Chapter 31 Kael's POV
(Note from author, I'll be switching back to past tense. Writing in real time is not for me)
By the time I finished locking up my apartment, the sun had already started to set.
I checked the time again, even though I already knew I wasn’t late.
I’d never been the obsess over someone but when it came to Sienna it was as if I lost all reason and became this sienna's obsessed person.
I wanted her safe. Comfortable. Happy.
Those were things I hadn’t realized I was capable of wanting so fiercely until she walked into my life and rewired something deep in my chest.
I leaned against my car for a moment before getting in, breathing out slowly.
I’d lived most of my life believing I was… worthless. I mean I was a pack less lone wolf driven by revenge and then I became a wondering wold filled with loneliness.
I wasn't the guy you wanted forever with. Never the thing someone looked forward to at the end of a long day.
And then there was Sienna.
She looked at me like I mattered. Like my presence wasn’t something to be scared of or disgusted by but something she welcomed. She laughed with me, trusted me, leaned into me without fear or calculation.
She made me feel chosen.
That was my life line.
I slid into the driver’s seat and started the engine, my mind drifting back to the night before, to the call, to her voice shaking as she told me about the kids and the funding cuts.
She hadn’t asked me for help.
But I knew I couldn't see her with that look on her face. I had to fix it. I'd fix anything if she even thought of it as a problem
She’d been upset,
So I’d fixed it.
The moment she went to sleep, I’d already been making calls. Danny hadn’t been hard to find, and she’d been even easier to convince.
Once she realized the sponsorship came with no expectations, no publicity, no strings, she’d cried.
I’d negotiated the long-term logistics, made sure it wouldn’t collapse in a year, ensured the kids would be protected even if something happened to me.
Money was replaceable.
The look on Sienna’s face when she found out wasn’t.
That relief. That joy. The way she’d hugged me like I was the best thing to ever happen to get?
Worth it didn’t even begin to cover it.
I was a greedy fucker. I wanted to gobble up all the affection I could get from her.
I pulled outside the tattoo parlor and cut the engine.
The moment I stepped out of the car, I smelled him.
Ronan.
The scent me and my jaw tightened instinctively, my wolf stirring beneath my skin, irritated and alert.
I didn’t like him.
That was putting it mildly.
But my feelings didn’t matter here.
Sienna did.
And I knew he wasn't a threat to her and her safety. I just didn't like him.
The other fucker though was another story. He's been scarce of recent so I wasn't too worried.
I forced myself to breathe evenly and pushed open the door.
The bell chimed overhead, and I spotted her instantly.
She stood behind the counter, shoulders tense, eyes lifting the moment she sensed me. Relief flashed there first, then guilt followed close behind, like she’d been bracing for disappointment.
That hurt more than Ronan’s scent ever could.
I walked toward her calmly, keeping my expression neutral.
“Hey,” I said softly.
She bit her lip. “Hey.”
I could see it written all over her face, she was already apologizing in her head, already preparing to explain something she didn’t owe me an explanation for.
Already beating herself up and that made me hate the asshole more
I stepped closer and lowered my voice. “You okay?”
She hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. I just… I wasn’t sure if...
I shook my head gently. “You don’t need to justify anything to me.”
Her eyes searched mine, like she was checking for cracks.
I smiled, small and reassuring. “I meant what I said.”
"I still can't get used to this poly stuff" she whispered and I raised her hand to my lips and kissed it
"its normal. You're doing okay"
Some of the tension drained from her shoulders, though not all of it. She grabbed her bag and came around the counter, and I noticed how she stayed close to me as we walked out.
It made me feel go. Knowing it was me she wanted to be close to.
The drive home was quiet but comfortable. I kept one hand on the wheel, the other resting near hers, close enough that she could reach for it if she wanted.
She did.
Her fingers laced through mine.
I didn’t bring up Ronan. Didn’t ask questions. Didn’t let my irritation bleed into the moment. Whatever was happening between them was her business, not a battlefield for desire to punch his face.
I was just glad she was with me now.
We were about ten minutes from home when everything went wrong.
It started with the sudden lurch of the car.
I barely had time to register the impact before the tires screamed against the asphalt, the vehicle swerving violently to the side.
“Kael!” Sienna gasped, grabbing the dashboard.
I fought the wheel, adrenaline flooding my system as another car slammed into us from behind.
Not an accident.
I knew it instantly.
I managed to steer us onto a side street before the engine sputtered and died, smoke curling up from the hood.
Before I could say anything, doors slammed.
Multiple.
My wolf surged forward, senses sharpening as I scanned the area through the windshield.
Three men.
Not rogues
Hunters.
We're they from the council or did that asshole send them
I swore under my breath.
“Stay in the car,” I told Sienna, already unbuckling. “No matter what happens.”
She shook her head. “Kael...”
“Please,” I said firmly, meeting her eyes. “Trust me.”
Reluctantly, she nodded.
The moment I stepped out, the air shifted. they took steps backwards
Cowards.
The first one lunged.
I moved without thinking, shifting just enough to let my strength surge, grabbing his arm and snapping it with a sickening crack before throwing him into the side of the car.
The second caught me across the ribs, silver burning through my skin. Pain flared white hot, but I didn’t slow.
I couldn’t.
I had to protect Sienna
Sienna screamed my name, and that sound did something feral to me.
I took the second hunter down hard, disarming him and knocking him unconscious before he hit the pavement.
The third hesitated.
That was his mistake.
I advanced, teeth bared, ready to rip him to shreds. He ran.
Good.
I wanted to give chance but I had to stay with Sienna who was in the car
I turned back to the car and Sienna got down running towards me teers in her eyes.