Chapter 56 Killed by mistake
DARIAN
I blink, caught off guard by her question. The words hang in the air, heavy and unexpected.
"Your ex-mate."
I stare at her. Did she just…?
Your ex-mate.
The words echo in the room like a gunshot. Sudden, and jarring.
I don't say anything at first. Just stare at her while my brain catches up.
Iris shifts where she sits, her shoulders tensing. That spark in her eyes falters. She realizes it now, she’s crossed a boundary she didn’t even know existed.
Her fingers fidget around the bottle in her hand. “I…maybe I shouldn’t have asked that,” she murmurs, eyes dropping to her lap. “I wasn’t trying to pry.”
But she was. And she knows it.
I take another swig from the beer, slower this time, letting the silence speak for me. Letting it hang just long enough for her to squirm a little. Not out of cruelty, but just... instinct. Defense?
She lifts her head, meeting my eyes. There’s worry there now. Maybe guilt. Maybe fear.
“You don’t have to talk about it,” she says quickly, voice soft. “I just…there’s a lot about you I don’t know. And sometimes it feels like you keep me at arm’s length.”
I sigh, dragging a hand down my face. “It’s not that simple, Iris.”
“Is it because of her?”
My jaw tightens. That name, unsaid but loud, crac no ks something sharp behind my ribs.
“I didn’t come here to talk about the past,” I mutter, standing up, needing to move. Needing space.
She watches me, quiet.
“I just thought,” she starts, then trails off.
I glance over my shoulder. She’s still holding the bottle, both hands wrapped around it now like it’s something fragile.
“I thought we were…” she stutters, her voice barely above a whisper.
I turn fully, staring at her. Something flickers in her expression, something that looks like hope? Hurt? I can’t tell.
I exhale, jaw still clenched. “Not tonight.”
Her eyes fall shut, just for a second. She nods once.
And just like that, the moment ends. Not with answers, but with more silence.
More distance.
That night starts to play in my head, a vivid memory I can’t escape.
\~~~~
“Alpha, they’re breaching the eastern fence!”
The shout pierced through the wash house’s thin walls, jolting me upright from the war table where I’d been going over strategy plans with the southern pack’s sentinels. A beat later, a chorus of growls, snarls, and terrified screams followed.
We’d anticipated the rogues would attack in three days.
They came tonight.
I bolted out the door, unsheathing my twin daggers as I moved. Moonlight spilled over chaos, wolves and soldiers scattered across the clearing, blood already soaking into the earth. Fires flickered at the edge of the woods. The air was thick with the stench of ash and iron.
I didn’t stop running.
Bodies flew. Fangs snapped. Rogues howled as they crashed into warriors. The scent of death was immediate.
I slammed into the first one with a guttural roar, blades slashing through fur and bone. Another lunged from behind, I spun and gutted him cleanly.
This was war. But something about tonight felt… off.
Too organized. Too deliberate.
Then I saw her.
She moved like smoke.
Masked. Hooded. Slim and agile, dressed in black leathers that clung to her like a second skin. Her blades flashed in her hands; short, curved, deadly. She weaved through warriors like a shadow, dropping two men before I could blink.
I froze for half a second.
She turned toward me.
And attacked.
Steel met steel. Sparks burst as our weapons clashed. Her style was unfamiliar. She looked efficient, vicious, without wasted movement. She moved like she’d studied me. Like she knew what I would do before I did it.
I grunted, parrying another strike. “You’re not a rogue,” I hissed.
She didn’t answer.
I ducked as her blade arced for my throat. Her knee caught my ribs. I staggered back. Her next strike opened a gash down my arm.
I snarled and lunged, slamming her to the ground. She rolled, kicking me off before I could pin her.
She was fast.
Too fast.
The chaos of the battle faded. In that moment, it was just her and me.
Every breath, every twitch of muscle, every crunch of leaves underfoot, I registered it all. She fought like a phantom, always one step ahead. Her eyes, visible through the slits of her mask, were sharp and… something else. Something haunted.
Our blades danced again.
She slashed at my left shoulder.
I dodged.
She pivoted a low sweep at my legs.
I jumped.
I swung, high and heavy. She blocked it, but I saw the strain in her arms.
Her blade grazed my side. Pain exploded across my ribs.
I growled and retaliated with a brutal slash. She ducked, but not fast enough because I caught her arm. Blood spurted.
She hissed. Staggered.
I pressed the advantage. My blade slashed once, twice, driving her back. Her foot caught on a root. She faltered.
I didn’t hesitate.
I lunged forward and drove my dagger into her chest.
It sank deep.
Her body jerked. Her eyes widened.
Time. Stopped.
I expected a scream. A final attack. A curse.
Instead…
A sound escaped her lips. Not rage. Not pain.
A gasp.
And in that instant, everything shattered.
A bolt of agony tore through my core. Not physical, deeper. Deeper than bone. A soul-level rip.
I froze.
My hand still on the dagger. Her blood soaking into my palm.
My knees buckled.
No. No, no, no…
A crushing emptiness bloomed in my chest, expanding until it was all I could feel.
The bond.
The bond was breaking.
My breathing turned ragged. “No,” I whispered. “No…”
She sagged into me.
I dropped to my knees, holding her as if I could undo what I’d just done.
Her mask slipped.
And I saw her face.
Beautiful.
Familiar in a way that made my entire being ache. My soul recognized hers even though my eyes never had.
“Oh gods,” I breathed. “No. No, please…”
Her hand twitched, fingers brushing weakly against my chest. She stared up at me, glassy-eyed. The scent of her blood mixed with her scent, my mate’s scent.
I felt it all collapsing.
Too late.
The bond severed.
It didn’t just snap, it imploded, dragging my heart down with it.
She shuddered once.
Then nothing.
Just silence.
I stayed there, frozen. Her body in my arms. My blade still inside her chest.
I hadn’t even known her name.
I’d killed her.