Chapter 4

Marcel:

I closed the door behind my mother and didn’t move closer right away.

Lia sat rigid on the edge of the bed, shoulders tight, eyes sharp despite the exhaustion clinging to her. She looked like she was ready to bolt, or attack. Either way, she was coiled for violence.

“May I sit?” I asked, keeping my tone even. “I am not here to hurt you. I just want to talk.”

Her head snapped up. Fury flashed across her face so fast it surprised me.

“Why?” she shot back. “So you can watch me better while you decide how to kill me? Because I doubt that you are here to simply speak to me. What is it going to be? A ransom? Or are you going to torment the answers of whatever questions you might have out of me?”

I frowned. That… wasn’t what I had expected.

“I brought you here because you were bleeding out,” I said slowly. “You would have died in that forest. I wasn’t going to allow that to happen. Questioning or harming you… why would you even think that?”

Her laugh was bitter. Sharp. Both an answer to her pain, my question…

“Don’t insult me by pretending this is mercy.” She said, glaring at me. “What do you really want from me?”

I took a step closer. She didn’t retreat. Good. Fearless, or reckless. Possibly both.

“I wasn’t going to let you die,” I said, firmer now. “Whatever you think of me, that much should be obvious.”

Her eyes burned. “Of course you brought me here. It makes sense. You didn’t want anyone else taking the kill. The great Alpha, the killer of rogues… since that bitch played through your walls and councils chose to break whatever protection…”

“I never needed anything that the council, or Katherine believed to take.” I said, stopping her. “And I wouldn’t have had the rogues kill you.”

“Then by all means, enjoy your kill.” She said darkly as she clenched her fists. “It should be an easy one given my current position.”

The words landed harder than they should have.

I stopped in front of her, leaning down just enough that she had to look at me. “Do you really believe that I want you dead?” I asked quietly. “Do you think that you would have woken up if I did?”

For a heartbeat, uncertainty flickered across her face. She opened her mouth to speak, but she closed it again, fighting back whatever it was that she wanted to say.

“Why?” She whispered, looking me in the eye.

I wanted to think of a proper response, one that wouldn’t have her turning against me…

Then the door opened. “Alpha…”

“Elara?” I said sharply. “What do you want?”

She walked in like she owned the room, expression soft, familiar—too familiar. She crossed straight to my side, fingers brushing my arm as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” she said lightly, smiling up at me. “Your mother’s calling for you.”

I looked at her. “For what?”

“She didn’t say.” A pause. Perfectly timed. “But she sounded concerned. She didn’t want to walk in here herself. She didn’t want to frighten our guest here.”

Lia’s gaze snapped between us, her jaw tightening. The air shifted. Tension coiled tight and volatile.

I exhaled slowly.

“I’ll be back,” I said, more to myself than to Lia. “And we are going to talk when I’m back.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Of course you will.”

I didn’t answer, mostly because I knew that she was going to need to process whatever was going on.

I turned and followed Elara into the hall.

The moment the door closed behind us, I stopped walking.

“What were you doing in that room?” I asked coldly.

She spun around, irritation flashing through her carefully composed expression. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” I asked, glaring at her. “And you know well enough that I don’t like repeating myself twice.”

She scoffed. “I was checking on you. On her. Everyone is talking about you bringing her here, and now that you are in her room personally… what do you think that’s going to spark?”

“I didn’t ask you to.”

Her lips pressed together. “You’re being unreasonable. Everyone knows my place with you, and it is my right to ask questions when you bring in a woman, in your arms… and not to mention, she is a rogue.”

“I did not ask for your opinion.” I said, shutting her out completely. “And I wouldn’t ask about something when I am the one making decisions.”

Her eyes hardened. “You don’t get to shut me out, Marcel. I am not going to sit back and watch… And if that is what you expect…”

“I just did.” I said, stopping her. “And if you don’t like it, I believe that you know to walk out that door.”

She stared at me for a long moment, then huffed sharply and turned away. “Fine. Do whatever you want.”

She walked out the door without another word.

I stood there longer than necessary.

Behind me, I felt it before I heard it, my mother’s presence, quiet and observant.

“You really did bring in chaos,”