Alpha's Regret After the Divorce by Christina novel Chapter 225

Chapter 225

Rocco’s POV

I stood motionless among the crumbled concrete and twisted metal, watching as the helicopter carrying Kira grew smaller against the darkening sky. The rotors‘ rhythmic thumping faded with distance until finally, the aircraft was nothing more than a black speck that disappeared beyond the horizon.

Gone. She was gone again.

The bitter taste of failure filled my mouth as I kicked a chunk of debris, sending it skittering across the ruins. Watching Kira choose to leave with Andy instead of staying with me shouldn’t have hurt as much as it did. After all, I was the one who had destroyed everything

between us.

I ran a hand through my dust–covered hair, surveying the destruction around me. The collapsed building was a perfect reflection of my life -once strong and imposing, now nothing but ruins.

“Shit,” I muttered, turning in a slow circle, trying to decide what to do next. The setting sun cast long shadows across the rubble, making the wreckage look even more desolate.

A familiar scent suddenly caught my attention, stopping me mid–step. It couldn’t be. My wolf senses went on high alert as I spun around, muscles tensing for a fight.

And there she was–Kim, standing about twenty feet away, watching me with a small smile. But it wasn’t Kim, not really. The woman wearing my former lover’s face was someone else entirely.

“Lyra,” I growled, my body automatically shifting into a defensive stance.

She raised both hands, palms forward. “Don’t be so tense, brother. I’m just here to talk.”

“You’re not my sister,” I said, my voice hard as stone. “Lyra is dead.”

A look of hurt crossed her face, but the expression seemed practiced, theatrical. “After all these years, you’re still so cold.” She took a step closer. “Is that any way to greet family?”

“What did you do to Kim?” I demanded, my heart racing with anxiety. “Is she still alive?”

Lyra’s smile widened. “Of course. We’re… sharing this body, you might say.”

My stomach twisted at her words. The idea of Lyra–or whatever she’d become–inhabiting Kim’s body made me physically ill. I remembered the real Lyra–my little sister with her bright laugh and fierce intelligence. This… creature wasn’t her. Couldn’t be her. Yet looking at Kim’s face, hearing Lyra’s mannerisms in her voice, brought back a flood of childhood memories I’d thought long buried.

God, I’d failed them both. I’d failed to protect Lyra all those years ago, and I’d failed to protect Kim from becoming Lyra’s vessel. The weight of that realization made it hard to breathe.

“You’re not my sister,” I repeated, firmer this time. “You’re just a monster wearing her identity, parasitizing Kim’s body.”

“I’m an evoluer, a pioneer,” she countered, completely unfazed by my hostility. “I’ve transcended the boundaries of death itself.”

“You preyed on Kim when she was at her most vulnerable,” I accused, feeling rage building inside me. “After she lost the babies–when she needed help the most.”

Lyra laughed, the sound chilling in its lightness. “Oh? And what kind of help did you offer her, Rocco? Where were you when she was carrying your children?”

Her words hit like a physical blow, and I fell silent, the truth of them cutting deeper than any claw.

The anger that had been simmering inside me suddenly exploded. My transformation was instant and complete–bones cracking, muscles expanding, fur erupting across my skin as I lunged toward her with a roar that was more animal than human.

But Lyra moved with inhuman speed, evading my attack with a grace Kim had never possessed. I slashed and struck, but she anticipated each move, dancing just beyond my reach. Her fighting style was nothing like Kim’s–this was all Lyra, with decades of experience and something more… something unnatural.

After several minutes of intense combat, I finally managed to back her against a collapsed wall. My claws pressed against her throat, my teeth bared inches from her face.

“Give me one reason why I shouldn’t kill you right now,” I snarled.

She looked directly into my eyes. “Are you willing to take that chance? To sentence her to death again? Like you did your twins?”

Pain lanced through me, and I stepped back, shifting back to human form. “Is there a way… to separate you?”

I tried to block out her words, but images flashed unbidden through my mind–Kira and Andy in the helicopter, her turning to him for comfort, his protective arm around her shoulders.

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