Chapter 5: Five Years Later

Kyril's POV.

I stared at the divorce papers on my desk. Five years old, but I still kept them in the top drawer.

Signed by Aria. Finalized by the courts.

But never accepted by my wolf.

“You’re brooding again.” My mother’s voice cut through my thoughts. She walked into my office without knocking, like always.

I shoved the papers back in the drawer. “What do you want, Mother?”

“We need to talk about Sienna.”

My jaw clenched. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“She’s been your chosen mate for five years, Kyril. When are you going to actually mark her? Make it official?”

“Never.” The word came out harsh.

My mother’s eyes flashed with anger. “Excuse me?”

I stood up and faced her. “I’m not marking Sienna. I’m not making her my Luna. This arrangement is over.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“I’ve never been more serious about anything in my life.”

My mother moved closer, her voice dropping to something dangerous. “That half-breed has been gone for five years. She’s not coming back. You need to move on.”

“Don’t call her that.” My wolf growled inside me, and I felt my eyes flash gold. “Don’t ever call her that again.”

“Why are you still defending her? She left you! She ran away in the middle of the night like a coward!”

“Because I drove her away!” I slammed my hand on the desk. “I handed her divorce papers the same day I told her Sienna was pregnant. What did you expect her to do? Stay and watch me play happy family with another woman?”

“Sienna lost that baby,” my mother said coldly. “There is no child. There’s no reason you can’t be together now.”

“There’s every reason.” I moved to the window, looking out at the pack grounds. “I don’t love Sienna. I never did. And she doesn’t love me either. We’re just... going through the motions because you told us to.”

“Love isn’t important for Alphas. Duty is. Strength is. Sienna comes from a powerful bloodline—”

“And Aria was my mate!” The words exploded out of me. “My true mate. The one the moon goddess chose for me. And I rejected her. I treated her like garbage for three years because I was too stupid and proud to see what was right in front of me.”

My mother went very still. “What are you talking about?”

“The mate bond. I felt it the day we got married. That pull, that connection. I ignored it. I buried it. I told myself it was just the marriage bond, the forced proximity. But it wasn’t.” I turned to face her. “She was mine, and I threw her away.”

“You’re being ridiculous—”

“I’ve hired investigators in every major city. I’ve searched for five years. And last month, I finally got a lead.” I pulled out a folder from my desk. “Aria. Owns a business in Silvermoon District. Single mother to five-year-old twins.”

I threw the folder on the desk between us. “Twins, Mother. Born exactly nine months after she left. Want to guess who the father is?”

My mother’s face went pale. Then red. “You can’t know for sure they’re yours—”

“They have my eyes. My hair. Marcus saw the photo. He said they look exactly like I did at that age.” My voice shook with emotion I’d kept buried for years. “I have children. A son and a daughter. And I’ve missed five years of their lives because I was too much of a coward to fight for their mother.”

“If she was really your mate, she would have told you about the pregnancy.”

“Why would she? I was with Sienna. I was planning to marry Sienna. I made it clear Aria meant nothing to me.” The guilt was crushing. “She probably thought I’d try to take the babies from her. Or that I’d reject them like I rejected her.”

“This is insane. You can’t just abandon your responsibilities here to chase after some woman who clearly doesn’t want you—”

“Get out.” My voice was quiet but deadly.

“Kyril—”

“Get. Out. Of. My. Office.”

My mother stared at me for a long moment, then turned and left without another word.

I sank back into my chair and pulled out the photo Marcus had gotten from his contact in Silvermoon.

Aria looked different. Older. Stronger. Her hair was shorter, styled in a way that made her look confident and successful. She was smiling at something off-camera, and that smile hit me like a punch to the gut.

I had never seen her smile like that when she lived with me.

I had never given her a reason to.

The office door opened again. This time it was Sienna.

“Your mother just stormed past me looking murderous,” she said, closing the door behind her. “I’m guessing you finally told her?”

“Yeah.” I put the photo away. “She knows I’m ending this.”

Sienna’s expression hardened. “Ending what, exactly?”

“This. Us. Whatever this arrangement is supposed to be.”

“Are you out of your mind?” She moved closer, her eyes flashing. “We’ve been together for five years, Kyril. Five years! And you’re just going to throw that away?”

“We were never really together, Sienna. You know that.”

“I’ve waited for you!” Her voice rose. “I’ve stood by your side. I’ve been patient while you moped over that pathetic hybrid. I’ve done everything right!”

“I never asked you to wait—”

“Your mother promised me!” Sienna slammed her hands on my desk. “She promised me that if I just gave you time, you’d forget about Aria. That you’d mark me. That I’d be Luna!”

“My mother had no right to promise you anything.”

“So what? You’re just going to run after her? After she abandoned you? After she kept your children from you for five years?” Sienna laughed bitterly. “She doesn’t want you, Kyril. If she did, she wouldn’t have hidden them.”

The words hit harder than I wanted to admit.

“That’s my fault, not hers.”

“Always defending her!” Sienna’s face twisted with anger. “What does she have that I don’t? I’m stronger. I’m from a better bloodline. I’m not some weak half-breed who ran away at the first sign of trouble!”

“Don’t.” My voice dropped to a growl. “Don’t talk about her like that.”

“Or what? You’ll throw me out like you threw her out?” Sienna moved around the desk, getting in my face. “I have power in this pack, Kyril. My family has connections. If you humiliate me by casting me aside for her, there will be consequences.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“I’m promising you.” Her eyes were cold now. “You think you can just find Aria and play happy family? She’s built a life without you. She doesn’t need you anymore. And when you show up trying to claim those children, she’s going to fight you. She’s going to make your life hell.”

“Then I’ll deserve it.”

“And what about me?” Sienna’s voice cracked slightly. “What about everything I’ve sacrificed? I could have had any Alpha I wanted. But I chose you. I stayed with you even when you were clearly in love with someone else!”

“I never asked you to do that. I never promised you anything.”

“Your mother did! And you let her! You let me believe that eventually you’d come around!” Tears formed in her eyes, but her expression stayed hard. “If you walk away now, I’ll make sure every Alpha in the region knows what kind of man you are. Weak. Pathetic. Controlled by feelings for a woman who doesn’t want you.”

“I don’t care what anyone thinks.”

“You should.” She leaned in close. “Because if you pursue this, I’ll go to Silvermoon myself. I’ll find Aria. I’ll tell her exactly what kind of man you really are. I’ll make sure she never takes you back. And when your children are no longer safe… maybe then you’ll understand what it feels like to lose everything.”