Chapter 106

DERRICK

“What are you saying?” I asked, staring at Lyka as if the force of my confusion alone could make her explain herself better. Her expression was calm, but there was something guarded behind her eyes that made my chest tighten. I did not know if I had said the wrong thing, done the wrong thing, or simply arrived at the wrong time. Either way, I could feel distance growing between us, and I hated it.

My mind immediately began retracing everything that had happened since we returned to the pack.

After dealing with the chaos outside and shutting down the ridiculous spectacle between Morgan and Zuri, I had stormed straight into my study, anger still hot beneath my skin. Scott followed behind me, quiet as a shadow. He knew me well enough to understand that when I was in that mood, speaking carelessly was the fastest route to disaster.

The door had barely shut before I began pacing.

“Actually, I think this pack needs cleaning,” I muttered, rubbing my jaw as irritation pulsed through me. “Anyone who enjoys stirring trouble should be swept out before they rot the rest.”

Scott nodded immediately, hands clasped behind him in that annoyingly composed way of his.

“Understood. I will see to it.”

I stopped pacing and glanced at him properly then. There were shadows beneath his eyes. His shoulders looked tense. While I had been gone chasing cursed swords and surviving madness, he had been left behind to manage the entire pack. I exhaled slowly.

“How have you been?”

To my surprise, Scott spoke at the same time.

“How have you been?”

We both froze for a second before I barked out a laugh. It felt strange and almost foreign after everything that had happened.

“Me?” I said, dropping into the chair behind my desk. “I think I finally get to stop worrying about waking up insane and trying to rip your throat out.” Scott stared.

“Really?” I nodded once. The next second, the fool let out a shout and threw himself at me in a hug.

“That is incredible!”

“Get off me!” I shoved him back in disgust. “What did you just do? That was revolting.”

But despite my words, I was smiling. Because he was right to celebrate.

For the first time in longer than I cared to admit, I felt hope. Real hope. The kind that settled deep in the bones and made breathing easier.

Phoenix had ruled too much of my life. Every day had been a calculation. Every emotion had been measured. Every attachment had come with fear. But now? Now I had Lyka. Now I had a future.

“I am sure she will be happy too,” Scott said carefully.

My smile faded. Lyka. Without another word, I stood so quickly my chair scraped backward.

Scott blinked. “Alpha?”

I was already moving toward the door.

She had stood beside me through everything. Through madness, blood, danger, and uncertainty. She deserved to hear it first.

She deserved to hear that I was free.

That was how I had ended up in front of her room, proposing marriage like a reckless idiot led entirely by emotion.

And now here I was, staring at her in confusion as she spoke in circles and looked at me like I was missing something obvious.

“I mean, there is no reason for you to say anything like that,” she said, folding her arms. “I already have your mark. Did you think I needed rituals too?” I blinked. Then it hit me.

“Is that why you said no to my proposal?” She nodded once. My shoulders loosened in relief. If that was all, then I could fix it. I could explain. I could wait.

But then she lifted her chin slightly.

“I want to ask you something.”

There was a seriousness in her tone that made my stomach tighten.

“What is it?”

She hesitated for only a moment.

“What happened to her that night?” The room seemed to still around me. I knew immediately who she meant.

Sheila.

Even hearing the name in my own mind felt like pressing a hand to an old wound.

“I do not mean to pry,” Lyka continued quietly. “I am just curious.”

Curious. If only it were that simple. My throat felt dry.

“Can you give me more time?” I asked. “I still need to... ”

“Time?” she interrupted, face hardening. “You need more time for things like that?”

I clenched my jaw. “Yes. It is not something I can simply get over.”

“Are you even listening to yourself?” she asked sharply. “I am not asking you to get over her. I am asking you to tell me what I need to know.”

Her words struck deeper than she realized.

What she needed to know.

What if what she needed to know made her look at me with disgust? What if the truth made her fear me? What if the story of Sheila became the story that ended us before we even began?

She did not understand. It was not grief that silenced me. It was shame. I was ashamed of what happened that night. Ashamed of what I became. Ashamed of what I was capable of.

“I am sorry,” I said quietly. “But I cannot tell you yet, Lyka. I promise I will tell you when the time is right.” To my surprise, she laughed. Not happily. Bitterly.

“When exactly is the right time, Derrick?” she asked. “You never tell me anything. I found out truths about myself from everyone except you. If I were weaker, I would have been misled again and again. And you still think I should wait for some magical time that may never... ”

A knock sounded at the door. She stopped speaking at once. Then she stepped back from me.

“You should go,” she said coolly. “Your Beta probably has reports waiting.” I stood there, torn between grabbing her shoulders and making her understand, or giving her the space she clearly wanted.

Her smile when it came was small and sad. That hurt more than anger would have.

“Take care of yourself,” I murmured. “I will come see you soon.” She only nodded.

I left with my chest heavy and my thoughts in knots. Outside, Scott was waiting.

But one look at him told me I could not listen to reports right then.

“Later,” I said flatly. “Not now.” Without waiting for a reply, I turned and walked away.

I found myself heading not toward the council room, but toward my chambers. Because the truth was simple. I was afraid.

Afraid Lyka would leave if she learned what happened to Sheila.

Afraid she would see me not as a man fighting darkness... but as darkness itself.

“I am sorry, Lyka,” I muttered under my breath as I entered my room. “I just need more time.”

The chamber was quiet. Dim. Familiar. My eyes landed on the iron safe near the far wall.

Inside it was something I had not touched in years. The letter. The cursed, half-empty letter that had ruined too much of my peace.

I crossed the room and unlocked the safe. The hinges creaked softly as I opened it.

“I do not need this anymore,” I said to myself.

If Phoenix was gone, then the secrets tied to him no longer mattered. I reached in and pulled out the folded parchment.

At first glance, it looked the same... faded, incomplete, full of broken lines and missing ink.

But when I opened it fully, my breath caught.

Words. Complete words. Lines that had once been blank were now dark and clear, stretching across the page in elegant script. I stared in disbelief.

“No…”

My hands trembled. I brought the letter closer. I could read every line. Every symbol. Every warning. Every hidden part that had been invisible to me before.

“I can read it,” I whispered. “But why?” My pulse thundered in my ears. Only one reason made sense.

The letter had never been blocked from me by chance. It had been sealed.

And whatever barrier once existed… was gone.

My fingers slackened.

The parchment slipped from my hands and hit the floor.

A cold dread crawled up my spine. If I could now read the full letter… Then something had changed. Something fundamental. Something terrible. And if the letter had opened itself now... Then Phoenix had not disappeared.

He had evolved. I stumbled back a step, staring at the parchment on the floor like it was a living thing.

“I am doomed,” I breathed.