Eira's POV
'Just a little more. And it would all be over.'
Limping, crawling, barely able to breathe, I somehow made it to the boundery wall of the rooftop. Every movement burned, my wounds stinging beneath the thin layer of sweat that now coated my skin.
For the first time in six years, I saw the city bathed in daylight. The sun was warm and gentle, and the breeze brushed softly against my battered skin. For a moment, it felt like heaven. Peaceful. Quiet. Soothing.
Before I threw myself into the air, I wanted to remember him—my baby, my son.
After he was born, the moment I held him, wrapped tightly in a cloth, sleeping peacefully with a face no larger than my palm, I found the will to live again. He felt like a ray of light in the darkness that surrounded me.
I named him Ray.
I closed my eyes and tried to relive that memory. My baby. The life I carried within me for nine long months. The last time I saw him, he was only a day old. That image had been seared into my soul. The warmth of his tiny body, the gentle scent that clung to him, the fragile breath that told me he was alive.
I needed to apologize to him for breaking the promise I had made to him on the day they took him away from me.
'Ray, mommy is sorry. I promised I would find you one day and come for you. But it seems I have to break that promise. I can't go on anymore. This life has defeated me. I'm not strong enough to keep fighting. You must be five years old now. I pray that wherever you are, you are growing up strong and surrounded by good people. Goodbye, my baby.'
I opened my eyes, the decision now clear. My fingers gripped the top of the wall. My body shook as I prepared to climb, ready to cross over into silence.
But then—
"Hey!"
A familiar voice called out.
I froze, but didn't turn around. I had to jump now. Fifteen floors was more than enough to kill a pureblood, no matter how strong they were. And I was far too weak to survive anything.
I pushed myself. One leg had already climbed over the edge. I was a moment away from slipping over when—
A strong hand yanked me back in the blink of an eye. Before I could react, I was pulled firmly against a solid chest. My back hit warm muscle, arms locking tightly around my shoulders to keep me from moving.
Damn these Alphas and their speed.
-----
Kael's POV
I was seething with anger when I saw her ready to jump. If not for Roman stopping her in time, she would have gone already.
I was furious. Just moments ago, I had promised Sophia that everything would be fine. And now this wretched woman was about to destroy that promise with her selfish death.
Was it too much to expect her to stay alive and make up for the sins she had committed? How shameless could one person be?
I watched as she struggled weakly in Roman's grasp. When it didn't work, she bit his arm, her teeth pierced in his skin, drawing the blood out. So desperate to free herself.
'Crazy bitch.'
I walked towards them, my fists clenched as if ready to unleash my anger on her. In the next instant, I shoved Roman aside and grabbed her by the neck, my eyes burning into hers. Her gaze was dazed, barely holding on, but defiant.
"You want to die?" I growled through clenched teeth. "Fine. I'll give you what you want."
Without hesitation, I hauled her over the boundary wall, her fragile body hanging limply in the air. One flick of my fingers, one release of my grip, and she would fall fifteen floors to her death.
"Alpha Kael, don't kill her!" Liam's voice cut through as he rushed onto the rooftop. "She's still of use to us."
"Kael," Roman called out, his tone heavy with concern. "Don't be reckless, alright? You need her to save Sophia. You are so close to your goal. Don't lose it now."
At the mention of Sophia, my resolve faltered slightly. Her hopeful eyes flashed in my mind, the way she had smiled when I told her she could be saved.
But then I heard it.
"Sophia...?" came a weak voice, barely more than a whisper. "That... bitch... is still alive?"
It was her. Even dangling at the edge of death, she looked at me with mocking eyes and a twisted smile.
"I should have... shot her in the head..."
The moment those words left her mouth, whatever restraint I had vanished completely.
"Kael, she's provoking you," Roman warned, reaching toward me again.
I didn't care. I shoved Roman back with force, making sure he wouldn't be able to stop me this time.
"You don't deserve to live," I told her through my gritted teeth and...
I released my grip.
Her thin, weightless body slipped from my hand as the voices shouting behind me faded into the background.