Chapter 15

It was past dawn by the time Ophelia and Kane got to the palace with Tata. Thankfully, they had gotten away without being seen by either Eric or the wolf hunters. Kane could not stop thinking about what loose end he’d left.

How had Eric found out about him and Ophelia? He was certain he had not been followed. The thought that he had put Ophelia and the wolves at risk continued to eat at him, even as he dropped Tata to her feet as they neared the palace. It was still pretty quiet and there were not a lot of people on the streets.

“Thank you for carrying me, young man,” Ophelia’s grandmother said to him. “What’s your name?”

“Kane,” he said, his throat working as he swallowed under the old woman’s intense gaze. “Kane Simon.”

“You’re the man from my vision,” Tata said.

Kane and Ophelia exchanged glances and from the look on her face, he saw that she knew what her grandmother was talking about. “What vision?”

Tata looked at Ophelia and Kane saw the understanding dawn in the older woman’s gaze. “He doesn’t know.” It was not a question.

Ophelia shook her head. “No.”

Kane became instantly self-conscious. “What?” he asked. “What don’t I know?”

Tata waited for a few torturous moments before she spoke. “Remember one thing, both of you. The worst is yet to come. No matter what happens, don’t let go of each other. You’re written in the stars.”

She swung on her heel and walked through the gates leading into the palace, her pace slow. Kane’s mind was reeling. What had she meant by those words? It felt like there was something she knew, a secret perhaps, or maybe a vision she’d seen. Whatever it was, Kane wanted to know. What was Ophelia keeping from him?

“I’m sure you must have some questions,” her small voice spoke.

He looked at her, because how could he not? This was the woman he’d come to care for so recklessly that he was willing to betray his family for her. Kane did not want to stop and think about why. “What are you hiding?”

Her eyes roamed the quiet street. “Let’s go somewhere we can talk. It’s not safe here.”

“No.” He was tired of hiding. “We’ll talk right here.”

“Kane—”

“What. Are. You. Hiding, Ophelia?” There was a vibration in his tone, an emotion he could not name.

Ophelia looked at him, her bow-shaped lips pursed like she was biting the inside of her cheek. “My grandmother saw you... even before the wolf hunters arrived in the Blue Hound kingdom.”

He was confused. “Okay? There has to be more.”

“We’re mates, Kane,” she sighed. “I knew from the moment I saw you that you’re my mate. Don’t ask me how because I have no freaking idea considering the fact that you’re human. I just know you’re my mate.”

Flummoxed, Kane stared at her blankly. His past has finally caught up with him. Everything he’d been running from, all he’d done to join the hunters, everything he’d sworn to never become, it was right here, staring at back him. He could not believe it.

“—and I don’t even know if I can trust you,” Ophelia was saying. “It’s been on my mind since we got to Tata’s cottage. How on earth had they known about my grandmother? You are the only person I told.”

“Are you accusing me of something?”

She met his gaze, unflinching. “I don’t know, Kane. Would I be wrong?”

She could not be serious. “I was with you all night. How could I have told them?”

“I have no fucking idea!” she breathed, panting. “I don’t know what to believe anymore. What I do know is that you were the only one who knew where Tata’s cottage was. You were the only one I told. If you betrayed me—” her voice broke and tears welled in her eyes.

Kane could not stop himself from reaching for her. “I would never do that to you.”

“So you say.” A tear dropped.

“Shit,” Kane breathed. “Don’t cry, baby. It’ll kill me. I love you so much.”

Kane was pretty sure the surprise in Ophelia’s eyes mirrored his. The words had flown out of his mouth before he could stop them. Yet even as he thought about the words, he realized they were true. He’d fallen in love with Ophelia, somewhere in between the chaos of being on opposite sides. Something told him it would cause nothing but more problems but he suppressed the thought.

“I love you too.” Her eyes, brimming with unshed tears, almost tore him apart. Her words completely shattered him. He had the resilient urge to protect this woman, to keep her happy, even though he knew he did not deserve her.

“I did not betray you, Ophelia. I must’ve been followed or something,” he breathed, cupping her cheeks. “There’s also something I haven’t told you.”

Ophelia looked up at him with curiosity. “What?”

“Remember when I told you I saw a wolf murder a woman when I was younger and that experience made me who I am today?”

She rubbed her cheeks against his palm like a cat could. “Yeah, why?”

“It was my father.”

Because Kane was holding her, he felt her sharp intake of breath. This was something he’d never told anyone, except Fiona and Eric. Eric had found him after he’d run away in fear of being killed as well and after Eric had followed him back to his house, he’d killed his father.

Kane would have said he had lost both parents in one day, but that man had stopped being his father when he’d murdered his mother.

“Your father was a wolf?” she asked, shock in her eyes.

He nodded. “My mother was human. A match made in hell, she always said.”

“Wow,” Ophelia murmured, blinking. “So, you’re half-wolf?”

“I am,” he said. “That’s why we’re mates.”

“Christ,” she murmured again. “I can’t believe it. I always wondered what was this connection we shared.”

“I’ve been running from my wolf side since I can remember.” Kane hoped his eyes portrayed the deep emotions swirling inside of him. “But ever since I met you, I couldn’t be gladder. You made me happy, Ophelia.”

They kissed, a slow peaceful dance of lips that greatly differed from their intense burning coupling from earlier.

“I’m sorry about your mother,” Ophelia said once they pulled away. “If she raised you, she must’ve been an amazing woman.”

“She was,” he agreed.

They kissed again, and this time it was deeper.

“And just what the hell do you think you’re doing with my fiancé?”

Ophelia raised her eyes to see an angry Viktor marching towards them, with an even angrier Emmett trailing behind him.

Shit.