Chapter 201

NATALIE’S POV Jason’s arms wrapped around me like a cage, not a cruel one, but a cage filled with fear and desperation. His grip trembled as if he was holding on to something already halfway out the door. Me. “I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he whispered. As he spoke, his voice was raw and heavy against my shoulder. I stiffened in his arms. My heart was torn between anger and exhaustion. “Then why did you?” I whispered back. Kaia whimpered in my chest. We had both never seen Jason or Liam this vulnerable. He pulled back just enough to look me in the eyes. His gaze was desperate, pleading. “I thought I was protecting the pack,” he said, slowly. “Everything I did, I did for them—for all of us. Natalie, I swear, I wasn’t trying to humiliate you or turn everyone against you. I just—I saw the doubt, I saw the confusion in the pack, and I didn’t want it to fester. You know how dangerous division can be during a time like this.” “You didn’t even give me a chance,” I said, cutting him off. I could