Chapter 186: Chapter 186: Someone I had already lost.
Vaelen’s POV~
The night wind was sharp when I stepped out of Serena’s room. It hit my face, but it did nothing to cool the fire burning inside me. My chest still felt tight, my hands still clenched.
I couldn’t calm down.
Someone had dared to attack her in my presence. The thought alone made my blood boil. My wolf was pacing under my skin, restless and angry. I could still see her scared eyes, still hear her trembling voice asking what she did wrong.
I pressed my hand against the wall for a moment, trying to breathe, but it didn’t help. My body was shaking.
How the hell was I even supposed to face my uncle now? He would kill me the moment he saw her like that. I could already imagine his face, that cold, calm fury he always carried when something went wrong.
And for once, he’d be right to be angry.
If that old bastard Drevan had done anything worse, if Serena had been harmed even an inch more... I didn’t even know what I would have done.
I felt sick. Literally sick. My stomach turned as if I could throw up. Rage had nowhere to go.
That bastard... that old dog actually dared to touch her.
My wolf snarled, his voice echoing inside my head: "Kill him."
I wanted to. I really did. But I couldn’t, not now. Not yet. The council would twist everything. They’d say I broke peace. They’d paint me as the threat again. My father would kneel before them and beg forgiveness. He always did.
The image of my father’s useless, tired eyes made my jaw tighten. He’d never fight them. Never once did he stand for our kind. Every time the council demanded something, he just bowed his head lower.
They took and took and still pretended to be saints.
I knew what they were hiding. All of it. I had the list, the records, and the deals they made under the table. And one day, when the time was right, I’d burn them all with it.
But not today.
Tonight, I just needed to breathe.
I stepped out into the courtyard, the wind colder here. I was about to turn back when a strange scent hit my senses.
No... not strange. It was actually familiar...too familiar for his liking.
My body froze for half a second before fury took over again.
That scent.
It was him.
The anger in my chest rose like wildfire. I started walking fast, each step heavier than the last... following the trail of scent until I saw him.
Standing under the moonlight, calm as stone, with those same steel grey eyes. Kael.
The nerve of him being here made my teeth grit. His face was cold and unreadable, like always. Too calm. Too smug. And that calmness, that aloofness, only made my rage worse.
He didn’t even kneel. Didn’t even offer the proper bow. Just a small nod, like I was nothing special.
I almost laughed. A fake courtesy.
We both knew it meant nothing. He didn’t respect me, not one bit.
"What are you doing here?" I asked with a sharp tone.
Kael raised one brow, his lips pulling into a small smirk that made me want to hit him. "Why can’t I be here, Prince?" he said with that lazy, mocking tone of his. "After all, I am a respectable guest of your father."
The way he said "your father" made my skin crawl. The mockery was clear, even in his calm voice.
My jaw clenched. I stepped closer. "I asked what you’re doing here," I said again, lower this time.
He tilted his head slightly. "Just what you said, Prince. Is it not like you don’t allow your guests to roam around freely?" he replied in his casual tone.
"I see you really have the leisure to roam around. Tell me... how do you all brothers still live so peacefully? After everything that’s happened?"
I asked him with the same biting tone of his, wanting to gauge whether he even cared for it a little bit or not.
Kael didn’t even flinch.
He actually smiled. I took another step forward, my voice cold as ice.
"It’s not up to a prince," Kael said suddenly, his tone cutting through mine. "Whether we live or die...that’s for us to decide. Maybe the prince should look after his throne before worrying about others."
My chest burned.
"Careful, Kael," I said, my voice dropping lower. "If I were in your place, I wouldn’t be walking around so confidently. Your mate died just a week ago, and you’re here pretending nothing happened. At least pretend to grieve."
The moment I said it, his eyes changed. The grey in them darkened, and gold flickered inside. His wolf was rising.
He turned back to face me fully, the smirk gone now. "Can I ask the Prince," he said slowly, his tone too calm, "how he knows my mate has died?"
I froze for a second. The air between us turned heavy.
He kept going. "Because I didn’t tell anyone. Not a single soul."
For a moment, my mind blanked because I knew everything. But everyone also knows about it... It was that damn rumor that is spreading that his mate was gone, that the four brothers were out of control. It had spread like wildfire in the werewolves.
But the thing is what he wanted to ask from me—does he doubt that I knew all of this beforehand?
I forced my face still and said, "Everyone’s been talking. The four of you are creating havoc everywhere because your mate’s dead; it’s all over the council halls."
Kael took a slow breath and then laughed. "Everyone knows nothing," he said. "Our mate’s been missing for a year. No one saw her dead. No one saw her alive. And suddenly the world decides she’s gone?"
His voice rose slightly, the gold in his eyes growing brighter. "How do you think I’d suddenly get the news that she’s dead? Tell me, Prince... how would I?"
I met his stare. My own wolf surfaced, golden light flashing through my eyes. The air around us crackled, both of us standing still, neither backing down.
If he took one step closer, I’d rip his throat out.
And from the look in his eyes, he was ready to do the same.
Two beasts, one heartbeat away from war.
***
Kael’s POV
I looked at him, that damn prince, with a hard expression. My jaw was tight, my eyes burning with hate. He could glare all he wanted... I didn’t care.
When he finally turned and stormed out, giving me that last warning look, I almost laughed.
A low, dry laugh that never came out of my mouth. Because honestly, what was he warning me for? Like I was supposed to tremble before him?
I didn’t even move. I just stood there, still as a rock. My body was tight, every nerve pulled like a wire. Inside me, something twisted, sharp, and violent. I wanted to kill something...anyone.
The fury was there, thick and hot, rising in my chest. How dare they? How dare anyone look at me like they could see my pain, like they understood anything about it. They didn’t. No one did.
I closed my eyes for a second, forcing myself to breathe. Just wait, Kael. Just wait. After everything is done here, after all this mess ends... Then he will be finally with her, and no one will then separate them from each other...if not for this life, he would wait for her in a different life.
Those words replayed in my head. They burned as much as they comforted. I didn’t even know if I was trying to calm myself down or just clinging to a memory that was already gone. My wolf was quiet. It almost scared me, but was I any better than him?
I let out a slow breath and finally opened my eyes again. That’s when I saw it.
My eyes snapped to one of the open rooms in the palace building across the courtyard. The window was slightly open, the curtain moving a little from the wind. My gaze locked there without reason. Then...
There.
Someone was standing behind that curtain.
And then I saw the eyes.
They were looking straight at me. Wide and frightened. The kind of eyes you never forget. My whole body froze right there. My heart stopped. My wolf... even he went still.
No. No, it couldn’t be.
Before I could even think, the shadow moved. The figure stepped back and vanished from the light like it was never there. I blinked, my breath caught halfway in my throat.
What... what was that?
I stared at the empty window for what felt like forever. My pulse was hammering, my thoughts running wild. Was I hallucinating? Was my mind playing with me again?
But it felt too real.
I took one step forward, my chest heavy, eyes fixed on that now-silent window. The breeze moved the curtain again, but I could swear someone was still there, hiding just out of sight.
Someone I knew.
Someone I had already lost.
And for the first time in a long while... I doubted myself. I didn’t know if I was losing my mind or if fate had just decided to twist the knife deeper.