Chapter 16 CHAPTER SIXTEEN**
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
BETWEEN TWO WOLVES
ZARIAH NIGHTBORNE POV
Kael's kiss was different from Damien's.
Where Damien was controlled fire, Kael was a wildfire—reckless, consuming, impossible to contain. His hands cupped my face like I was something precious he'd lost and found again, and for one breathless moment, I let myself remember what it felt like to be loved by him.
Then reality crashed back in.
I shoved him away, hard enough that he stumbled. "Get out."
"Zariah—"
"I said get out!" My voice cracked. "You don't get to do this. You don't get to walk back into my life and act like you have any right to touch me."
"I know I don't." His amber eyes were anguished. "But I had to try. Had to know if there was anything left between us worth saving."
"There isn't." The lie burned. "You killed whatever we had the day you chose them over me."
"I chose wrong." He stepped closer, and I backed away. "Every single day since then, I've regretted it. Hated myself for it. And tonight, watching you with Damien, I realized I can't keep living with that regret. I love you, Zariah. I never stopped."
"Love?" I laughed bitterly. "You don't know what that word means. Love doesn't cage. Love doesn't betray."
"No. It doesn't." His voice broke. "But it begs for forgiveness anyway."
The raw honesty in his words nearly destroyed me.
"Why now?" I whispered. "Why come here tonight?"
"Because I saw the way you looked at him. The way you kissed him back." Kael's hands clenched into fists. "And I realized if I didn't fight for you now, I'd lose you forever."
"You already lost me."
"Then let me earn you back." He closed the distance between us again, slower this time. "One chance, Zariah. That's all I'm asking. One chance to prove I'm not the man who betrayed you."
I wanted to say no. Wanted to throw him out and never look back.
But my traitorous heart remembered. Remembered lazy Sunday mornings. Remembered laughter and stolen kisses. Remembered the boy who'd promised me forever before the world tore us apart.
"I don't trust you," I said finally.
"I know."
"And I won't make this easy for you."
"I don't expect you to."
"One wrong move, Kael. One lie. One betrayal. And we're done. Forever."
Hope flickered in his eyes. "Understood."
I turned away, trying to steady my breathing. "Leave. I need to think."
"Zariah—"
"Please." My voice cracked. "Just go."
He hesitated, then nodded. But before he reached the door, he paused. "For what it's worth, I'm sorry. For everything. And I'll spend the rest of my life proving I mean it."
Then he was gone.
I sank onto the bed, my head in my hands, trying to process what just happened.
Two men. Two wolves. Both claiming they loved me.
Both with blood on their hands.
How was I supposed to choose?
\---
A knock on my door an hour later made me groan. "I said I needed to think."
"It's me." Elara's voice. "Can I come in?"
I opened the door, and she slipped inside, carrying two mugs of tea.
"Thought you might need this." She handed me one. "Veda said you looked shaken after the gala."
"That's one way to put it."
We sat together on the bed, and for a moment, neither of us spoke.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Elara asked finally.
"Not particularly."
"Is it Damien?"
I sipped the tea, avoiding her gaze. "It's complicated."
"Complicated how? You kissed him at the gala. In front of everyone." She studied me. "That didn't look fake, Zariah."
"It was supposed to be."
"But it wasn't."
I shook my head. "I don't know what it was. One moment I was pretending, the next..." I trailed off. "The next I forgot it was supposed to be an act."
Elara was quiet for a moment. "Do you still have feelings for him?"
"I don't know. Maybe. Probably." I set down the mug. "But it doesn't matter. He betrayed me. Lied to me. How am I supposed to trust him again?"
"Maybe you're not supposed to trust him. Maybe you're just supposed to feel."
"That's a terrible idea."
"Love usually is." Elara smiled softly. "But it's also kind of the point, isn't it? Taking the risk even when it's terrifying?"
I wanted to argue. Wanted to tell her she was wrong.
But I couldn't.
Because she was right.
"What about Kael?" I asked quietly.
Elara's expression shifted. "What about him?"
"He was here. Tonight. After we got back."
Her eyes widened. "What did he want?"
"Me." I laughed without humor. "He said he still loves me. That he wants a second chance."
"And what did you say?"
"I told him I don't trust him. That he killed what we had."
"But?"
I looked at her. "But part of me still remembers what it felt like before everything went wrong. When it was just us, young and stupid and in love."
Elara took my hand. "So you have two men who love you. Two men who've hurt you. And you don't know which one to choose."
"I don't know if I should choose either of them."
"Then don't." She squeezed my hand. "Focus on finding Mom. Focus on saving those girls. Focus on becoming the Luna you were meant to be. The romance stuff? It'll figure itself out."
I smiled despite everything. "When did you get so wise?"
"I had a good teacher." She stood. "Now get some rest. Tomorrow we start planning the Black Site raid for real."
After she left, I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, my mind spinning.
Two wolves. Two hearts. Two paths.
And me, caught in the middle, trying not to drown.
\---
The next morning, I woke to chaos.
Veda burst into my room without knocking, her face pale. "We've got a problem."
I sat up immediately. "What kind of problem?"
"Lucien knows about the Black Site plan. He's moving the girls. Tonight."
My blood ran cold. "How does he know?"
"We don't know. But we have maybe twelve hours before those girls disappear forever."
I was dressed and out the door in minutes.
In the war room, Damien stood over the table, studying maps with a grim expression.
"We need to move now," he said without looking up. "The window's closing."
"We're not ready."
"We don't have a choice." His eyes met mine, and I saw the urgency there. "It's now or never, Zariah."
Before I could respond, Kael walked in.
The tension in the room spiked immediately.
"What's he doing here?" Damien asked coldly.
"Helping," Kael said, meeting his cousin's glare. "Whether you like it or not."
"I don't trust him."
"You don't have to." Kael turned to me. "But I know the Black Site's layout. Worked security there two years ago. If you want those girls out alive, you need me."
Damien's jaw clenched. "Zariah—"
"He's right." The words hurt to say, but they were true. "We need every advantage."
The two men stared at each other, years of rivalry crackling between them.
Finally, Damien nodded. "Fine. But if you betray her again—"
"I won't," Kael said quietly. "I swear it."
I looked between them, these two wolves who'd shaped my life in such different ways.
Then I made my decision.
"We leave in two hours. Damien, you're with me on the infiltration team. Kael, you'll guide us through the facility. Veda, you lead the extraction team."
"What about you?" Veda asked.
I met her eyes, feeling the Luna Code stir beneath my skin. "I'm going to do what I do best. I'm going to be the monster they think I am."
And for the first time since this nightmare began, I meant it.