Chapter 101 Sweet, Sweet Chaos
Kira's POV
I couldn’t stop grinning as we stepped out into the lobby, Miranda’s frantic escape playing on repeat in my head. She hadn’t recognized me…not even a flicker…but I’d planted something. A seed of doubt. Good. Let it grow. Let it choke her.
Victoria glanced at me sideways as we wandered toward the hotel’s indoor garden atrium…glass ceiling, tropical plants, a little waterfall trickling like it was trying too hard to be zen. “You okay, princess? That elevator thing was… intense. You went full psychic stranger danger on that lady.”
I shrugged, forcing my face neutral even as my mind raced. “Just a vibe. Some people give off bad energy.”
Understatement of the century.
We kept walking, past plush seating areas and a fancy coffee bar where guests sipped thousand-dollar lattes.
My brain wouldn’t shut up. Ways to make them pay.
My mind spun with what they could be up to right now. Dad…fake tears at the podium, probably already practicing his “devastated father” speech.
Evelyn, hovering like the loyal step mother, acting like she lost her biological daughter. Miranda…parading as me, signing documents with my name, sleeping in my bed afterwards.
I could leak the security footage from the roof…if it existed. Anonymous tip to the press: “Heiress murder caught on camera.” Or show up at the funeral mid-eulogy, alive and glaring. Watch them faint one by one. Or slower…ruin them piece by piece. Bank accounts drained. Secrets spilled. Make them beg before I vanished again.
My pulse thrummed with it. Revenge tasted sharp and sweet.
But I couldn't do any of those. I now have a new identity. Kira Summers…my old body and face will be forgotten after today.
I have to let Adrian destroy them for me.
Victoria was being weirdly quiet, though. Trailing a step behind, biting her lip, this goofy little smile creeping up every few seconds like she was replaying a private movie in her head.
What mischief is she up to now?
I stopped by a massive orchid display, turning to her. “Okay, spill. You’ve got that look…like you swallowed a secret and it’s tickling on the way down.”
She startled, cheeks flushing pink. Victoria…former bully extraordinaire, who used to “accidentally” spill wine on Abby’s dresses, humiliate her and laugh about it...was now my personal cheerleader, tripping over herself to be helpful. Winning favor points, one obedient smile at a time.
“It’s nothing,” she mumbled, then immediately caved. “Okay, fine. I… might have met someone last night.”
Her eyes went all dreamy, hands clasping like a teenager. Lovestruck. Full-on heart-eyes, giggling-under-the-covers mode.
I raised an eyebrow. “Oh, you did? Who?”
She opened her mouth, words bubbling up as we rounded the corner into a quieter alcove, tucked behind some palms.
The words got stuck in her mouth because they were there.
Two people full-on making out against the wall like they’d invented kissing. Hands in hair, bodies pressed close, zero awareness of the world.
I snorted so loud it echoed. “Get a room…oh wait, you’re in a hotel!” I slapped a hand over my eyes, peeking through fingers. “My pure eyes have been ruined!”
Victoria froze beside me. Not laugh-freeze.
Growl-freeze.
A low, animal rumble vibrated from her throat. Her eyes flickered…gold flashing through the black, like fur rippling under skin. Fists clenched so tight her knuckles went white. She was two seconds from shifting right here in Adrian’s fancy lobby.
Oh shit.
My brain short-circuited into panic. What if she wolfs out? Security calls animal control. They tranq her, lock her in some secret lab, poke and prod the “werewolf maiden.” But wait…would that be such a bad idea? Let her cool off in a cage for a bit?
Payback for all those years of torment for Abby?
No. Focus, Kira. Unnecessary thoughts later.
I grabbed her arm…tight…and yanked her back a step. “Hey! Earth to Victoria. What’s the problem? Haven’t you seen people kiss before? It’s not the end of the world.”
She growled again, deeper this time. “Mate.”
The word came out deep, barely human. Her fists unclenched slowly, nails digging into her palms like she was fighting claws.
Mate?
I looked again.
Really looked.
Then I saw Miranda…my Miranda, the fake Kira…pinned against the wall, lips locked with some tall guy. Dark hair, broad shoulders, hands on her waist like he owned her.
And Victoria was vibrating with rage and possession at this point.
Oh.
Oh.
Sweet, sweet chaos.
Miranda, kissing a man on the day of my funeral. With Victoria’s mate of all men.
A slow, wicked smile spread across my face.
Now this?
This was drama I wouldn’t miss for the world.
I yanked Victoria into the alcove’s shadowed corner, palm pressed flat against her mouth before the growl ripping from her throat could echo through the lobby.
My heart hammered…not from fear of her shifting, but from the electric thrill of what I’d just witnessed.
Miranda, lips locked with Victoria’s mate like she had any right to touch what wasn’t hers. The sight of it burned behind my eyes, a delicious, vicious spark.
“Victoria,” I hissed, voice low and urgent, fingers tightening on her arm as her body trembled against mine. “Not here. Not now. You have to remember where we are. If you go wolf in the middle of Adrian’s hotel, they’ll have you in a cage before you finish shifting. Tranquilizers. Labs. Experiments. You want that?”
Her eyes…still flickering gold, wild and feral…snapped to mine. The growl vibrated against my palm, but she didn’t fight me.
I dropped my hand slowly, keeping my body between her and the alcove entrance. The air between us crackled…her rage, my excitement, the scent of the impending chaos I'm about to stir, clinging to the air like a taunt.
“Is he…” I whispered, leaning in close enough that my breath brushed her ear. “Your soulmate? The forever bond? The one I was told you wolves lose your minds over?”
She nodded once…sharp, jerky…teeth bared, fists clenched so tight I heard knuckles crack. Her chest rose and fell in ragged bursts, like every breath was a battle not to lunge.
My mind spun, dark and gleeful. Miranda thought she could steal my life, my name, my everything…and now she was trying to steal this too? Oh, this was perfect. I could already picture it…her face when Victoria ripped him away. Publicly. Painfully. The tears. The screaming. The utter humiliation.
“Was he the one from last night?” I asked, keeping my voice calm, soothing, even as adrenaline surged through me like wildfire.
Another stiff nod. Her growl softened into something broken. “We… met briefly. In the bar downstairs. Just talked. But the bond…it hit me so hard I could barely breathe. I’ve been searching for years. All those stupid mate ceremonies the kingdom arranges…nothing. My father’s been pushing me toward the Beta of the Southern Ridge pack. He's a widower. He wants me to be his second-chance mate. But, I’ve been fighting it, stalling—”
“Now you’ve found him,” I cut in, voice dropping to a dangerous whisper, eyes locked on hers. “Will you let him be taken by Mira…sorry, that girl?”
Victoria’s entire body went rigid. The growl that tore from her throat this time was pure murder. “Over my dead body.”
Satisfaction bloomed hot and sweet in my chest. I smiled…slow, predatory, ready to be the villain I was reborn to be.
“Good,” I murmured, squeezing her arm. “Then follow my lead.”