Chapter 104 Hundred And Four
KAZIEL
The corridor is colder than I remember. My boots echo softly against the floor as Kira walks a step ahead, her pace steady. She hasn't looked back once.
"Down here," she says. I follow.
The holding level smells like iron and salt. Wards hum faintly in the walls, their magic old and layered. We walk in silence for a while before Kira finally speaks.
"When you didn't regain consciousness," she says, "we knew something was wrong. Your core should've reignited."
My jaw tightens.
"But it didn't," she continues. "It was just... gone. There was no echo or resonance."
I stop walking. She slows down too, then she turns slightly so she's facing the wall instead of me, as if she can't quite bear to look into my eyes yet.
"We hoped anyway," she says. "We froze your body. We told ourselves you'd done this before and that you always came back."
My chest aches as I listen to her.
"For months," she adds. "We waited."
I swallow hard, my fists clenched. She begins to move again, and I keep following her.
"The elders found out," Kira says. "They said it was desecration. That keeping you frozen was an insult. You were revered, Kaziel. The curse only broke during your reign as Alpha. To them, you were sacred."
A shaky breath slips out of me. Sacred, my foot. If only they knew.
"They demanded that you be buried," she finishes. "So we made arrangements."
We stop in front of a reinforced cell door. Kira finally turns to face me. Her eyes are red.
That's when I ask the question that's been coiled tight in my chest since we stepped into the building.
"You're not asking questions," I point out.
She stiffens.
"How long have you known what I truly am?"
She looks down, her fingers tugging at the fabric of her sleeves.
"At the hospital," she admits softly. "After your abduction."
My chest tightens.
"I went to see you, remember?" she continues. "That's when I... saw it."
I close my eyes briefly. "Divine vision."
Shit. I forgot about that. She's half fox, it makes sense that she could see beyond the physical.
She nods. "I saw what was wearing his body."
Silence lingers between us.
"Why didn't you tell anyone?" I ask.
"Because I was terrified," she says honestly. "At first."
I open my eyes again.
"I thought you'd kill us all," she admits, her voice shaking. "I thought the Hollow would finish what it was made to do."
Her shoulders rise with a breath. Then they fall.
"But you didn't."
I look at her.
"You led," she says. "You protected. You listened. You made hard choices and carried them alone. You bled for the pack. You mourned every death like it was your fault."
Her voice cracks.
"You felt... trustworthy," she whispers.
I don't know how to respond to that.
"So I stayed," Kira says. "I watched. I waited for the monster."
She looks up at me now, her tears finally falling.
"And the more I got to know you, the more I realized there wasn't one."
My throat burns.
"I served you because you were a good Alpha," she says. "And I stayed because I cared. Because I worried about you. Because every day it looked like the weight of what you were carrying might finally crush you."
She wipes at her face angrily. "And because no one else seemed to notice how tired you were."
"I was never supposed to be worthy of that," I murmur.
Kira moves closer, stopping just short of touching me.
"Maybe not," she says. "But you were."
I inhale shakily, a lump forming in the back of my throat as my emotions swell.
"Welcome back," she croaks. "Kaziel."
For the first time since I woke up, I don't feel like I'm trespassing at all.
"Thank you," I tell her, my voice shaky.
Kira doesn't answer with words. She moves forward and wraps her arms around me. I stiffen for a moment, then I hug her carefully.
She's shaking.
"I'm so happy you came back," she whispers. Her voice cracks despite her effort to keep it together. "Watching her... watching Danika fall apart like that... it nearly broke me."
I close my eyes briefly, feeling like I've just been punched in the guts.
"I'm here," I murmur. "I won't leave her again."
She pulls back, wiping at her cheeks, and then she flashes me a small smile. "Good. Because she deserves peace. And so do you."
She straightens then, squaring her shoulders.
"Come with me," she says.
We walk deeper into the holding wing. The air grows heavier the farther we go. This is where things are kept when no one wants to look at them anymore.
Kira stops in front of another reinforced cell.
"He's here," she says.
She hesitates for half a second. Then she unlocks it. The door creaks open, and I step inside.
The smell hits me first. The stench of rot and filth and infection layered over infection. My jaw tightens, but I don't flinch.
He does.
Danika's father jerks backward at the sight of me, his chains rattling as he scrambles away on instinct. He looks... ruined. He's been reduced to skin stretched thin over bone. His hair hangs in greasy clumps, his eyes sunken deep into a skull that no longer looks human. Angry sores mar his body, and they are all open, weeping, and inflamed. None of them are healing.
He smells like decay.
His gaze meets mine slowly. The moment recognition dawns on him, he cowers in fear.
"No," he croaks. "You—you're dead—"
I move closer, and his back hits the wall with a dull thud.
"Did you miss me?" I drawl.
"You shouldn't exist," he whispers.
A faint smile tugs at my lips. "But I'm here right now, aren't I?"
I stop just out of arm's reach and look down at him.
This is the man who broke a child. A man who chained him and carved pain into his bone all because he was devoted to bringing back destruction.
This is the man who touched my life and thought it made him powerful. He whimpers.
I tilt my head slightly. "You smell worse than I imagined."
His lips tremble. "She—she did this," he rasps. "Your Luna—she cursed me—"
"No," I interrupt softly. "She didn't."
I lean in just enough that he can see my eyes clearly.
"This," I tell him, "is what happens when you're left alone with what you've made of yourself."
He starts to sob.
I straighten, turning my head slightly towards the open doorway. Kira stands there, watching.
"Give us a moment," I say.
She nods once and leaves, shutting the door behind her. To me, pain is an old friend. He has been my companion for so long, it's quite easy for me to introduce him to others. And right now, there is someone I want him to meet.
...
I step out of the bathroom, water still clinging to my skin, a towel wrapped around my waist. Water drips from my hair onto my chest as I run my fingers over it. It's longer than I'm used to.
"I really need a haircut," I mutter.
Danika looks up from the couch.
She's feeding our son with one hand, the bottle tilted just right, while the breast pump hums softly against her chest. The sight of her like this makes me melt.
She grins at me.
"No," she says. "Long hair suits you."
I stop walking.
"...It does?"
She nods, her hazel eyes warm as she looks at me.
"You look like a god."
I'm tempted to puff out my chest. Instead, I let out a laugh, shaking my head. "Really?"
"Yes," she says, without hesitation.
My heart does this stupid, traitorous thing where it flips. I walk over to my woman and lean down to kiss her. She parts her lips around mine, giving me that sweet entrance. It's a soft kiss, but my cock definitely doesn't get the memo. He's already stirring. Shit.
Before I can pull away, something tugs at me. So, I freeze and look down slowly.
Our son has abandoned the bottle entirely. His tiny fist is wrapped around a few strands of my damp hair, his grip surprisingly strong.
Danika bursts out laughing.
"Oh my god," she says. "He's got you."
I stare at him, stunned, my heart pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat. Azren squints at me, utterly unimpressed with my shock, his fingers still fisted in my hair like I belong only to him. Or maybe he sees me as a threat trying to steal his mother.
Fuck, I think he's got my attitude.
Smiling sheepishly, I lower myself beside Danika, and she leans into me. I guess the haircut can wait. Gently, I slip my arm around my mate and press a kiss to her head.
“Did you get the closure you needed when you went to see that man?” She asks.
“I did. And I’m grateful for the opportunity.”
She smiles. “I love you, babe.”
“I love you too, dove.”