Chapter 154

KNOX

I wiped the sweat from my brow as I stepped up to the house, muscles burning from the intense training I’d just put myself through. The deltas had pushed me hard, but I’d pushed myself harder. Push-ups, sit-ups, hand-to-hand combat—anything to burn off the frustration and pressure building inside me over the past few days. I’d needed to feel it in my body, let it out in a way that I could control.

But now, standing in front of the door, shirtless and still catching my breath, the weight in my chest shifted. The physical exhaustion didn’t even come close to what I was feeling inside.

I opened the door and immediately heard Luca’s laughter. It was like a balm on my soul, that sound. I followed it into the kitchen and found them there—Jax sitting across from Isa, Luca clapping happily between them. They looked... normal. Like a family. A moment of peace I hadn’t been expecting.

I paused in the doorway for a second, watching them, and something inside me twisted. How could everything look so calm, so good, when everything felt so upside down?

I walked in slowly, tying back my damp hair as I entered the room. Jax caught my eye first, giving me a nod. His expression was serious, but I could tell he was trying to keep things light for Luca’s sake. I appreciated that. And Isa... she looked up at me, her eyes flickering with something I couldn’t quite read—uncertainty, maybe? Hurt?

I stepped closer to Luca first, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. His little hands reached up toward me, and I smiled despite everything, ruffling his hair gently. He had no idea how much his presence, his innocence, grounded me.

But when I turned my attention to Isa, I hesitated.

I couldn’t just kiss her the way I always had. Not now. Not when everything between us was so fragile. My heart clenched as I caught the slight tension in her shoulders, the way she looked at me like she wasn’t sure what I was going to do next. I hated that. I hated that I’d caused that shift, that she now had to wonder about me, about us.

I took a breath, running a hand through my hair before letting it fall back to my side. “Isa...” I started, then stopped, realizing I didn’t even know how to begin.

She raised an eyebrow, waiting for me to speak, but her expression was guarded, her usual warmth toward me dimmed.

I swallowed hard, the words I wanted to say getting tangled in my throat. “I don’t know what to do,” I admitted, my voice rougher than I intended. “I don’t know how to... be around you right now.”

Her eyes softened, but there was still a distance between us that hadn’t been there before. “Knox...” she said quietly, almost like she wasn’t sure what to say either.

“I want to hold you. I want to tell you that everything’s okay. But I know it’s not,” I continued, the honesty spilling out before I could stop it. “I’m not going to pretend like what we did—what I did—wasn’t wrong. But I don’t know how to fix this, Isa. And it’s killing me.”

She looked down for a moment, her fingers tracing patterns on the table as if she was trying to find the right words. I knew she wasn’t ready to talk about everything. I knew that forgiveness, if it ever came, wouldn’t come overnight. But standing there, unsure of what to do or say, was tearing me apart.

“I just... I needed you to know that,” I finished, the weight of my confession pressing down on me.

Her gaze flicked back up to mine, something soft and unreadable in her eyes. “Thank you for being honest, Knox,” she said quietly, her voice steady. “I don’t have the answers either, but... I appreciate that.”

I nodded, feeling like that small moment of understanding was more than I deserved. I couldn’t push her. I wouldn’t. But I also couldn’t keep pretending like everything was fine when it wasn’t.

The silence between us was thick, but it wasn’t as unbearable as it had been before. There was something real between us again, something raw, and maybe that was enough for now.

“I’m gonna go shower,” I said finally, my voice low. “But... I’ll be here, Isa. Whenever you’re ready.”

She gave me a small nod, a glimmer of something almost hopeful in her eyes.

With one last glance at Luca, who was babbling happily, oblivious to the tension in the room, I turned and headed upstairs. My legs felt heavy, but my heart even more so. The hot shower wouldn’t wash away what had happened, but it would at least give me a moment to breathe, to figure out how the hell I was going to make things right with her.

And I would. I had to. Because I couldn’t imagine my life without her.

EMILIA

I paced the length of the dimly lit room, my mind racing as I spoke in a low voice to Harvey, another hunter seated across from me. "Isabella doesn’t understand," I said, my tone laced with frustration but underpinned by a fierce, protective instinct. "She’s blinded by them—those wolves. I left to protect her, to keep her safe from this life, and now she’s right in the middle of it, tangled with them. But the boy..." I paused, my eyes narrowing. "Luca. Everything depends on him. If he inherits the wolf, he’s a threat—no matter how innocent he seems now. I won’t let another generation fall into that curse. Not my grandson. I’ll do what’s necessary, but I have to tread carefully. For my Bella, I’ll protect her from what’s coming, even if she doesn’t see it yet."