Chapter 89 The Favor
Kira’s POV
I opened my mouth to drop the bomb…my favor, the one thing I’d been dying to say since I first realized Dominic was my exit ticket…but Adrian’s hand shot up, palm out, gentle but firm.
“Hold that thought,” he murmured, voice low and rough like gravel wrapped in velvet.
His eyes locked on mine for a heartbeat longer than necessary, gold flecks sparking in the dim light, and something hot and liquid slid down my spine. “One minute. Promise.”
Before I could argue, he caught my wrist…thumb brushing the inside where my pulse was hammering…and tugged me with him back toward the low podium. The crowd had quieted, but eyes still followed us, curious, wary and most importantly, hopeful.
Adrian stepped up first, then pulled me beside him so our shoulders brushed. He didn’t let go of my hand. Not even for a second.
He faced them, voice carrying without effort.
“I owe you another apology,” he started. “And I owe you thanks…real thanks…for listening to my woman just now,” he began. His woman? Please… I’m your nothing!
He continued. “She spoke from the heart, and she spoke for both of us. Everything she promised? We’re making it happen. Every word. Housing upgrades, medical care, fair jobs, supplies…done. You occupy as much of this building as you need. It’s yours. All six floors. No crowding, no rationing space. There’s a full gym on the second level, relaxation rooms with those big heated massage chairs, a sauna that runs on geothermal lines so it stays steaming even when it’s forty below outside. Alaska winters don’t play nice, but this place does…heated floors in every unit, triple-pane windows, insulation that makes the cold feel like it’s someone else’s problem.”
A few murmurs of surprise rippled through the crowd. A dad in the back actually whistled low.
“The common kitchen’s fully stocked,” Adrian went on. “Fresh produce, meat, dairy…whatever you’re used to and then some. We restock weekly. If you ever run low on anything…formula, diapers, medicine, hell, even extra blankets…just tell one of my men. They’ll handle it before you finish the sentence. And once again…” His voice dropped, softer now, almost raw. “I’m sorry. For tonight. For the lives we lost. I’ll be setting up private meetings with every bereaved family tomorrow. No rush, no pressure. We’ll talk. We’ll honor them properly. The ones we lost…they’ll be committed to Mother Earth with every rite and respect we know how to give.”
The room exhaled. Shoulders dropped. A woman in the front row pressed a hand to her mouth and nodded slowly.
Then…a blur of pink pajamas and wild curls.
A little girl, maybe five, broke from her mom’s grip and sprinted straight for Adrian. She wrapped both arms around his leg and buried her face against his thigh.
“Thank you, Alpha,” she mumbled into his trousers.
Adrian froze for half a second. Then he crouched, slow and careful, like he was afraid he’d scare her off. He scooped her up gently, settling her against his chest. She looped her arms around his neck and squeezed.
He leaned in, whispering so only she…and maybe me…could hear. “I haven’t done anything worth thanking yet, sweetheart. I should be the one thanking you… for staying. For giving us a chance.”
My heart did something stupid. It squeezed, then melted, then squeezed again. Hard.
I stared at him holding that tiny girl like she was made of glass, murmuring soft nonsense to make her giggle, and everything in my head scrambled.
Didn’t he bully Abby? Didn’t he stand by while she was humiliated, broken, discarded? Didn’t he have a mistress…someone he actually chose…someone who had his kid? He may be good to others. But he wasn’t good to Abby. Not in the way that mattered.
But watching him now…big, scarred hands cradling a child who wasn’t even his, voice gone soft and patient…I couldn’t square it. He wasn’t faking this moment of softness. The little girl wasn’t afraid of him. She trusted him.
Maybe he’s not a good person across the board. Maybe he was only awful when it came to Abby. To me, by extension.
That didn’t make it okay.
But it did make me… confused. Messy. Warm in places I didn’t want to be warm.
He set the girl down gently, ruffled her hair, then straightened to address the room again.
“Have a good night’s rest. Lights stay on twenty-four seven…no flickers, no blackouts. My guards are on every perimeter. They’ll die before anything touches you again and that’s not a figure of speech. Our contract remains.”
Nods. Quiet thanks. The tension in the air finally broke like a fever passing.
Then Dominic stepped forward just then like he had been waiting patiently.
Tall, calm, sleeves still rolled from treating patients. He met Adrian’s eyes without flinching.
“I hope you keep your word, Your Majesty,” he said evenly. “I treated a lot of wounds tonight. Claw marks. Bites. Fractures. It’s the first time anything like this has happened since we settled here. We do our best to contribute our quota to this kingdom.”
He paused, letting that sink in. “I’m speaking for everyone when I say we don’t fully trust you yet… but we’re willing to give you the chance to prove those promises.”
Adrian’s jaw ticked like he wanted to smack Dominic across the cheek. But he was doing a good job by holding it in.
Dominic’s voice dropped lower…so low I was honestly shocked I caught it. “I just don’t know what to expect from a king who treats his own bride like a slave.”
Adrian heard it too. His whole body went rigid. Gold flared in his eyes.
Wow. Dominic, you sly bastard. You don’t bark…you just sink your teeth straight into the ass and twist. I like that.
Adrian exhaled through his nose, slow, controlled. Then, voice dangerously soft: “You got something more personal you want to say to me, Doc? Maybe matters of the heart?”
Dominic cleared his throat, glanced around at the watching faces, then shook his head once. “I still have wounds to treat. We’ll have faith in you… for now.”
Adrian actually groaned…low, frustrated, the sound vibrating through our joined hands.
I tugged him back before he could escalate.
“Enough,” I whispered. “It’s late. We still have something to discuss. Let’s go.”
He let me pull him, but not before he did something so subtle and petty it almost made me laugh.
He lifted our clasped hands…just enough that the movement was visible…and pressed a slow, deliberate kiss to my knuckles. Right in front of Dominic. Eyes never leaving the other man’s face.
The gesture screamed mine without a single word.
Dominic’s jaw flexed. He looked away first.
Adrian turned us toward the exit.
We stepped out of the warm glow of the complex and into the cold, dark Alaskan night.
The wind hit like a slap. Snow swirled in lazy spirals under the floodlights. The door clicked shut behind us, muffling the hum of voices inside.
Adrian stopped walking.
He turned to face me fully, breath fogging between us, eyes burning.
“Now,” he said, voice husky and low, “tell me what that favor is.”
My heart slammed against my ribs.
This was it.
And suddenly, standing here in the freezing dark with him looking at me like I was the only thing that existed, I wasn’t sure which was more dangerous…
Asking him to let me go…or realizing he might lock me up instead of letting me leave at all.
Still, I took the first step.
“I want to leave tomorrow… Adrian—”
It hit before I even understood what was happening. A sudden, burning wave tearing through my body, like scalding water dumped all at once.
Again?!