Shunned By An Alpha, Cherised By A Lycan

Chapter 238:

I lifted my head, the tears still falling, but something inside me was shifting. Hardening. My heart was a shattered mess, my soul bruised beyond recognition, but beneath the wreckage, a spark remained.

A spark of fury. A spark of defiance.

I looked Jason in the eye, my voice low and deadly. “I may be broken, but I’m not yours.”

His smirk faltered, just a flicker, but I saw it. And it gave me strength. I turned to Luna Anna, my eyes burning with a mix of rage and sorrow.

“You wanted a weapon?” I whispered, my voice shaking. “Congratulations. You made one.”

Layla stirred, her presence growing stronger. The ropes binding my wrists felt looser, or maybe desperation was lending me strength. I twisted my hands, the fibers biting into my skin, but I didn’t care. Pain was a small price for freedom.

Jason stepped closer, his hand reaching for me. “You’re not going anywhere.”

I gritted my teeth, the fire in my chest roaring to life. “Watch me.”

With a final, desperate pull, the ropes snapped. My wrists screamed in pain, but I barely noticed. Layla surged forward, a snarl rumbling in my chest.

I swung my fist, catching Jason square in the nose. He stumbled back with a curse, blood streaming down his face.

Luna Anna’s eyes widened, shock flashing across her face. “Jasmine-”

“No.” My voice was steel. “You don’t get to say my name. Not anymore.”

Jasmine’s POV

I didn’t run. I couldn’t. My wrists were raw, the chains biting into my skin, and my legs felt like they were made of lead. The Veilroot still coursed through my veins, a bitter poison draining the last shreds of my strength. Layla, my wolf, was a faint whisper in the distance, too weak to come to my aid. I was trapped, caged in my own body, every breath a struggle.

I slumped back in the chair, the cold metal pressing against my spine. My tears blurred the world around me, but they couldn’t blur the truth. The truth that she—Luna Anna—was standing there, watching me fall apart with barely concealed impatience.

The woman who raised me. The woman I called “Mom.”

I let out a hollow laugh, the sound dry and brittle. “You planned all of this… from the beginning.” The words scraped against my throat, raw and painful. My voice was barely a whisper, but it carried the weight of everything I’d lost. “My entire life… it was never real.”

She crossed her arms, her face a mask of cold indifference. “Real enough for you to believe it, wasn’t it? That’s what mattered.”

I blinked, a fresh wave of tears rolling down my cheeks. The betrayal tasted like ashes in my mouth. I couldn’t breathe around the agony in my chest, the sharp, relentless ache of knowing I’d been nothing more than a tool. A weapon she forged, a pawn she groomed.

All those nights I’d sought her comfort, all the times I’d shared my fears and dreams with her… they were just fuel for her plan. Memories twisted into knives, cutting me deeper and deeper.

I thought of the stories she used to read to me. Rapunzel. How the witch kept the girl in a tower, pretending to care for her while plotting to use her. But even in that story, the witch hadn’t tried to force her into something so twisted.

“Even witches in fairy tales had more decency than you,” I said, my voice shaking. “At least they didn’t pretend to love the children they used.”

Her eyes flashed with irritation. “Enough of this nonsense. You can wallow in self-pity later. Jason, mark her. Now.”

A fresh wave of panic surged through me. Jason stepped forward, his blood-red eyes gleaming with malicious intent. My skin crawled as he loomed closer.

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