Chapter 36
I sank back into the pillows, dragging the blanket tighter around me, my skin still tingling from his touch.
Sleep didn’t come back to me again,not when the memory of his mouth on mine played a running loop in my brain and a gnawing question echoing in my chest.
What if, no matter how strong I thought I was, I’d already let him too close?
Kieran POV
This manor and the land around it always had a way of choking me. It was either that the walls were too narrow, or the air too heavy.
I had been gone for a long time that after all these years, coming back here felt like stepping into a cage I had long since broken free from.
I should have hated it but then again, cages could be useful—if you learned how to rattle them.
I was trying to scout information but I needed my darling brother to truly be out of the house first so I was roaming the corridor, like some vengeful ghost and by the way the servants kept staring at me they were starting to worry.
I turned around a corner and the memories from my life here washed over me.
Running around this building and hiding in the closet here when Tristan and I played hide and seek, I round the corner and bumped into someone, I pulled back and sighed when I found familiar green eyes staring back at me.
Tristan.
“ Kieran “ he mumbled and I looked up at him arching a brow
“ What do you want “ I asked and he nodded to the door
“ Follow me, “
“ I'm not sure why I should do that “ I started and got cut off when his hand shot out and grabbed my arm pulling me to his office
He yanked me hard enough that My shoulders almost slammed into the doorframe of his office before he shoved me inside. The door shut with a final click, sealing us off from the rest of the world.
For a moment, neither of us spoke. He stood behind his desk, arms folded, staring at me with that same look he’d always had—like I was a problem he couldn’t quite solve but desperately wanted to erase.
I grinned, determined to make him regret every second with me,stretching out my arms as if I owned the space.
“Brother. Always such a warm welcome.”
“Why are you back?” he asked flatly.
Straight to the point with no greetings.
Typical Tristan.
“You know why,” I said, my voice low, almost amused.
His jaw ticked.
“That was solved a long time ago.”
I laughed, sharp and humorless.
“Solved? That’s what you call it?” I took a step closer, my eyes boring into his.
“If we weren’t twins, I’d almost wonder how a man like you could abandon our mother so easily.”
That must have touched his sore spot because his wolf surged, flashing in his eyes, the air around us snapping with energy.
“Don’t,” he growled.
I leaned forward across his desk, smirking.
“Don’t what? Don’t remind you of the truth? That you let her waste away while you polished this throne? That the Alpha King title meant more to you than the woman who gave you life?”
His hand slammed down on the desk, the sound echoing off the walls.
“You know nothing about what I’ve done. What I’ve sacrificed.”
“Oh, I know plenty.” My grin widened.
“And that’s why I’m back. To collect what was stolen.”
His wolf pressed hard against mine, the weight of Alpha authority making the air thick.
“You’ll collect nothing. Whatever claim you think you had— is dead. Buried.”
I chuckled, leaning back, unconcerned.
“Buried things have a way of clawing themselves out. You should know that by now.”
His wolf surged, flashing in his eyes.
“She begged, Tristan. She begged for you to come, in her last moment all she wanted to see was you. And you—” I jabbed a finger at his chest—
“you looked the other way. Because it was easier. Because your precious position mattered more than the woman who gave us life.”
He shoved me back, his face twisted with fury.
“You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I know enough,” I spat.
“I know you buried the truth under politics and pride. I know you left her to rot while you played Alpha King.”
It was like he couldn't move, he just stood there watching her. Finally, he broke it, his voice low and seething.
“Stay out of this. Stay out of my pack. Stay out of my life.”
I smiled, sharp and mocking.
“If only it were that easy.”
I turned, yanking the door open. But before I stepped out, his voice cut across the space, deadly and cold.
“Stay away from Isla,” he snapped behind me.
I froze, my hand on the frame, allowing the weight of his warning sinking like a stone. Slowly, I turned my head, meeting his stare.
“You sound worried,” I murmured.
“She’s mine,” he said, the words ringing with Alpha command.
My lips curved in a faint mocking smile
“Funny. Because you don’t act like it.”
I stepped out, but not before catching the flicker of his wolf barely leashed, snarling beneath his skin.
Halfway down the hall, I paused but the door behind me was cracked open, and through the gap, I caught voices.
Darius, my brother's loyal beta had just entered the room
“What do you want me to do about him?” Darius asked, his voice cautious.
“Nothing,” Tristan replied, clipped.
“Nothing?” Darius repeated as if he couldn't believe it, I didn't either
“I’ll deal with him.” he replied and I smirked that was more like my brother.
There was a slight pause, then Darius’s voice again said again
“And Isla? The pack’s already whispering. If you want her—”
“I don’t,” Tristan cut him off. His voice was colder than ice.
“Maybe she’s my mate, maybe she isn’t. I don’t care. All I want is to find Viviana and get rid of Isla.”
The words hung in the air like poison.
I clenched my jaw, scoffing under my breath. He hadn’t changed, still clinging to something he wanted despite the fact that it would hurt others around him, like a child clutching a toy, blind to the fire burning under his own roof.
So be it. If he didn’t want Isla, then he had no right to warn me off her.I pulled away from the door before the urge to confront him again boiled over.
I hadn’t planned to find her right away. But fate—or maybe the Goddess herself—had a cruel sense of humor. Because as I turned down the southern hall, I stumbled across Isla.