our brother Or so I thought.
