BOUND BY FATE: ENTANGLED WITH MR HELL

Chapter 23: Boundaries

Bryant's POV

Sleep evaded me once again.

The moon was high—taunting me with its silence—while the rest of the palace slumbered under a blanket of shadows. I tossed aside the scroll I had been trying to read and stood. My head throbbed, and the walls of my chambers suddenly felt too tight.

I needed air.

The garden was quiet, painted silver under the moonlight. I stood among the lilies and roses Rosa once touched… staring at the stars as if they could speak answers into my restless soul.

I felt her scent again.

No. Not hers.

His.

I didn't even need to turn. I knew who it was the moment I heard his steps.

> "Seems like you're also struggling to sleep… brother," Edward said, bowing slightly.

I didn't reply. I simply kept my eyes fixed on the stars.

> "Rosa," he said softly, as if testing the weight of her name on his tongue.

The sound of it in his mouth made my jaw clench. Still, I said nothing.

> "She's beautiful," he added, his tone layered with a mocking softness. "I wonder how she is in bed. I mean, with how innocent she looks—"

I didn't hear the rest.

I moved.

Before he could finish the sentence, I grabbed him by the collar and slammed him back. The push was light to me, but the force of my Alpha power sent him sprawling across the garden floor.

His back hit the marble path with a dull crack.

He groaned, but I was already on him.

I crouched, one hand around his neck, squeezing just enough to see the panic rise in his eyes.

> "Don't." I said, voice low, cold, and shaking with rage. "Don't you dare speak her name again. Don't breathe near her. Don't look at her."

Edward gasped, his hands trying to grip mine. But I didn't loosen my hold.

> "Next time, I'll rip your tongue out myself," I whispered, my eyes glowing red.

He gasped louder, his body trembling beneath mine.

And just like that, I released him.

He collapsed to the ground, coughing violently, gasping for air. But I didn't look back. I walked out of the garden as if nothing had happened—leaving him choking on his own pride.

I don't know what Rosa means to me. But I know one thing:

She is mine.

And I will kill anyone who threatens that.

Even if it's my own brother.

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