Chapter 71: Chapter 71
Kieran’s POV
Kyra had been giving me the cold shoulder, and it had worsened after our confrontation last night. The moment I threatened her father, something in her green wolf eyes had shattered—and I knew I’d crossed a line even my Alpha dominance couldn’t fix.
I took a long drag from my cigarette, the smoke curling around me like the fading scent of our broken bond. I was sitting alone on the single couch in the study. The place was a mess—files torn apart, papers scattered like prey after a hunt. Kyra’s doing, no doubt. She’d uncovered everything: Amanda’s schemes, my plans for revenge... all of it.
I gritted my teeth as I remembered the way she looked at me—with nothing but hatred and disappointment.
She had already fallen for me. She loved me, but her anger was so intense that she’d forgotten all about it.
I couldn’t blame her. It was all my fault. I did this to us.
My wolf, Ronan, snarled in frustration. "She was ours. You drove her away."
I hadn’t meant to hurt her. Moon Goddess knew I didn’t. I loved her—fiercely, desperately, like an Alpha clings to his fated mate. But how could I ever forgive her father? That bastard had taken my mother from me.
The memory of Kyra’s face—her eyes blazing with joy, her delicate floral scent, orange blossoms—made my heart ache. She’d loved me once. I’d felt it in the way her body melted against mine, in the way her wolf, Sylvia, responded to my touch. Now? Nothing but ice.
Was this really my fault? Was I really the one to blame? I just wanted to avenge my mother’s cruel death. Her father killed her. I only wanted to give my mother the justice she deserved.
Taking a deep breath, I grabbed my phone when it buzzed. A report from my Beta, Felix: Kyra had stopped contacting the pack lawyers. Good. But that only meant she was planning something else—something I wouldn’t like.
She was planning a counterattack, but I wouldn’t let it happen. Once her plan succeeded—
If she succeeded, she’d leave. And that... that I couldn’t allow. I didn’t want her to leave me. I wanted her to stay by my side.
My fingers brushed the promise ring she’d thrown at me—a band engraved with both our names, a vow I’d meant with every fiber of my being.
The first time my heart shattered was when I found my mother’s lifeless body. The second? When Kyra rejected this ring—rejected me.
The promise ring I gave her symbolizes my genuine love for her. I’d do anything to protect her, but I can’t do that if she leaves me.
Why couldn’t she understand? I needed her. Not as a pawn in my revenge, but as my Luna, my equal.
Why wouldn’t she forgive me?
***
Kyra’s POV
Kieran leaned against the kitchen counter while I sat in the dining hall, eating my lunch. His Alpha presence was a suffocating weight, even as I pretended he didn’t exist. His gaze burned into me, hot enough to make my skin prickle with unwanted awareness.
Sylvia growled. "Ignore him. He doesn’t deserve your attention."
If I hadn’t learned the truth, I might have blushed under his stare. Now? All I felt was the bitter taste of betrayal.
After eating, I carried my utensils to the sink.
"I’ll do that." Kieran’s voice was rough, laced with that damn Alpha command that used to make my knees weak.
I ignored him.
I started washing the dishes, then flinched when I felt his hand on mine, stopping me.
What he did made me bristle with irritation, my blood boiling almost immediately.
His hand closed over mine, his touch sending a spark through my veins.
"Let me do this, Kyra."
I jerked away, throwing the sponge into the sink with a splash.
"Don’t touch me," I hissed, storming out before he could see the way my hands trembled from the contact, aware of his eyes burning into my back as I went.
Upstairs, I encountered Amanda walking down.
Amanda blocked my path on the stairs, her smirk sharp as a snake.
"Kieran must be so annoyed with your little tantrum, huh?" she purred, her scent—overpowering roses and venom—making my nose wrinkle. "Still Daddy’s spoiled girl, aren’t you?"
Sylvia tried to lunge, begging to put this she-wolf in her place. But I clenched my fists and stepped around her. Fighting wasn’t worth it. Not when the real enemy was the Alpha who’d broken my trust—and my heart.
My fists clenched so tightly my claws threatened to break through as I stared Amanda down. "Why don’t you go throw yourself at him now that he’s free? The Alpha’s bed is all yours."
Her wolf eyes flashed amber with irritation. "You think so highly of yourself, huh?"
"I know my worth," I shot back, my wolf senses catching the sour tinge of jealousy in her scent.
Amanda’s smirk widened as she raked her gaze over me, her nose wrinkling at the combined scent of my pregnancy and Kieran’s lingering musk. "You really think the Alpha loves you?" She let out a cruel laugh. "He just wants your body, Kyra, like he does with all his bedmates. You’re nothing special—just another conquest."
Pain lanced through my chest. Despite everything, part of me still loved Kieran—the way his strong arms had felt around me, how his wolf had called to mine. But I forced the memories down. Better to see his true nature now than after we’d completed the mating bond.
"You think I care? I’m done with him, so you can have him again," I said, trying my best not to show any emotion, because after everything, pride was all I had left.
I forced a cold laugh. "I’m done with him. Enjoy your prize."
Amanda rolled her eyes. The irritation was clear, but when her gaze dropped to my swollen belly—the pup growing inside me—she let out a mocking chuckle and stepped closer.
"Let me tell you a secret, Kyra. But don’t be so shocked," she purred, her voice lowering to a vicious whisper. "Kieran has plans for that bastard child of yours. Did you really think an Alpha would raise another wolf’s pup?"
My vision tinged red at the edges. "What the hell are you talking about?"
She crossed her arms, her hands tapping against her biceps. "Open your eyes! Kieran Carver is a monster wearing an Alpha’s skin. He’s a devil filled with all seven deadly sins. That pup is a threat to his plans—you really think he’ll let it live?"
"Shut your filthy mouth!" I snarled at her, but she remained unfazed.
Amanda only laughed, the sound like nails on slate to my sensitive wolf ears. "Don’t believe me? Fine. But don’t come crying to me when you lose that pup."
Sylvia was frantic now, pacing and snarling. "She’s trying to manipulate us. But... what if it’s true?"
I forced myself to breathe. "You’re desperate, Amanda. You want me gone so you can have Kieran and my father’s fortune. Pathetic."
She shrugged, already starting down the stairs. "It’s up to you, then. Just make sure you can bear to lose a pup—and don’t say I didn’t warn you. Just remember—I warned you."
As she disappeared downstairs, I pressed a hand to my pup’s restless kicks. Amanda was lying. She had to be.
But... what if she wasn’t?
Kieran had betrayed me once. He’d lied to me because he wanted his plans to succeed perfectly. Without those cruel plans, he would never have accepted the pup inside me. He was self-centered, greedy, and evil.
What was stopping him from doing it again?
