“Bella,” Jody said softly, his voice breaking with emotion. “I know I failed you. I thought I was doing what was best. I thought… I thought if you came back, you could heal. That we could heal. I didn’t want to lose you forever.”
“You didn’t just fail me,” she said, shaking her head. “You betrayed me. You betrayed mum. And for what? For him?” She turned and shot a glare at Luke, who stood silently behind her, his jaw tight, his expression unreadable.
Luke stepped forward, his voice calm but firm. “Bella, this wasn’t your father’s plan. Abbey manipulated him, just like she manipulated everyone else. He didn’t want to hurt you or Vera. He made a mistake, but the blame lies with Abbey.”
Bella turned back to her father, her voice icy. “You could have said no. You could have stopped it. But you didn’t.”
Jody’s shoulders slumped further, and he looked down at the floor. “You’re right,” he said quietly. “I should have stopped it. I should have protected you, all of you. I failed. And I’ll never forgive myself for it.”
The room was heavy with tension, the only sound the faint crackle of the fire in the hearth. Bella’s heart ached, torn between the love she had always felt for her father and the betrayal she now felt so deeply.
“I can’t do this right now,” she said finally, her voice barely above a whisper. “I need to be with my children.” She turned on her heel and walked away, ignoring the pleading looks from both her father and Luke as she headed for the stairs.
Luke slowly pulled his hand away, his expression calm but his jaw tightened as he stepped back, giving her space. His eyes, however, didn’t leave hers, holding a steady and measured gaze that conveyed both understanding and the faintest glimmer of regret.
“I’ll respect your boundaries,” he said softly, his voice low but firm. “But you need to breathe, Bella. For yourself, for Tyler, and for the triplets upstairs.”
Bella turned back to her father, who was still standing there, looking completely broken. “I trusted you,” she repeated, her voice trembling with hurt and anger. “I trusted you, and you let this happen. You let her hurt Mum! Do you even know what you’ve done to me? To my children?”
Jody’s face was pale, his shoulders slumped as he tried to meet her blazing green eyes. “Bella, I know. I failed you,” he said quietly. “I thought I was doing what was best for everyone. I thought… I thought you needed us to do something drastic to bring you back. I thought… the Alpha…”
“You thought wrong!” she snapped, her voice rising as she pointed at him. “You thought hurting your own Mate was the answer? Using her to manipulate me? Do you even understand what you’ve done? You’ve ruined everything!” Tears streamed down her face, but they weren’t out of sadness—they were pure rage and betrayal.
Jody reached out a hand, but she stepped back, shaking her head. “Don’t. Just… don’t.” Her voice cracked as she turned away, pacing to try and contain the storm of emotions swirling inside her. Tyler was snarling in the back of her mind, and Bella knew she was barely holding herself together.
“Bella,” Luke’s voice was firm, but it held a gentleness that made her stop. “I know this is… beyond what anyone should have to endure. But you’re here now, and we can work through this—together.”
She turned on him, her eyes blazing. “Together? Together? You think this fixes anything? You think because you’re my Mate that all of this just goes away? That I’m supposed to just roll over and accept it?”
“No,” he said firmly, taking a small step closer. “I don’t expect anything from you, Bella. I just… I just want you to know I’m here. For you. For the triplets. For whatever you need. I can’t change the past, but I’ll do whatever it takes to fix this.”
She stared at him, her anger flickering with doubt. His sincerity was hard to ignore, and Tyler’s yearning for him pressed at the edges of her mind. But the weight of the betrayal from her father, from the people she trusted most, was too fresh, too overwhelming.
“I need space,” she said finally, her voice low and strained. “I can’t deal with this right now. Any of it.”
Luke nodded slowly, stepping back again. “Take all the time you need,” he said quietly. “But know this—I’m not giving up on you. Or us.”
She swallowed hard, turning back to her father, who looked as though he’d aged a decade in the last few minutes. “I can’t even look at you right now,” she said, her voice sharp but filled with pain. “I need to go to my children.”
Without waiting for a response, she turned and headed for the stairs, ignoring the weight of both her father’s and Luke’s gazes on her back. She needed to see her babies, to feel their warmth, to ground herself in the one thing that still made sense in her shattered world.
Bella stared up at Maddis, who still held onto her despite her efforts to push away. His golden eyes softened slightly, the intensity of his wolf’s presence lingering but not as overwhelming as it had been moments ago. Tyler’s influence was evident—she had willingly submitted, and Maddis had no intention of letting go so easily.
“Let me go,” Bella demanded firmly, though her voice wavered under the sheer force of their bond.
Maddis tilted his head slightly, studying her as if assessing whether she was truly calm enough to be released. His wolf’s growl softened, turning into a low rumble of approval, and he finally loosened his grip. Bella immediately took a step back, glaring at him, though her own heart betrayed her with its rapid thudding.
“Don’t use Tyler against me like that again,” she snapped, narrowing her eyes at him. “If I want space, I mean it.”
