Chapter 66: The Coldest Bond

Ivy

Darkness swallowed me whole.

I could feel the damp, cold stone beneath me, the air thick with the scent of mold and decay. My wrists ached where the chains had dug in, my throat raw from screaming. Shadows moved at the edges of my vision—no, not shadows.

The Keeper.

The voice slithered through the dark, thick as tar, wrapping around my mind. You thought you could run? Thought you could escape me?

I tried to move, but my limbs felt like they were sinking into the floor, melting into the filth. My breath came in ragged gasps. The walls pulsed, closing in, the ceiling stretching impossibly high. A hand—bony, cold—closed around my ankle, yanking me back.

I screamed.

Then—light.

I jolted upright, my chest heaving, my skin damp with sweat. But the filth, the chains, the Keeper—they were gone.

Instead, I was in one of the softest beds I had ever felt, the sheets clean, smelling of fresh linen. My body no longer reeked of mold and damp, my skin scrubbed clean. My fingers curled into the fabric beneath me, hesitant.

Was this still a nightmare? Had the Keeper finally driven me mad, trapping me in a twisted dream?

I swallowed hard and forced my eyes open, my vision slowly adjusting to the dim lighting. And then I saw it—the deep mahogany walls, the heavy curtains, the familiar scent of cedar and something undeniably masculine.

Connor’s room?

Shock slammed into me. My pulse roared in my ears.

How did I get here?

The realization that I'm really at my old pack sent a dull ache through my chest. My fingers curled tighter into the sheets. I had thought… I had hoped it was Leo who had come for me. But it was Connor.  

At least someone came. 

The memory of that nightmarish place crashed over me like a mighty wave—cold walls, the stench of damp rot, the weight of the rope biting into my skinq. A shiver ran down my spine as goosebumps prickled my arms, disgust slithering through me like something alive.

A wave of nausea crashed over me just immediately, twisting my stomach into knots. I barely made it to the bathroom before I threw up, my body rejecting the memories as much as the filth that had tainted me for days.

The moment I gasped for breath, the door burst open.

Connor.

His eyes were wild, frantic, as if he expected to find me missing, dragged away again. Without a word, he was at my side, his strong hands gathering my hair as I retched into the toilet.

I wanted to push him away. I wanted to tell him I didn’t need his help.

But I couldn’t.

His presence was grounding, tethering me back to reality.

When my stomach finally settled, he pulled me to my feet.

“Ivy,” Connor’s voice was rough, almost frantic. He held my shoulders, his grip steady even as I trembled. “Breathe. You’re safe now.”

Safe.

I wanted to believe him.

He helped me back to the bed, sitting beside me as I caught my breath. When I finally gathered the courage to ask how I had been rescued, he hesitated. Then he told me.

Lila.

It was Lila who had led him to me.

Of all the possible answers, that was the last one I had expected. My sister had never done anything out of the goodness of her heart. If she had intervened, there was a reason.

And I was bent on finding out why. Which is why I asked that she stay back with me instead of Leah.

Connor’s stance was rigid, his arms folded tightly across his chest as he stared at me, jaw locked. 

“You’re not staying alone with her,” he said firmly, his gaze flicking toward Lila like she was venom poised to strike. “Leah stays.”  

I shook my head. “No, I want to talk to Lila.”  

Connor’s frown deepened. “You can talk to her when I’m in the room.”  

I exhaled slowly, trying to keep my patience.“I'm not that helpless, Connor. She won't try anything.”  

His nostrils flared, and I could feel the tension rolling off of him. “And what if she does?”  

“She won’t,” I said evenly. “She may be many things, but she’s not stupid. She knows she wouldn’t make it out of here alive.”  

Silence stretched between us. Connor was still hesitant, his instincts warring with reason, but he knew I wasn’t going to back down. He let out a low growl of frustration, then turned to Lila.  

“If you so much as breathe harmful air in her direction,” he said, voice quiet but seething, “if you so much as set a foot too close to where she is, I’ll rip you apart.”  

Lila smirked, but it was tight-lipped. “Duly noted, Alpha.”  

Connor then turned to me, but his next words weren’t entirely meant for me. “There are two guards outside the door,” he said, his tone colder now, sharper. “They won’t hesitate to barge in if your voice rises above normal.”  

The words were meant for Lila. A warning. A promise.  

He touched my shoulder then, but the gesture was stiff, awkward, like he wanted to linger but forced himself not to. Without another word, he turned and strode out, Jaxon, Leah, and the Beta falling in step behind him.  

And just like that, I was left alone with my sister. 

The moment the door shut, Lila leaned back against the wall, arms crossed, studying me the way a cat studies a bird with clipped wings. “Well, that was dramatic,” she mused.  

I didn’t react right away. I simply watched her, my expression unreadable.  

She tilted her head. “You look different.”  

My lips pressed together in a thin line. “You don’t.”  

She laughed softly, pushing off the wall. “I take that as a compliment.”  

She stepped closer, just enough to test Connor’s ridiculous threat. “So? What now, dear sister? Are we going to pretend this is a heartfelt reunion?”  

I finally smiled, but it wasn’t warm. “No,” I said simply. “We’re going to talk.” 

I need to know what her motives really are, which is why, as soon as I was left alone with her, I didn’t waste any time.

She was now standing by the window, back turned to me, her posture deceptively relaxed. I watched her, searching for any trace of guilt, any flicker of sincerity.

“What were you thinking, Lila?” My voice came out hoarse, but steady.

She turned slightly, a smirk playing at the edge of her lips. “I see you’re back to being ungrateful.”

I clenched my fists. “You don’t do things out of kindness. So why? Why help me?”

Lila finally faced me fully, arms crossed over her chest. “Because we’re sisters,” she said simply. “And I did what any sister would have done.”

I studied her. Lila had always been a master manipulator, but there was something different in her tone. Something that almost felt… sincere.

Almost.

I exhaled slowly. “Thank you,” I said, forcing the words past my lips. Even if she had ulterior motives, she had still led Connor to me. That much, at least, was true.

Lila’s smirk widened slightly, but there was something unreadable in her eyes.

“Don’t mention it,” she murmured.

But something about the way she said it sent a chill down my spine.

But I couldn’t stop there. The question clawed at my throat, desperate to escape. I had to know. I had to understand why the person who was supposed to be my other half had spent our entire lives treating me like I was nothing.  

Twins were supposed to be inseparable, bound by something deeper than blood. A soulmate in human form. The closest person to you—aside from yourself.  

“Why did you hate me so much?” The words left me before I could stop them, shattering the silence between us.  

She stiffened. Just for a second. Barely noticeable, but I caught it. A crack in the perfect wall she had built between us. I waited, my heart pounding, hoping—praying—that she would finally give me an answer. Maybe our parents had forced her to resent me, as she’d hinted before. Maybe there was some truth buried beneath all the cruelty.  

But when she turned to face me, and our eyes locked, I knew.  

There was no twin bond. No hidden love beneath the surface. No secret longing to make things right.  

We weren’t two halves of the same soul. We were strangers who had merely shared a womb.  

Her expression was unreadable, her voice unnervingly steady as she stared straight into me, slicing through the last threads of hope I had clung to.  

“What makes you think I like you now, Aria?”