RedNovelChapter 225
Chapter 225
-Ava’s POV-
That was not a statement of forgiveness. It was a statement of necessity.
And yes, | wanted to be done with Grayson. | wanted to wipe my hands clean of him and pretend none of this
ever happened. But in reality, as | allowed myself to see past everything in that moment, | knew the truth. If |
wanted this nightmare to end-if | wanted any of us to have even a chance at surviving this-I couldn't be done
with him.
At least not right now.
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Damien had done enough to us both. To all of us. And while | wished Grayson had trustedenough not to
cause a rift between us, | knew | had to set that aside because there were bigger things at stake. Damien needed
to be stopped. That singular thought echoed in my mind like a drum, drowning out every other emotion trying to
claw its way to the surface.
So, | did the only thing I could-I turned my back and walked away.
| left the hospital ward after making sure he was being attended to, forcing myself not to look back. He would be
fine. Grayson Blackwood was always fine. And if he wasn’t? Well, that wasn’t my problem anymore. His bedside
privileges withhad been revoked indefinitely.
| told myself that repeatedly as | made my way back to Ricardo’s, but deep down, | knew it was a lie.
The moment | arrived, | found Isabella, and the second I told her, she screamed the ssentence three times,
just with varying levels of chaos.
“Crystal?! Bitch Threesof Alliance of Doom Dylan-Stealing, Annoyingly Flawless Pregnancy Crystal? That
Crystal is your sister?”
The first time, it had been an even more chaotic mess.
“Crystal. Evil spawn demon evil ThreesAlliance of Doom is your
sister:
The second twas just as scrambled, but still centered around the score shock | was experiencing myself.
Crystal? Of all people?
The person | had been so eager to meet, the twin | had longed for the moment | realized she existed, was her? |
had met her so many times before, and each time, | wanted to strangle her.
And now | find out she was my sister? Seriously?
I shook my head, trying to clear it, but the words escaped my lips before | even realized it.
“This is so messed up. Extremely messed up.”
| sank down onto the bed next to Isabella, running a hand over my face as if that would somehow wipe away the
insanity of it all.
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“Why her? | mean, | don’t even understand. She cinto Dylan’s pack just a few weeks after 1 mated with
him, so | never even thought anything of her or where she cfrom. She was just another pack member, a
stranger in the pack, just like | was. | didn’t pay her any mind until | realized she was sleeping with Dylan. And
now she’s my sister? It just-it doesn’t make
sense.”
Isabella's eyes narrowed, “You think Dylan is in on it too?”
“No.” | shook my head firmly. “I think Crystal got involved with Dylan on her own, and the pregnancy is a product
of that.
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Chapter 225
And Damien doesn’t approve of it, but still-*
23)
“It's just so unbelievable,” Isabella exhaled sharply, rubbing her temples. “Of all the people in the world, it had to
be her. And she knew. She knew and still did all those things”
“Exactly!” | threw my hands up. “Everything is getting so crazy. | can’t even take a minute to process my
thoughts. It’s one thing after another. First, Grayson kicksout because he thinks I've been betraying him,
then | find out I'm pregnant, then | find out | was born a twin, then | find out | have skind of ancient power |
don’t even understand, then Grayson gets kidnapped, and Damien-the man who practically raised me-reveals
himself as the orchestrator of everything, and now my long-lost sister is Crystal?! | mean, it's like | can’t even
find the tto breathe, let alone process all of this. And then. Grayson is right back in my face, and | want to be
done with him, but how can I be done with him with all of this?!”
| sucked in a deep breath, my chest tight with exhaustion, “I'm just really tired, Bels. It feels like | haven't slept in
forever.” Isabella didn’t say anything at first. Instead, she reached out, wrapped her arms around me, and pulled
I let myself melt into her embrace, the tension in my shoulders loosening just slightly. “Couldn’t you have been
my long- lost sister instead?” | muttered against her shoulder.
She snorted, “That would have been so much more convenient.”
| pulled back just enough to look at her. “Right?! | mean, we already finish each other's sentences, we share food
like we're contractually obligated to, and | don’t actively want to strangle you on a daily basis. That's already a
major step up from Crystal.”
“And | don’t sleep with your exes while you are still married to them,” She grinned.
“Also a great bonus,” | let out a long breath, shaking my head. “Goddess, this is a nightmare.”
“To be fair, | feel like we passed ‘nightmare’ about five plot twists ago. We're in straight-up Greek tragedy
territory now.”
“If this were a Greek tragedy, | would have died tically by now,”
“Give it time.”
| groaned and flopped backward onto the bed. “No, thank you. I'd like to opt out of any further trauma, please
and thank you.”
“Yeah, good luck with that.” Isabella stretched out beside me. “So, what's the plan? How do we deal with all of
this?”
| sighed, rubbing my eyes, “I have no idea. | just-I just need a moment, you know? Just one minute where | don’t
have to think about how absolutely screwed up everything is.”
She was silent for a beat before rolling onto her side to face me.
“Wantto tell you a stupid joke?”
“No.”
“Well I will tell it anyway,” She cleared her throat tically, “Why don’t werewolves make good comedians?”
| turned my head to look at her,“Oh god.”
“Because their jokes are always a little ‘ruff.”
| groaned. “That was so bad.”
“You smiled.”
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Chapter 225
“No, | didn’t.”
“Yes, you did.”
| shoved a pillow over my face to hide it, “I hate you”
423)
11
She patted my arm. “No, you don’t,” Then she paused, “We are all going to survive this, Lilian. We are. No
matter how crazy everything is.
1 sighed, about the crazy part because | wasn’t sure about the surviving part.
Crystal was my sister.
Damien was our enemy.
And Grayson...
Grayson was still in my head, no matter how much | wished he wasn’t. And | had no idea what to do about any of
i)
We stayed like that for a while, just lying on the bed, side by side, wrapped in the fleeting comfort of silence.
Eventually, | heard her breath evening out, turning soft and rhythmic. | turned my head to look at her, watching
the way her dark lashes fluttered faintly, her face finally relaxed after everything that had happened today.
A small, tired smile touched my lips.
Of all the people in the world, why couldn't she have been my long-lost sister?
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It didn’t matter. Blood or not. She was my sister. My family.
Carefully, | pushed myself up and pulled the blanket over her, tucking her in before stepping back. She
murmured something unintelligible in her sleep, shifting slightly, but didn’t wake.
Good. She needed the rest. We all did.
| exhaled softly before turning away, slipping out of the room.
| needed to clear my head.
Pulling my phone out of my pocket, | glanced at the time. 2:07 AM.
Great. Another sleepless night.
Without much thought, my feet carriedtoward the garden.
Everything was still. The house was silent, Ricardo’s estate basked in the hush of the night. My mother had still
not returned from her meeting with her friend, and Grayson was still in the hospital, but something in my gut
toldthat the second he was well enough, he would chere.
Ricardo had been humming to himself when | returned earlier, practically beaming. And when he caught me
looking at him, he had flashedone of his signature, annoyingly smug grins before going right back to
whatever it was he was doing.
| really wondered what the hell went on in his head sometimes.
All the time.
Rickon was flying in tomorrow with my father, who was still unconscious, though Rickon assured us he could
make it work. Maria was coming, too. Monica had declined the invitation or so | heard.
| guess everyone was banding together now because at this point, every single one of us was officially on
Damien's target list.
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Chapter 225
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Elaine had arrived earlier as well. Being on her own when she was a target wasn’t safe, so it made sense that
she chere.
| continued walking, my thoughts stacking on top of each other, my mind an endless spiral of worry, exhaustion,
and frustration, until | reached the garden.
But just as | stepped past the trellises, a voice caught my attention.
Elsine’s voice.
| paused.
| hadn't expected anyone to still be awake at this hour. | considered turning around, giving her privacy, but then-
Her next words frozein place and my breath caught. | didn’t even realize | had stepped forward until the
words left my lips, sharp and cutting through the night like a blade, “You're still communicating with Liam? And
you know where he is?”
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