Chapter 194: Insane About You
Kira stirred in her sleep as consciousness slowly seeped back into her.
The first thing that managed to break through her deep slumber was not a sound, but a delicious, mouth-watering aroma wafting straight into her nostrils.
She inhaled the sweet scent deeply and let out a soft, subconscious groan of appreciation, her stomach rumbling with an empty growl.
As her brain cells slowly began to fire up, she heard the muffled sounds of cooking, the clink of utensils, the sizzle of something in a pan, and the low hum of someone whistling a tune.
She opened her eyes slowly, but her vision was blurry. Through the haze, she could make out the silhouette of a tall man standing by a small kitchenette, his back turned completely to her. He was dressed casually in a comfortable sweatshirt and matching trousers.
She blinked twice, and the room sharpened into focus, but the image of the man did not go away.
And then it all came flooding back. The chaos of the night before. Connor fighting. Claudia bleeding out on that corridor floor. And then, in the dark of the parking lot, Brian, the needle, the cold dragging her down into nothing.
Brian had taken her.
She turned her head sideways and saw her bloodied dress crumpled on the floor beside the bed. Someone had changed her. The thought made her stomach turn.
Panic surging through her veins, she tried to sit up quickly, only to feel a sharp tug against her right arm.
She looked up and gasped. Her wrist was tightly chained to a small metal pole on the headboard of the bed. Thoroughly offended, she tried to kick her legs to swing herself loose, only to find that her ankles had been securely tied together too.
At first glance, the restraints looked almost funny, like a pair of plush, fashionable bands of soft fur wrapped around her wrist and ankle. But beneath the fur, she could feel the hard links of a chain.
The rattle of her struggling made the man at the kitchenette turn.
Brian smiled when he saw her fighting the chains. He picked up a tray of food and carried it toward her.
"You’re awake," he said warmly.
Kira stopped moving and glared at him with enough heat to melt steel. She said nothing. Instead, she gathered every single ounce of her strength and gave the fluffy wrist chain a violent yank. It did not give an inch.
"I wouldn’t bother doing that if I were you," Brian said, pausing beside the bed. "That’s a pure silver chain underneath the fluff. You can’t break free even if you wanted to. And I know you haven’t gotten your wolf yet, but I used silver just in case being bound might trigger your shift."
"What is the meaning of this?" Kira growled, her fury boiling up and over.
Brian shrugged, almost apologetic. "I’m sorry. Truly. But I’m tired of you running away from me."
"Are you insane?" she bit out.
"Maybe." He set the tray down on the edge of the bed. "Insane about you, perhaps. Now eat. You’ll need your strength if you’re going to keep hating me as thoroughly as you do."
"What do you want?" Kira demanded.
"You," Brian said simply, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Derek will skin you alive when he finds you. You know that, don’t you?"
Brian only shrugged. "I doubt that."
Kira’s eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"I mean," he said, settling onto the edge of the bed, "that’s assuming I ever let him see you again."
"You are very, very delusional," Kira said, shaking her head in disbelief at his confidence.
"Maybe I am." He gave a small, tired smile. "Or maybe I just love you a little too much to think straight anymore."
"No, you do not love me!" Kira snapped, her voice rising as she slammed her free hand against the mattress.
"Stop using that word! You are just a self-centred, pathetic coward who wants everything his younger cousin owns. You want his crown, you want his title, and now you want his wife. You should be ashamed of yourself!"
Brian went very still.
For a moment, Kira braced herself, certain he was about to strike her, certain the mask was about to slip. But instead, he only sighed, and when he spoke, his voice was gentler than she had ever heard it.
"That’s a lie."
"If that’s a lie, then prove it," Kira challenged, leaning forward as much as the chains would allow. "Untie me right this second and let me go back to be with my husband."
Brian shook his head, a look of pity entering his eyes. "But he is not your husband, Kira. Come on. I know the truth. I know that your entire marriage is fake, and this whole lovey-dovey routine you two are pulling in public was just about getting him to that throne."
Kira let out a heavy, frustrated breath, refusing to let him see her flinch. "And so what if it is? What is it to you?"
He looked at her, something almost pleading in his face. "Can’t you see that he’s using you?"
"It is me he is using and not you, so please keep your uninvited opinions to yourself!"
"Do you think this is easy for me?" Brian suddenly barked, his voice cracking with an unexpected, raw emotion.
To Kira’s horror, tears began to well up in his eyes. Her brows creased into a confused frown. She stared at him as if he had lost his mind.
"Do you honestly think it is easy watching someone you love deeply doing something that is completely detrimental to their own survival? Watching you play right into his hands?"
"Brian, stop using that word with me," Kira snapped. "Love? You don’t even know what it means."
"But at least I’ve told you," he said. "I’ve said "I love you" out loud more than Derek ever has."
Kira opened her mouth to fire back, but nothing came out. She closed it again.
Brian chuckled softly, though there was no joy in it. "See? You’ve fallen for him. I can see it written all over your face. And because of that, you won’t even let yourself look at any of this the way I’m begging you to."
He drew a deep breath, running a hand through his hair.
"Look, I know we started on the wrong foot. I admit it. At first, when you arrived, I was just curious to find out why on earth Derek had married a werewolf girl, especially after he spent years terrorising your kind."
"I thought to myself, surely, the perfect son mustn’t be that desperate for the throne. But with time, that curiosity grew into genuine admiration. I couldn’t help it."
He chuckled softly to himself. "Believe it or not, Derek is actually a lot more like me than you think."
"Just untie me and let me go," Kira pleaded, dropping the angry act and looking at him directly. "If he is so terrible, allow me to go back and decide who he is for myself."
Brian shook his head, looking apologetic. "I’d give you anything you asked of me. Anything in this world. But not that. I can’t give you that."
He paused, his jaw tightening. "And for what it’s worth, Derek doesn’t love you. Whatever you’ve let yourself believe. His plan, from the very beginning, was to marry the Moonfang heir, and to kill her after a year if she failed to give him a son."
Kira’s heart skipped a beat, but she forced a harsh laugh. "You’re talking nonsense. I know exactly what his plans were. So stop making up stories, Brian."
"But you didn’t know he meant to kill you," Brian said quietly. "Did you? Did you truly believe that contract was only about bearing him a son?"
"Did that ever make sense to you, when you really thought about it? It was never about an heir, Kira. It was always about revenge. Revenge on Rolf."
Kira said nothing, her chest tightening.
"Did you know," Brian pressed on, "that Derek threatened your father? Warned Rolf never to give your younger sister’s hand to anyone else in marriage?"
Kira’s brows drew together. "What?"
Brian nodded slowly.
"Because he planned to take her as his wife. After a year was up." His eyes held hers, and his voice dropped low. "After he had killed you. That is the brutal truth, Kira. That is exactly what I have been trying to save your life from this entire time."
