Chapter 17

Killian’s POV

I gripped the steering wheel tighter than necessary as I drove Feya back to the pack house. The silence between us was almost suffocating, but I could sense something in her that had shifted. She’d been more energetic than I expected when we went shopping—practically bouncing through the aisles like a child, her excitement impossible to miss. It was like she was on cloud nine, and for some reason, that made my chest tighten in a way I couldn’t quite explain.

I stole glances at her as we drove, noticing how her smile seemed to linger long after we left the shop, how her fingers gently grazed the bags as if she were holding something precious. But the closer we got to the pack house, the more I began to wonder what was really going on inside her head. She hadn’t said much since we left the store, only occasionally looking out the window, lost in her thoughts.

The tension was building in the pit of my stomach, gnawing at me. I wanted to ask her what had her so happy, but something told me that if I pushed, she’d shut me out.

We finally reached the pack house, the car coming to a smooth stop in the parking lot.

Before I could even shift the car into park completely, Feya practically leapt out of the passenger seat. She landed on the ground with a quick hop, practically bouncing on her feet as if there was a weight she’d been carrying that had finally been lifted. I watched her with furrowed brows, confused by the sudden burst of energy.

“Feya,” I called out, but she was already halfway to the entrance.

Then, as she reached for the door to the house, I made a split-second decision. I threw the car in park and stepped out of the car, my boots hitting the gravel with a solid thud.

“Feya, wait,” I said, my voice a little more commanding than I meant it to be.

She didn’t seem to hear me. She just kept walking with a spring in her step, her body practically humming with excitement. I could feel the electricity in the air around her, but what was driving it? Why was she acting this way?

Without thinking, I closed the distance between us in three long strides, my hand shooting out to grab her waist. I pulled her back toward me, wrapping my arms around her firmly, but not enough to hurt her.

“Killian!” she gasped, her voice filled with surprise and something else... Was that annoyance?

She wriggled in my arms, trying to pull away from me, but I didn’t let go. I didn’t know why, but I needed to keep her close, to understand this sudden shift. There was something in the way she had been acting today that was making my head spin, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that it had something to do with what had been weighing on her mind all along.

“Let go of me,” she said, her voice sharp with frustration. Her small hands pushed against my chest, but there was an underlying tension there—like she was unsure whether to stay or fight.

I didn’t let her go. Not yet. “What’s going on with you, Feya?” I asked, my voice low. “You’ve been acting weird ever since we got back in the car. What’s this all about?”

Her eyes flashed with something I couldn’t decipher. It was a mixture of irritation and... fear, maybe? She wasn’t meeting my gaze directly, her head turned away slightly as she took another step forward.

I released her reluctantly, watching as she straightened up and walked into the house without a word. I stood there for a moment, my mind racing. What had I just done? Why did I feel like I’d missed something?

Feya didn’t look back as she walked down the hallway, her heels clicking against the floor with an almost mocking rhythm. I stayed where I was for a moment, trying to process the surge of emotions running through me. She was acting so differently, and I couldn’t figure out if it was a good thing or if it was something I should be worried about.

I walked into the house, my boots echoing as I followed her. By the time I made it to the stairs, I could hear her moving around in her room. I wasn’t sure if I should go up there, if I should just give her space. But I was too frustrated, too confused by her sudden shift in mood to just let it go.

I pushed open the door to her room without knocking—maybe a little too forcefully—and found her standing in front of the mirror, admiring the dress she had bought earlier. She looked beautiful, no surprise there. But there was something different about the way she looked at herself, like she was trying to become someone else, someone she wasn’t.

Feya didn’t even flinch when she saw me standing in the doorway, but I saw the small stiffening in her posture. It was subtle, but it didn’t escape me.

“What’s going on, Feya?” I asked again, my voice softer now but still laced with confusion. “You’ve been acting like you’re about to explode with excitement, and then you shut me out the moment I get close. Talk to me. What’s happening?”

Her eyes flickered to me, and for a moment, I thought she might actually answer. But then, the loud voice of the pack’s head guards echoed through the house, cutting her off.

“Attention! Alpha Blake has arrived at the pack house! All pack members are to gather in the main hall for his arrival!”

The announcement hit me like a punch to the gut. My chest tightened involuntarily, and I immediately felt the rage bubbling up from the pit of my stomach. Of course, it was him. It had to be.

I felt my hands ball into fists at my sides, my jaw tightening.

Feya’s face lit up at the announcement, her eyes practically glowing with something I couldn’t quite name. She couldn’t hide it, not this time. It was clear as day—Alpha Blake was the reason for her sudden excitement. The reason for her new attitude.

“That’s it, isn’t it?” I couldn’t stop the words from slipping out, my tone sharper than I meant. “That’s what you’ve been so giddy about all day. You’re excited to see him.”

She turned toward me slowly, her eyes narrowing just slightly. “What’s wrong with that?” she asked, her voice surprisingly calm for someone so clearly fired up inside.

My heart rate picked up, anger swelling within me. "What's wrong with it? You’ve been acting like a completely different person today, and now I get why. You’re excited for Alpha Blake. He’s the reason for your sudden... change."

She crossed her arms over her chest, her stance defensive. "And what if he is? What’s it to you?" she shot back, her voice growing harder with each passing second.

I stepped closer, feeling the heat between us rise. "You can’t just pretend it doesn’t bother me. You don’t even see it, do you? How you’re acting around him—like he’s some kind of god. You think I don’t notice how you light up when his name is mentioned?"

Her jaw tightened as she took a step back. “You’re overreacting,” she said, but the words felt forced, like she was trying to convince herself more than me. "You don’t have to make everything about you."

I let out a bitter laugh, the frustration bubbling over. "It always comes back to him, doesn’t it?" I bit off each word like it left a bad taste in my mouth. "I can’t stand how much you care about him, how much attention you give him. It drives me crazy, Feya."

She didn’t answer me right away. Her expression softened for a brief moment, as if she were caught between defending herself and confronting what she was feeling. Finally, she let out a sigh. “You don’t get it, Killian. You never will.”

I stared at her for a long moment, feeling the weight of her words like a physical blow. It wasn’t the first time she’d said something like that to me. But it was the first time it stung so badly.

Her eyes darted to the door, and without another word, she left the room, her footsteps echoing in the hallway. I stood there, frozen for a moment, trying to gather my thoughts.

What the hell had just happened? I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was losing her, that somehow, Alpha Blake was the reason everything was changing—and I hated it.

But deep down, I knew this was just the beginning. She has been obsessed with the alpha since she became an adult but now she has to be with only me not with him.