Chapter 60: Chapter 59

Archer’s POV

The words hung in the air, sharp and merciless, slicing through the hope I didn’t even realize I’d been holding on to.

“What?” I whispered, the word escaping my lips like a ghost.

What the fuck did she just say?

My chest tightened, my breath catching as if the room had suddenly been drained of oxygen.

Felicia leaned forward, sliding a folder across the table. “There’s proof,” she said, her voice barely audible. “The prosecutor, the attorney—they buried it. But it’s all here. It’s been hidden for years.”

My hands moved on their own, grabbing the folder. I tore through its contents—documents, photographs, signed affidavits. Every piece of paper was a nail in the coffin of my disbelief.

Then I saw it: a photograph of my stepmother, her arms wrapped protectively around Emily.

My Emily. My sister.

My knees buckled before I even realized what was happening. I hit the floor hard, the folder spilling its damning evidence across the polished wood like shattered glass.

My hands trembled as I picked up the photo, staring into the faces I’d long buried in my memory.

For five years, I rotted in a prison cell, my life reduced to endless days of confinement and violence. I bore the weight of a crime I didn’t commit, my soul corroding under the weight of injustice.

And through it all, I clung to the belief that they were still out there somewhere, alive, waiting.

Now, that hope was gone.

I gasped for air, my chest heaving as if the walls were closing in. Each breath was shallow and desperate, like I was drowning on dry land. I clutched my chest, willing the crushing weight inside me to subside, but it only grew heavier, pressing down until I thought it might split me in two.

“They were my family,” I choked out, my voice barely a whisper. “My stepmom. My baby sister.”

The room blurred as hot tears filled my eyes, but I didn’t care. I didn’t care that Katrina was watching, or that her parents were there.

My grief consumed me, raw and unforgiving.

“They died… because of him,” I said, the words tasting like ash. “And I… I spent five years in hell. Five years locked away, not knowing. Not knowing they were gone.”

My fingers curled into fists against the floor. The pain in my chest deepened, a hollow ache that no amount of time could ever fill.

And then, like a switch flipping, the grief gave way to something darker.

Anger. A blazing, unrelenting fury that surged through me, burning away the last remnants of my restraint.

I stood abruptly, my legs unsteady beneath me, but I didn’t care.

“Archer, wait!” her voice echoed behind me, but I couldn’t stop. Not now. Not after everything I’d just learned.

I couldn’t stay here. I couldn’t breathe in this house with the weight of their pity and regret suffocating me.

My chest burned as I stormed out of the estate, the cool night air doing nothing to cool the inferno raging inside me.

My body trembled, the shift clawing its way through my veins. I gave in to it willingly.

My wolf transformed fast, my muscles expanding, my bones shifting, and the primal instincts of my wolf taking over. The world became sharper—every sound, every scent, every movement heightened.

And there it was: Damien’s scent, a rancid trail that pulled me forward like a curse.

We’ve found him, I told my wolf through the mind-link, my thoughts a mix of rage and determination.

Then we end it, my wolf growled back, just as consumed by the need for vengeance as I was.

The scent led me to a gas station on the edge of town. The fluorescent lights buzzed, casting an eerie glow on the pavement.

Damien was there, leaning against my stolen bike, oblivious to the attack I was closing in on him.

I hid in the tall grass nearby, watching, waiting.

My breath came in low growls, my claws digging into the dirt as I fought the urge to lunge.

The moment came when the station emptied, leaving only Damien. Without hesitation, I launched myself at him, my wolf form tearing through the shadows.

“Archer, don’t!” a voice shouted through the mind-link.

Leon. But it was too late.

My claws raked across the ground as I shifted mid-air, landing in my human form. I grabbed Damien by the collar, slamming him against the side of his car.

“Please!” Damien cried, his eyes wide with fear. “I beg of you! Don’t kill me! I’ll pay for my sins in prison!”

“Prison?” I snarled, my voice low and venomous.

“You think a few bars and a sentence will atone for what you’ve done? You killed them, Damien! My mother. My baby sister. And you made me rot in prison for your crime because your father cornered me!”

“I had no choice!” Damien sobbed, his voice cracking. “It wasn’t my idea! Please don’t kill me, brother!”

The word froze me for a moment, disbelief flooding through me. “Brother?” I spat, tightening my grip. “We’re not blood-related. I don’t recognize you as my own blood!”

“It’s true!” he blurted out, his desperation palpable. “That’s why my father did it! My mother… my mother said she gave birth to twins. But the nurse fooled them—told them you had died and only I survived!”

“Bullshit,” I growled, raising my fist. “Shut up and die!”

“Ask her!” Damien screamed, his voice cracking under the pressure. “Ask our mother! She’ll tell you everything! Please, Archer, I’m begging you!”

My body trembled, rage warring with confusion. My mind screamed at me to finish it, to end the nightmare he’d created.

“Archer, stop!” Katrina’s voice cut through the haze like a blade.

I turned, my chest heaving, my fists shaking with the effort of holding back. She stood there, her face pale but determined, her eyes pleading with me.

“We have a plan, Archer,” she said, stepping closer. “Please… don’t kill him. You’re not going to be a murderer!”

“He murdered my mother and Emily!” I roared, the weight of my grief crashing down on me again.

“I know,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion. “And he will pay for it. But not like this. Please, trust the law. Trust me.”

Damien coughed, blood staining the corner of his mouth. “You think the law can stop me?” he spat weakly, a twisted smirk pulling at his lips. “You think this ends with me? My father will burn you all to the ground.”

The air shifted. Katrina stiffened, her gaze darting to me, then back to Damien. My fists curled tighter.

“I’ve lost everything because of you,” I growled, the tremor in my voice betraying the storm inside me. “Do you think I care what your father does?”

Damien chuckled—a hollow, broken sound. “You should. He’s coming for you, for her,” he said, nodding toward Katrina.

His grin widened, despite the fear in his eyes. “And you won’t stop him.”

His words landed like a bomb, and for a moment, the world seemed to tilt on its axis. Katrina gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she took a step back.

“Archer…” she whispered, fear lacing her voice.

And then, before I could move, Damien’s hand slipped into his jacket.

I lunged forward just as a deafening crack shattered the night.