Chapter 12: CHAPTER TWELVE

Kade.

I exhaled deeply. No one ever said how hard it was to resist a mate bond. It was even harder when your wolf fought you too.

Kael followed behind me, and from the energy rolling off him, I could already tell. He was furious.

“You knew she was wolfless all this while and you didn’t say anything?” he roared.

I didn’t stop walking. From the moment I saw Lyra, days ago in the forest, I could already sense how different she was from the others and even more, I sensed she was mated to us. Though I hadn’t told Kael, I didn’t expect she’d show up right in our pack.

She looked like her. Smelled like her. But the difference between their characters was undeniable.

In a swift motion, Kael appeared in front of me, blocking my path.

“She’s not Anna!”

My wolf stirred at the mention of her name. Anna was my previous mate. Just mine, not a shared bond. But she was gone now.

“Lyra is your mate whether you like it or not and unfortunately for you, she’s mine too. So quit this act of yours and tell me what the heck is going on,” he snapped.

Kael didn’t back down. His chest rose and fell with frustration.

“You’re not even denying it. You’ve been acting like she’s some political inconvenience, but the truth is, you felt it too. You knew.”

I finally looked up at him.

“I didn’t portray her as anyone,” I said flatly. “I didn’t call her Anna.”

“But you think it,” he shot back. “Every time you look at her, your entire wolf tenses like you’re staring at a ghost. I can feel it, brother. We are fucking twins!”

Damn this Alpha bond.

Kael’s voice lowered but cut even sharper. “She’s Lyra. And whether you like it or not, she’s our mate.”

“She’s your mate,” I replied, stepping past him. “So knock yourself out. I’m just here to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself.”

He moved again, stepping in front of me. “Don’t give me that cold bastard act. You felt it the second she stepped foot on Crimson Fang soil. Same as me. The bond snapped into place like a whip, and your wolf nearly tore you apart. So stop pretending.”

I growled under my breath. “That girl doesn’t even have a fucking wolf, Kael. And don’t act like you didn’t know. You confronted her. You confirmed it.”

He hesitated and that was all the answer I needed.

“I sensed it the moment I saw her,” I went on. “There was nothing inside her. So get a hold of yourself and look at the bigger picture.”

“She’s the Moon Goddess’s chosen. For both of us. And she just handled raw Wolfsbane without flinching.”

“She’s also at the center of a brewing storm,” I shot back. “We have Elders whispering, instructors raising brows, and people noticing things they shouldn’t. You think the Council won’t come sniffing around once they find out someone like her survived rogue territory, doesn’t shift, and bonded to not one, but two Alphas?”

Kael’s voice dropped into a sneer. “When did you become such a cold asshole, brother?”

“When I watched the last person I loved get torn to pieces in front of me, and there was nothing I could do about it,” I snarled through gritted teeth.

Kael’s mouth opened, then closed. He looked away. “She needs protecting.”

“She needs to be figured out,” I corrected. “Until we know what she is, she stays under my watch.”

I stepped around him without another word. This time, he didn’t stop me.

My wolf pressed against my skin, pacing like a caged thing inside me—restless, torn, furious. But I didn’t let him out.

I couldn’t.

Because if I gave him even a little ground… I wouldn’t just be protecting Lyra.

I’d be claiming her.

And I wasn’t ready to do that.

I didn’t stop until I reached the south wing of the academy, where my advisor’s office was.

I pushed the door open, and three heads snapped up. My old man, and two other girls. Riselle and Lucy.

According to Gregor, the Wolfsbane Resistance instructor, they were the only ones in class before the practical started. Which meant they had something to do with the sabotage.

Lucy was red-haired, rich, bratty and once one of my potential matches after Anna died. She adjusted herself quickly as soon as she saw me enter.

Both of them were still in uniform, pale-faced but trying to act unfazed. Cowards in training.

Riselle looked like she might pass out.

“Alpha Kade,” my advisor stammered, half-rising from his chair. “We weren’t expecting—”

I held up a hand, silencing him instantly. My gaze never left the girls.

“I’m not here to talk about rules,” I said flatly. “I’m here to talk about why Wolfsbane meant to be diluted nearly burned through my instructor’s skin.”

Silence.

“I want the truth,” I growled. “And I want it now.”

Something about them intentionally trying to hurt Lyra made my wolf growl. They didn’t know anything about her, so why the hell would they target her?

Riselle fidgeted.

Lucy crossed her legs like she was settling in for a show. “It was an accident. A silly joke.”

“Bullshit.” I slammed my palm on the desk. Riselle jumped. Lucy flinched but quickly masked  it. “You switched the sample. You knew exactly what you were doing.”

“We didn’t—”

“Then how the hell was it only the sample from that table that was mixed up?”

It didn’t add up. They shouldn’t have even known she’d be seated there.

Lucy’s stare sharpened, meeting mine, but it was Riselle’s trembling that gave everything away.

Lucy hissed under her breath. “Don’t say anything.”

But I was already moving around the desk.

“Who told you to do it?” I demanded.

Riselle looked down. Her lips trembled.

“We just… we did what we were told.”

My chest tightened.

“Who?” I snapped again.

She opened her mouth.

And that’s when the door slammed open behind us.

We all turned.