Chapter 20 Chapter 20

Chapter 20 Chapter 20
Lyra
The bathroom feels colder than the club.
The music outside thumps through the walls like a distant heartbeat, but in here, everything is muted. White marble. Gold fixtures. Mirrors that reflect a woman I barely recognize anymore.
Human.
I grip the edge of the sink and breathe slowly, trying to steady myself. My reflection looks fragile tonight. The blue satin dress clings too tightly, my collarbones too sharp, my eyes too wide.
I splash water on my wrists.
I shouldn’t be here.
The door clicks shut behind me.
I freeze.
I don’t need scent to know who it is.
The air shifts. The space feels smaller. Heavier.
“Lyra,” Riven’s voice murmurs behind me.
My spine stiffens.
“Don’t,” I say quietly, not turning around. “You shouldn’t be here.”
I hear him move closer, boots silent against marble. When I finally lift my gaze, I see him in the mirror. All black. All danger. Silver eyes burning straight through me.
“You walked away from me,” he says.
“I walked back to my fiancé,” I reply, my voice trembling despite my effort to steady it.
His hand reaches out and grips the counter beside mine, caging me in. The marble is cold under my palms. His presence is not.
“You can’t smell me anymore,” he says softly. “Does that scare you?”
“Yes,” I admit before I can stop myself.
He exhales sharply. “Good. It should.”
I turn then, trying to put distance between us, but he’s faster. One moment I’m standing free, the next my back hits the wall gently but firmly. His arm braces beside my head, the other settling at my hip.
Not rough.
Not kind.
Claiming.
My heart pounds violently.
“Riven,” I whisper. “Please step away.”
He doesn’t.
Instead, he leans in, his forehead resting briefly against mine. His breath brushes my cheek, warm and infuriatingly familiar.
“You’re shaking,” he murmurs.
“I’m human,” I snap. “Everything feels too much.”
His lips brush mine.
Not demanding.
Testing.
I flinch instinctively, turning my face away.
“Riven, stop,” I say, louder now. “This isn’t—”
He kisses me anyway.
It’s not gentle.
It’s not cruel.
It’s desperate.
For half a heartbeat, I forget everything. Kael. The engagement. The war forming beneath our feet. I remember the mountain. His hands steadying me. The way I felt safe when I had no right to.
Then guilt crashes down hard.
I push at his chest weakly. “Don’t.”
He pulls back just enough to look at me. His eyes are dark now, the silver dulled by something dangerously close to pain.
“You’re still mine,” he says.
“No,” I whisper. “I’m not.”
Before he can answer, the door opens.
The room changes instantly.
Kael steps inside.
He takes in the scene in one glance. Riven’s body too close to mine. My back to the wall. My hands clenched at my sides.
He doesn’t shout.
He doesn’t growl.
He simply approaches.
Calm. Controlled. Lethal.
Kael’s hand slides around my waist, pulling me gently but decisively against his chest. His touch is grounding, familiar, protective.
“Hello, Riven,” Kael says smoothly. “I came to take what’s mine.”
Riven chuckles, low and dark.
“Still talking in ownership,” he replies. “Bold, considering she walked out of my bed and into your arms.”
My breath catches.
Kael’s grip tightens imperceptibly.
“She didn’t walk out,” Kael says evenly. “She survived.”
Riven tilts his head. “Funny how survival keeps leading her back to me.”
I finally find my voice. “Stop.”
Both of them look at me.
For a moment, the power in the room shifts.
“I’m not a trophy,” I say, my voice shaking but firm. “And I’m not a battlefield for your pride.”
Kael’s hand softens at my waist.
Riven’s jaw tightens.
“She lost her wolf because of you,” Kael says quietly. “Because you couldn’t let her go.”
“And she would be dead without me,” Riven snaps back. “Because you weren’t there.”
The words slice through the air.
Kael’s eyes flash blue. “I would have come.”
“You didn’t,” Riven says. “And now she’s human. Fragile. And you bring her into a den of predators.”
Kael steps closer, putting himself fully between Riven and me.
“I trust her,” Kael says. “And I protect what I trust.”
Riven laughs again, but it’s hollow. “Protection isn’t possession.”
“And obsession isn’t love,” Kael fires back.
I feel torn in half.
“I need air,” I whisper.
Kael immediately loosens his hold. “Of course.”
Riven doesn’t move.
“Step aside,” Kael says calmly.
Riven studies me one last time. Something unreadable passes through his expression.
“This isn’t over,” he says softly. “The Goddess hasn’t finished writing her cruelty.”
Then he steps back.
The door closes behind him.
Silence crashes down.
I sag slightly, my knees weak.
Kael turns to me, cupping my face. “Did he hurt you?”
“No,” I whisper. “Just… reminded me of what I’m losing.”
Kael presses his forehead to mine. “You’re not losing yourself.”
I close my eyes.
But deep down, I know the truth.
This triangle isn’t about choosing love.
It’s about surviving it.
And someone is going to bleed for it.