AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But that hadn’t been what stalled him most.
It was that there, behind it, with her clothes stained crimson, her beautiful eyes wide before she fell back into the darkness of her shadows, was Raana.
PARTII
A QUEEN’S DUTY
CHAPTER18
ISLA
Isla’s chest heaved as she sunk further into Kai’s embrace, her hard breathing hollow in her ears along with his. She wasn’t sure how long she remained like that, tucked into him, breathing in his scent, becoming assured that he was in fact real—in fact, there—but it was enough to cement over that fissure in her mind.
Not enough to get the echo of that music, that voice to stop. Not enough to no longer feel the ghost of those nails on her back.
It was when Kai’s body stirred and sucked in a breath that she finally moved, and then she faced what had stunned him.
With the world finally quiet around them, wind no longer whipping through the trees and the rain nothing but a gentle, residual patter on what had clung to their branches, like lightning had indeed cut through the world, an aurora rippled in the sky like spilled paint. Hues of blue, green, white, and red splattered across the darkness, unable to be hidden by the puffs of cloud cover.
“Goddess above,” Isla murmured, her hand braced on Kai’s chest. Beneath her fingertips, she could feel his heart beating faster,faster. His breathing ratcheted up, a rapid rhythm that his heartbeat barely kept up with. He was panicking.
“Hey.” Gently, she took his face in her hands, thankful he didn’t turn away this time. He simply stared at her, lips parted as he panted, choked. “Breathe.” He inhaled and exhaled raggedly. “Good. Again.”
In and out.
Isla smiled softly. “You’re okay. It’s over.” She wasn’t sure if it was, but he seemed relaxed enough, and their bond had come back into clearer focus. Still not where it had been before she’d lost her wolf, but it was where it was. Isla chanced leaning forward, brushing her nose against his. “You’re okay.”
They separated on the wet forest floor, knee-to-knee, mud squishing beneath them as they faced each other. Kai hung his head, his curls nothing but gentle waves capped by water droplets. “What am I?” His voice wavered slightly. He was a man who had been hit by life again and again and again and now stood just on the edge of breaking.
What am I—notwhat’s wrong with me. They were clearly beyond that. They’d figured that he was “special” and had some type of additional abilities, but he was not a typicalwolf. Not even close. Even just saying he had magic felt wholly insufficient and inappropriate.
“I don’t know,” Isla answered truthfully, bracing, always ready to catch him if he fell apart. “I don’t know.”
“If I hurt you—”
“You. Won’t.” She took his chin firmly in her grip, and he looked at her desperately. He was exhausted. She could imagine whatever just happened had taken it out of him. “You won’t. If we’re going with this ‘being here for a reason and being together for a reason’ thing, I am me because I amyours. I’mmadeto take you, all of you, as what you are, whether you’re entirely wolf or not at all. My heart is yours. My soul is yours. And you aremine.” She leaned in closer, growling slightly, “So I don’t want to hear this hurting me nonsense ever again.”
The tactic, blessedly, had worked. The corner of Kai’s lips ticked up at her demand, at the fire she ensured shone in her eyes.
Still, his body slumped, entirely drained. “If I’m some kind of…monster—”
“Monsters are made,” Isla fought, dropping her hand. “That is my belief, andyouare not one. You’re powerful, clearly. Different. That doesn’t make you a monster.”
“I killed—”
“I’ve killed.” She cut him off and found it negligible to mention how it still shredded her apart, even if she understood. “By sword, by claw, by mind-breaking power, killing is killing. It’s what we do to protect the people we love. It’s a sacrifice of ourselves that we have to make.”
She had a feeling he already knew but felt like he still needed to hear it.
“What am I supposed to do?” Kai asked, as gradually, the forest came alive around them. Wildlife warbling, cooing. “I don’t know how to stop this. I don’t know how to train this. I don’t know whatthisis. There are no answers. No other alphas. No ancestry. No traceable history.”
She swallowed. This may make things worse, but…
“I bet Cassius knows,” she said, and Kai blinked. “If it somehow made you a bigger problem for him,knowingwhat you are, knowing how to hone it, then that could be why he didn’t elaborate with Adrien. He couldn’t risk you finding out.”
Kai scoffed. “That’s not as comforting as I thought it would be.”
Not even a little.
