Chapter 86 Mine to Claim
Ethan’s POV
They think I don’t see it. That I don’t notice the way she looks at him now.
Like he’s something steady, or something safe. It’s almost funny. Almost.
I lean against the far wall outside the gym, with my arms crossed, watching them through the glass doors. They don’t see me. They never do.
Not really.
Luna’s laughing soft and unguarded. I haven’t heard that sound in a long time.
Not with me.
Kai says something…I can’t hear it…but she nudges him, and he smirks like he owns the moment. Like he owns her.
I always feel something tightens in my chest. Sharp, ugly and wrong.
I push it down. It doesn’t stay down. It never does anymore.
“They fit,” the voice murmurs quietly at the back of my mind.
I don’t flinch. I’m used to it now.
“Temporary,” I mutter under my breath.
“Everything is temporary,” it replies, almost amused.
My jaw tightens. “She’s not.”
A pause followed afterwards. “No,” the voice agrees softly. “She isn’t.”
My gaze sharpens on her. Because that’s the truth, is that Luna isn’t like anyone else. She never was. I saw it first. Before him. Before any of this.
I saw her.
The way she moved like she didn’t belong, the way the world seemed to bend slightly around her without realizing it and the way she felt different.
And now…. Now I know why.
“She’s the key,” the voice continues. “The anchor. The center.”
“I know what she is,” I snap quietly.
“But do you understand what that means?” I don’t answer. Because I do. More than anyone else. More than her. She thinks this is about feelings pr about choices. About who she likes. It’s not. It was never that simple.
“She belongs where power gathers,” the voice whispers. “Where control is taken. Not given.”
My fingers curl slightly. “She belongs with me.”
A low, approving hum followed. “Better.”
I push off the wall slowly and my eyes never leave them. Kai’s hand touches hers. Casual and easy. Like it’s natural and like it’s his right. Something cold settles in my chest. It was not anger and not jealousy. It was something sharper and clearer. “He’s in the way,” the voice says.
I nod slightly. “Yes.” Not emotional. Not reactive. Just… fact.
Kai Blackthorne is a problem. Not because he’s strong and not because he’s dangerous. But because Luna listens to him. She trusts him and chooses him.
And that? That can’t continue.
“He stabilizes her,” the voice continues. “That makes her harder to influence.”
“I’ve noticed.”
“And yet you hesitate.”
I go still. “I’m not hesitating.”
“You haven’t removed him.” Not yet.
The words echo in my head. Not yet. Because this isn’t something I rush.
Not anymore. Before, I acted, i reacted. Yesterday proved where that gets me.
A flicker of memory…Her wrist in my hand and her voice telling me no.
The way something inside me snapped when she said it. I close my eyes briefly and exhale. “That was a mistake,” I murmur.
The voice hums again. “Yes.”
Not condemning and not mocking. Just… observing.
“You showed your hand too early.”
My jaw tightens. “I won’t make that mistake again.”
“Good.”
I open my eyes. They’re still there, still close and still….Wrong.
“She needs to see clearly,” I say quietly.
“Then show her.”
“I will.”
But not like before. Not through force and not through confrontation.
That only pushes her away. No… This needs precision. Patience. Control.
Kai glances toward the door suddenly. Like he feels something and for a second….Our eyes almost meet. I step back into the shadow before they do.
Let the moment pass.
“Careful,” the voice murmurs. “He senses more than he should.”
“I know.”
Another problem. Kai isn’t just in the way. He’s aware. Too aware and that makes him dangerous in a different way. Which means… He can’t just be removed. He has to be undermined, disconnected and separated from her.
“She trusts him,” the voice reminds me.
“Then I break that trust.”
“How?”
I don’t answer immediately. Because there are options. So many options. Small things…Subtle shifts, and a word here. A doubt there.
Push them apart slowly. Make her question him, make him hesitate and make the space between them grow….Until it breaks.
“She’s already uncertain,” I say quietly. “She just doesn’t realize it yet.”
The voice hums approvingly. “Yes… I can feel that.”
Of course it can. It feels everything I do. Sees everything I see.
“Use it,” it whispers. “Gently.”
I nod. Because that’s the key. Not force, not yet, it was influence and pressure. A slow unraveling. My gaze shifts back to her. She’s smiling again. But it’s different now .it is smaller. Like something’s weighing on her.
Good. That means the crack is already there. I just have to widen it.
“And if that fails?” the voice asks softly.
My expression hardens slightly. “Then we try something else.”
“Such as?”
I don’t hesitate this time. “Then he goes.”
Silence followed and then…
Approval, it was cold and satisfied.
“Efficient.” The voice said.
“It’s necessary.” I replied.
“Is it?” it asked.
I don’t look away from them. From him and from the way he stands just slightly closer to her than anyone else. Like he belongs there.
“He’s not part of this,” I say quietly. “He’s not supposed to be.”
“And you are?”
The question lingers. Heavy. But I don’t doubt it. Not anymore.
“Yes.”
Because I was there first and because I see her clearly. Because I understand what she is….What she’s becoming. More than he ever will.
“She needs someone who won’t hold her back,” the voice whispers.
“I won’t.”
“Someone who will help her rise.”
“I will.”
“Someone who will do what’s necessary.”
My jaw tightens and my gaze sharpens. “I will.”
“Good.” The voice fades slightly, not gone. Never gone.
Just… quieter and waiting. I push off the wall completely now.
Step away from the shadows.
Not toward them. Not yet, but soon. But not like before.
This time….I do it right. Because Luna isn’t something you take. Not directly and not forcefully. She’s something you guide, shape and claim…
When she finally understands. And Kai? He’s just an obstacle. He is temporary, replaceable and removable.,
My lips curve slightly as I turn down the empty hallway. This isn’t over.
Not even close. Because one way or another…She’s going to choose.
And when she does…
I’ll make sure there’s only one option left.
Which is me…