“Shut it,” I mutter, but I can’t help but smirk.
I peer back over just in time to catch Daleyza pulling Cherry into a hug. She melts into it, her shoulders dropping like she's finally able to breathe now that she knows everyone’s okay.
Then Kieran walks in from outside.
He’s shirtless, wearing only black joggers clinging low to his hips, smeared with oil and streaked with grime from whatever he does to his bike to take his mind off things. His chest is broad and scarred, and a large wolf tattoo covers all his skin. He isn’t ripped like Darian, but his arms are big enough to snap your neck like a twig.
I’m not the only one who notices him. Ravena's eyes find him over Daleyzas' shoulder—locked on him like gravity just shifted in his direction. And Kieran… he doesn’t look away. Doesn’t flinch, just stands there still with his hands at his sides.
Ravena gently pulls back and steps forward with that quiet steadiness that’s so uniquely her. The room stills. She stops in front of him—barely a breath between them—and lifts her arms, wrapping them around his waist without a single word. Her head rests against his chest.
He goes completely still—every muscle locked as she hugs him. The only thing that moves is a twitch in his fingers, subtle but telling. His eyes stay fixed on her, unblinking, and for a moment, I brace myself.
This is usually the part where he shuts down. Where the walls go up, and he says something cold just to get distance. Kieran doesn’t do soft, doesn’t do closeness. That’s why he buries himself in women he doesn’t care about and tosses them out before morning.
But then—surprising the hell out of me—those big arms wrap around her. His eyes flutter shut for half a second, like he’s trying to hold onto something fragile inside himself. Possibly the fact that he thought she died when Malrik forced the spell breaker into her body.
Even Malrik falls quiet, the usual smirk slipping from his face. For once, he doesn’t have a comment.
But there’s still a hollowness curling in my chest, settling deep like a weight I can’t shake—because not all of us are here.
Darian isn’t here with us.
“I’m glad you’re okay,” she says softly, stepping back from Kieran, brushing away a stray tear with the back of her hand.
Kieran just nods. “Yeah, same goes for you.”
It's one of those rare silences, the kind that nobody dares to break.
Not until Malrik.
“Alright, cockblocker. You wanted your little family meeting or whatever, so let’s get it over with—because it's been far too long since I’ve been buried in my little witch.”
I let out a sigh and give Malrik a shove as I walk past, not even trying to hide the eye roll. “Real classy, asshole,” I mutter under my breath.
Ravena just shakes her head, that familiar glint of amusement tugging at her mouth—like she’s not sure whether to hit him or laugh.
I reach for her hand and guide her down with me into one of the battered old armchairs. She settles against me, her body moulding into mine without hesitation.
“One more word out of you and it’ll be your body parts in those jars,” Kieran snaps.
He drops into another seat, broad shoulders tense, eyebrows bunched.
Drew lets out a laugh at Kieran's comment as he sits with his sister. I notice the way she’s watching Ravena, and that makes something twist in my gut. It’s not fear exactly, just… unease. Like she knows something the rest of us don’t.
“So, you do joke,” Malrik muses, tone light, smug, and thoroughly unbothered. He slides onto the arm of the chair I’ve got Ravena curled up in. He finds her hair on instinct, twirling the strands lazily.
Kieran doesn’t blink. “It wasn’t a joke.”
“As long as you keep my dick intact, I’m all in to see which body part you go for,” He carries on.
Ravena shoots him a warning glance. “Malrik…”
“Yes, little witch?”
“Shut up.”
He presses a hand to his chest like she just broke his heart. “You wound me. For that, no gifts for you.”
