Page 24 of Claiming Pretty

You’re alive. You’re really alive.

Relief crashed over me like a tidal wave, overwhelming and unexpected.

For a moment, the miracle of having him returned to me hit me, and all I wanted was to wrap his arms around him to make sure he was real.

“Fuck, Ty… I…” I began, my voice breaking.

A flicker of emotion crossed his face—something raw, unguarded. For just a second, I saw the Ty I remembered, the boy I grew up with.

“I… missed you too,” he said, his voice softer than I expected.

I remembered how I’d watched from afar as his wooden coffin was lowered into the ground, only a priest standing over him, unable to believe that he was gone. I’d stood over his grave, the rain soaking through my clothes, the weight of grief crushing me, feeling like a part ofmehad died.

I’d stared at the gravestone, my vision blurred by tears I couldn’t hold back, my knees buckling as I finally let myself break. I’d whispered apologies to the cold, unyielding ground, begged for forgiveness for not being there, for letting him die alone in a prison.

The pain of losing him had carved itself into my chest, a hollow ache I’d thought would never heal.

Now I wondered who had been in his coffin instead,who I had mourned. And whether my brother had been watchingmebreak down over his grave.

My fist connected with his jaw, the impact reverberating up my arm.

“You let me think you were dead!” I roared, the betrayal boiling over, spilling out of me.

He staggered back, his eyes flashing with surprise.

I swung again, and though Ty managed to block the next blow, I felt the heat of my anger driving me forward, unstoppable. “Do you have any idea what that did to me?”

Ty raised his hands, defending himself, but his voice remained maddeningly calm.

“It was unfortunate,” he said, sidestepping another punch. “But necessary for my escape from prison. Don’t take it so personally.”

“Personally?” I laughed bitterly, the sound ripping from my throat. “You could have told me after you escaped. Instead, you let me believe it for months.Months, Ty!”

The pieces started to fall into place, the truth settling in my gut like a stone.

He hadn’t told me because he hadn’t wanted me to know. He hadn’t wanted me to suspect thathehad taken Ava.

This whole time I’d been hunting down the Sochai, and my own fucking brother had her.

Ty and I circled each other on the damp grass, the moonlight casting a ghostly sheen over his face, making his cold eyes seem almost lifeless. Every muscle in my body coiled tight, my breaths shallow as I waited for the right moment to strike.

“You had Ava formonths,” I growled, my voice low,dangerous. “You could have told me. I was losing my fucking mind thinking she wasdead.”

Ty didn’t flinch, his calm demeanor infuriatingly unshaken. “I couldn’t let you know I had her. You would have interfered with my plans.”

Plans? My stomach twisted at the word. What plans?What the hell had he been doing with her for months?

“What did you do to her?” I demanded, my voice rising, the venom in my tone undeniable.

His jaw tightened, his composure beginning to fracture. For a split second, something flickered in his eyes—something too fleeting to name.

“I made her face her past,” he said, each word cold and unrepentant.

“Youwhat?” The words ripped from my throat, pure fury taking hold.

I lunged at him, my anger exploding into motion, the sheer force of it sending us both crashing to the ground.

We rolled, the damp earth clinging to our clothes, the world narrowing to the sound of labored breaths and the sharp crack of fists meeting flesh. Every blow carried the weight of years—grief, betrayal, anger—all of it boiling over into this moment.

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