Acting strange

Darius’ POV


I placed Kira onto my bed, my frown deepening as I stepped back, forcing my hands away from her burning skin. My wolf was restless, pacing in my head, growling at me for letting this happen. “She’s ours. We should have protected her. We should…”
“Shut up,” I snapped at him, shoving the bond deep down where it belonged. I had spent four years ignoring it, locking it away, pretending it didn’t exist. I wasn’t about to break now.
The door slammed open behind me.
My brothers stalked into the room, their arms crossed as they glared at me.
Dane was the first to speak, leaning against the door frame, arms crossed. But his eyes—those sharp, calculating eyes—lingered on Kira for too long before he turned to me. “You’re acting strange.”
Damien scoffed. “Strange is an understatement.” He stepped forward, his jaw tight, muscles tense. “You ran to her like your life depended on it.”
I held his gaze, forcing a smirk. “Would you rather I let her die?”
Damien scoffed. “Yes.” But there was hesitation. He was lying.
I knew my brothers better than anyone.
And something about the way Damien’s fists were still clenched, the way Dane’s eyes lingered on her too long, made my stomach churn.
They were angry. But not for the reason they should be.
Not because I had saved her.
But because they hadn’t.
I swallowed hard, my nails digging into my palm. No. That couldn’t be right.
She was my mate.
She couldn’t be theirs too.
She wouldn’t be theirs too.
Dane exhaled sharply, rubbing his temple. “You’re acting strange,” he muttered.
“So are you,” I shot back, watching him closely.
His gaze flicked to me, unreadable. “Tch. Don’t be stupid.”
Damien was still silent, still watching Kira like he wanted to rip something apart.
A sudden knock on my door made me turn. “Come in,” I called, my brow furrowing when the pack healer stepped inside.
I hadn’t called for her.
“Who sent for you?” I asked.
“I did,” Damien responded, and I narrowed my eyes at him. I thought he didn’t care, so why did he call the healer so quickly? I wanted to say something, but I held back my words and watched the healer attend to Kira. She placed her hands on Kira’s forehead and soon began releasing her healing abilities while whispering words of healing incantation.
We all stood there silently, watching as the healer worked.
Moments later, she stood to her feet and stared at us with a blank look. “She will be awake soon, but I will advise she doesn’t go through such things for now. Remember, she doesn’t have her wolf yet; her vitals are weak like an ordinary human’s,” the healer said, and none of us said a word
She bowed and left the room. After she left, I stared at Kira lying on my bed and wished I could let her stay in my room. I wanted to watch her wake up, but doing that was a wrong idea.
“Guard!” I called out, and my personal guard walked in.
“Take her back to her room,” I instructed. He nodded obediently and gently, easily carrying Kira into his arms before walking away.
After the guard left, I strode over to the mini bar in my room, grabbed a bottle of whiskey, and poured myself a drink. Lifting the glass to my lips, I took a slow sip, my gaze flicking to Dane and Damien, who still hadn’t said a word.
Just then, a knock came on the door. When I asked who it was, the door swung open again, and another guard stepped into the room, respectfully bowing. “Sir Darius, Sir Dane, Sir Damien… your father requests your presence in his study,” the guard said, bowing slightly.
I shot a quick glance at my brothers, reading the hesitation in their eyes. This wasn’t just a casual summon. Father had never called us together like this unless something serious was going on.
“Tell him we’re on our way,” I ordered, voice tight, before turning back to Damien and Dane. The tension between us was obvious, but the call of our father wasn’t something we could ignore.
As the guard left, I downed the rest of my drink in one go, setting the glass back down with a sharp click. “Let’s go,” I muttered, not waiting for them to respond.
We walked into Father’s study and met him relaxing on a single-seater couch, having a glass of wine.
“Greetings, Father,” we greeted in unison.
Father nodded and gestured for us to take the seats across from him, which we obediently did.
“So, boys, next week is your coronation as Alphas. How prepared are you three?” he suddenly asked out of the blue.
My brothers and I exchanged glances before looking back at Father. “We are prepared as always, Father,” I said, speaking on behalf of my brothers. As little boys, we had been groomed, nurtured, and trained to be Alphas.
“Good.” Father nodded and took another sip of his drink.
“What about your mates? You men are twenty-two already without mates. Do you intend to find your mates or pick a woman of your choice and make her your mate?” Father asked.
I swallowed hard and looked at my brothers as we exchanged glances. There was no need to wait for my mate, I knew who she was, and I was going to reject her in a few days when she turned eighteen.
“I'm not going through the stress of finding my mate, Father. I will pick any girl I like and make her my mate, but that won’t be now,” Damien said, and Father nodded approvingly.
“Same for me,” Dane added.
I furrowed my brow at my brothers in disbelief. Years ago, when we were little, we dreamed of our fated mates, of how we would turn the world upside down to find them. But now my brothers weren’t excited about it anymore. What could be their reason for not wanting to find their mates?
“What about you, Darius?” Father asked, his inquisitive gaze on me. I swallowed hard. “I will likewise do the same,” I whispered, while ignoring the disapproving howl of my wolf.
“Good,” Father finally said, setting his glass down with a satisfied smirk. “A mate bond only makes you weak. If the three of you are to lead this pack together, you cannot afford such distractions.”
Distractions?
 Our late mother was his mate, and he loved her so much. She was never a distraction to him. In fact, she helped him as a great Luna, so why would Father think our mates would be distractions to us?
“Tonight, I won’t be joining the pack for hunting. You men lead the pack, okay?” Father said, and we nodded.
“You can leave.”
We stood to our feet and walked out of Father’s room. In the hallway, I turned to Damien and Dane, my suspicious gaze on them. “Why all of a sudden are you two no longer interested in the mate bond?” I asked with folded arms.
Dane scoffed. “We should ask you the same. You were the most excited about it when we were kids. You wanted a mate bond like Father and Mother.”
I swallowed hard, hiding my discomfort. “Well, I have grown to realize that there is nothing special about the mate bond, so it’s better I pick a woman of my choice,” I lied.
Damien nodded. “Same here.”
Dane shrugged. “Me too, so it’s obvious we think alike.”
I studied them closely.
They were lying.
They were hiding something from me.
And I would find out what.
Without another word, I left for my room, throwing myself into work to distract my thoughts. But no matter how hard I tried, my mind kept drifting back to Kira.
My wolf was urging me to check on her.
But I couldn’t go to the servants' quarters. I couldn’t show that I cared.
 So I did the next best thing.
I mind-linked the head maid. “Tell Kira to bring me a plate of fruit.”
Then, I cut the link.
Sighing, I got up and headed for the bathroom. A cold shower would help. After taking the shower, I stepped into the room naked but was stunned to see Kira already in my room.
“Goodness!” she gasped, the tray slipping from her hands.