The Fight

Kael barely spoke during breakfast the following morning.

He had received several calls before I came downstairs, and although he answered each one calmly, I could tell he was struggling to keep his temper under control. His wolf was restless beneath the surface, making his presence feel heavier than usual.

I watched him set his phone beside his plate.

“Is Adrian still contacting your family?”

“Yes.”

“And what are you going to do about it?”

Kael looked up at me. “I’m going to speak to him.”

I put down my fork.

“Speak to him, or fight with him?”

His expression tightened, and I immediately regretted the sharpness of my question. Not because it was unfair, but because I could see how easily his anger was getting ahead of him.

“I haven’t decided,” he admitted.

“Then decide what you actually want to achieve before you see him.”

He leaned back in his chair, studying me.

“You think I can’t control myself?”

“I think you’re angry enough to make a decision you’ll regret.”

For several seconds, neither of us spoke.

Then Kael exhaled and rubbed a hand over his face.

“You’re right. I don’t want to give Adrian another opportunity to make this about me.”

The admission surprised me. I had expected him to defend his intentions or insist that he knew how to handle his brother. Instead, he acknowledged the problem before his pride could turn it into an argument.

“Thank you for listening,” I said.

He gave me a tired smile.

“I’m trying to get better at that.”

I reached across the table and briefly touched his hand before returning to my breakfast. It was a small gesture, but I wanted him to know that admitting his mistakes didn’t make me think less of him.

If anything, it made trusting him a little easier.

Unfortunately, Adrian seemed determined to make that difficult.

Kael’s meeting with his brother was scheduled for that afternoon at the foundation’s private office. I had not planned to attend, but when Kael told me Adrian had insisted on discussing our marriage and my position within the family, I decided I would be there.

“If he’s going to talk about me,” I explained, “then I want to hear what he has to say.”

Kael studied me for a moment.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. But I want you to let me speak for myself.”

“I will.”

When we arrived, Adrian was already waiting in the conference room. He stood beside the windows with his hands in his pockets, looking irritatingly comfortable for someone who had spent weeks disrupting my life.

His eyes moved from Kael to me.

“I didn’t expect you to bring her.”

Kael’s jaw tightened.

“She isn’t something I bring wherever I go. She’s here because she chose to be.”

I touched Kael’s arm lightly, reminding him of our conversation that morning. He glanced at me, then stepped back without another word.

I appreciated the effort.

Adrian noticed the exchange, and his expression grew more unpleasant.

“How touching,” he remarked. “You two have already learned to put on a united front.”

“Why are we here, Adrian?” I asked. “If you have something to say, say it.”

He turned toward me.

“I’ve heard you’ve been getting involved in Kael’s foundation. Medical outreach, meetings, all sorts of things. Do you really think his family will take you seriously when your marriage began under these circumstances?”

I felt the insult, but I refused to let it dictate my response.

“My work has nothing to do with the circumstances of my marriage.”

“Everything has something to do with your marriage now. You’re carrying his child, and you’re going to be his wife. People will have questions.”

“Then they can ask me their questions.”

Adrian gave a humorless laugh.

“You really believe you can walk into this family and demand to be treated as an equal?”

Kael moved forward, but I spoke before he could respond.

“I don’t demand respect because I’m pregnant or because I’m marrying an Alpha. I expect it because I’m a person, and I intend to give the same respect to others.”

Adrian’s attention shifted to his brother.

“Is this what you want? Someone who challenges everything and refuses to understand how things work?”

Kael’s expression changed.

“Be careful, Adrian.”

“Or what?”

The challenge hung in the air.

Kael took one step closer, and the room seemed to grow smaller around them. His Alpha presence pressed against mine, stirring my wolf into alertness. Across the room, Adrian’s own instincts answered, his posture stiffening as the two brothers stared at each other.

“You don’t get to come into my office and insult my wife,” Kael said.

Adrian laughed bitterly.

“Your wife? You’ve known her for weeks. You barely know anything about her.”

“That doesn’t give you the right to speak to her like this.”

“And you think you’re protecting her?” Adrian’s voice rose. “You think marrying her makes you the better man? You always did enjoy taking what I wanted and pretending it was your right.”

Kael went completely still.

I saw the change in him before he moved. His expression hardened, his shoulders squared, and the restraint he had been fighting since breakfast seemed to snap.

He crossed the space between them so quickly that Adrian barely had time to react.

The sound of Kael’s fist striking his brother’s face cracked through the room.

Adrian stumbled backward into the edge of the conference table, knocking a folder to the floor. He touched his mouth, stared at the blood on his fingers, and looked up at Kael with disbelief.

Then he swung back.

The two men collided, their anger spilling into a fight neither seemed willing to stop. Chairs scraped across the floor, and another sharp impact echoed through the room as Adrian drove Kael against the table.

“Stop!” I shouted.

Neither listened.

Kael caught Adrian by the front of his jacket, and I saw his wolf rise dangerously close to the surface. Adrian shoved him away, snarling something I couldn’t make out.

Fear shot through me, not because I thought Kael would deliberately hurt me, but because I could see how little either man was thinking about the consequences.

They weren’t arguing about me anymore.

They were fighting every old resentment they had carried between them.

I hurried forward.

“Kael!”

He barely seemed to hear me.

Adrian raised his fist again, and Kael moved to meet him.

I stepped directly between them.

“Enough!”

Kael stopped so abruptly that I felt the movement of air beside my face. Adrian froze on the other side of me, breathing heavily, his expression twisted with anger.

For one terrifying second, neither brother moved.

Then Kael looked down at me.

His knuckles were red, his breathing uneven, and his eyes still carried the unmistakable fury of his wolf.

I placed a hand against his chest, feeling his heart pound beneath my palm.

“Look at me,” I whispered.

His gaze finally settled on mine.

“Kael, please.”

Slowly, his shoulders lowered.

Behind me, Adrian let out a bitter laugh.

But I didn’t turn around.

I kept my eyes on Kael, silently begging him to remember the man he had promised me he wanted to become.

Because I could stand beside him through difficult days, family pressure, and the complicated feelings growing between us.

What I couldn’t do was build a future with a man who allowed his anger to make his choices for him.