Cracked moments

VIRELLE’S POV

My hands are still trembling long after Kai slams the door behind him. I dragged my knee to my chest, replaying everything that had just happened in my head. The room is quiet, too quiet for the storm inside me, everything is chaos. My heart is beating like it’s trying to rip out of my chest, and my legs feel like they’re made of water as I drag myself up from the floor to the bed, clutching the duvet tightly to my chest.

I press a hand to my lips, that seemed already swollen from his kiss.

Oh my god! His kiss, the reality suddenly sets in and I gasped.

Goddess, what the hell is wrong with me?

My breath shakes as I grip the edge of my bed like it can steady the storm inside me. My wolf is practically vibrating with pleasure like she’s drunk on his scent, his touch, his voice. Nyzarelle was basically in thrills as she purrs in my head, entirely unbothered by the fact that our so-called mate had abandoned us. Rejected, humiliated, and hurt us without thinking twice.

“Nyzarelle, I hissed. Stop that! Stop enjoying this and help me out here will you? What will I say to Ric?”

“He doesn't have to know, you've always wanted Kai anyway,” she answered softly, drifting like warm smoke across my mind.

“He is ours.”

“He rejected us like we were nothing and now what? He suddenly grows a feeling?” I whisper sharply. “He made it clear he doesn’t want me! He doesn't want us,”

Her growl is low and deep, a sound that vibrates through my bones.

“His mouth said no. His soul said yes.”

“Oh, shut up please,” I snapped before letting out a deep sigh.

I shove the voice away before she can answer again.

But the truth kept stirring something dangerous inside of me. The thoughts of Kai touching me like a starved man, the way he kissed me like he was taking back something that belonged to him, I hated that I felt that way. And worst of all…

I let him And I oddly enjoyed it. I have never felt such satisfaction before even when Roderick brutally fucked me—but just his fingers made me feel so calm.

Furious at myself, I rush into the bathroom and turned on the shower, letting it run down my curves seamlessly as I stare at my reflection, feeling ashamed of myself

“Not again, never again!” I scolded myself.

I dry my face and head out of the bathroom, determined to bury what happened. Pretend it didn’t happen. Throw it out of my mind like a pile of trash.

But the moment I stepped back into the room, I froze. Ric’s voice echoed faintly alongside Kai’s.

Ric’s tone is sharp, edged with fury, but Kai’s was dangerously calm. The kind of tone uses when he’s seconds away from ripping something apart.

“You’re acting wrong, Kai,” Ric snarls. “You don’t get to claim someone you threw away.”

“She’s still mine,” Kai answers, voice low and deadly.

“You rejected her.”

“And yet her scent still pulls at me.”

My heart slams into my ribs so hard I choke on a gasp.

Ric growls. “So you saw her with me and suddenly you want her again?” he snarled.

Then, silence engulfed the air before Kai uttered another statement that sends a shiver straight through me.

“She moaned my name.”

“What the fuck!” I whispered.

Ric curses under his breath. “What the hell did you just say? What did you do to her” he yelled his last words. And POW! The sound but deep in my ear and I could tell one slammed at the other.

Kai doesn’t answer. But the silence says enough.

I immediately pace out of the room, I can’t stand here and let them fight over something that shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Taking a breath, I turn the corner of the hallway —and the moment they see me, everything shifts.

Ric’s face changed from the resentful, cold look he wore to now looking worried and Protective. His eyes soften like he wants to pull me into his arms and hide me away from the world.

Kai’s eyes drift over me slowly, hungrily, like he’s memorizing every breath I take. His jaw is tight, his fists clenched, like he’s at war with something inside him.

My hair was still damp from the shower, and water dripped over my white chiffon blouse, exposing my bare nipples that still seemed hard from thinking about Kai’s touch, pointing at both of them.

Kai couldn't peel his eyes off my chest until Ric noticed how he stared at me.

“Virelle,” Ric murmurs, stepping toward me.

But Kai steps forward first, yanking my hands off Ric’s.

“Come with me,” he ordered, voice deep and commanding.

“No!” Ric snaps, moving to block him. “She’s going nowhere with you.”

I lift my chin, summoning every piece of strength I carry. “I’m not going anywhere with either of you!” I yelled, jerking my hand off Kai. “And you both should stop this madness,” the words slipped out of my lips before I realized it.

Kai’s jaw ticks, hesitating before speaking. “Don’t test me Virelle.”

Anger flares through me. “And don’t order me around like I belong to you.”

“You do,” he growls. “You’re my mate, and I'm your alpha, you will listen to me!” he roared,

“You rejected me,” I spit and he flinches—enough to satisfy something small and petty inside me.

Ric steps closer, placing a gentle hand on my lower back. “I think the message is clear now Kai, she doesn't want you—she’s mine now. Accept it.”

Kai’s eyes darken instantly, a warning flashing through them as he moved closer me—so close that we were just a few inches apart. He lifted my chin with his middle finger and stared deep into my eyes like he was searching my soul. “But your body says otherwise, you want me—that's why your nipples are still hard at my sight,” he confirmed and damn was he right.

“Take your hand off her.” Ric snared.

“No!” The growl that ripples through Kai is deep enough to shake the walls.

“You had your chance, Kai. You chose Theseira. You chose to humiliate Virelle. You don’t get to waltz back in and decide she’s yours again.”

“ENOUGH!” I snap.

I swallow hard. My body trembles as the air grows thick with raw violent tension.

Both men freeze and I turn to Kai, anger bubbling through me like boiling water. “What do you want from me?”

His eyes soften—just for a moment. Just long enough for my heart to betray me again.

“You are my mate, and I want you,” he says quietly. He stepped closer until he’s right in front of me. “I was wrong,” he admits, voice hoarse. “I shouldn’t have rejected you. I shouldn’t have—”

“No,” I cut in harshly. “Stop. You don’t get to show up here and say this because you’re jealous of seeing me in Ric’s arms. Or because your ego can’t handle losing something you didn’t even want!”

His gaze darkens. “It wasn’t jealousy.”

“Then what was it?”

His chest rises slowly, as if he wanted to force words out but hesitated. He looks away, jaw clenched tight. “I was hurt Virelle! I was hurt when I realized my mate was being auctioned as a slave by a fucking vampire bastard! I hated it! I hate to fucking share! And now with Ric?” he slammed, rage buried in his eyes.

My heart twists painfully, his words pierced me like sharp knives, more painful than Roderick's torture. Then he continued.

“I didn’t think I was worthy of you, Virelle,” he whispered. “Or gentle enough. Or sane enough to touch someone who’s been used for such dirty immorality.”

My lips part, stunned.

“Did you say dirty immortality? Do you have the slightest idea what I went through? You think I wanted this? I was cherished by everyone, and I was adored until i was punished for what I fucking knew nothing about,” I snapped, panting out of rage.

Ric took my hand, squeezing it gently as tears threatened to gush down my lids. He let out a frustrated groan. “Kai, this isn’t—”

Kai cuts him off with a cold, deadly stare. “I didn't ask you to speak.” he hissed. “Virelle, I didn't want to reject you, I did it because I think you deserve better,”

Ric shakes his head. “And so you hurt her more? What a brilliant strategy.”

Kai takes another step toward me. “Alright, I think we are done here,”

His voice cracked faintly I almost missed it.

Kai raises his eyes to mine. His expression was unreadable, but I sensed a flicker of emotion in his eyes.

“I can’t stay away from you, that's why I brought you here.” My knees nearly gave out, but I held myself right.

“You can choose him. You can reject me if you want. I’ll accept it. But don’t pretend I feel nothing. Don’t pretend what you feel means nothing.” I stood there, staring at him with confusion written all over my face.

Kai lifts a hand slowly—hesitantly like he expects me to slap it away.

His fingertips brush my cheek.

“Say the word,” he whispers. “Say you don’t want me, and I’ll let you go.”

Just when i thought things were getting worse, Nyzarelle whines loudly in my head, she's just fond of being a goofball since she showed up.

My mouth opened… but the words won’t come.

And Kai sees it.

He sees everything, he understands my silence.

Slowly, his lips curl into a faint, almost broken smile and heat floods my cheeks.

“I see, you want me,” he murmurs.

Ric lets out a sharp breath. “You’re going to make this park a living hell, Kai.”

Kai smirks. “Probably.”

“Asshole,” Ric mutters.

Kai ignores him, eyes locked on me like I’m the only thing breathing in this entire world.

“Virelle,” he whispers softly. “I’m not letting you go again. Not unless you truly want me gone.”

My heart thunders I knew this was all wrong, Ric has been there, he comforted me, he made me feel seen. I stole a glance at Ric and I could tell how disappointed he felt but he tried not to show it. I never wanted to hurt him, but this was everything my soul had been screaming for since the night Kai rejected me.

I took a shaky breath.

“Kai,” I whisper.

His eyes light up instantly and before I could say anything else, the pack alarm suddenly erupts in the air—a loud wolf horn that shakes the walls.

Ric stiffens. Kai turns sharply.

“What’s happening?” I ask, heart pounding.

A bunch of warrior rushes down the hall. “Alpha! Beta! Rogues at the northern border! At least twenty!”

Kai’s voice shifts instantly back into Alpha mode—commanding, sharp, and deadly calm.

“Prepare the warriors. Ric, come with me.”

Ric nods and starts following while I stand there watching without a clue of what was going on.

But Kai pauses, turning back to me with a dark, fierce expression that seized the air in my lungs.

“We’re not done, little wolf.”

Then he shifts into a massive white wolf and disappears down the hall.