All Chapters of Kill Me Alpha, Before I Do (Beast Of Flames Book 1): Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Romy PovThe east wing library smelled like aged paper and cedar. And I enjoyed it.It wasn't one of those library out of any romantic notions of libraries, it didnt like it because of that, no, but because it had four entrances, two of which would require some thinking, visual connections to the main hallway via the gaps in the elaborate ironwork by the door and a window seat against the southern wall from which I could watch the access route up the mountain and the inner courtyard at once.Which, in this estate, was increasingly rare and therefore precious.I had a map of the east wing that I was creating using only my memory on the back pages of one of the older books– some treatise on territorial law from the 1800s judging by the dust coating– when I heard someone coming down the hallway.I put down the book.One set of footfalls. Not a guard's: it was lighter, uneven, which meant he was not in any hurry. A person on an important mission does not walk that way. The pause before th

Rowan PovThe council meeting had been called for nine in the morning and before I’d even entered the chamber, I knew what it was going to be about. Vance had been steadily working up to it since the welcome dinner. I had tracked his every move. The quiet conversations in corridors, the charged silences in briefings, and that small assessing glint that were in his eyes whenever they landed on Romy.He was a man who hated gambling. He didn't move unless he knew he had the numbers on his side.He had three councillors in there today. I counted them as I took my seat. Harwick, Sel and the older woman from the eastern district whose name. Her name always seemed to slip my mind, it never had a reason to stick. But right now? It seemed I needed her more than ever.Silas was already seated, his hands folded on the table, his face the same neutral expression he’d worn at every meeting for the past twenty years–attentive, impassive. Aaron sat two seats down from him, sitting stiffly, eyes fi

Romy PovRowan looked at his mother for a long second.Then at me.I raised my eyebrows slightly. What exactly was he expecting from me? Sympathy? Backup?His jaw shifted once before he looked back at Pamela. “I’m going to agree to this on one condition,” he said, “Valerie has to swear that she will stay out of Romy’s way and mine.”“Naturally,” Pamela said with a sneer.Valeria smiled softly, stepping forward towards him. “Rowan i–“He stretched his arm, stopping her in her tracks. “Don’t.” He growled. “ And from now on, it’s Alpha Rowan to you.”Valerie said nothing after that. She turned back toward the mountains instead, arms folding loosely again as she stared out across the dark valley below.“Now that is settled,” Pamela lifted her glass. “Can we all sit down and eat? The meal won’t stay cold forever.”Rowan moved around the table and pulled my chair out for me.As I sat, his hand brushed my shoulder. The mark ignited instantly.I kept my expression neutral and reached for my w

Romy PovThe pack gathering was held in the south grounds on a rare afternoon when the sky was clear and the cold had pulled back enough that people went outdoors willingly instead of rushing between heated rooms like fugitives escaping punishment.Rowan had explained it the night before. It was a seasonal tradition. The inner pack, the senior warriors, the household staff, and the allied families were currently in residence. It was informal. Which, translated properly, meant there would be food, alcohol, political maneuvering disguised as conversation, and children sprinting between the legs of adults who were all quietly assessing one another.I had attended with the specific goal of mapping the south grounds exit points.I had managed two before Kaelen found me beside the central fire pit and trapped me in a twenty-minute story about a disastrous film production in Oslo that I had absolutely not asked to hear. “…and then the catering company lost an entire seafood shipment somew

Romy PovMy forehead rested against the cool glass.Outside, the mountains stood black against the night sky, sharp and endless, snow catching silver under the moonlight. Stormveil looked peaceful from up here. Quiet. Untouched.It was a lie.I remembered another mountain once. Smaller. Wilder. Covered in pine and smoke and the sound of children screaming with excitement as they shifted for the first time.I’d been ten.I remembered it in fragments, the afternoon sun in the trees, the way the grass had flattened under small, gangling bodies changing shape for the first time, the yelps and laughs of their parents from the fence. I’d sat just outside the circle of it, my knees in the dirt, and Alina crouched beside me, her hand warm against my back. “Yours is coming, Rom. Your’s is just a little slow.”I’d believed her. Goddess I’d believed her for years, through the remainder of childhood, through the fire, through the Waxmans’ spare room, through the years following it, through the