The Kiss

THERON

I walked Nerine back to her room with my arm around her shoulders. She leaned into me the entire way as she continued to sob quietly.

Once the door shut behind us, she turned fully into my chest and stayed there, shuddering.

“She’s always hated me, Tee,” she whispered. “Even when we were little. I tried so hard to be good to her, but the second our parents brought me home she looked at me like I’d stolen something that was hers.”

I ran my fingers down her hair, slowly. The anger from earlier still hadn’t left me.

I could still feel it in my chest. Mae was becoming a pain in the neck, and I’d have to tame her before she got too wild. I made her who she is today and I can easily strip her of everything she is.

“I won’t forgive her for what she did to you,” I growled lightly.

Nerine’s fingers twisted into the front of my shirt, whimpering, “I only came back because I couldn’t keep Caden from you any longer. I never wanted to hurt her. I just… I wanted us to be a family again… the way it was supposed to be.”

The way it was supposed to be.

For five years, I had convinced myself that Nerine would come back to me. I had counted every month of that contract, waiting for the day I could finally put the forced arrangement behind me and take back what should have been mine from the start.

Now she was here, so vulnerable, and helpless yet, Maelis had decided to make everything harder than it needed to be.

“I will put her in her place,” I said quietly. “I’ll make sure of it.”

Nerine pulled back enough to look up at me, her eyes still wet. “Maybe if we all sat together… like a proper family dinner. Caden should see that his father’s pack stands united. It might even help her adjust a little. Show her no one is trying to erase her.”

I thought about it for a moment, a public show of unity would remind the pack, and Maelis exactly where things stood now.

“Fine,” I said. “Tonight, we will have a family dinner.”

She gave me a small, grateful smile and rested her head against my chest again.

An hour later, while going to the dining hall, I sent a maid upstairs to inform Maelis about the family dinner, but she had come back alone with her head hung low, and I already knew I wasn’t going to like the answer.

“The Luna said she prefers to eat in her room, Alpha. She says she’s on medication and doesn’t feel well enough to join the table.”

Nerine’s soft gasp came from beside me. She pressed a hand to her mouth, eyes glistening again as she tried to prevent the tears from falling.

“It’s because of me,” she whispered. “She’d rather stay alone than sit at the same table as her sister. I’m ruining everything just by being here.”

That was enough.

I left the dining hall without another word and took the stairs. When I pushed open Maelis’s door she stood, staring at me, her expression unreadable.

“Dress up,” I thundered. “And come downstairs. Immediately!”

She looked at me with that same maddening calm, and something inside me snapped.

Rage blinded my vision and I curled my fingers into fists, forcing myself not to reach for her. Every muscle in me screamed at me to grab her by the neck and force her to obey.

Inhaling slowly, I took a few steps forward. “Do not test my patience, Maelis,” I drawled out each word.

“I already sent word. I’m not well enough to join you for dinner,” She replied firmly.

“You walked into the council chamber this afternoon without any problem. You stood in this room and argued with me a few hours ago. I’m not here for your excuses, get into that closet and put on a dress.”

Her chin lifted a bit as she stared hard at me. “I’m not coming.”

The refusal hit harder than it should have. For five years she had obeyed every one of my orders quietly, never for once had she said NO to my face.

I clenched my fist and stepped closer. “You will not embarrass me in front of Caden and his grandparents,” I said. “Get dressed.”

“No.” She didn’t budge. “There’s nothing that would make me go down and sit with them.”

Something cold settled within me, and I stared at her for long, waiting for the usual retreat, and the quiet compliance I had grown used to.

But it never came.

I said nothing, turned and left before I would be forced to do something I’d regret later.

______

The table was already set when I returned. Alistair and Evelyn sat on either side of Nerine. Caden was in the chair to my right, with his little legs swinging, as he looked at the food in excitement.

I sat down and masked the anger on my face.

“I still can’t believe the way that girl spoke to Nerine earlier. After everything we did for her.” Evelyn started, twitching her lips. “I raised her alongside our real daughter, and this is how she repays us by trying to drive a wedge the moment Nerine comes home.”

Alistair’s mouth tightened. “She’s always been ungrateful. Five years as Luna and she still carries herself like a resentful servant. If the Council hadn’t forced the marriage by claiming it was fated by the moon goddess, she never would have set foot in this house.”

Nerine lowered her eyes. “Please… don’t speak about her like that. She’s still my sister. I’m sure she’s just struggling to adjust. It must be hard for her.”

I turned to Nerine, taking her hand in mine. Here she was, constantly trying to protect Maelis from everyone’s scorn, while Maelis, on the other hand, seemed to have no regard for her own sister.

A small smile tugged at my lips as warmth spread through my chest.

I had chosen right after all.

I reached for the plate of oranges in the middle of the table and picked one for Caden. The boy watched carefully as I peeled the skin away in one long spiral, the way my father used to do for me.

When I handed him the first piece, his small fingers closed around it with a shy little smile.

“Thank you, Daddy.”

‘Daddy.’ Something eased in my chest at the word.

I ruffled his dark hair once and turned back to my own plate, though I had no real interest in the food.

The conversation kept circling back to Maelis, her coldness, her arrogance, the way she had refused even a simple family dinner.

I said almost nothing, but every word settled deeper into the irritation already sitting under my skin.

Why, after five years of obedience, had she suddenly decided to become difficult?

When the last plates were cleared, Nerine touched my arm lightly.

“Will you walk with me in the garden for a little while? The night air might help settle my nerves.”

I nodded and we made our way to the garden.

The pack garden paths were lit by lanterns, giving the garden a beautiful golden glow. Caden had already been taken upstairs by a maid. Alistair and Evelyn had retired to bed too.

Nerine walked close to me, our shoulders brushing against each other gently. After a few minutes of silence, she stopped under one of the older oak trees and turned to face me.

“I missed this,” she said quietly. “Walking with you, knowing you were mine.”

She stepped closer and rested her hands against my chest. Her face tilted up a bit, and her lips parted slightly as she rose onto her toes to press her lips against mine.

I had waited five years for this exact moment. Instead, something in me shifted without permission.

At the last second before our lips met, I turned my head just enough that her lips brushed my cheek.

I stepped back before she could say anything.

“Erm… I think you should go and rest,” I said, keeping my voice even. “Caden will need you early tomorrow. The first stage of the legitimacy rites begins at sunrise.”

Nerine blinked as a flicker of confusion crossed her face before she smoothed it into a soft smile. “Of course, you're right. I need to rest.”

“Tomorrow, yeah?” I asked, and she nodded.

“Tomorrow. Good night Tee.”

I watched her walk back toward the pack mansion, holding my breath in guilt. Only when she disappeared inside did I let out a slow breath.

I stood there for a while with the question that had no right to exist in my head.

Why hadn’t I kissed her?