Page 62 of My Pucking Family

“Lee-ra,” she breathes raggedly.

“Shh, I'm trying to help—"

She grabs my arm, shaking her head. “It’s...too...late...” She tries to take a large rattling breath, but it makes her cough and blood drips from her lips. “I...wa-wanted...to say...I'm so...ry...” She coughs again.

My tears continue to shimmer and fall, but when I wipe them on her, they only flicker for a moment. I wipe a few on her chest, hoping to at least ease her pain.

“I forgive you,” I cry, because even though we absolutely hate each other, no one deserves this. She was trying to help. I've never seen someone die. The light on her chest flickers a little more than the others but still sputters out after only a few seconds.

“Be a...g-good...q-queen. Save the...r-realms. D-don’t...let...th-them...win...”

“I don't know how to do that.” I look around at the men who have all kneeled around us, Jeanine standing behind me crying with the couple of women that came with her to help. “I don't know how to do any of this. But I promise, they won't win anything. I promise.”

She closes her eyes and nods before her body stills, and I swear, I can feel her soul wrap around my body before lifting to the sky.

In unison, we all howl for the soul lost. She may not have been a good person, but she was still a wolf. A person. She may have deserved to get her ass kicked, but no one deserves to be mutilated and murdered for power.

When we've finished howling, my ears perk to the left as I hear another howl, much further away.

“That's n-not possible,” Khaos says before he takes off running so fast that I can only gape at him.

Roman scoops me up and begins running after Khaos. Benny, Andrei, and Slate are on our heels.

“The whole pack was slaughtered. Whoever attacked them, they killed everyone, and they didn't leave a single scent to trace,” Benny informs us.

The weight of his words hits me square in the chest. “They killed an entire pack?”

“They were likely hunting India and killed them because Khaos was helping her,” Andrei says from behind me.

We slow as Khaos weaves through his decimated pack lands. The homes are still smoldering with embers when we approach.

I throw myself out of Roman's arms, and a feral scream rips from my lungs as I take in the devastation in front of me. There are still traces of anguish and terror drifting through what’s left of the trees. In a rage, I whip around to face them.

Roman, my mate, my love, my safe place.

Andrei, my twin brother, my other kind of other half.

Benny, the sunshine that kept Roman together in my absence.

Slate, the serious tech wizard who tries not to care.

Eris and Dolos, the twins, wild most of the time but serious when it counts.

“We have to stop them! Tell me what to do! They did this because of me!” I scream and fall to the ground.

Roman crashes to the earth beside me and pulls me onto his lap. I can feel him nod, but he can feel the devastation coursing through my body. I can feel the pain and the hate here. It’s still radiating all around me.

“I mean it, Roman. I've never done anything like this in my life, but we have to do something!”

I'm still yelling, and I can't stop the pain in my chest over all the souls lost over this. Over me.

“I don't care what we have to do. I don't care if I have to throw my life away to become a fucking princess if that means I have an army of werewolves at my disposal to take care of this.”

Roman squeezes me tighter. “We'll take care of it—"

“Together,” I say firmly. I'm not budging on this.

“Together,” all six men promise as one.

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