Their Secret Obsession by Pippa Moon

Chapter 0253

Lottie POV

Seeing Knox on the floor, his face a mottled landscape of bruises and his lip split, I felt a surge of nausea. The healing process had begun, his supernatural nature knitting skin and bone back together, but it was slow, and the damage was extensive. His one eye swollen nearly shut, a deep shade of purple spreading like a storm cloud under the thin skin, and there were cuts that looked deep enough to have hit bone. It was clear he'd been in a brutal bar fight, one I knew he had started himself.

Dick!

"Or is it to get attention." Sage inserted moodily. But I knew she was forcing it; she was worried about him too because despite everything-the lies, the hurt he'd caused me-seeing him like this twisted a knot in my stomach. I couldn't enjoy his suffering; it just made me sick, and I knew she to felt the same; I could sense it.

With legs feeling like they were made of jelly, I walked over to him, each step shaky as my heart hammered against my ribs.

"What are you doing?" Liam seethed from my side. I didn't bother responding. My eyes focused on Knox's body, needing to get closer to him.

"Be careful, Lottie. Havoc is close to the surface." Sage's voice echoed in my head, her tone urgent while Liam's demands ebbed away to the back of my self-consciousness.

Knox's wolf, Havoc, was feral and wild, a stark contrast to the more composed Rolo. He'd always called us 'kitty', a term that irked her but amused me. Now, as Knox's sleepy eyes flickered open, the dangerous glint of Havoc's presence shimmered in his gaze, and I could almost feel the raw power emanating from him.

"Sage, wait," I murmured under my breath as an unexpected connection sparked at the back of my mind.

His primal consciousness surged forward, his presence a chaotic storm that raged through my

severed, his voice desperate and possessive, clawing at the edges of my

are not your mates anymore," Sage countered fiercely, her anger tangible, a fiery barrier against his claims. But his words set off a tumult in my chest; if he still believed we were mates, did that mean there was still a thread

welled up in my eyes, each drop reflecting the

love," I whispered softly to myself, a confession that felt

voice rough with emotion, shredding through me like a knife. The idea that all our shared moments, the depth of what

uttered, my hand instinctively resting on my belly in a protective gesture as much as a search for solace from the tiny lives within

lacing his

to, was overwhelming. It felt like a physical blow, each word from him a strike against the fragile hope that had started to bloom

furious, the intensity of my feelings making it hard to breathe, as if each breath was a battle against

not only tainted the past but also darkened the path ahead, leaving me to navigate a maze of pain and betrayal with no clear way out. The change in my mood seemed to alert Havoc as Knox's once beautiful blue hues looked at me, tinged in red. Pain painting

I knew without a doubt that

be careful. I can't take over if things go wrong." I understood that; now, I was heavily pregnant,

will be fine." I sighed despite Sage's confused and alarmed warning. Feel her scratch at the edges of

won't hurt me. If he

his mate, he won't harm a hair