Page 98 of Claimed By My Fiancé's Brother

I’d trusted Anastasia, and she’d broken that trust.

I let go of her and she fell to the ground, her hand on her throat as she desperately sucked in air.

“I hope it was worth it,” I said, feeling more pain than betrayal. I’d lost a good friend today. How much more would I lose before all this was over? “From this moment forward, you will no longer have access to my home or my life.”

Anastasia’s eyes widened.

“You can’t do that,” she gasped.

I lifted an eyebrow, barely reining in my temper.

“I can’t?”

Tears spilled down Anastasia’s cheeks.

“I know I was wrong, but you can’t cut me out, Alexander. Not with everything we’ve been through.”

Anastasia should’ve known better. She, of all people, knew I didn’t condone betrayal.

If someone else had attempted to drug or poison me, I would’ve gutted them where they stood and left their corpse in the wild for rogues to feast on.

But this was Anastasia, the wolf who’d been at my side as far back as I could remember.

I crouched to her height, meeting her gaze without an ounce of mercy.

“Everything we’ve shared is in the past. The memory of that past is the only reason I’m letting you keep your head.”

Tears still flowed down her cheeks.

“What we shared is in the past?” she rasped, her voice a broken shadow of itself. “Your love story with Eleanor can’t lead to happiness for either of you.”

I was painfully aware of that. It was the bane of my existence.

I turned my back on Anastasia as I spoke.

“There’s no love between Eleanor and I.”

Anastasia laughed, and it was a harsh sound devoid of any warmth.

“I wish you weren’t such a terrible liar, Alexander.”

I kept walking.

My first instinct was to go after Eleanor, to grovel and beg for her forgiveness—not just for the kiss, but for everything.

I subdued those instincts.

The kiss was a result of me being drugged, but it had worked out for the best.

Combined with what I’d said earlier, this was guaranteed to push Eleanor away for good.

I thought of the hurt in her eyes, and my resolve wavered.

No. I had to do this.

I headed out, but not toward the training grounds, where I could potentially bump into her. No, I went on a run.

I ran intending to exhaust myself. That would help subdue silly thoughts like tracking down Eleanor to make sure she wasn’t still crying.

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