Chapter 54: They Know Everything
Rosalie:
Before Zaiden could respond to my thanks - or worse, before I completely embarrassed myself and actually started crying over a bracelet and kindness and everything that had happened tonight - Eiden suddenly stood up.
The movement immediately pulled my attention toward him.
He looked at me for a second before speaking, "Leave the bracelet to Zaiden." His tone was calm and matter-of-fact, as though the matter had already been decided. "He’ll get it back in no time."
I stared at him. Not because of what he said, but because of what he did next.
Instead of sitting back down, he moved and crouched... right in front of me.
My entire body went still. I had nowhere to escape. Nowhere to look except down. And there he was, lowering himself until we were almost eye level.
His deep blue eyes met mine. He was suddenly too close, too focused, and too unfairly beautiful. For some reason, seeing him like this felt infinitely more dangerous than him standing over me ever had.
Something about someone powerful lowering themselves instead of making you look up... it did strange things to the heart.
His voice softened as he spoke, "Rosa."
I swallowed. The nickname came out of nowhere, and it took my breath away.
"Was today your last visit to your previous pack?"
The question wasn’t difficult. Not really. I already knew the answer. After all, that had been the entire reason.
I took a slow breath, and then nodded. "Yes." The word came easier than expected, because for the first time it felt true.
I looked at him, then briefly toward Zaiden, and continued, "I only wanted to go back for my mother’s bracelet." My fingers tightened slightly over the cushion still resting on my lap. "After this..." I paused. Then forced myself to finish. "I won’t return to either Blackthorn Pack or Crescent Wolf Pack again."
Saying it out loud felt strange. It felt final, but not painful. Which surprised me because I had thought leaving would hurt more. That I would mourn something. But sitting here now, I realized there was nothing left to mourn.
So I continued quietly, "Unless Alpha Nightfang permits it."
My eyes moved briefly toward Zaiden again before lowering. Then something else rose inside me. Something that suddenly felt important to say. Necessary.
I looked back at Eiden, then at Zaiden.
"I don’t have any relationship with the Alphas of either pack anymore."
The words came slowly and carefully. And I meant every single one.
"No connections. No acquaintances. No loyalty." I swallowed before adding softly, "I’ll only be loyal to my new Alpha and my new pack."
The room became quiet.
And suddenly I felt strangely nervous. Because this mattered more than I expected. As hesitation crept in, I looked away.
There was something else. Something sitting in my chest. Something ugly.
I opened my mouth.
"But..."
The word came out. Then stopped. Because I didn’t know how to say it. How did someone admit that while leaving everything behind, there was one thing they still couldn’t let go of?
I stared at my hands, struggling. But then Zaiden spoke.
"But you want revenge against their Luna."
My head snapped up and my eyes landed on him.
He hadn’t moved. He still sat near the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, one side of him facing the storm outside while the other faced us. His expression remained calm and unreadable. But his eyes were watching me carefully.
And suddenly my heartbeat sped up, because in that moment I realized something.
They knew more than what I had told them.
My gaze shifted slowly from Zaiden to Eiden, and one look at their expressions confirmed what I had already guessed. Neither of them looked surprised. Neither looked uncertain. Which meant they knew about me, my past, and everything that had happened to me.
A strange feeling rose in my chest. It wasn’t either fear nor discomfort, but Shock. Because somehow they knew the truth of that night. And somehow, none of the three men I had trusted all these years didn’t. The people who had known me, who had spent years around me, and the ones to whom I told the truth myself... didn’t see the lies built around that night. They missed it. Or maybe just decided the truth didn’t matter at all.
But these two, who had barely entered my life, had seen enough to ask.
I probably stayed quiet for too long because Eiden spoke again. His voice remained calm and steady.
"Neither Zaiden nor I have any objections to you taking revenge."
I blinked.
He continued, "In fact, we would have objections if you chose to let her go after she tried to harm you more than once."
My breath caught. The words weren’t dramatic, nor were they emotional. He said them simply like stating a fact, like it should be obvious. And somehow, that made it hit harder.
Warmth spread through my chest again. Fast. Unexpected. And overwhelming. There were so many things I wanted to say. That I appreciated them. That I didn’t expect this. That nobody had ever looked at my anger and told me it wasn’t wrong. That nobody had ever looked at my pain and treated it like something worth acknowledging. That nobody had ever stood beside me and said - You don’t have to forgive people who hurt you.
I wanted to say all of that. But when I opened my mouth, only one thing came out.
"...Thank you."
Again.
Because apparently that was all I knew how to say around these two.
Eiden smiled, and the expression softened his entire face. Then he reached forward. My breath caught as his fingers brushed lightly against my face. Not touching skin at first, just moving a strand of hair behind my ear.
The gesture was gentle and unexpected. Almost normal. Yet somehow my entire body forgot what normal was.
His gaze remained warm as he spoke, "There’s no need to thank us."
My heart did something stupid. Then he lowered his hand and asked quietly, "So." His blue eyes stayed locked on mine. "What do you plan to do about that woman?"
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