Chapter 61
Isla POV
“I’ll consider it. Until then, we have a lot of things to discuss and decisions must be made. Darius, please come with me.”
Without even a word to me, Tristan spun around, briefly waited for Darius, and then they left, the hall doors shutting behind them with a heavy thud.
That left only me and Vivianna at the table.
The air between us rapidly grew until it felt sharp as broken glass.
Viviana tapped her goblet with one painted nail. “Neutral ground,” she said softly. “Sounds thrilling, doesn’t it?”
I forced a swallow, shoveling down a forkful of beans down my throat. “Exciting isn’t the word I’d use.”
She leaned in, her perfume sharp, almost suffocating. “You do know what this invitation is really about, don’t you?” Her voice dropped, curling like smoke. “It’s about power. And Tristan’s going to need someone beside him who understands how the game is played.”
“Someone like you?” I asked, my tone steady though my stomach churned.
Her smirk widened. “Exactly. And when I’m done with him…” She paused, letting the weight of her words sink like poison. “…there’ll be no place for you here.”
The words cut deep.
Viviana was good…. she took your greatest fears and twisted them to get her exactly what she wanted.
I masked my reaction, but my pulse spiked. “You underestimate me,” I murmured.
“No, darling. Quite the opposite…” She rose gracefully, her gown trailing behind her. “I see you far too clearly.”
She swept out of the hall, leaving me trembling in my chair, my appetite gone.
By nightfall, the dream, the invitation, Viviana’s words … they all knotted inside me until I couldn’t breathe, so I slipped out of the manor, into the cool air, moving toward the forest’s edge.
“Are you running from ghosts, or chasing them?”
The voice slid through the dark, quite familiar in their nauseating calmness.
I spun, heart leaping, and there he was again…. like a damned bug!
Kieran. Leaning against a tree as though the night itself had shaped him.
His golden eyes glimmered in the dark.
“You shouldn’t be here,” I hissed, though part of me dumped on the thought that he was here.
“And yet, here I am.” He stepped closer, slow, deliberate. It wasn't like the other times that we've met before where he's trying to seduce me or coerce me into admitting my feelings for him.
This time was different. “You felt it tonight. The bond with Tristan. It’s fraying, isn’t it?”
My breath caught. “Fraying?”
“Yes,” he said softly. “You felt it weaken. The pull. Don’t lie to me…. Besides you know what that means.”
“I can’t… It’s not that simple,” I whispered, though my voice trembled.
“It’s exactly that simple,” Kieran said, voice low, urgent. “You just don’t want to admit it yet.” He reached for my hand, his fingers brushing mine, sending sparks up my arm.
I jerked my hand back, heart hammering. “Kieran… you know you’re not supposed to-”
“I know,” he said, softer now. “But you don’t belong there. Not with Viviana circling, not under Tristan’s shadow. You’re mine, Isla… or at least, you could be.”
His words sliced through me but then the memory of my dream… The memory of my dream… the moon, the lone wolf, the command: choose…. It all came rushing back and I knew that I couldn't give in.
Not this time.
“I… I'm so- sorry, I can’t.” I say, pulling away.
Kieran’s expression flickered, sorrow mixed with frustration. “Then at least admit that you want to.”
I could feel the desire pulsing off his body, and every part of me wanted to give in, wanted to feel loved and cherished by someone who truly desires me…. even if it was just for a moment.
I couldn’t speak.
How could I alter such words when I was mated to another?
The wind tangled my hair, the shadows swaying gently under the lights cast on the trees..around us. And somewhere beyond the tree line, I felt it-eyes on us, unseen but there.
Someone was here…. Watching us.
A shiver ran through me biggest instinctively, I knew that this wasn't over.
Tristan POV
The mirror was still fogged from the shower I took earlier when I returned to fasten my shirt several minutes later.
My reflection looked strange even to me…. Dark circles under my eyes, tension hardening every inch of my body.
No matter how I tried to shove it down, questions clawed at me.
Questions only Vivianna could answer.
Nobody tells you how difficult it is to be the leader of a pack where everybody automatically expects you to have answers and solutions to problems when you don't even know how to figure out your own life.
And deal with so many issues but right now, I've realized that there's only one that is of utmost importance….
Speaking to her.
Behind me, Isla stirred on the bed, sitting up fully when she saw me getting ready.
Her voice was groggy, soft in the morning hush.
“It’s so early,” she murmured, rubbing her eyes. “Where are you going?”
For a heartbeat, I almost told her the truth. Almost let her see the storm brewing in my chest.
Instead, I forced my expression into stone and reached for my boots.
“Pack business,” I said flatly.
She sat up a little straighter, concern creasing her brow. “Business at dawn?”
I met her gaze just long enough to silence her. It was a dismissive glance, sharper than I intended. “Go back to sleep, Isla.”
Her lips parted as though she wanted to argue, but I didn’t give her the chance. If I stayed longer, she’d see through me, and I couldn’t afford that…. not until I knew what Viviana was really hiding.
The corridors were quiet as I made my way to the guest wing.
The guards posted at her door straightened when they saw me.
“Alpha.” The bigger guy greeted, bowing his head.
“Leave us,” I ordered.
They exchanged a glance, hesitant.
One shifted in feet, looking uneasy. “But, Alpha…. you gave us strict instructions that she wasn't to be left unguarded-”
“I said leave!” I snapped, the words coming out harsher than I meant to. “That’s an order.”
They obeyed, though I caught the flicker of doubt in their eyes as they stepped away.