Chapter 7

(First-Person – Kendrick)

The tension between Kaiden and me snapped the very next day.

That morning, I rose carefully from the bed, not wanting to wake Astrid. She was still sleeping, curled on her side beneath the thick blanket. The early morning air was chilled, so I tucked the covers higher around her shoulders.

Then I stood beside the bed, just… watching her.

She looked peaceful in sleep. Vulnerable, but strong. A ghost of a smile tugged at my lips as I brushed a lock of hair from her cheek.

Mine.

The word echoed through me with the weight of a vow.

She belonged to me. I didn’t care what the Moon Goddess had been thinking when she bonded both of us to her. She was mine, not Kaiden’s. There was no version of this story where I shared her. None.

I leaned down and kissed her cheek, whisper-soft. Then I left the room and closed the door behind me.

Now that Astrid was staying in Lunaria, I had to make some changes. After Kaiden left a year ago, I dismissed my Beta, my Gamma, and the entire lycan guard. I’d chosen solitude—sealed myself off from everyone.

But things were different now. Astrid needed protection. She was wolf-less—for now. I suspected she was a late bloomer. She could feel the mate bond, which meant her wolf would surface eventually.

And when it did, I needed her to be safe. Surrounded. Watched.

I walked into my study to send for my Beta, but stopped dead in my tracks.

Kaiden was already there.

He stood by the window, staring out into the courtyard. When he heard me enter, he turned.

“Hey,” he said.

I stiffened. “What do you want?”

Kaiden’s lips lifted faintly. “Last time I checked, this is still my study too.”

I wasn’t in the mood for banter. I turned to leave, but his voice stopped me.

“Kendrick. We need to talk.”

“We have nothing to say to each other.”

He didn’t answer right away. Just stared at me, unreadable. A thousand emotions churned in his eyes, but I didn’t care to unravel any of them.

“If you’re done, get out,” I said, walking to the desk and gathering parchment.

“You avoiding this won’t change anything,” he said sharply.

“Didn’t I just tell you to get the fuck out?”

Kaiden scowled. His Alpha instincts didn’t take disrespect well—especially not from me.

I sat down behind the desk, dipped my pen in ink, and started writing. Ignoring him completely. I hoped he’d take the hint and leave.

Instead, he came closer and leaned against the edge of the desk.

“I’m your brother, Kendrick. You don’t get to rewrite that. And now that Astrid is in the picture, we can’t keep tearing each other apart.”

“Big shame it’s come to this,” I muttered. “You can hand over your Alpha title and go back to wherever the hell you’ve been hiding.”

“No fucking way will I do that,” Kaiden growled.

I kept writing, deliberately calm. That pissed him off.

He slammed his fists onto the desk.

“Damn it, Kendrick. Talk to me. Man to man.”

I stood up slowly and came around the desk. We stood toe to toe, noses nearly touching.

“You want the truth?” I snapped. “I wish you hadn’t come back. I was better off without you. You only came back because you felt the mate bond. This isn’t about Lunaria—it’s about her.”

“I know I fucked up,” Kaiden said. “You have every right to be pissed. But we can’t—”

“Don’t. Don’t talk to me about forgiveness. Remind me who walked away from their kingdom? Who left their brother to rule alone? You disappeared. And now you want to come back and act like nothing happened?”

His jaw tensed.

Then he said, low and deadly, “What are you really pissed about, Kendrick? This isn’t just about Lunaria.”

I didn’t respond.

He stepped closer. “It’s because we share a mate, isn’t it?”

“You’re damn right it is.”

“We’ve shared everything since we were kids. Why is this any different?”

I opened my mouth—then shut it. I didn’t have an answer that didn’t sound like a confession.

Kaiden’s eyes gleamed with something darker. “Is it because you’re scared? Scared she might choose me?”

“Fuck off, Kaiden. And fuck you.”

“Why don’t you give this a chance?”

“Why don’t you reject her?” I snarled. “Because nothing—and I mean nothing—would make me share her with you.”

His temper snapped.

His eyes flickered red, and he took a step forward.

“Say that again,” he growled, “and you won’t like what I do next.”

“Do your fucking worst!” I roared, shoving him back.

He swung at me, but I blocked it and threw a punch of my own. He dodged. We grappled, crashing into the desk, the walls, the shelves. Fury clouded everything. We weren’t brothers anymore—we were rivals.

Then—

A sweet, warm scent filled the room.

We froze.

Astrid.

She wedged herself between us, her palms pressed to our chests, trying to push us apart.

“That’s enough,” she whispered. “Please.”

We didn’t move. Neither of us wanted to be the first to let go.

But then I saw her face.

She was crying.

The fury drained out of me all at once.

I released my grip and pulled her back protectively, away from Kaiden.

But she yanked her arm out of mine and glared at us both.

“What is wrong with you?” she said, voice shaking. “Neither of you are acting like men—much less Alphas.”

“I came here to fix things,” Kaiden said quickly. He took a step toward her, but she held up a hand to stop him.

“Don’t,” she said. “You want to fix this? Then do it without tearing each other apart. I didn’t escape from one nightmare just to end up caught between two more.”

Her voice cracked. “If you can’t handle the fact that I’m mated to both of you—then reject me. Right now. And I’ll leave. I’ll leave and never come back.”

Her words hit like a punch to the chest.

Kaiden looked down, guilt shadowing his face.

Me? I couldn’t even look at her.

The truth was—I didn’t want to share. I’d never been good at it. Not with toys as a kid. Not with territory as an Alpha. And definitely not with Astrid.

She was mine. Every instinct I had screamed that.

But the mate bond said otherwise.

“If this is how it’s going to be,” she whispered, “with you fighting every day… then I won’t stay. Figure it out.”

She turned and walked away, her soft footsteps echoing behind her like a slow, steady heartbreak.

We stood in silence as the door closed behind her.