Chapter 282
Chapter 282:
Those words were like shards of glass in my ears. Blood tie. Jason’s sick, twisted way of keeping control over Jasmine. The bastard had wanted to own her, to trap her in his web of power. But I’d killed him. Thank the Moon Goddess, my dagger had found his rotten heart, ending his hold over her.
Or so I thought.
Even dead, Jason was still poisoning her life. The blood tie—dark magic that anchored his existence to Jasmine’s—refused to break. His death should have set her free, but it hadn’t. His darkness was still clawing at her, still keeping her trapped in the nightmare he’d created. I should have known it wouldn’t be that simple.
The fury boiled under my skin, hot and relentless. But I shoved it aside. Fury wasn’t going to save Jasmine. Focus would. And I would not fail her. Not now, not ever.
I ran a hand through my hair, pacing the small room, trying not to let my anxiety crack through the surface. Jasmine was still unconscious, lying on the bed, her face pale and too still. I could barely stand to look at her like this. She was strength, fire, and defiance—not this fragile, broken figure.
I glanced toward the doorway where the two strangers stood—her so-called birth parents. The Vipers. They were supposed to be a surprise, a way to reconnect her with her roots, to show her that she wasn’t alone. I’d thought maybe—maybe—it would give her some closure, some sense of belonging she’d always craved.
But instead, she fainted. And now this blood tie was killing her.
The woman—Jasmine’s mother—looked wrecked, her face streaked with tears she was trying, and failing, to hide. The man—her father—stood beside her, his face a mask of stone, but his eyes… his eyes betrayed the same fear and pain that twisted in my gut.
I swallowed hard. I didn’t want their help. The very thought of relying on them for anything churned my stomach. They’d abandoned her. Left her to suffer alone, to think she was wolfless, powerless. They didn’t deserve her trust. Hell, they didn’t deserve to be in the same room as her.
But none of that mattered. Not right now.
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They claimed to have connections to a witch who could break the blood tie. A witch powerful enough to undo the dark magic still strangling Jasmine. I didn’t care what it took. If they could help her, I’d take it. I’d burn the entire world down if it meant freeing her from this nightmare.
I turned to them, my voice low and hard. “You said you know a witch. Someone who can break this blood tie. Can you get to them? Now p>
Her father—the Viper Alpha, or whatever he called himself—nodded. “Yes. We can call in the favor immediately p>
My teeth ground together. I hated needing them. But for Jasmine, I’d swallow my pride a thousand times over.
“Then do it,” I snapped. “If this doesn’t work, I swear p>
“It will,” he interrupted, his voice tight with resolve. “We want her safe too p>
Safe. The word was almost laughable. How long had Jasmine been unsafe? Betrayed by her pack, poisoned, made to feel wolfless when she was anything but. She’d suffered more in her short life than most did in a lifetime. And yet she was still here, still fighting.
She deserved freedom. She deserved peace. And if this witch was the key to that, I’d make sure we got to her.
A soft cough jolted me back to the present. My head whipped around just in time to see Jasmine’s eyes flutter open, her lashes trembling before revealing those fierce, defiant eyes I loved. Relief crashed over me, so sharp it left me dizzy.