Mag-log inILYANA’S POV“I know he’s fine, but please, he’s not all that,” Atasha said, snapping her fingers in front of my face and pulling me out of my slightly embarrassing staring session.Ryder glanced at her the moment she spoke, a slow smirk tugging at his lips, his gaze lingering just a second too long before he looked away like he didn’t care. But he clearly did. Atasha walked over to me quickly, and I pulled her a little closer, lowering my voice.“How do you know him?”“Him?” she asked, following my gaze as if she didn’t already know exactly who I meant, then she scoffed lightly, “He’s just a friend.”“A friend from where?” I pressed, because nothing about the way Ryder was looking at her felt like “just a friend.”“Don’t worry about him,” she said immediately, waving it off too fast, “Ignore him and let’s focus on the mission at hand. Not men again.”I opened my mouth to push further, but I let it go, stealing another glance at Ryder instead. His attention wasn’t even on me anymore.
ILYANA’S POVI half expected Kael to be in bed with me the next morning, but when I woke up he was gone, the only trace of him was the warmth he left on the other side of the bed. I wasn’t happy about it. I couldn’t fully remember everything from last night, but I knew we talked, and I thought we had reached something like a breakthrough. I got dressed for the day and ate breakfast slowly, my mind wandering back to him again and again, refusing to stay still.A knock came at my door and Atasha entered almost immediately, her face bright with an energy that didn’t quite match the heaviness in my chest.“Good morning to you too!” she squealed.“Good morning,” I said, softer, a little sad, not wanting to drag her mood down with me.“Urghh, please don’t tell me you’re also under the weather like my brother! I need someone to be happy, I need balance in my life!”I hesitated for a moment, then looked at her properly. “Can I ask you something, Atasha, and do you promise to tell me the trut
KAEL’S POVThe alphas’ meeting dragged through the entire day, but not once was my mind inside that room. Their voices blurred into noise, their concerns drifting past me like smoke I couldn’t hold onto, because every time I tried to focus, Ilyana filled the space instead. The way I’d snapped at her. The way her eyes had shifted, even if she tried to hide it. The way she’d walked out like she was trying not to need me.After hours of pretending to listen, I finally ended the meeting. I couldn’t sit there another second pretending I was present when everything inside me was elsewhere, already with her, already replaying my mistake over and over until it burned.I’d never snapped at her before. Not once. And the worst part wasn’t even that I did it—it was how easily it happened, like something inside me slipped, just for a second, and in that second I hurt her. I kept telling myself I was irritated, overwhelmed, dealing with too many things at once, but none of that changed the truth si
ILYANA.I turned back to look at her. The offer was tempting, and there was an evil gleam in her eyes that made me realize she was either enjoying this or would tell me the truth.She moved closer to me, “He’s hiding a lot from you. More than you know. And I can tell you everything because I know everything. But only if you let me see you and know who you are.”I clenched my fist beside me. It would be good to know. I won’t lie and say that every part of me doesn’t want to know what he’s hiding. But also knowing gives the impression of not trusting Kael in our bond, and I needed to trust him. He has been there for me all this time and showed me I can trust and fully rely on him.“No,” I said to her with a thin smile, “I trust my mate. And if he’s not telling me now, he’s definitely going to tell me later.”I left her house immediately and made my way back to the pack house. The minute I stepped inside, I found my way to Kael’s study. We needed to talk. More than anything. I didn’t tru
ILYANAKael did not come into the room that night. Or if he did, I was already asleep, and he left as early as he could the next morning. I decided to go and see him in his office and try to understand what was going on, only to be stopped by Carius.“He’s busy. He said he doesn’t want to be disturbed.”“Even by me?” I asked, not understanding what was going on, only for Carius to nod, sighing after, “Something is bothering him, more than before, and I don’t know what it is, it might have to do with what the priestess said, but for now don’t bother him.”“What did the priestess say? Do you know anything about it?”He shook his head, lips pressed flatly, “Even if I knew, it wouldn’t be from Kael, he doesn’t talk much about things like that.”“Have you tried asking him?”“Nope. He has shut me out too, but he’s busy and doesn’t want to be disturbed for now.”I sighed because none of this was sitting well with me, I didn’t like Kael’s attitude when things happened, no matter how big or he
KAEL“Who are you?” I asked again as everyone left the room, leaving the priestess and I alone in the room.“I’m merely a priestess, Alpha Kael. I see things, visions, and I see them as I say it.” “And I’m in your visions?” I scoffed, angry and irritated.“You’re in every priestess visions. The great Alpha King, the one who sacrificed almost everything for his people. Such a strong courageous man. If every man was to be like you, the world would be a better place. You care not for power, but you’re kind, you’re warm. And even though you try to hide it by being so cold and pushy, it still radiates from you.”I gritted my teeth, her theatrics of words not doing anything to coax the anger out of me. I’ve never had a priestess, never seen a vision. But this one seemed to know a great deal about me, my curse, my abomination, and there was no way she should be able to know.“Why are you here then? To help me?”“Yes,” she flatly replied.“How?”“By showing you the path and way that you shoul







