Chapter Six - What Happened to Them - Valeria's POV

I shudder as I remember their strange disappearances, then their untimely deaths. 

“They’re no longer here. After they’d take me in, they’d suddenly turn up dead. Since I was young, I wasn’t allowed in the pack meetings, but rumors spread that it was some kind of attack from the outside. To this day, I’m not sure what happened to those kind people. The two that were extremely nice were Laney and Matt. They couldn’t have children of their own and were almost like second parents to me. I still go to their graves when I go to visit my parents.”

Kendric exhales loudly. “So, why did your parents die? Was it some sort of attack when they died, too?”

“Yes. They were helping the alpha on something in the woods.”

“So, random nice people die in this pack. Good to know. Is there anything else you noticed going on?” He asks, his voice eerily calm.

I know why he’s asking. He wants words to use while he’s gone to the trial. He needs evidence of something showing that I’ve been mistreated.

“No, but I wouldn’t know anything other than the few events directly related to me. The alpha always kept me out of everything.”

“Okay, one last question. Is there anything else in that room you need?”

I think about it again, then remember something in the closet. “There is a dress that looks like a ball gown. It’s my mother’s ceremonial dress. Can she bring that too?”

He nods. “I will make sure she gets it before I’m gone.”

As Kendric leaves out the front door, I pull out of my daze and walk onto the porch, then turn to look back at the house. Vines crawl their way up the sides of the house in various spots. Windows have been busted out, and it looks like some of the shutters are falling. This place has seen better days, but it could always be worse.

“Are you sure you want to stay here? It doesn’t look livable,” Kendric says as he steps back and glances up at the second floor.

I turn around with a grim expression on my face. “If you have time, go to the attic in the alpha’s house and then tell me that.”

“When I return, I expect you to be here. Unharmed. Do you understand me?”

I pause, caught off guard by the intensity in his voice. It’s as though he’s not just asking me to stay safe, but asking me to promise something I’m not sure I can. My throat tightens. “Why are you coming back?”

My voice cracks slightly, the question slipping out before I can stop it. The truth is, I don’t understand why he’s doing any of this. Why is he so determined to protect me? Why does it matter to him?

Kendric studies my face for a moment, his lips pressing together as he thinks of a response. “I’ll be back after the trial, so until then, I want you to stay safe and watch everyone. If you hear anything, I’m leaving all of my contact information with you to use. Don’t hesitate to call me. If anything goes wrong or you think it might head that way, I will come. They will just have to go on without me.”

“I will call if anything goes wrong,” I say, laughing about it.

This guy barely knows me, but acts like we’ve known each other forever. It’s weird.

He walks back up the steps, hands me a small piece of paper from his pocket, then digs around in the other and produces a phone. “Don’t ask where the phone came from or why. I had this feeling is all I will say.”

“Thank you.” Instead of fighting him over it, I take the phone with a smile on my face. “If I hear anything, I will contact you as soon as I can.”

“Please be safe.”

With those words uttered, he leans forward, his hand sliding gently around the back of my neck. His touch is warm and steady, grounding me even as my heart begins to race. I freeze for a second, caught between surprise and something deeper. It’s a longing I don’t know I’m still capable of feeling.

Then, his lips find mine.

The world goes quiet. There’s no shouting, no uncertainty, just the overwhelming rush of heat where our mouths meet. A tremor moves through me. It’s not from fear this time, but from something tender and unfamiliar. My breath catches, and my fingers twitch at my sides, unsure whether to hold him or hold on to myself.

He breaks the kiss slowly, like he doesn’t want to let go, pressing a final, delicate peck to my lips that makes my chest ache in the best and worst way.

“I’m serious. Don’t do anything stupid. I expect you to be on this porch waiting for me when we get back. We have some things to discuss.”

“We do?”

His brows raise as our gazes meet again. “Yes, I think we do.”

Alpha Barrett comes into view with a very distraught look on his face as he looks between the two of us. It’s almost like he’s worried about Kendric and the way he’s acting. “Hey, are you coming? The council will be expecting us. They just called and they are expediting the trial.”

The alpha’s son comes to stand beside his father. He takes a good look at the two of us and our positions with a devious smile.

“I didn’t realize you two had a thing already.”

Heat floods my cheek as I quickly pull away. “We don’t.”

Kendric growls low, causing his chest to rumble. “Oh, but we do, and we will discuss this when I return.”