LOGINLiam's POV
“Slow down, Liam!” Isla’s voice cut through the roar of the engine, sharp and panicked, but I barely heard her.My hand gripped the steering wheel tight. The tires skidded against the dirt road as I took a bend without slowing. “You’re not the only one eager to see what Killian’s doing in Daphne’s house!” she added, her voice climbing higher with each second.I didn’t bother replying. My mind wasn’t on her, it was on him. On what I’d overheard the guard say. On what that could possibly mean.We reached Daphne’s house faster than I thought we would. The moment the car screeched to a halt, I was out, the door slamming behind me.I didn’t wait for Isla. My boots hit the path leading to the gate, my pulse hammering hard enough to echo in my ears.“You really lost your gentleman attitude,” Isla called after me, catching up as she slammed her own door shut. “Are you sure they didn’t switch you with someone from the RKillian’s POV I stepped slightly forward, letting my shadow fall over Thorne, while keeping one eye on Liam. The air between us thickened, tense, alive with the danger Liam radiated.“Gift?” Thorne croaked, his voice barely audible, but I could hear the tremor, the faint stutter of a man facing something far beyond him.“Yes,” I said, calm, almost casual, though every nerve in my body was screaming at me to act. “A gift meant to remind you that some mistakes… are fatal.”Isla pressed close to me, her hand brushing my arm. I could feel her tension, her fear, but also her unwavering trust that I could handle this.I appreciated it, even as the weight of what was about to unfold pressed down on me.Liam’s breathing grew heavier, each inhale dragging the scent of blood into the room. His eyes locked onto Thorne again, unblinking, unrelenting.“Killian…” Isla whispered again. “You can’t… he’s too far gone. He won’t
Killian’s POV Isla froze, her hands trembling. “That’s not funny,” she said, her voice almost a whisper. Liam’s jaw tightened. “Do I look like I’m joking?” He took a step forward, and I saw it, the faint red creeping into his eyes, like veins of fire threading through them. “Calista’s spell didn’t just bring me back,” he went on, his breathing shallow. “She bound something else to me. I can feel it crawling inside, hunger.” I stood up, fists clenched. “You should’ve told me the moment you woke up” “I thought I was just hungry for food naturally, I didn’t even understand it until now!” Liam snapped. “It’s like something whispering behind my thoughts, urging me to…” He stopped, shaking his head violently. “To what?” Isla asked, though her voice wavered. He looked at her then, and I caught it, the hunger he was fighting to hide. His hands t
Killian’s POV Isla and I sat beside Liam’s still body in my house, waiting for something, anything to happen. Calista’s words kept echoing in my head, that he’d wake up when the spell ran its course. But every minute felt like a century. “So when did you start believing in Calista?” Isla finally asked, her tone sharp but tired. “Liam’s like her son so she won't watch him die,” I said quietly. “She raised him, even though he hates her so much.” “Why would he hate her if she raised him?” she pressed. “Too much information can hurt, Isla.” “Then why tell me she raised him at all?” she shot back. “You already got me curious.” I sighed. “She erased his memory. She made him believe she was his mother.” The words tasted bitter. “What happened? Were you involved in a bad way?” she asked, watching my face too closely. “No. Why
Killian’s POV We filed into the hall together, me, Liam, and Calista. The ministers were already waiting for us. Someone from the Blackwood pack stood at the center, a messenger in stiff robes holding a parcel wrapped so bright it almost hurt to look at. If this were a different day, I'd have called it a golden mage and laughed. Today it felt like death wrapped in gold. Thorne’s eyes slid to Calista as soon as he saw her. “We’ve met before, haven’t we?” he said, cautious civility in his voice. “You can call me Calista,” she answered, voice soft and mocking. She offered her hand and, to my surprise, Thorne bowed and pressed a kiss to the back of it like some courtly fool. The scene set something sour in my mouth. I walked to the Alpha seat. Calista settled where the Luna should sit, that small, powerful seat before my right hand. I felt every pa
Killian’s POVThe road blurred. I didn't care about speed limits or polite traffic.Nothing mattered except that burning knot in my chest that said Liam could not die because I gave him some task. Yes, he was with Mia under my command so I'm indirectly involved in what that leads to.The pack cemetery sat beyond the corpse, rows of names, weathered stones, a place men came to lay their grief down and try to pretend it wasn't still inside them.My hands tightened on the wheel. I tried to breathe. The radio was off because every news was about the search for the Beta who ran away, Liam.I stopped the car and left the engine running. My chest was tight, and every part of me just wanted to see him. I didn’t even close the door properly.The cemetery was quiet. No guards, no movement, just rows of graves laying in the dark. And there he was, standing in front of a headstone, his shoulders heavy like the world had already ended for him.He didn’t move when I walked up. I stayed a few step
Killian’s POV I let the gate close behind me without a sound and moved toward my house, boots scuffing over the ground.Isla was waiting on the porch, hands folded tight over her bag. She didn’t run to me, didn’t throw herself at my chest as she sometimes did when worry got too loud for her. She held herself like a woman who’d run a long way.“You look like a man who fed the council to the dogs,” she said before I could say hello. “I made a dangerous point,” I answered. “Some points need to be made loud enough to be heard in other packs.” I kept walking past her, into the house. Isla followed. “We need to talk.”“No,” I said. It came out harder than I wanted. I heard the confession in the word, the way it trembled and wanted me to pull back from it. “Not tonight. Not about anything that happened.”She stopped two steps behind me. “You can’t just…”“I can,” I said. “And I will. You pus







