Between Two Women

Between Two Women
Zarah’s body was still pulsing against Kalil’s, sweat sliding down the curve of her back as she panted, her face buried in his neck. The room was bathed in shadows, only the faint light from the street filtering through the curtains.
Kalil ran his hand along the line of her spine, feeling her muscles tremble.
“Why did you do all this?” he asked, his voice deep, his fingers tracing the almost invisible scar beneath her skin. “The surgeries… the veil… the lengthened legs. You weren’t a fugitive from the Vorns.”
Zarah swallowed hard. She stayed silent for a few seconds before pulling back slightly, her tearful eyes meeting his.
“Because I didn’t want to be her anymore,” she said, her voice trembling. “Callista was used and thrown away. First by Rhaek, when he decided I wasn’t strong enough to be his Luna. Then by you, when you called me incapable. And finally by Aldren, who turned me into a bargaining chip.”
Kalil frowned, his chest tightening at the sound of each name.
“I had to bury that woman,” she went on, her breath quickening. “I needed a new body, a new face… so no one could recognize me. But deep down…” She bit her lip, hesitating. “Deep down I was just scared. Scared to give myself to someone again and be thrown away, even by you.”
Kalil’s hands, which had been holding her waist with firm possession, softened. He brushed a damp lock of hair from her face.
“Look at me,” he said, his voice gentler now.
Zarah obeyed and saw na expression that no longer belonged to the cold Alpha who had chained her to his bed days earlier.
“You will never be Callista again,” he said with a certainty that made her shiver. “The woman I have in my arms now isn’t the one I sent away. She’s Zarah. She’s who you chose to be.”
She took a deep breath, but her eyes still glistened with bitter truth.
“Deep down, Kalil… we’re the same woman. Callista didn’t die. She just changed skins.”
He smiled faintly, pulling her closer, his lips brushing hers.
“Then I want both,” he murmured. “I want Zarah’s strength and Callista’s scars. I want the woman you were and the woman you’ve become.”
She closed her eyes, a sob escaping her, as the next kiss was slower, deeper, as though they were stitching each other’s broken pieces together.
This time, his touch wasn’t one of possession but of healing. And for the first time in years, Callista — or Zarah — felt that she didn’t need to run.
...
The silence between them was thick, but not heavy. Zarah felt her chest rise and fall as Kalil’s hands slid along her back, slowly, as though simply feeling her presence was enough. There was no rush, no fury — just the desire to savor every part of her.
He laid her down gently on the couch, as if she were something precious, and positioned himself over her. His eyes never left hers, as though every breath she took was na answer to questions he had always carried.
“Let me see you for real,” he asked, removing her dress carefully, exposing skin after skin, curve after curve.
Zarah didn’t look away. For the first time, she didn’t feel shame. There were no restraints, no brute force. There was only his weight above her, the heat of his hands, the lingering kisses traveling from her collarbone to her stomach.
When he entered her, it was slow, almost reverent, as though rediscovering the body he had already possessed so many times. She arched toward him, feeling pleasure grow slowly, intensely, almost painfully.
“You are my redemption,” he murmured against her mouth.
“Or your ruin,” she replied, her eyes shining with tears, before trapping him in a desperate kiss.
Their rhythm grew faster, but never lost its gentleness. It was a dance, not a war. And when release finally came, it was silent, almost sacred.
Kalil held her close, his breath warm against her neck.
“Now you are mine. Completely,” he whispered.
Zarah closed her eyes, feeling the weight of those words sink into her. For the first time, it didn’t sound like a prison.
...
Zarah spent the rest of the day in a trance, the words from the note burning in her mind like a branding iron: “I want both of you.”
That night, she tried to sleep — but her body still carried his scent, and the memory of Kael’s touch was a blade slicing between desire and fear. She got up at three in the morning, packed her bag with trembling hands, and before dawn, she was gone.
No messages. No explanation. Just silence.
She took a short flight to the coast, rented a small room facing the sea. She spent two days there, without makeup, without her phone on, with no one calling her Callista or Zarah. She spent hours on the balcony, letting the salty wind tangle her hair, as though it could strip away the scars that even surgery hadn’t erased.
“I don’t want to be thrown away again,” she whispered to herself, her voice blending with the roar of the waves.
On the third day, she turned her phone back on. The screen filled with missed calls and messages. Kael had tried everything — from calm words to furious ones. The last message, sent that very morning, made her heart race:
“You can hide from me, but not from yourself. I will find you.”
She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Part of her wanted to be found, part of her wanted to run forever.
When she returned to the room, the sound of footsteps in the hallway made her freeze.
There was a single knock on the door.
“Zarah.” His voice was deep,
too familiar. “Open.”

Her heart jumped in her chest.
He had found her.

...

Aqui está a tradução para o inglês, mantendo o tom emocional e substituindo os travessões por aspas:

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Chapter 136
Bitter Memories

Kalil stood in front of the closed door for a few seconds, fists clenched. The silence in the hallway seemed to mock him. He wasn’t sure if he wanted her to open it or not.

He returned to the car without saying a word and drove aimlessly until he stopped on a deserted street. He rested his head against the steering wheel, and the memories came rushing in.

Callista.

He remembered her in the pack assemblies, always one step behind Rhaek, chin lifted to disguise the shame. He remembered seeing the Alpha laugh with other women at the table while she remained still, enduring the curious stares.

He remembered the night she was publicly stripped of authority, when Rhaek called her weak for not punishing a younger she-wolf. Callista trembled, but didn’t react.

And he remembered the worst — the rumors that Rhaek had fathered pups with another female while she was still fighting to prove her worth as Luna.

Kalil felt his chest burn. At the time, he too believed she didn’t have the strength to lead beside an Alpha. Now, every memory was a fresh wound.

"She endured all of that… and I still cast her aside."

He slammed his fist against the steering wheel, the anger rising not at her, but at himself — and at Rhaek.

Now he understood why Zarah had needed to kill Callista. She didn’t just want to hide — she wanted to survive.

Kalil took a deep breath, feeling a new weight settle on his shoulders.

"You’re not the same anymore… but neither am I."

He started the car, determined not to let her run again — not from him, not from her own story.

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