Page 146 of Taming the Alpha's Daughter

Eziah steps forward, his hands raised in a calming gesture. “Vince, you're scaring Casey. Let's get her down from there, and we can sort this out.”

Vince's gaze flickers to Casey, who is crying, reaching out toward me. His expression softens for a moment before hardening again. “I want Rose back!” he says, his voice breaking. “I'm sorry for what I did to Malik! I wish I could take it back. I wish I could take it all back!”

“You can make things right, Vince. Just hand Casey to me. We'll figure this out together!” I plead, inching closer.

Suddenly, Lucas appears on the other side of the bridge. Eziah's eyes widen, and he signals Lucas to stay back. Vince looks at Lucas, then back at Casey, and shakes his head, tears streaming down his face.

“I always fuck everything up!” Vince murmurs, pressing his face into Casey's neck. “Don't cry daddy!” Casey murmurs, patting his face. I swallow, knowing she doesn't understand the danger she is in. Yet, my heart beats harder each second knowing he holds my heart in his hands in the form of my daughter.

“I can take you to see Rose, we can work this out, Vince. You have the mate bond still, this can be fixed,” I lie.

“No! It's too late. She won't ever forgive me. What's done is done!” Vince whispers, his voice filled with resignation as he peers out at the raging river below.

“Maybe if Mom and Dad were still here, perhaps I wouldn't have fucked all this up. We would have been okay,” Vince murmurs to the wind.

“Vince, please, just…” My world stops, the petrified image of her face forever burned in my memory.

In the blink of an eye, Vince leans back, pulling Casey with him as they plummet off the bridge. Time seems to stand still as we all scream, our voices echoing across the river as my feet move. My heart thumps, threatening to jump out of my throat to the echo of Casey’s screams.

“Daddy no!” Casey screams, the sound sending my blood cold. My feet move, hands reaching for her when I see Lucas. My mind tries to register how he moved faster as he grabs Casey's shirt and tumbles over with them.

Kaif portals in at that moment, his face twisting in horror at the sight. He lunges toward the edge, diving after them. The water below churns violently as bodies hit it. We hear the splash. A portal opens up just in time for Kat, Dominic, and everyone else who steps through to witness the act. Sage's scream along with Kat's unite in pure horror

Clutching the railing, I lean over to see Vince surface first, his pained agonized scream of hitting the rocks rings out loudly, blood tinging the black water. Within seconds, we are all racing for the river. Vince crawls out using his arms, his legs broken and mangled, gasping for air. Eziah quickly moves to haul him out, but there's no sign of Casey or Lucas as Kaif and I run the river's edge before we both jump in, fighting the current and feeling for them.

Sage is hysterical, screaming that Casey can't swim. We all frantically search the water, everyone running along the riverbank, while Kaif and I frantically feel for their bodies, my heart pounding with fear and desperation.

“She can't swim! She can't swim!” Sage wails.

“I can't sense their auras!” Eziah yells out, his eyes scanning while my hands feel. Minutes tick by, each one making the situation more dire.

Then, from further down, a gasp. “Mommy?!” Casey's voice carries over the water. We all spin around to see Lucas, soaked and shivering, holding Casey against the riverbank.

Relief floods through me, and I run to them, scooping Casey into my arms. She's cold and trembling, but alive. Kaif grabs Lucas, and I wrap Casey in my warmth, trying to shield her from the morning chill as I search her, peeling her wet clothes off, expecting broken bones but finding none. Chief comes over, offering us his men's coats, and Kaif and I quickly cover them when my legs give out from under me.

The adrenaline ceases as relief floods me. I look at Kaif clutching Lucas, who is breathless. Kaif nods, kissing his head and tucking him closer. “Good boy, that's my boy!” Kaif whispers while Lucas tries to catch his breath.

Vince, meanwhile, is a broken mess. His body slowly healing, he sits, clutching his hair, a look of anguish etched on his face. I approach him, passing Casey off to Kat. She turns, taking Casey, knowing what will come next.

“Kaif, come on, let's get them away from the river,” Kat calls to him.

Kaif, I can tell, wants to kill Vince himself. He looks at me doubtfully, wondering if I can or should kill my twin. Yet all I feel is anger, boiling over. The moment the kids are out of sight, I grab him, our foreheads colliding with a sickening crack.

“This time you won't be coming back!” I snarl, dragging him to the river's edge.

I hold him under the water, his struggles weakening until they stop altogether. When I finally let go, his body has no color, and his lips are blue. I glance at Kat who no longer holds Casey, her edges shimmer, and she disappears, sucked to the Moon Goddess Realm. I don't let him go straight away, I need assurance he isn't coming back, I won't make the same mistake twice. When she returns, she gives me a nod and I let go. His body floats away, carried by the current, and I stand upright.

Eziah waits by the edge of the river, he clamps a hand on my shoulder as I pass him. “Let’s go home!” he tells me, and I nod.

Climbing back up to the bridge, I find everyone gathered silently. The were-bears stand at the edge, their eyes on the horizon.

“Ready?” Kaif asks me as I take Casey from Andrei. I nod, and he opens a portal, as does Kat. Casey, in my arms, looks back at the were-bears as I move toward the open portal. “Aren't they coming too?” she asks, her voice small.

“No, sweetie. They're going home, just like we are,” Andrei responds, wrapping an arm around Sage, turning back, I see Chief smile and wave. “In another life,” Chief tells us just as the sun illuminates his face.

“Home!” Chief murmurs, his men's voices of relief follow saying the same thing. The next second, they start to burn, their bodies disintegrating into ash. Yet, they make no sound of pain, their smiles never leave as the sun illuminates the bridge completely.

They served their purpose, and now, they can return to where they belong.

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