Chapter 187
Lynette's POV
My mind kept circling back to the same question as we stood in that hallway.
Why did the assassin run?
Wild Hunt didn't retreat. They hunted until the target was dead or they were.
That wasn't a failed kill attempt. That was a message.
Rezar was telling me he could reach me anytime he wanted.
I needed to think this through. Figure out what game he was playing. But when I opened my mouth to say something to Kael—
Kael's hands were still on my shoulders. His grip tight enough to hurt. His eyes swept over me one more time—checking for injuries he might have missed.
Then he let go. Stepped back. His jaw locked tight.
"Let's go back to the room." His voice came out flat. Controlled. Like he was forcing every word through a filter.
He turned and started walking. Not waiting for my response.
I stood there for a second, thrown off balance. I'd been preparing explanations. Partial truths. Ways to deflect without lying outright.
Now they were all stuck in my throat.
"Kael, about what just happened—" I tried again, catching up to him.
"Just some crazy mercenary." He kept his eyes forward. Wouldn't look at me. "We should rest."
His shoulders were rigid. Hands clenched into fists at his sides.
He wasn't calm. He was holding on by a thread.
That was it. No interrogation. No demands for answers.
I should've felt relieved.
Instead, something twisted in my chest. Sharp and uncomfortable.
---
Back in my room, I locked the door and leaned against it. My hands were shaking. Not from fear. From adrenaline finally crashing.
I scanned the room on instinct. Windows—still locked. Closet—empty. Bathroom door—ajar, the way I'd left it. No signs of entry. The wards I'd set on the doorframe were still intact, invisible to anyone without wolf senses.
Good enough. For now.
I'd been so ready to defend myself. To explain without explaining. To keep him at arm's length while still keeping him close enough to—
To what?
I pushed off the door and paced to the window. The ocean stretched out endlessly, black under the night sky. No moon. No stars. Just darkness.
A knock made me turn.
Kael stood in the doorway between our adjoining rooms. He'd taken off his jacket. Rolled up his sleeves. His eyes did a quick sweep of my room—professional, automatic—before landing on me.
"Your room's clear," he said quietly. "I checked mine already."
So he'd been thinking the same thing.
"You should change," he added. "Get comfortable."
He walked past me to the small sitting area. Picked up the hotel slippers they'd left and set them by the bed. His movements were casual now, but I'd caught that split-second assessment when he entered.
We were both on edge. Just hiding it differently.
Such a small thing. But it made my throat tight.
He didn't ask why Wild Hunt wanted me dead. Didn't question how I knew to duck before that blade came. Didn't point out that normal people don't survive ambushes in hallways.
He just... made sure I had slippers.
I sat on the edge of the bed. Kael moved to the window, hands in his pockets, staring out at nothing.
The silence stretched. Heavy but not uncomfortable. Like we were both waiting for something neither of us wanted to start.
"You really aren't going to ask?" The words came out before I could stop them.
He turned. Pulled off his mask and set it on the side table. His face looked different without it. Younger. More open.
"You have your secrets." His voice was steady. Calm. "If you don't want to tell me, I won't push."
Something cracked inside my chest.
"I know your name is Lynette," he continued. "I know someone wants you dead badly enough to send professionals after you. That's enough."
"That's enough?" I heard the edge in my own voice. "You don't want to know why? Who I really am? What I've done?"
"I want to know everything about you." He said it simply. Like it was obvious. "But not because I'm forcing you to tell me. When you're ready—if you're ever ready—you'll share it. Until then, it's yours to keep."
I stood up. Took a step toward him without meaning to.
"I've been researching," he said, and there was something almost shy in his expression now. "About friendship. About how to be someone's friend when you've never really had one before."
My heart was doing something stupid in my chest. Beating too fast. Too hard.
"Everything I read said the same thing. Real friends respect each other's boundaries. They don't interrogate. They don't demand explanations for everything." He met my eyes. "You having secrets from me just means you don't completely trust me yet. That's my failure. Not yours."
"Kael—"
"I'll earn it." His voice dropped lower. Rougher. "However long it takes. I'll prove you can trust me with whatever you're carrying."
The way he was looking at me. Like I was something precious. Something worth protecting. Worth waiting for.
I'd never had anyone look at me like that.
In the north, I'd been their Alpha. Their weapon. Their queen. But never just... me.
"Why?" The word came out barely above a whisper. "Why do you care so much?"
He took a step closer. Just one. Like he was afraid of spooking me.
"Because when I'm with you, I don't feel like I'm playing a role." His hands flexed at his sides. "I don't have to be the heir. The Alpha. The one who has all the answers. I can just be... Kael."
Something hot pressed behind my eyes.
"You make me want to be better," he continued. "Not stronger or more powerful. Just... better. Kinder. More human."
I couldn't breathe right. My chest felt too tight.
"And when I see you hurt, or scared, or in danger—" His jaw clenched. "It makes me want to burn the whole world down. Not because you're weak and need protecting. But because you matter. To me. More than anything."
"Stop." I held up a hand. "Just... stop talking."
Because if he kept going, I was going to do something stupid. Like cry. Or close the distance between us. Or tell him everything.
I spun around and headed for the bathroom.
"I need to wash up."
It was a coward's retreat and we both knew it.
But he let me go.
---
I locked the bathroom door and braced my hands on the sink. Stared at my reflection.
My face looked the same as always. Sharp. Cold. Controlled.
But inside, I was a mess.
Real friends respect each other's boundaries.
You having secrets just means you don't trust me yet.
I'll earn it. However long it takes.
Damn him.
Damn him for being patient when I needed him to push. For being understanding when I needed him to be angry. For looking at me like I was someone worth all that effort.
I turned on the cold water and splashed my face.
Get it together. This was just stress. Just the adrenaline crash from the attack. Just—
Who was I kidding?
This wasn't just anything.
Kael had gotten under my skin. Past all my defenses. And the scariest part was I'd let him.
I dried my face and stared at myself again.
In the north, I'd learned to trust no one. To keep everyone at arm's length. To be the lone wolf at the top of the mountain.
But Kael made me want to be something else. Someone else.
Someone who could have a friend. A partner. Maybe even—
No.
I shut that thought down hard.
I couldn't afford to want things. Wanting things made you weak. Made you vulnerable. Made you care about something more than survival.
And caring got you killed.
I took a breath. Then another. Forced my heartbeat to slow. My thoughts to clear.
When I came out of the bathroom, I'd be back in control. Back to being the person who could handle anything.
Back to being Lynette.
The question was—which Lynette did I want to be?