Chapter 60: A nightmare
."What’s going on? What is Yuki doing here?" His voice trembled.
A voice identical to his replied almost immediately in his mind. "She is your mate and not Eloise. " the voice replied calmly with the same tone Kieran normally had. Even his wolf was level-headed, but that didn’t fucking fix the situation.
Kieran nearly considered throwing himself out the nearest window.
"That’s impossible. " he barked out loud. The identical voice replied. "That doesn’t change the fact she is your mate. " his veins popped in his forehead.
"If you don’t have anything better to say. Shut the hell up..." he snapped at himself. He was completely rattled; he forgot he didn’t need to reply to his wolf out loud because it was a part of his soul and shared his mind..
Regardless, his wolf went quiet sensing his mood. A hiss rang drawing Kieran’s attention back to the bed. Kaden slowly sat up, rubbing his temples. "Can you not fucking scream? It’s barely dawn.." he snapped at Kieran.
His mind was equally a mess and Kieran’s outburst had woken him up. He was about to give Kieran a piece of his mind, his head was killing him but the words immediately got stuck in his throat once he opened his eyes and saw Yuki’s back against him..
He instantly recognised her and what he felt at that moment words couldn’t describe. He didn’t need to touch her or his wolf screaming it. There was no lying about the connection he felt with her wolf.
It snapped in place like he literally found something so important to him he didn’t know he had been missing. The room fell silent and the look on Kaden’s face was priceless.
Yuki was completely exhausted by her first shift and the battle between the intruders none of this commotion could wake her up. "Kieran please tell me this is a really bad nightmare I am trapped in," Kaden whispered barely managing to speak the words out loud.
Kieran couldn’t reply to him. Kaden’s chest was rising and falling rapidly. His gaze was locked on her face, which was obscured by her hair. Why did she have to be the one? The annoying little wolf whose existence was like a bane of his life. Just seeing her at times got under his skin.
"Where is Killian?" Kaden asked. If he and Kieran were already in this mess there was no way Killian wasn’t fucked up too.
His fingers reached for her neck, his heart was beating so hard it echoed in her ears. A question ran through his mind. Why were they on the same bed? How was this possible?
"Don’t tell me we already marked her?" He asked. His hand about to move her hair from her neck froze then clenched into a fist. He was scared to confirm the nightmare
"Why don’t you check for yourself?" Killian’s voice cut through. Kieran and Kaden immediately glanced over and spotted Killian sitting in a lounge chair with an expression too calm for the situation.
The moment their eyes all met they all knew they were fucked up together. "What happened last night?" Kieran asked Killian. He seemed to have processed everything.
Killian puffed out a smoke. "Our wolves took control sensing our mate was in danger that’s why your memories are messed up." He explained.
"So that means Eloise...." Kaden couldn’t finish the sentence because it made no sense. He knew the connection he felt for Eloise, it couldn’t be a mistake.
Kieran drew in a sharp breath as he slowly stood up. "This isn’t funny." He muttered.
"No one said it was," Kaden snapped like it was Kieran’s fault. His hand still hung over her neck, scared to move the hair away. Kieran saw his hesitation then stood up. His hand reached for her hair, and he moved it away from her neck so fast, as if he were scared to touch her.
Unfortunately, his fingers still brushed against her skin and the same tingling sensation ran up his hand to his spine so fast he gasped. Yuki was a land mine they couldn’t touch. Her bare neck came into view.
A wave of relief struck Kaden so hard he fell back on the bed releasing a long breath. Kieran’s gaze was locked on her bare neck, unable to tear his eyes away. His fang itched to elongate. An instinct buried in his DNA was urging him to sink his teeth into her neck.
His claws elongated and sank into his skin. Blood trickled from his palm. The pain grounded him, he quickly pulled the blanket covering her completely, especially her neck.
The urge was still burning in him, his chest twisted in pain. Kaden noticed, his brows furrowed, Killian did of course, there wasn’t a ripple in his expression as he expected. Judging by the overflowing astray beside his chair, Killian had been awake for quite some time.
"We need to get out of here," Kieran said it wasn’t a suggestion but a fact. He stepped away from her. If Yuki was truly their mate the only thing more dangerous to an alpha than his fated mate was an unmarked mate.
"I second that.." Kaden muttered. Even if he didn’t feel what Kieran felt he sensed the internal battle and the blood trickling from his hand. Yuki was a time bomb, bound to make him lose control that way.
"Dad is expecting us.." Killian finally mentioned. He was the first to wake up and had long processed everything. He stayed to observe his brother’s reaction. At first, he thought it was a mistake but from the look of things it wasn’t so easy.
His gaze flickered to them. "Head to your quarters first." He instructed then shifted into his wolf. Without a word, he leapt out of the window and disappeared.
*********
The doors to the Alpha’s office were pushed open. Kaden stepped in dressed in his ceremonial robes. They still had to see off the festival guests today but first they had to face Alexander.
His entire body felt heavy. He was still a complete mess even if over an hour had passed since he woke up. When he left his room earlier he was already moving halfway towards the room Yuki was staying in before it occurred to him that wasn’t the way to Alexander’s office.
The entire situation was ridiculous and humiliating. He couldn’t even control himself against his instincts.
.
An image flashed through his, it was so fleeting he could barely linger on it but the pain lingered. The image of his father’s back, the way Alexander had walked away from his mother after rejecting her.
He didn’t even glance back when Estelle crumpled to the floor coughing out blood and now Nyxoria was playing this fucking game with him by making the sister of the woman who destroyed everything he believed in his mate.
It wasn’t enough that Aevia destroyed his family now Yuki made his long bond with Eloise look like a complete joke. The moment he stepped into the room he could immediately feel the tension.
No one was talking but it didn’t make things any better. Killian and Kieran were already seated. Kieran was sipping his coffee while Killian was nursing his whisky twirling it slowly.
Alexander was seated against his desk. His handsome face had a few wrinkles on his forehead which weren’t there yesterday. He definitely wasn’t having a good day.
"Guess who finally decided to show up?" Alexander snickered. Kaden’s lips twitched and a retort was bubbling in his throat. It never got the chance to leave his mouth.
The door swung open interrupting him. "Alpha I request an audience. " Eloise’s voice cut through the room and a heavy silence fell on the room
