Chapter 122

Chapter 122
Riley’s P.O.V
The silence in the stone cell was so loud it was almost suffocating. I sat curled on the cold floor, arms wrapped tightly around my knees, staring blankly at the wall like it might suddenly split open and swallow me whole. My fingers still trembled. My lips still tasted of salt and despair. And my chest—
My chest felt carved out, hollowed like someone had reached inside and scooped out the part of me that believed everything would be okay.
Kieran.
Alive.
But not really.
The worst part wasn’t that he didn’t know me—it was that maybe he did and just didn’t care. That thought alone kept slicing me open from the inside.
And yet, I couldn’t stop thinking about home. About them.
Mom. Dad. Kyle.
Were they looking for me? Were they worried sick? Did they know I was gone—or worse, did they think I ran away again? My mom’s face haunted me the most. Her red eyes from all the nights she’d cried for Kieran. Now she had lost me too. I imagined her pacing the living room, clutching her mate mark, whispering my name over and over like that alone could bring me back.
God. I missed them. I missed home. I missed the way Dad would growl at anyone who looked at me too long and how Mom always tucked a curl behind my ear when she thought I wasn’t paying attention. I missed Kyle’s dumb jokes and his relentless belief that Kieran was still alive.
He was right.
But even the truth had become another kind of nightmare.
My jaw clenched, and I wiped the tears off my face violently. I wasn’t going to fall apart again. I didn’t have time for that. I had to find a way out. I had to save my brother—even if he didn’t want saving. Even if I had to drag him out of this blood-soaked palace kicking and screaming.
A sudden click echoed from the cell door, and I shot to my feet, instincts on fire.
The door creaked open slowly.
And there he was.
Rhys.
No—Reid.
My mate. My traitor.
Everything inside me stilled. Not because I was afraid, but because my fury was sharpening into something dangerous. I met his eyes with a glare that could’ve shattered steel.
He stood in the doorway like he hadn’t destroyed me. Like he wasn’t the reason I was trapped here. His expression unreadable, his jaw clenched, arms at his sides, knuckles white.
The silence between us buzzed with tension.
“Tell me, Rhys,” I spat, folding my arms across my chest. “Or should I say Reid? Why are you here now? Come to enjoy the aftermath? Bask in the chaos you helped create?”
He flinched. Just slightly. “What I did?”
I scoffed. “Don’t you dare play the victim.”
“What I did,” he repeated, voice rising with anger, “or what your parents did to my family?”
My breath caught in my throat. “My parents did nothing to your family.”
He stepped further inside, door slamming shut behind him. “No? Then why were they part of the massacre? Why did they stand by while Sabrina’s family was torn apart?”
My fists curled. “Because it was Sabrina who orchestrated everything. She twisted the truth. Turned everyone against each other. You think you’re on the side of justice, but all you’re doing is feeding her lies.”
He looked at me like he didn’t know whether to believe me or throw a wall through the wall. “And you know all this… how? Because your saintly parents told you so? You believe them?”
“Yes, Reid. I do.” My voice cracked, but I stood my ground. “Because they raised me with truth. With love. With honor. And what about you? You weren’t even born when it happened. Neither was I. But you chose to believe Sabrina’s version of the past.”
That landed. I saw it.
Something flickered behind his eyes. Pain. Conflict. Doubt.
But just as fast, it vanished, buried under years of anger and grief.
“I saw the aftermath,” he said coldly. “I lived in the ruins of what your people left behind.”
“And I lived without my brother!” I snapped, stepping toward him. “So don’t talk to me about loss like it belongs only to you.”
He didn’t speak. Just stared. And then… he moved.
One slow step. Then another.
“Don’t come near me,” I warned, voice trembling from too many emotions. “I hate you.”
A muscle twitched in his jaw. “Are you sure?”
I blinked. “What?”
“Are you sure you hate me?” he asked, taking another step, so close I could feel the warmth of his breath now. “Or do you love me?”
Before I could fire back, his hand reached up—gentle and slow—and brushed a loose strand of hair from my face.
And then he kissed me.
I didn’t expect it. Didn’t prepare for it. One second I was furious, the next his lips were pressed against mine with a heat so consuming it burned through the fury and left nothing but sparks behind.
My brain screamed at me to pull away.
But my body—
My body betrayed me.
I kissed him back.
Harder.
Deeper.
My hands found their way to his neck, curling into his hair. His arms wrapped around me like he was afraid I’d disappear, I didn’t want to. I wanted to stay in this madness, this fire, this feeling that made the stone walls melt away and time stall.
His hands roamed down my back, tugging me closer, and I gasped into his mouth when he lifted me slightly, pinning me gently against the wall. His lips moved like they’d been starved for mine—like this was the only thing in the world that made sense.
And for one dizzying moment, I let it.
I let the ache go.
I let the anger blur into heat.
I let myself want him.
Until—
The door slammed open.
“Well, isn’t this cozy?”
Sabrina.
Her voice was silk and venom, her presence ice on fire.
Reid froze, lips still barely touching mine, his body rigid. I shoved him off, breath ragged, heart racing with something I couldn’t name.
Sabrina stood in the doorway, eyes glowing with amusement and fury. Her gaze flicked between us, and her lips curled into a smile that was anything but kind.
“Looks like my pet wolf is finally settling in,” she purred. “Or should I say… mating in?”
“Go to hell,” I snapped, stepping forward, putting myself between her and Reid even though I hated myself for it.
She chuckled, low and chilling. “Oh darling. I already live there.”
Then her eyes darkened, and her voice dropped an octave.
“And now, so do you.”