Chapter 3

ALTHEA

I have a mate.

Not just any mate, but my bully.

Two weeks ago, I was sure Kirill was going to reject me. It was the only thing that made sense after three years of making my life miserable.

He didn’t.

Instead, he deleted the pictures of my mother and promised they would never leave his phone. Later that night, someone slipped a note under Ruelle’s bedroom door. I got up to check and it was addressed to me.

[I didn’t get to say goodnight, Mate. I hope you get a good night’s sleep, I know I will. Dreaming of you.]

It read. Signed K.V, in cursive.

I read it in his voice, and it sounded a little like a threat. Everything Kirill says sounds like a threat.

For the first few days, I waited for the joke to reveal itself.

It didn’t.

My whole world had changed out of nowhere.

Kirill changed. None of his friends called me names and when anyone did, he stopped them. He leaves me good morning messages, walks me to class, and at lunch, he sits with me. He hasn't apologised for the things he did to me, but he is trying, slowly and effectively.

Lunch has been the hardest transition, and today, just when I think I can escape the uncomfortable stares, Kirill takes my tray and claps a hand around my wrist. “You’re coming with me.”

“I—”

“Don’t say no, Hellcat.” He says, his voice softer than it used to be, but it still carries an undeniable command.

Like always, everyone stares as he leads me towards his table. Kimora looks up from the seat beside Kirill. They've been dating for three years, now, and everyone, including me thought she would be his chosen Luna.

Kirill looks down at her and signals to the other end of the table. “Move.”

“Excuse me?” She gasps. “What the hell are—”

“Kimora,” he snaps, and that’s enough to move her. She glares at me all the way to her seat and it doesn’t help my nerves. “Take a seat, Monroe.”

I should feel chosen, victorious…But instead, I feel like he just placed me in front of an audience that is waiting to see me fail.

I can barely eat.

The rest of lunch is a blur, and I hide from Kirill until the school day is over.

Hours later, I sit on my neighbour's roof, utterly lost in the buzz in my AirPods and dancing circles in my head when something hits the roof beside me. I look down, only to find my mother staring up at me, and Kirill?

It is him.

He’s here. At my door. Holding an overly large flower bouquet with confectionery in it.

“Althea, you have a guest, baby.”

“Hi,” Kirill waves.

I wave back, my fingers trembling from the sudden shock of his presence. “Thea, get down here.”

“It’s fine. I’ll go up,” Kirill says with a smile, his gaze shifting to my mom again. “This is for you, Ms Monroe.” He says, handing a rose, then the big bouquet.

I don’t tell him how I got up on the roof, but he finds his way up.

I scoot back when he pulls himself up, and sits right next to me, barely an inch between us. The bond starts humming, but we sit in silence.

“I couldn’t find you after practice.” He says.

“Got busy,” I lie.

“My father was asking about you,” he says.

“He doesn’t fuck my mom if that’s why you’re here,” I tell him.

“I wasn’t going to ask that. I was going to say he likes you, and my father doesn’t really like anyone but his wife.” He pauses, “Much less any of my friends.”

I nod.

His friends are assholes, but I don’t say that because I’m sitting with lead asshole himself.

The silence must suffocate him because he starts talking again, his voice carrying an unnerving softness. “I’m not sure he even likes me.”

“Everyone knows how much he loves you.”

“No,” he shakes his head. “People only assume, but we’re not that close. Not like he is with my other siblings. He thinks I’m too stubborn, reckless…”

“Oh.”

“I spent the better part of my childhood doing things that would please him, but he finds faults in everything I do, and I just can’t pretend to be somebody I’m not for him.”

“And who are you, Kirill?” I ask, because I’m not sure anymore.

“I’m still learning that.”

“We all are,” I nod. “We don’t have to have it all figured out right now, but I guess it’s different for you. You must feel pressured.”

His gaze lifts, “Do you? Does Ms Monroe pressure you?”

“Differently.” I nod, “My mom can be a lot sometimes. She makes mistakes, and she doesn’t always know what to do, but she’s the parent who stayed.”

“Does she hurt you?”

I shake my head.

Not anymore. Not since she quit using.

He lets out a sigh of relief. “Good, because it’d be bad if Ruelle got hold of her. She’s very protective of you.”

“Kirill, why are you doing this?” I pause. “Two weeks ago you’d strangle me if I were this close. But you're willingly skipping a party to be with me?”

He shrugs, “I know I've done terrible things in the past, and I'm not asking for forgiveness, Hellcat. I just need a chance to show you that I’m not entirely a disaster—well, I’m trying not to be.”

I look away, both of us silent now.

“Althea,” he says, catching me off guard because he has never called me by my name before. “I brought you something.”

“Flowers?” I frown, looking down at my house, but when I look up again, he has something in his hand. A necklace, dangling between us.

“This is our family crest,” he says. “When we turned thirteen, Mom gave one to Konstantin and one to me. She said to give them to the women who we choose. Kostya gave his to someone a few weeks ago, no idea who, and I’d wondered how it is that he knew she was the one, but now I know.”

I don’t know what to say.

My gaze shifts between him and the pendant. “Can I put this on you?”

I nod.

Kirill moves closer, his fingers brushing over my skin as he tries to clasp it around my neck. “Hmm,” he pulls away, grabbing the pendant. He stares at it, and I stare at him, trying to read him.

His gaze lifts, “Looks good on you, Hellcat.”

“Thank you,” I whisper. His eyes drop to my lips and he leans in, slow and unsure. I don’t pull away, but I don't lean in either.

He kisses me slowly at first, giving me enough time to stop him. When I kiss him back, his hand slides into my hair and the kiss turns harder. When we pull apart, we’re both heaving, and there’s a familiar dampness between my legs.

Kirill bites his lip. “I think I should go, I’m yet to learn how to control myself around you.”

I frown, staring at him in confusion. Years of sex education and bonds hit me at once. I gasp. He can smell me.

But he isn’t supposed to.

Mrs Langley said that males can only scent a shewolf’s arousal when she’s in heat, but if she’s marked then her mate can scent her every time. “You’re even prettier when you blush.” He smiles. “Come here,” he says, grabbing my face and pulling me close.

This time, he kisses me harder, deeper…

He not only steals my breath away, but an unfamiliar wail tears out of my throat and he swallows it.

“Yeah, just as addictive as the first time.” He whispers against my lips. “Goodnight, Kotyonok.”

I try to say it back, but the words are stolen by the daze of the kiss. He doesn’t climb down the way he came, he jumps off, and I gasp, my heart nearly dropping out of my ass. He lands on his feet, looks up with a knowing smile, and blows me a kiss.