Chapter 98 Comfort From The Enemy
Kira’s POV
That smug bastard.
“You can fight it all you want,” he murmured again, lips grazing my neck now, right over the spot that pulsed for him. “But you’re already mine. And soon… soon I’ll make sure you never forget it.”
I didn’t answer anymore. Not because I couldn’t. I just didn’t want to engage him further.
Hours later, the helicopter began its descent, the lights of LA sprawling out below us like a memory I wasn’t ready to face.
We landed smoothly on a private pad on top of a skyscraper, the rotors slowing to a whine. A sleek black Maybach waited on the adjacent helipad driveway, engine purring. Adrian helped me out, his hand at the small of my back…possessive, guiding, like he couldn’t stop touching me.
The drive into the city hit me like a train that missed its stop.
LA. My LA.
The city I grew up in. The neon signs I’d passed a thousand times. The air smelled different…exhaust and ocean and freedom, not pine and snow and jungle smell. But it hurt. God, it hurts to be back here with all the memories of the past.
My hands started trembling in my lap as familiar landmarks blurred by. The little park where Mom and I used to get ice cream on Sundays. The bookstore we’d lose hours in. Everything screamed home and gone at the same time.
Adrian’s arm slid around my shoulders without a word, pulling me against his side. For once… I didn’t fight it. I let myself sink into his warmth, his solid strength the only anchor in the storm ripping through me.
They’ll pay, I thought fiercely, nails digging into my palms. Miranda…Her mother…the monster I used to call my father…they’ll all pay.
We passed the little coffee shop on Melrose that Mom and I loved…the one with the mismatched chairs and the best lavender lattes. I stared out the window, blinking hard as tears burned my eyes. The awning was the same. The chalkboard sign out front still advertised the daily specials in that loopy handwriting. Mom’s laugh echoed in my head, her arm around me as we sat by the window and watched people pass.
Adrian’s grip tightened, like he could feel the knife twisting in my chest. “You must have really loved her,” he said softly. “Your friend.”
I nodded, throat too tight to speak. Yeah. I really did. Because it was me. I’m the one that they will be putting in the ground tomorrow.
A few minutes later, we turned onto the road that led to the Summers Group headquarters…the towering glass building my mother had built from nothing. The one that they pushed me down from on my birthday. “Stop,” I whispered. “Please… just for a minute.”
Adrian didn’t say anything out loud, but the car slowed instantly, pulling to the curb. Mind link. Of course.
I stared down the street toward the building, lights glowing in the night.
And there it was…a memory so vivid it felt real…the ribbon-cutting ceremony when it first opened. Mom beaming in her red dress, hand in mine as we cut the oversized ribbon together. Cameras flashing. Me laughing, young and clueless.
And him beside us, smiling that cold, perfect smile…the one that hid the monster who’d betray us both.
Mom looked so happy. So innocent. Who would’ve thought that moment would end up a ghost in my head?
The tears came then. Not quiet ones. Full, ugly, wrenching sobs that tore out of me like they’d been waiting for weeks. I folded forward, arms wrapped around myself, wailing like a kid who’d lost everything.
The car started moving again, but Adrian pulled me into his lap, cradling me against his chest. “Let it out,” he murmured, one hand stroking my back, the other buried in my hair. “I’m here. I’ll take all of it…the pain, the grief. Cry as much as you need, love. I’ve got you.”
I did. The whole rest of the drive, I cried shamelessly…snotty, hiccuping, messy tears soaking his shirt. He didn’t flinch. Just held me tighter, whispering soft things I couldn’t process through the storm.
Eventually, the tears slowed and reality crept back in…this was Adrian. The werewolf king. The man who permitted the bullying of his fiancée. The danger in man form.
I pulled away, wiping my face with my sleeves, voice hoarse. “I’m fine. I don’t need your stupidly broad, ridiculously comforting shoulders anymore.”
He smiled, soft and fond, thumb brushing a stray tear from my cheek. “They’re all yours anyway. Whenever you need them.”
“Ugh, stop being sweet. It’s gross. Go be brooding and possessive somewhere else.” I clutched my arms around myself, scooting to the far side of the seat and pressing my forehead to the cool window. Distance. I needed distance.
And for once, he let me.
I must’ve fallen asleep like that, exhausted from the crying jag, because the next thing I knew, I was waking up in a bed that felt like a cloud.
The hotel room was insane…massive, modern, all glass walls overlooking the glittering LA skyline at night. Floor-to-ceiling windows, sleek marble floors, a king bed drowned in white linens, a living area with plush sectional, even a grand piano in the corner. Lights dimmed low, the city glowing outside like a million stars had fallen to earth.
For the first time in forever, I felt…human.
Surrounded by normal people downstairs, no wolves or witches or vampires lurking. Just traffic and late-night takeout and real life.
I stretched, groaning, then padded to the glass wall. My reflection stared back…eyes puffy and red, hair a mess.
Tomorrow is my burial.
Kira Summers will be lowered into the ground like she never mattered at all. Will anyone cry when the earth hits the coffin? Will a single tear be shed for me…or will the silence be louder than grief?
I don’t have friends. I never did. I was taught not to. That wretched woman drilled it into me, again and again, that Miranda was all I needed…that everyone else smiled only because they wanted my money, my name, my inheritance.
I believed her.
But now I see the truth, sharp and merciless. It wasn’t everyone else who was circling me like vultures. It was them. It was always them.
I sighed, hugging myself. At least Adrian wasn’t here. Thank God we weren’t sharing a room this—
The bathroom door opened just then as though telling me to hold on a second.
Adrian stepped out. Butt. Naked.
I stared, frozen by the window.
The universe definitely has jokes. They’re just never funny to me.