Chapter 85 BEAST

Chapter 85 BEAST
Pain tore through him as he lay on the ground. His chest was heaving, every breath dragging like broken glass. Slowly, the world came back, cold under his bare skin, the damp bite of night air, and the raw fact that he was completely naked.

His eyes dragged across the ruins until they locked on her.

Keira.

She gasped his name, soft and rough at the same time. “Dion.”

The sound of it pulled something up from deep in his gut. A low, hungry rumble rolled out of him before he could stop it.

Mine.

His head spun. The word felt too big, too true.

“What happened?” he rasped.

“You don’t remember?” She took one careful step closer, then another, like she couldn’t help herself.

Pieces slammed into him, blood, screams, the wet rip of claws. Under his skin, the beast stretched, awake now, chains gone. Just raw power moving with his pulse.

“Parts,” he muttered.

He glanced past her. His eyes widened as he recognized Faye and Maren. They still slept, curled together against the wall.

Keira’s voice dropped.

“You saved us from the King.”

He looked straight at her then, no shield left in him.

“I’d save you anywhere, Keira.”

Her lips parted. For a second, neither of them breathed.

“Lita’s gone,” she said quietly. Then, softer, “What are you, Dion? That thing inside you… It’s stronger than anything I’ve felt.”

“They always told me I was a chained wolf.”

“You’re more than a wolf.” Her eyes stayed on his, steady and burning. “Do you remember anything from last night?”

Flashes came hard and fast. The moon hanging low and fat. His bones cracking as something inside him finally broke free and refused to crawl back into its cage. And the rage, hot, endless, and alive.

It stirred again now, crawling up his spine, sharpening his sight until all he could see was the quick flutter of her pulse at her throat.

His hand twitched.

She took another step toward him.

Everything in him surged forward, then slammed to a halt.

The beast inside went still, listening to her.

“What are you?” she said, the words scraping out low, her gaze never wavering.

“Depends which part of you is asking.”

The air between them pulled tight, charged like the moment before lightning cracks.

Before he could answer, he heard the scrape of stone at the edge of the ruins.

Sable stepped out of the shadows.

His body reacted before his mind caught up, a deep warning growl building in his chest.

She didn’t flinch. Just looked him over, slow and measuring, taking in every bare inch of him.

“You survived,” she said.

“Barely.” The word came out edged.

Her eyes flicked to Keira for half a second, and something cold and sharp crossed her face, then vanished.

She tossed a bundle of clothes at his feet.

“Put those on. You’re not steady enough to be standing around like that.”

He caught the fabric but kept staring at her.

“What did you do to me?”

“I didn’t do anything. It was already there.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“It’s the only one you’re getting right now.”

His jaw tightened. Heat still rolled under his skin, half from the beast, half from the way Keira’s gaze kept dragging back to him like she couldn’t look away.

Sable’s voice dropped.

“You were never just a wolf.”

The words sank in heavily.

“What does that mean?”

Her eyes flickered. “Your father wasn’t a wolf.”

It landed in his chest like a stone dropped in still water, ripples spreading, waiting for the rest to break the surface.

“What was my father then?”

“He was a lycan, a powerful one at that.”

“Then who was he?”

“I don’t speak his name anymore. I will tell you when I’m ready, when you are.”

Keira came to stand by him, her hand resting on his shoulder.

“You call yourself a mother,” she rasped.

Sable looked through her, then chose to ignore her.

“We need to get moving. The further away we get, the better.”

The beast in me snapped.

“You don’t get to walk into my life and choose the path I take.”

She eyed him cooly.

“No, but I see pieces of the future, and I know when to stay and when to go. If we linger too long, your fate may change for the worse. I haven’t been a good mother, but trust me when I say I am looking out for your best interests.”

Dion stood eying her, his beast was only calmed by the presence of Keira at his back. Anchoring him.

Mine. His beast clamored in his head.

Cairo slinked through the ruins, then Keira spoke.

“Riders are approaching. It is the lycan Aeden and his men. I will leave to speak with him.”

He noted Sable's eyes turn alarmed, as one of her wolves came to speak with her urgently.

“We will watch from afar,” she said. “And help if we need to.”

Even in the hard lines of her face, a flicker of sadness has settled. She moved away with her wolves disapearing into the ruins.

He heard them coming, and when they came into view. He could see they had no cause to be quiet. Men built like mountains with no look of mercy about them.

Hard men, men he would have once been cautious about.

His beast raged then stilled when he saw Keira on Cairo riding to meet them.

Something in his beast recognized them.

He strode forward to stand with her, his beast uncoiling inside as he did.