Chapter 220 I’m Not You

"Once bitten, twice shy."

Alpha Killian turned his head slowly. A cold light flashed in his silver-gray eyes. The look he gave Alpha Sebastian was pure contempt, as if Alpha Sebastian were nothing more than something he had found crawling across his floor.

A faint smile touched his mouth.

"Thanks for proving my point, Hale. You practically handed her to me."

Alpha Sebastian’s jaw tightened.

His hands curled into fists, his nails digging into his palms. After a moment, he forced them to relax and met Alpha Killian ’s stare.

"And if you get what you want," Alpha Sebastian said, "are you planning to marry her?"

Alpha Killian’s faint smile disappeared.

"I already told you. I’m not you, Hale. I don’t sleep with a woman and leave her without a ring on her finger."

Alpha Sebastian’s eyes hardened.

"I never touched Eira before we were mated."

Alpha Killian looked him over, calm and completely unimpressed.

"Who said I was talking about Eira?"

Alpha Sebastian went still.

Alpha Killian meant Serena.

"You’re finished with Eira, but you still haven’t claimed Serena. You’re going to let her carry your pup while you stand there and do nothing?" Alpha Killian’s voice turned colder. "Keep this up, and people are going to start calling you what you are."

Alpha Sebastian’s pupils narrowed.

"A deadbeat father."

For a moment, the rain was the only sound between them.

They knew.

They knew Serena was pregnant.

"How do you think we prepared the legal notice?" Alpha Killian asked. "We didn’t file it on a hunch. Your name and Serena’s are both tied to this mess. Neither of you is walking away clean."

Panic tightened in Alpha Sebastian’s chest, but he held on to his denial.

"I have no idea what you’re talking about."

The contempt in Alpha Killian’s expression was impossible to miss now.

Alpha Sebastian knew there was no point in arguing. He would never win a battle of words against Alpha Killian, so he turned to leave.

The door opened behind him.

Eira hurried outside with a black umbrella in her hand and stopped in front of Alpha Killian.

"You forgot this."

A moment later, she noticed the figure standing near the low garden wall.

Alpha Sebastian.

Her expression hardened.

Alpha Killian took the umbrella and opened it, angling it so the canopy covered them both.

Alpha Sebastian remained alone in the rain. Water had soaked through his coat, leaving dark patches across the fabric beneath the porch light.

"Eira," he said quietly.

She didn’t spare him a glance. Her gaze settled on Alpha Killian instead.

"Miles said the car had already left and that you were about to walk all the way back to Number One without an umbrella."

Alpha Killian’s brow furrowed.

Miles had dropped him off, but he would have called another car before letting Alpha Killian walk home through the rain.

So Eira had believed the first explanation she heard.

So this is how Alpha Sebastian kept her tied to him for four years, Alpha Killian thought.

It only took two people working together, and she never saw the lie coming.

She trusted people too easily.

Alpha Killian let out a quiet breath.

"Eira," he said, "don’t believe everything people tell you."

His gaze flicked briefly toward Alpha Sebastian before returning to her.

"Remember that."

Eira opened her mouth to reply, but the sound of an approaching engine interrupted her.

A car pulled up in front of the house, its headlights washing over the driveway.

Alpha Killian glanced toward the car, then stepped back.

The driver lowered the window as soon as he stopped.

"Sorry, Alpha. The rain made the roads slick, and I had to take it slow."

Alpha Killian gave him a cold look but said nothing. Instead, he took the umbrella from Eira and pressed it back into her hands.

"Go inside."

The handle was still warm from his palm when her fingers closed around it.

Under his steady gaze, Eira turned toward the house. She never looked at Alpha Sebastian.

For a moment, Alpha Sebastian felt colder than the rain soaking through his coat.

Alpha Killian got into the back seat. He knew the guard, the dogs, and Mrs. Jones would keep Alpha Sebastian away from the house.

The car pulled away from the curb.

As soon as they were out of sight, Alpha Killian turned his attention to the driver.

"You’re not new to this job. Checking the weather, planning for traffic, and allowing for delays are basic parts of it."

The slick roads had been an excuse.

The driver knew he had been caught. "I’m sorry, Alpha. It won’t happen again."

"Make sure it doesn’t." Alpha Killian watched him through the rearview mirror. "Pass that along to Miles."

"Yes, Alpha."

The driver’s stomach dropped. Alpha Killian knew about the umbrella stunt. He knew Miles had arranged it to bring him and Eira closer, and he knew the driver had played along.

--

Eira lay in bed with the lights off.

Outside her window, the world had faded into shades of gray. Weak morning light seeped through the curtains, but sleep still refused to come.

Part of her mind kept circling the problem of finding Sam. The rest kept drifting back to Alpha Killian.

Her fingers found the wolf fang resting against her chest. She traced its smooth surface slowly.

She had not told him, but she loved the necklace.

To Eira, the fang represented everything she had once wanted from a family.

When she was growing up, she had heard the other children talk about their fang pendants. In the Pack, a wolf fang was a protective gift, usually given to a young pup by their family. It was meant to keep them safe and remind them that they belonged somewhere.

Eira had wanted one more than she could explain. She had envied every classmate who wore one around their neck.

She had never believed she would receive one herself.

The thought stayed with her until sleep finally took over.

In her dream, she was back in her old classroom. Children crowded around their desks, showing off their fang pendants and comparing the different chains around their necks.

Her younger self sat quietly at the edge of the room, sketching a wolf fang in the margin of her textbook. The moment another child leaned over to look, she snapped the book shut and held it against her chest.

Even in the dream, she remembered how carefully she had guarded that tiny piece of hope.

Then a teacher called her name.

The teacher had never been part of the real memory.

Eira stepped into the hallway. Everything beyond the classroom had turned pale and hazy. At the end of the corridor stood a single figure.

Tall. Lean. Impossible to see clearly.

The figure reached out and held a fang pendant toward her.

The next morning, Eira woke with the pendant clenched in her fist.

She had held it against her skin all night. The metal was warm now.

She slipped the chain beneath her thermal shirt. Even against her skin, the fang no longer felt cold.

Her heart, however, was beating slightly out of rhythm.