Chapter 241 Chapter 241
Chapter 241 Chapter 241
Rayne
Fear like I had never known before gripped me so violently it felt physical.
It wasn’t the sharp kind. Not the kind that spikes and fades. This was visceral. Primal. The kind that seeps into your bloodstream and slows everything down while at the same time threatening to make you implode.
Because I knew Erlan.
And if there was one thing I knew about that bastard, it was that he hated losing more than he valued anything else in this world.
Including Amber.
He was the type who would burn the entire house down with himself still inside just to make sure no one else got to walk away with what he couldn’t have. He didn’t want victory, he just wanted control. And if he couldn’t control the outcome, he would destroy it.
My voice came out hoarse but steady.
“What the hell is wrong with you, Erlan? How can you claim to want Amber but you’re threatening to take her life?”
His smile twitched.
“Oh?” he tilted his head slightly. “And what would you know about love?”
His eyes gleamed with accusation.
“At least I’m devoted. You rejected her. You abandoned her. You shattered her and walked away. What right do you have to claim her now?”
The words struck where they were meant to.
I didn’t look away.
“None,” I admitted. The word scraped out of me raw and unguarded. “I have no right. I’ll never forget what I did. I’ll never forgive myself for it.”
Amber’s breathing hitched.
“But the one thing I know,” I continued, my voice hardening, “is that she wants nothing to do with you. And I won’t let you take her.”
Erlan’s smile flattened into something colder.
“Suit yourself,” he said lightly. “But you’ll have yourself to blame for whatever happens.”
I took one step forward.
The sound of the gun cocking cut through the air like a blade.
Amber screamed.
The sound ripped through me.
I froze instantly, that same crippling fear crashing back over me like a tidal wave.
I couldn’t let him shoot her.
But I couldn’t let him take her either.
Sweat slid down my spine. My mind raced violently, calculating outcomes in fractions of seconds.
Switch with Eden. Use our superspeed. Lunge. Grab her.
But would I be fast enough before he pulled the trigger?
Erlan’s finger was already tense on it. He wouldn’t hesitate. He’d fire out of spite.
And even if I succeeded in grabbing Amber, he would still have the gun.
Nothing would change.
The only other option was to wrestle the weapon from him.
But that was equally dangerous.
Stray bullets would be unavoidable in a struggle. A single misfire could hit her. The thought alone made my stomach churn.
Inside me, Eden was raging.
“Don’t take the risk. There has to be another way.”
“There isn’t,” I shot back internally.
“Then make one.”
So even though I knew reasoning with Erlan was almost impossible, I tried.
“Erlan,” I said, forcing my voice into something calmer. “Think about what you’re doing. You don’t want to kill her. That’s not why you brought her here.”
He rolled his eyes.
“You think you understand me?”
“I think you’re angry,” I replied. “I think you’re desperate. And I think you’re about to throw away the only thing you claim to care about just to prove a point.”
His expression darkened.
“You don’t get to analyze me.”
“You don’t want her dead,” I pressed. “You want her to choose you. You want to win.”
He laughed softly.
“Oh, this is rich. The Alpha who couldn’t keep his mate suddenly giving relationship advice.”
“Look at her,” I said. “Is that devotion? Is that love? She’s trembling, she's terrified of you.”
Erlan’s jaw tightened.
“I gave her everything,” he snapped. “Protection. Power. Loyalty. I would have built an empire for her, I'd burn the world for her.”
“Against her will?” I shot back. “That’s not love. It's possession, it's madness and you know it.”
He began pacing slightly, the gun never leaving Amber’s head.
“You call this madness? Perhaps it is but what else do I have to offer her except my twisted love? That bitch in the moon fated her to you, to the lousiest Alpha I've ever met. Amber is an angel and you never deserved her, you got lucky and still threw it away,” he growled. “You honestly disgust me, Rayne. Do you think yourself worthy to even breathe the same air as her after everything you've done?”
“I was wrong,” I admitted. “I was a coward, a horrible mate. But that doesn’t mean I'll just give up. I'll fight for her forgiveness, for a second chance until my last breath.”
His eyes burned into mine.
“Spare me the lament, my ears are burning,” he groaned. “I love Amber more than life itself and only I can give her the happiness she deserves.”
My gaze flicked around the balcony desperately, searching for something—anything I could use.