Chapter#46

Chapter#46
Liam’s POV

“Liam?” Alina’s voice cut through the fog. 

She stood in the doorway. Her eyes narrowed, taking in my bloodied bandage, “You look like shit. Where did you go?”

My fists clenched. “You,” I snarled, meeting her eyes, “You did this to me.” 

The image of Rowan’s head between her thighs flashed across my mind. I could still hear her moans of the pleasure he gave her. 

“I saw you, Alina.” I spat, stepping forward, “Saw you spread your legs for him like a whore…”

“Spying, were you?” A cruel smirk appeared on her lips as she crossed her arms. She let out a frustrated sigh and then continued taking a step toward me, “You’re still clinging to me, Liam, after all these years. I fucked someone else in your bed, and you ran. Now you’re crying over me again? Grow up, will you?”

Her words were a lash, stripping away what little control I had. “Grow up?” I roared as I closed the gap between us. “You played with me, like I was some doll your parents gave you when you turned five. Something to dress up, throw around, and toss aside when you got bored.” 

She opened her mouth, but I wasn’t done.

“You think I could just get over it?” I laughed bitterly, “We weren’t strangers who got drunk and made a mistake. We were friends. Always friends, since we were too young to even understand what love meant. And you…”

I punched the door behind her. “You knew me better than anyone.” I snapped, “So tell me, when exactly did you think I’d be able to just move on from you?”

My hand shot out, grabbing her arm. I slammed her against the stone wall. She let out a low gasp. 

“Let go,” she hissed in a low voice, “You’re pathetic, Liam. You’ve always been. Still clinging to some idealized version of me like a wounded child.”

“I loved you, Alina! Loved you so much I couldn’t breathe when you betrayed me.” I shouted. “And now I’ve hurt her because of you. Because I saw you with him, and I lost it!” 

I couldn’t control the anger building inside me. My chest heaved, and when I spoke, my voice cracked with raw anguish. My grip on her tightened as I pressed her further against the wall behind her. 

“I forced myself on her,” I choked out. “Tore her fucking tunic!” The words tasted like poison. My throat burned, but I didn’t stop. 

“She’s a woman, Alina. Kaelen’s a woman, and I…” My voice faltered, and my grip loosened slightly as shame swept through me. “I broke her trust.”

My eyes locked onto hers, “Because of you!” I spat, “Because I let you get in my head!”

“A woman?” she repeated. Her voice turned softer for just a moment, like she was thinking. But the harshness came back right away, and her eyes turned cold. “That’s always been your problem, Liam. You’re not looking for love… you’re looking for someone to patch you up, to make you feel whole. First it was me… now it’s her.”

She leaned in slightly, looking into my eyes. “You’re still a boy dressed in a man’s anger, waiting for someone to rescue you from yourself.”

Her eyes flicked down to where I held her. “Let go of me,” she warned, “Or I swear, you’ll regret it more than anything you’ve ever done.”

But my hands tightened on her arms. My claws itched to dig in. I wanted to hit her, to slam her head against the wall, to make her hurt like I did. 

My fist rose, trembling, but her eyes held mine, daring me, and I saw it… saw myself becoming the monster I’d already been with Kaelen. 

“Fuck,” I gasped, releasing her, stumbling back. 

My hand raked through my hair. I grabbed a clay pitcher from a nearby table and hurled it against the wall.

“Fuck you, Alina!” I yelled, “I’m done with you.”

She straightened, brushing her arm. “Good,” her voice was cold. “Maybe now you’ll stop whining and do something useful. Go find your little woman… if she’ll even look at you after what you did.”

Her words were a knife twisting in my gut. 

I turned away, “I will,” I muttered, “I’ll find her, and I’ll fix this.”

I staggered out of the chamber. My mind was a storm. Guilt choked me, heavier than the pain in my shoulder. 

I let my anger at Alina turn me into someone I couldn’t even recognize. Someone I hated. I had to find her, to beg her forgiveness, even if she slammed the door in my face or spat on it. 

She is my mate. She has to know that. She has to know she matters.

Caden’s POV

Sweat stung my eyes as I swung my blade, but my movements were sluggish. My mind wasn’t on the sparring dummy before me. It was still tangled in Varian’s words. 

I glanced across the yard, where Varian moved through his drills. Is he an ally or a traitor? I couldn’t tell, and the uncertainty gnawed at me.

“Focus, Caden!” Commander’s bark jolted me, “You’re fighting like a pup! Again!”

I gritted my teeth as I reset my stance with my blade in my hands. “Yes, sir,” I muttered, forcing my eyes to the dummy. 

But Varian made my wolf bristle. What game is he playing? I wanted to trust him, needed to, but trust was a blade that cut both ways in Lunareth.

The drill ended with a horn’s blare, and the trainees disappeared soon. I sheathed my sword as my shoulders ached. My tunic was soaked with sweat. 

I scanned the yard, and my eyes locked on Varian, wiping his blade. My heart thudded as unease curled in my chest. 

Before I could move, Varian’s eyes met mine. He slung his sword over his shoulder and strode toward me. My pulse quickened and my hand twitched toward my hilt, but I forced it still. 

He stopped a foot away. “Walk with me,” His voice was low and deep. “We need to talk.”

I hesitated, “About what?” I asked, “You gonna threaten me or something?”

“Walk with me,” his eyes narrowed, “And you’ll know.” 

He turned, heading toward the shade of the old oak at the yard’s edge. I followed. Varian wasn’t Torin’s lapdog, but he wasn’t my friend either. 

Under the tree, he leaned against the trunk with his arms crossed, “Leandro’s not playing hide and seek games anymore,” his voice dropped to a low growl. “He was in Stormhowl two days ago. The Alpha made him swear he'd release all the captured Stormhowl wolves before passing through the city gates. He gave his word… but the very next day, he killed every single one of them.”

The words hit me like a fist. “What?” 

“He’s a monster who doesn’t stop till he gets what he wants. And right now, he wants your cousin.”

“What do we do?” My voice was barely steady. “Can we stop him from entering Ironfang’s gates?”

Varian straightened, “Rowan and Selene will be back with the squad in two days,” he started. “But Leandro’s entering Ironfang tomorrow. If he doesn’t find Selene here, he’ll likely head north, maybe back to Duskrend, before she returns. We need to keep it that way.”

“Tomorrow?” I echoed, “He’s that close? What if he stays? What if…”

“He won’t,” Varian silenced me, “Not if we play this right. You keep your head down, Caden. He can’t know you’re a Silverthorn, and let me handle the rest.”

I stared at him, “Why should I trust you?” 

His eyes flashed, and his voice dropped to a low growl. “You still don’t trust me. That’s fine. But you need to understand, I’m not the kind of wolf you think I am.” 

He paused for a moment, and then continued,“ I’m protecting Selene because she’s… she’s not just a fugitive. She’s a fighter, like me.”

“You’re risking everything,” my voice dropped lower, “Torin, Leandro, the academy… why? Only because she’s your mate?”

Trust was a gamble, and I’d bet everything on him. For Selene’s sake, I prayed it wasn’t a mistake.