Chapter 10 Ten
Kai led the way down a long corridor lined with tall windows, sunlight slicing across the polished floor. I followed a few steps behind him, arms crossed, eyes roaming everywhere except his back.
“So,” I said, breaking the silence, “is the tour going to include a map? Or do you just enjoy watching people get lost in your house?”
He didn’t slow down. “If you get lost, that’s on you.”
I scoffed. “Wow. Such hospitality. Your parents must be proud.”
That earned a laugh—an actual laugh. He glanced over his shoulder, a crooked smile tugging at his lips. “Careful, Harper. Sarcasm is dangerous around here.”
“Oh? And what are you going to do? Ground me?” I shot back.
He stopped so suddenly that I crashed straight into him.
Hard.
My hands instinctively grabbed the front of his shirt to keep from falling, and his hand came up just as fast—catching my wrist, steadying me. We froze.
Way too close.
I could feel his breath. Warm. Slow. His eyes dropped to my hands still clutching his shirt, then lifted back to my face. Something shifted in the air—no laughter now, no teasing.
“You really should watch where you’re going,” he murmured.
My heart thudded stupidly. “Maybe you shouldn’t stop like a statue.”
A corner of his mouth twitched. “Maybe you like running into me.”
“In your dreams,” I said quickly, yanking my hands back.
He raised an eyebrow. “You sure? First my brother, now me. You’re developing a pattern.”
I gasped. “That was not—”
He stepped closer.
Not enough to touch. Just enough that I had to tilt my head up to look at him.
“Relax,” he said softly. “I’m joking.”
My pulse didn’t get the memo.
We stood there for a beat too long, the hallway suddenly very quiet. I became painfully aware of how tall he was, how calm he looked compared to the chaos in my chest.
Then he straightened and stepped back, the moment breaking like glass.
“Come on,” he said lightly. “Before you accuse the furniture of flirting with you too.”
I shoved his arm as I walked past him. “You’re impossible.”
He followed me this time. “Yet you’re still here.”
We entered a smaller room—warm, sunlit, with shelves of old books and a large window seat. I stopped without meaning to.
“This place is… actually nice,” I admitted.
Kai leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching me instead of the room. “Yeah. It is.”
I turned to him. “What?”
He shrugged. “Nothing.”
But the way he was looking at me said everything—and it made my stomach flip.
For a second, neither of us spoke.
Then footsteps echoed faintly somewhere down the hall.
Kai pushed off the doorframe and cleared his throat. “Tour’s not over. Don’t get comfortable.”
I rolled my eyes, but my face felt warm. “You’re the worst guide ever.”
He smirked as he walked past me. “And yet… you’re still following.”
I hesitated.
Then I did.
—
I had just stepped closer to Kai, not even sure why—maybe to prove a point, maybe because the air between us felt thick and strange—when the door creaked open.
“Interesting.”
The single word sliced through the room like a blade.
Kai stiffened instantly.
I turned, my breath catching.
Koda stood in the doorway.
His expression was unreadable, eyes dark, jaw tight, arms folded across his chest like he’d walked in on something he hadn’t wanted to see—but had been expecting anyway.
The silence stretched.
“What’s this?” Koda asked calmly, too calmly. His gaze flicked from Kai… to me… then back to Kai.
“Tour,” Kai replied immediately, straightening. “Like Dad asked.”
Koda’s eyes narrowed. “Looks more like you were getting comfortable.”
My pulse spiked. “Nothing was happening,” I blurted out, then immediately hated myself for sounding defensive.
Koda’s gaze landed on me fully now. Slow. Assessing. Like he was deciding something.
“You always end up in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he said quietly. “First the kitchen. Then the hall. Now this.”
Kai scoffed. “Don’t start.”
“Oh, I’ll start,” Koda snapped, stepping into the room. The door shut behind him with a soft click that felt far too loud. “You don’t bring her here.”
“And why not?” Kai shot back. “You don’t own the house.”
Koda laughed once—sharp and humorless. “No. But I know exactly what she’s doing.”
I bristled. “Excuse me?”
Both of them turned to look at me.
Koda took a step closer. Then another. He stopped just short of invading my space, but close enough that I could feel the heat rolling off him.
“You run. You fall. You ‘accidentally’ kiss people,” he said flatly. “And now you end up alone with my brother.”
“That kiss was an accident!” I snapped. “And I didn’t ask for your stupid house tour.”
Kai moved between us, his shoulder brushing mine. “Back off, Koda.”
Koda’s eyes flashed.
For a split second, I thought they might actually fight.
Then Koda exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through his hair. “Get out, Kai.”
“What?”
“Now.”
Kai hesitated, jaw clenched. His eyes flicked to me—just once.
“Don’t go wandering again,” he said quietly. “This place isn’t safe for you.”
Then he left, the door shutting behind him.
The room felt smaller instantly.
Koda didn’t move.
Neither did I.
“You think this is funny?” he asked at last, voice low.
I swallowed. “I think you’re all insane.”
A ghost of a smile tugged at his mouth—but it didn’t reach his eyes. “You don’t belong here, Harper.”
“Neither do you get to decide that,” I shot back, even though my hands were trembling.
He leaned down slightly, forcing me to look at him. “In this house? I do.”
My heart hammered.
He straightened and turned toward the door. “Stay away from my brother.”
Then he paused, glancing back over his shoulder.
“And stop running,” he added. “You’re terrible at it.”
The door closed.
—
I made my way back to the living room, my chest still tight from whatever that moment with the brothers had been. My head was buzzing, my nerves raw, and all I wanted was to leave this cursed house.
I stepped into the room—
—and froze.
My mother and Alpha Derek were kissing.
Not a polite peck. Not a quick brush of lips. An actual, lingering kiss.
My stomach turned.
Behind me, I felt movement. Then presence.
Koda and Kai had followed me in.
The sound of us stopping must have alerted them, because Alpha Derek and my mother pulled apart immediately, startled expressions flashing across their faces.
The silence that followed was brutal.
“Eww.”
The word came out of all three of us at the exact same time.
I blinked. Once. Twice.
Did that really just happen?
Kai snorted first. Koda let out a dry laugh, shaking his head like he’d just witnessed something traumatic. I felt my soul leave my body.
“Oh—boys,” my mother said breathlessly, smoothing her hair and forcing a smile that did absolutely nothing to calm my nausea. “How long have you been standing there?”
Long enough, I wanted to say.
Alpha Derek cleared his throat, straightening his jacket like he hadn’t just been caught. “Did you boys show Harper around the house?” he asked, voice slipping back into that calm alpha tone.
“Yes,” Kai answered smoothly, hands in his pockets. “We did.”
Koda tilted his head, smirk sharp. “It’s a pity we came earlier than expected.”
I shot him a look. He winked.
I hated him.
My mother immediately turned to me, her eyes shining with that hopeful look I’d grown to resent. “We’ll be leaving now,” she said quickly, reaching for her purse and signaling for me to come.
Thank the moon goddess.
“Yes,” I said instantly, already moving toward the door.
“Oh really?” Koda drawled. “So soon?”
His voice dripped with sarcasm, and I didn’t miss the way his eyes flicked over me, calculating, amused.
“Yes,” I replied flatly, rolling my eyes before I could stop myself.
Kai laughed under his breath.
We reached the door, my mother exchanging polite goodbyes with Alpha Derek, promising to talk later, promising to come back soon. Each word made my chest tighten more.
As I stepped outside, Koda and Kai followed us to the doorway.
“Bye-bye,” Kai called out sweetly.
“Do come again,” Koda added, leaning against the doorframe.
“When it starts raining pigs,” they both finished together—then burst out laughing.
I stopped dead and turned around.
They were grinning like demons.
I clenched my fists, biting back every curse I wanted to throw at them. My mother was already halfway down the steps, blissfully unaware of the war brewing behind my eyes.
I forced myself to turn away and follow her.
As we walked to the car, one thought echoed loud and clear in my head.
I can’t believe these two weirdos are about to become my brothers.
The idea made my skin crawl.
The car door shut behind me with a dull thud. I stared out the window as the mansion disappeared behind us, its gates closing slowly, like a mouth swallowing secrets.
No.
I couldn’t let this happen.
I wouldn’t.
Whatever Alpha Derek was hiding… whatever those twins were… whatever kind of future my mother thought she was securing—
I had to stop this so-called wedding.
Even if it meant breaking my mother’s heart.