Chapter 26
His voice was loud, raw with desperation.
“Tell me–do you use your left hand to paint?”
Mona startled violently, her pulse hammering in her ears. The intensity in his golden eyes
sent a shiver down her spine.
She
She didn’t answer.
Instead, she took an instinctive step back, inching toward the door, her breath coming in short, panicked bursts. Something about this man felt wrong–dangerous.
She reached for the doorknob.
Before she could wrench it open, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind,
locking her in place.
“Mina, is it you?” Alaric’s voice was a plea, raw and trembling. “It’s you, isn’t it? You left
your body and came back like this… You came back to me, didn’t you?”
The moment he held her, his last sliver of doubt shattered.
Her scent.
That familiar, irreplaceable scent that had been burned into his soul–the one he thought
he’d lost forever.
It was her.
No matter what name she called herself now, no matter how much she denied it, his wolf
knew.
This was Mina.
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She thrashed wildly in his grip, terror lacing every movement.
Let me go!” she screamed, struggling with all her might. “Kieran! Kieran, help me!”
His name tore from her lips with so much desperate trust, so much love, that it sent a fresh wave of agony crashing over Alaric.
She should be calling for him, not another man. She should be looking to him for safety, not running from him like he was the enemy.
In her panic, she moved too frantically, her forehead slamming against the wooden doorframe. A sharp crack echoed through the room, followed by a gasp of pain.
A bruise bloomed instantly on her pale skin. Alaric inhaled sharply, his possessive instincts roaring to life.
“Mina, you’re hurt-”
His hands instinctively moved to cradle her face, to soothe her, to protect her.
Mona acted on pure survival. She sank her teeth into his hand.
Hard. Hard enough to break skin, hard enough to draw blood, hard enough that he felt it
down to his soul.
The pain registered, but he barely reacted. The Alaric of the past would have smirked, made
a teasing remark about her little bite. But right now, it only served as a brutal reminder of
how far she had run from him.
The moment his grip loosened, Mona wrenched herself free.
She tore open the door and bolted. Straight into Kieran’s waiting arms.
“Mona!”
His deep voice wrapped around her, strong and steady. He caught her effortlessly, hands firm on her waist as he checked her over with worried eyes.
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Chapter 26
“Mona, what happened? Who hurt you?”
She couldn’t answer. She was shaking too hard.
Kieran’s eyes lifted over her shoulder–and landed on Alaric.
The two Alphas locked eyes.
The air in the room shifted, thick with unspoken tension. A silent, unrelenting battle for
dominance, for possession.
de schooled his expression back into calm indifference, shoving his bleeding hand into his pocket as if nothing had happened.
And then, as if he hadn’t just been torn to pieces, Alaric smiled.
“Alpha Kieran,” he said smoothly, too smoothly, “It’s been a while.”
Kieran’s jaw clenched. “Alaric.” The way he said the name reeked of suspicion.
Mona could still feel Alaric’s presence like a storm cloud over her shoulder, but she forced herself to focus. She had to tell Kieran what had just happened.
But before she could open her mouth-
Alaric beat her to it.
“The Silvermoon and Blackthorn Packs are about to enter a significant collaboration,” he said, his tone businesslike, measured. “I was hoping to discuss some final details with you
before the wedding.”
A lie.
A perfectly crafted lie.
But Mona couldn’t call him out on it without jeopardizing Kieran’s position.
e Silvermoon and Bloodmoon Packs were two of the most powerful in the region. If the
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E alliance fell apart because of her–because of whatever insanity had just happened in that
room–it would lead to war.
She couldn’t put Kieran in that position.
So she stayed silent. Alaric knew she would.
He saw the moment she swallowed down her words, the moment she made the choice not
to expose him.
He had gambled on that, and he had won.
Kieran, however, wasn’t so easily convinced. His wolf was on high alert, his instincts screaming that something was wrong.
“Mona, what happened?”
Tell him. She should tell him.
But Alaric’s voice cut in again.
“There was a spider,” he said, smoothly, effortlessly. “A large one, I’m afraid. Landed right near her feet. I assume she panicked.”
It was such a trivial explanation.
So ordinary.
And yet–Kieran believed it.
Because Mina had always been terrified of spiders. Alaric knew this. And he had used it.
Mona forced herself to nod.
The moment Kieran relaxed slightly, Alaric knew. Because the Mona he knew–the one who had been his mate, his love, his moonlight–would have reacted the exact same way.
Kieran gently led her away, Alaric brushed past them, deliberately pausing beside her
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Chapter 26
for only a second.
3
His voice dropped so only she could hear:
“Don’t be afraid, Mina.” His tone was soft, achingly familiar. “I won’t hurt you.”
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