Kaelen's POV
The sound of shattering glass still rang in my ears when the doors opened.
Riven and Rhia stumbled in together—and froze by the doorway.
I straightened to my full height. Shards of crystal littered the marble floor. One of the stools lay overturned, its legs twisted at an unnatural angle.
I stood at the center of it all, barely aware of the blood beading along my feet.
I had far bigger things to deal with, like the tightening squeeze around my heart, and the look of blatant coldness that Lara wore on her face as she stood a few feet away.
With the new presence in the room, the hate and disgust in her eyes had eased, but I could still see them burning so bright for me.
She folded her arms over her chest, her face a mask, cool, distant, and professional. Her eyes flicked over the mess with boredom.
But why? Why would she hate me this much? Hate me enough to propose a condition where I cannot touch her. Hate me enough to push me away this hard when I try?
I had hurt her in the past. But it was to protect her? Everything I did that day was for her.
"What in the Moon's name happened here?" Rhia asked, her gaze darting between us.
Her voice dragged my mind away from Lara to the room, to the mess around my feet.
Riven took in the scene faster. His body went rigid, instincts sharpening. He went around the room to get a broom. "What happened—"
"Nothing." I cut him short. "Just an accident."
That did nothing to ease the confusion in his eyes. It only sharpened.
"But Alpha—"
"I said it's nothing." My eyes stayed fixed, unflinching on Lara, wishing she would stop whatever all this was and come into my arms, wishing she would look at me with love and not hate.
Each second of staring into her eyes squeezed my heart tight. I couldn't breathe.
I shut my eyes tight, and I withdrew my gaze from her before the hate in her gaze stole life from me.
I turned to Riven, "Let's go." I said.
"But Kaelen, what—"
I didn't let him finish. I grabbed his arm, pulling him with me away from the room.
The broom clattered from his hands, and Rhia picked it up.
The world narrowed to red as I dragged him down the corridor. His boots scraped the marble as he tried and failed to keep up with my speed.
He was bigger than me, so I had to tighten my grip on his arm to hold onto any bit of flesh.
I heard him wince softly from my grip, but at this moment, my mind was consumed by one thing and one thing only—answers.
I kicked the door to my room open, and I slammed him into the wall. The stone shook, the whole room vibrating under his strength.
I raised my arm to his chest, and I pinned him to the wall, trapping him so he couldn't move, even if he tried to.
He grunted, jaw tightening, but didn't fight me. He knew better.
I leaned in close, my forearm pressing into his throat just enough to remind him how easily I could crush him.
"Did you do anything bad to her that night?" I growled.
His eyes widened. "Who?"
"Lara!" My voice shook despite my effort to steady it. "Three years ago. The night I banished her and sent you to protect her so the Elders can't harm her. Did you do anything to harm her?"
"Why are you asking about that now. She is dead—"
I jammed him against the wall again, unmindful that the whole room was shaking beneath our strength.
"Just answer the damn question. Did you fucking touch even a hair on her head that night?"
He hesitated, his eyes shifting unsteadily. I was about to shove him against the wall again when he screamed "No," Immediately. "I swear it. I never laid a hand on her that night. Just like I told you that night, I escorted her to the road as you asked, and even told her everything you asked me to tell her. That you were sorry, and you had to do what you did, and you will explain to her when you both meet up later. I even gave her the note you asked me to give her. But then, Elder Bali's men came after us. I tried to protect her, but she ran into the road, and the car accident happened. I swear I wasn't lying. That is the truth, Kaelen." He narrated, rambling.
His voice calmed, and his gaze squared to me, the fear in his eyes softening. But it did nothing to the rage that lined my face, and breathed in my trembling arms as I pressed him to the wall.
"You know I will never lie to you, Kaelen. I am your best friend and beta."
He'd told me what happened that night again and again, and I trusted him. But if he told her all that, then there was no reason for her to hate me this much, and look at me with such murder in her eyes as she did.
My grip tightened on his neck. "If you did as I asked, then why does she hate so much. Why is she doing what she is doing to me!"
A flicker of confusion crossed his face, then his gaze narrowed on me. "What do you mean, Kaelen. Is she alive? Is she—"
I realized he could connect the dots. Though I knew he was harmless, I couldn't tell him that the doctor who came to treat my enemies was my dead mate. It was Lara's story to tell, not mine.
I stepped back abruptly and released him. "How could she be alive? Didn't you say you watched her die?" I snapped at him.
"Yes. But why were you so—"
"Just get out," I said flatly.
Riven stared at me, remaining on the spot while he rubbed his neck, confusion tightening his brows.
"Now," I yelled again.
He bowed stiffly, still rubbing blood back to his neck, and he left without another word.
The door closed with a low squeal, and silence swallowed me whole. Then the question came crashing down again, heavier than before.
Why does she hate me this much? I had tried to protect her.
There was no way for me to know she was alive for three years. She didn't send me a letter, a sign, or anything, and she didn't even leave a clue. I even had Riven search for her while searching for her myself. It was when I didn't find her that I accepted she was dead.
How could she hate me so much for not finding her when she'd stayed hidden herself, when she kept herself away?
I grabbed my hair, digging my fingers into the inky mix as I paced in my living room, grunting, thinking.
No matter how hard I thought, I just couldn't figure out the reason for her hate. I was still in the middle of my thoughts when night fell without my noticing.
The moonlight strayed through the open windows in bright, effervescent waves of silver. I looked up at the wall clock, watching it inch toward eight PM in the evening.
Dinner. I thought. The official time for dinner in the Palace was thirty minutes past seven. I was thirty minutes late. Damn. Hell, I grunted, grinding my teeth. I lunged fast for the door.
Not that I cared much for dinner. But it was my only chance to see Lara again today, and I don't intend to pass it up.
I hurried down the corridor and crossed to the stairs. The terrace was lit softly when I was passing, and there she was.
I froze cold at the sight of her, my wolf leapt inside of me with a force that barreled my breath out of my lungs in heavy bursts.
Lara stood near the balustrade, moonlight silvering her dark hair, her posture composed. A champagne glass was trapped between her thin, elegant fingers.
Elora stood beside her, my wife, laughing softly at something Lara had said.
The sight hit me like a blade between the ribs. Why in the hell were they together. Back when Lara and I were together, she and Elora never got along, they hated each other, and were best of enemies.
So why was Lara speaking so calmly to her now, befriending her?
Elora noticed me first. Her smile tightened just a fraction before she turned fully toward me. Lara followed her gaze.
The change in her was immediate. The warmth vanished. The edges sharpened. It was as though my presence scales up her hatred.
She inclined her head politely. "Alpha King," she said, her voice ordinary, but her eyes could as well scream murder.
I saw it then. Something dark flickers beneath the calm in her eyes. Something deliberate and calculated. A dark smile tugged at the corners of her lips.
This wasn't just about the Elders. She came for revenge against everyone, including me.
She raised her champagne flute to her lips, taking a careful sip. "What do you say about my proposition, Alpha King Kaelen?" she asked in a breathless, almost seductive whisper. A glint rimming her eyes.
Elora looked from her to me, not confused, but curious. "What proposition?" She asked.
I didn't answer, I couldn't, not until I figured out just what Lara was scheming. I pinned my gaze harder on her, wondering, searching, while I slowly traced the sublime features of her face.
Her face showed nothing except her breathtaking beauty. Just what was going on in her mind? What is she scheming?