CHAPTER 5: The Brother's Return

For a moment, we just stare at each other across the Luna's suite. Kieran looks like he's seeing a ghost. I probably look the same.

Three years of exile carved lines into his face that weren't there before. The scar is the most obvious change—a vicious slash from his right temple down to his jaw that should have killed him. Whatever gave him that mark wanted him dead.

But his eyes. Those warm amber eyes that always saw too much are exactly the same.

"I heard you were here," he says, voice rough like he hasn't used it in a while. "I had to see for myself."

"You're supposed to be exiled." The words come out sharper than I intend. "What are you doing back?"

"Funny thing about exile." A ghost of a smile crosses his face. "It doesn't stick when your brother needs you."

Movement behind him draws my attention. Kade appears in the doorway, and the temperature in the room drops about ten degrees.

"Kieran." His voice is pure Alpha command. "I told you to wait downstairs."

"Yeah, well, I never was good at following orders." Kieran doesn't move, doesn't even look at his brother. His eyes stay locked on mine. "Especially when it comes to her."

The tension between them is palpable. Physical. Like electricity building before a storm.

Kade steps fully into the room, and suddenly the space feels impossibly small with both Blackthorn brothers in it. "This isn't the time—"

"When is the time, Kade?" Kieran finally turns, and I see the barely controlled anger in his posture. "You called me back because Serena is dying. Fine. I came. But you didn't mention that Isla would be here. You didn't think I deserved that warning?"

"I didn't think you'd come if I told you." Kade's jaw is tight. "And we need her."

"You need her," Kieran corrects. "Like you always need things from people without asking if they're willing to give them."

I should leave. This is clearly a family matter, and I'm not family. Haven't been for three years.

But I'm frozen, watching them face off like wolves establishing dominance. Which, I suppose, is exactly what's happening.

"That's enough." Margot's voice cuts through the tension. She's returned from the lab, carrying equipment for the transfusion. "Both of you, either help or get out. I have a patient to treat."

Kieran backs down first, but not before shooting Kade a look that promises this conversation isn't over. He moves to the far wall, leaning against it with forced casualness. But I notice his hands are clenched into fists.

Kade doesn't move. "What do you need from Isla?"

"Blood transfusion." Margot starts prepping the IV setup with practiced efficiency. "Her bloodline carries properties that may neutralize the dark magic. We'll start with a direct transfusion and monitor the response."

"You're going to drain her to save Serena?" Kieran's voice is dangerously quiet. "After everything? You're going to use her like a blood bank?"

"It's not like that—" Kade starts.

"Then what's it like, brother?" Kieran pushes off the wall. "Because from where I'm standing, it looks exactly like you using her. Again."

"Stop." My voice cuts through their argument. Both brothers turn to look at me. "I'm standing right here. You want to know what I think? Ask me."

Silence falls. Margot continues her setup, but I can feel her attention on us.

"I'll do it," I say, meeting Kieran's gaze first, then Kade's. "For the child. She's innocent in all of this."

Relief floods Kade's face. "Thank you, Isla. I know this isn't—"

"I'm not doing it for you." The correction is necessary. Important. "I'm doing it because a baby shouldn't die for her parents' mistakes."

Kieran's expression shutters. "You're too good for them. For all of us."

I don't respond to that. Can't, because if I do, I might fall apart.

"Let's get this done." I sit in the chair Margot has positioned beside Serena's bed.

Kade hesitates, then nods. "I'll be right outside if you need anything."

He leaves, but Kieran stays. Plants himself in the corner like a guard dog, arms crossed, watching everything.

"You don't have to stay," I tell him as Margot swabs my inner elbow with antiseptic.

"I know." He doesn't elaborate.

Margot works quickly, inserting the IV needle with barely a pinch. My blood flows through clear tubing into a collection bag, then through a filter system, and finally into Serena's IV line.

The effect is almost immediate. The black veins on Serena's arms lighten slightly, fading from pure black to dark gray. Her breathing evens out. The monitors show her heart rate stabilizing.

"It's working," Margot murmurs, making notes on her chart. "The Moon-Blessed properties are actively combating the dark magic."

I watch my blood flow into Serena and feel... nothing. Should I feel something? Satisfaction? Vindication?

Instead, there's just emptiness.

"How long will this take?" Kieran asks from his corner.

"Twenty minutes for the full transfusion." Margot checks my vitals. "Blood pressure good, heart rate stable. How do you feel, Isla?"

"Fine." But even as I say it, something shifts. A pull, deep in my chest. Not painful, but wrong. Like something inside me is reaching for something it shouldn't.

I blink, trying to clear the sudden dizziness.

"Isla?" Kieran moves closer. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I just..." The room tilts. My skin feels too hot, then too cold. The pull intensifies, becoming almost magnetic.

"Margot," I manage. "Something's wrong."

She's already moving, checking the IV connection, adjusting monitors. "Vitals are spiking. Heart rate elevated. Blood pressure dropping."

The pull becomes a hook, dragging something from deep inside me toward Serena. Toward the baby.

"Stop it," I gasp. "Stop the transfusion."

Margot's hands fly to the IV, but before she can disconnect it, my vision goes white.

The world disappears.

For a moment, I'm floating in pure light. And I'm not alone. There's another presence there with me—small, innocent, untouched by the darkness consuming its mother.

The baby. I can feel her. Her heartbeat synchronizes with mine.

Then reality crashes back.

I'm falling, the chair tipping backward. Strong arms catch me before I hit the floor.

"Isla!" Kieran's voice, panicked. "Margot, what's happening?"

"I don't—she's seizing—"

"GET MY BROTHER!" Kieran roars.

The world swims. I can hear voices, feel hands on me, but everything is distant and distorted.

Then Margot's voice cuts through, sharp with fear: "Oh goddess. Oh no."

"What?" Kade's voice now. When did he get here? "What's wrong with her?"

"Her body..." Margot sounds shaken. "It's creating a blood bond with the child. Not with Serena—with the baby. The Moon-Blessed bloodline is anchoring to the unborn heir."

"What does that mean?" Kade demands.

"It means..." Margot's next words sound like a death sentence. "It means Isla is now supernaturally connected to the child. If she leaves before the baby is born, the severed connection will kill them both."

Silence. Complete, devastating silence.

"How long?" Isla hears herself ask. The words sound far away.

"Serena is four months along. The baby needs at least five more months to reach viability. Then probably another week or two for safe delivery." Margot's hands shake as she checks the monitors. "Isla, you're tied to Blackthorn territory for at least six months. Maybe longer."

Six months.

The number echoes in my skull like a death knell.

Six months in the place that destroyed me. Six months with the mate who rejected me. Six months away from Asher, who thinks I'll be home in three days.

"No." The word comes out broken. "No, that's not possible. My son—I have to get back to my son."

Kieran's arms tighten around me. "You have a son?"

The question hangs in the air, unanswered.

Because all I can think about is Asher's face when I promised I'd come back soon. The trust in his mismatched eyes—one green like his father's, one silver like mine.

One green like Kade's.

And Kade is standing right there, staring at me with an expression I can't read. Didn't hear what I said about Asher. At least I don't think he did.

But Kieran heard. Kieran knows.

And now I'm trapped here—bound by magic to an unborn child, separated from my own son, with nowhere to run.

The room spins again, but this time it's not magic.

It's the realization that everything I built in three years just collapsed.

And there's nothing I can do to stop it.