Shattered Bonds A Second Chance Mate (by Yui) novel Chapter 269

**Chapter 269**

The air was thick with tension, Francesco’s question slicing through the silence like a knife poised just above skin, waiting to drop.

“Why,” the Lycaon inquired, his voice deliberate and slow, “did you tell me what I needed to do? Why did you choose to warn me?”

Drake felt the urge to turn away, to walk off into the shadows where he could let the darkness swallow him whole.

He should have allowed a cruel smile to curl his lips, letting the Alpha stew in the fear that had once consumed him. He should have let the curse gnaw at the Luna just as it had devoured his own beloved centuries ago.

That would have been justice.

Poetic justice, indeed.

But his feet remained rooted to the ground.

He… couldn’t bring himself to move.

Because when Francesco uttered that single word—why—something deep within Drake fractured, a silent crack that echoed in the depths of his being.

He turned his face away, desperate to shield the Alpha from the flicker of pain that threatened to betray him.

Why had he warned him?

The answer was painfully simple—it was Ellaine’s eyes.

The way they sparkled with life when she looked at her mate.

The way Francesco gazed back at her, filled with an adoration that seemed to radiate warmth.

And the way that ethereal glow pulsed beneath her skin whenever she whispered Francesco’s name, as if she were channeling a light that belonged to another time.

The truth was—she reminded him too much of someone he had buried long ago.

His Liora…

That brave, cursed girl who had been impossibly human, with laughter that felt like sunlight and breath that carried the essence of summer.

The woman who had been torn apart by Totti.

The woman whose memory haunted Drake each morning when sleep slipped away, leaving him with the weight of loss.

He hated Ellaine for it.

He despised her for forcing him to remember.

He loathed her for making him feel again.

And above all, he harbored a deep-seated resentment for Francesco—For possessing what Drake had once lost.

Francesco didn’t rush him. He didn’t threaten him again.

He simply waited, a silent sentinel.

Drake felt a surge of irritation at the Alpha’s patience, more than he thought it warranted.

“Do not mistake this,” Drake stated flatly, his voice devoid of emotion. “I didn’t help you.”

“But you warned me,” Francesco countered, his tone steady, challenging.

“No.” Drake’s eyes flared with a crimson hue. “I merely pointed out what you were too blind to see. There’s a significant difference.”

Francesco crossed his arms, a defensive posture that spoke volumes. “Blind? You think I haven’t noticed that she’s growing weaker?”

“If you had,” Drake hissed, the words sharper than intended, “you would have sought genuine help instead of relying on pack healers who know nothing about hybrid magic.”

Drake noticed the tightening of Francesco’s jaw, the flicker of pain hidden behind his irritation.

Regret washed over him, but he welcomed it.

Good.

He deserved to suffer.

All Lycaons did.

Especially this one.

Turning away, Drake attempted to piece together the fragments of his composure before they cut him deeper. “You ask why I spoke. I don’t have a noble answer, Lycaon.”

“Then give me the real one,” Francesco pressed, his voice insistent.

Drake inhaled sharply, the cool moonlight filtering through the towering pines, pale and cold—just like Liora’s skin on the night she passed away.

His voice softened, betraying him.

“You want honesty? The girl… your Luna…” He paused, closing his eyes for a fleeting moment. “She carries someone else’s shadow within her gaze.”

Francesco remained silent, letting the weight of the words settle between them.

“She resembles her,” Drake whispered, his voice barely audible. “Not in form. Not even in voice.” His lashes trembled, a sign of the turmoil within. “But in spirit.”

The forest seemed to hold its breath, the world around them suspended in a moment of shared understanding.

“I don’t wish to help you,” Drake continued, his tone resolute. “Not after what your bloodline has taken from me. Not after Totti Lycaon murdered my beloved. Not after I laid her to rest with my own hands.”

Francesco didn’t flinch, but sorrow crept into his eyes, a flicker of empathy.

“Your beloved—”

“My heart,” Drake interjected sharply, his voice cutting through the air. “She wasn’t merely my beloved. She wasn’t bound by scent or marked by fate. She was simply mine. And I was hers. That was enough until your father shattered everything.”

A heavy silence enveloped them, sharp and fragmented.

“And you see her in Ellaine,” Francesco said quietly, a statement rather than a question.

Drake’s lips twisted in disdain. “Ellaine is not Liora. Liora was human. Fragile. Foolish.” He lifted his gaze, crimson eyes ablaze with intensity. “Ellaine is stronger. More untamed. Stubborn enough to defy death itself.”

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify