Chapter 157
Lynette's POV
The living room felt smaller than it should have. Maybe it was the way Kael stood there, arms crossed, watching us like we were problems he needed to solve. Or maybe it was the weight of what I wasn't saying pressing down on my chest.
I looked at his face. That sharp jawline. Those amber eyes that had once looked at me with heat and want. Except they hadn't. Not really. They'd looked at Elara's body. At the girl I'd been wearing like a borrowed coat.
My stomach twisted.
He didn't recognize me. How could he? The body he'd touched, the skin he'd tasted, the girl who'd begged him in that room at the gala—that had all been Elara. This body, my real body, was a stranger to him.
I wanted to laugh. Or scream. I wasn't sure which.
"Well?" Kael's voice cut through my thoughts. Cold. Impatient. "You said you needed to talk. So talk."
I forced myself to meet his eyes. His gaze lingered on me a beat too long. There was something in his eyes I couldn't quite name. Confusion maybe. Or something warmer, buried deep beneath that icy surface. His scent hit me. Pine and cold wind and something darker, something that made my pulse quicken even though I didn't want it to.
Whatever he was feeling, he was working hard to hide it.
"My name is Lynette," I said. My voice came out steadier than I felt. "I'm Elara's older sister. Her sister who's been missing for twenty years."
His expression didn't change. But I saw the flicker of recognition in his eyes. He knew the name. Or at least, he'd heard it somewhere.
"The northern territories," he said slowly. "Ice plains region. There was a file."
So he had seen it. The reports about the young female Alpha who'd killed her way to the top. Who'd ruled the coldest, most brutal territory in North America.
"Yes," I said.
"You're a long way from home."
"I don't have a home anymore."
Something shifted in his face. Not sympathy. Kael didn't do sympathy. But maybe understanding. He knew what it was like to lose everything.
"Elara found me in Canada," I continued. "We only just got back."
Beside me, Elara nodded. She had barely spoken since we'd walked in. Smart girl. She knew this conversation needed to be mine.
Kael's gaze moved between us. Assessing. Calculating. I could almost see him putting the pieces together. Two sisters. One who'd been missing. One who'd somehow tracked her down and brought her home.
"That's a nice story," he said. "But it doesn't explain why you're here. In my house. At night."
I took a breath. This was the hard part.
"Because my coming back brought danger with it," I said. "Wild Hunt is after me. And they won't stop until they get what they want."
The room went very quiet.
Kael's eyes narrowed. "Wild Hunt."
It wasn't a question. He knew exactly who they were. What they were.
"How the hell did you piss off a pack of mercenary wolves?" he asked.
"Long story," I said. "The short version is they were hired to kill me. They failed. Now they're coming back to finish the job."
"And you think they'll go after your family."
"I know they will."
I watched his face. Watched the way his jaw tightened. The way his hands flexed at his sides. He was thinking about Victoria. About his brother. About all the people he'd lost because of his family's enemies.
"The Council is already protecting them," he said. "I heard about the guards they assigned."
"Guards aren't enough," I said. "Not against Wild Hunt. These aren't random rogues. They're professionals. Trained killers. The Council's guards will slow them down, but they won't stop them."
"So what do you want from me?"
The question hung in the air between us.
I looked at him. Really looked at him. At the way he held himself. The careful distance he kept. The walls he'd built so high I could practically see them.
He was waiting for me to ask for his pack's protection. For soldiers. For resources. That's what anyone else would ask for.
But I wasn't anyone else.
"I want your help building something new," I said.
His eyebrows rose. "Building what?"
"A pack. My own pack."
For a second, he just stared at me. Then he laughed. It wasn't a nice sound. It was sharp and cutting and full of disbelief.
"You want to build a pack," he repeated. "From scratch. While being hunted by the most dangerous mercenaries in North America."
"Yes."
"That's insane."
"Maybe."
He shook his head. Pushed off from where he'd been leaning against the wall. Started pacing.
"You don't have territory," he said. "You don't have resources. You don't have wolves willing to follow you. What you do have is a target on your back and a family that's about to become collateral damage."
Every word hit like a punch. Because he was right. I had nothing. Less than nothing.
"I know," I said quietly.
He stopped pacing. Turned to face me.
"Then why are you here?" His voice was softer now. Less angry. "Why come to me?"
I swallowed hard. This was it. The moment where I either convinced him or lost any chance of his help.
"Because Elara told me about you," I said.
His eyes flicked to Elara. She'd gone very still beside me.
"She told me how you stopped that fight at school," I continued. "How you went into the forest to help those refugees even though you didn't have to. How you—" I paused. Chose my words carefully. "How you protect people even when it costs you something."
His face had gone very blank. That careful, controlled expression he wore when he didn't want anyone to see what he was feeling.
"Your sister talks too much," he said.
"She talks enough," I countered. "Enough for me to know you're not the cold bastard you pretend to be."
"You don't know anything about me."
"I know you won't stand by and watch innocent people get hurt."
Silence.
I could feel Elara's tension beside me. Could feel my own heart pounding. This had to work. It had to.
"The Council is already protecting your family," Kael said finally. "That should be enough."
"It's not."
"Why?"
"Because I'm not going to hide," I said. The words came out harder than I meant them to. "I'm not going to wait for Wild Hunt to pick us off one by one. I'm going to fight back. But I can't do it alone."
He studied me. Those amber eyes seeing too much.
"You want to go on the offensive," he said.
"Yes."
"Against professional killers who've already beaten you once."
"They caught me by surprise last time," I said. "It won't happen again."
"That's not a strategy. That's pride."
"Maybe. But it's also survival."
He was quiet for a long moment. I watched him think. Watched the way his fingers drummed against his thigh. The way his eyes kept moving back to Elara, then to me, like he was trying to solve a puzzle.
"Building a pack takes time," he said finally. "Resources. Territory. You don't have any of those things."
"I have myself," I said. "And I have wolves who'll follow me if I can prove I'm worth following."
"Where are these wolves?"
"I don't know yet. But they're out there. Rogues. Outcasts. Wolves who've been pushed out of their packs for one reason or another. Give them a leader who's strong enough, and they'll come."
"And you think you're that leader."
It wasn't a question. But I answered anyway.
"I know I am."
Another silence. Longer this time.
Then Kael did something I didn't expect. He smiled. Not the cold, mocking smile from before. Something else. Something almost like respect.