Dax waited outside Kieran's room like a condemned man. The Alpha had returned barely an hour ago, blood on his boots and fury simmering beneath his skin.
But his Beta hadn't even gotten a full report on the traitor situation.Kieran had stormed past him, reeking of annoyance and impatience.
Now, as the heavy oak door finally creaked open, Kieran stood in the doorway shirtless, blood smeared across his chest, his golden eyes like molten metal.
"You look like hell," Kieran muttered as Dax entered.
Dax inclined his head. "I can say the same about you, but we need to talk.About something important."
Kieran grabbed a towel and wiped his hands. "Then talk."
Dax stepped in, shut the door behind him. "While you were gone…there was an incident."
Kieran poured himself a drink and downed it. "Another fight?"
Dax's voice dropped. "Worse. Garrick and two Omegas cornered Autumn. Vera orchestrated it."
Kieran stopped moving.
"She was almost…" Dax exhaled. "I killed Garrick. Vera ran."
Silence.
The kind that made the hairs on the back of your neck rise.
Kieran set his glass down. It shattered.
"What did you say?"
"I said…"
"You left her alone? After I told you to keep her busy with safe duties?" Kieran's voice was low, dangerous.
"She was on cleaning duty…"
"You put her on the ground unattended?!" The snarl ripped from Kieran's throat. "You let them touch her?"
Kieran flicked the entire table like it was paper. Files and paper weights scattered all over the place, along with the pens and the glass.
Dax stood his ground. "I saved her. I did what no one did for my sister. Don't turn this on me, Kieran."
The Alpha's eyes flashed. "Where is she?"
"With Mango. Shaken. Bruised."
"I will kill them all."
"She needs peace, not bloodshed. Not more chaos. You do that, and it will blow back on her. On you.Let it cool down a bit,Kieran.The pack's not exactly stable right now…You can't…"
Kieran's fists trembled. "She is my property, Dax."
"I know."
Silence settled again.
Then, softer, Kieran asked, "Did they…?"
"No. You were minutes away from losing her, but no. I got there.They ripped her clothes, groppled her but no…nothing more…thankfully…"
Kieran's jaw tightened and this time the entire bottle cracked.
***
Autumn didn't sleep.
She sat curled against the headboard of her borrowed bed, knees drawn to her chest, fingers digging into her arms hard enough to bruise.
The room was dark,she had switched all the lights off. The air was thick with the scent of herbs Mango had burned to calm her down…lavender, chamomile, something bitter underneath.
But this time she lost. They did nothing.
Every time she closed her eyes, she felt hands.
Garrick's rancid breath. Vera's laugh. The weight of them pinning her down… she felt…dirty.
A floorboard creaked outside her door.
Autumn's breath hitched. Her fingers twitched toward the dull butter knife she had stolen from dinner (better than nothing. A psychological support even though her claws were at least more useful than it). The door swung open without a knock.
Of course.
Kieran stood in the doorway, backlit by the dim torchlight from the hall.
He did not speak. Just stepped inside and shut the door behind him with a quiet click.
Autumn's grip tightened on the knife. "Get out."
He ignored her, prowling forward until the moonlight from the window caught the sharp angles of his face. His expression was unreadable…still cold and detached. But his scent…smoke. Pine. Blood.
And something else, something dark and restless that made her wolf stir despite herself.
Kieran's gaze flicked to the knife in her hand. His lip curled. "Planning to stab me in my sleep, little thief?"
Autumn bared her teeth. "If I were, you would already be bleeding."
He graced her with a slow, dangerous smirk . "Try it. I would enjoy the fight."
She did not move. Neither did he.
For a long moment, they just stared at each other, the air between them crackling with something unsaid.
Then Kieran sighed, rolling his shoulders like he was bored, and strode to the chair in the corner. He dropped into it, stretching his long legs out in front of him, arms crossed.
Autumn blinked. "What are you doing?"
"Sitting."
"Why?"
He examined his claws, feigning disinterest. "My room. My pack. I do as I wish.You got a problem?"
"This isn't your room."
"Everything in this territory is mine." His golden eyes lifted, pinning her. "Including you."
Autumn's stomach twisted. She opened her mouth to spit another insult…
But the floorboard groaned somewhere in the hall.
Kieran's head snapped towards the door, his body coiling like a spring. A low growl rumbled in his chest.
Autumn stilled. "What is it?"
He did not answer. Just listened, nostrils flaring as he scented the air. After a tense moment, he relaxed slightly, but his eyes stayed wolf sharp.
"Nothing," he muttered. "Just rats."
Autumn did not believe him.
Silence settled again, heavier this time.
Kieran leaned back in the chair, his gaze drifting to the window. Moonlight painted silver streaks across his scars, his ink, the hard line of his jaw. He looked like a statue…beautiful and brutal and utterly unfeeling.
Autumn swallowed. "You can leave now.I want to be alone. "
"I can.But I won't." He didn't move.
She huffed. "Is this some kind of punishment? Sitting there staring at me like I am…"
"You talk too much."
"And you are a bastard."
A flicker of amusement in his eyes. "Takes one to know one."
Autumn scowled, yanking the blanket higher over her clothes. Somehow she felt exposed even under that.
She pulled it around her tighter. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her shake.
Minutes dragged.
The fire in the hearth burned low, casting long shadows across the floor. Autumn's eyelids grew heavy despite herself, exhaustion tugging at her bones.
All of a sudden the lavenders and the chamomiles started to work too efficiently.
She didn't realize she had dozed off until a rough hand gripped her chin.
Her eyes flew open.
Kieran was right there, crouched in front of her, his face inches from hers. His thumb brushed the bruise on her cheek…too gentle, like he wasn't the same man who had thrown her across the room just a day ago.
Autumn jerked back. "Don't touch me."
His hand dropped. "You were whimpering."
Her face burned. "I wasn't."
He stood up, turning away like the sight of her disgusted him. "You are pathetic."
Autumn's nails bit into her palms. "Then why are you still here?"
Kieran paused at the window, his back to her. "Because I feel like it."
Bullshit.
She wanted to scream. To throw something at his head. But the weight of the day pressed down on her, and suddenly, she was just… tired.
So tired.
Silence stretched. The wind howled outside, rattling the shutters. Autumn curled tighter into herself, listening to the steady rhythm of Kieran's breathing.It was so loud.
And somehow, against all logic, it was… calming.
She didn't remember when she slipped into deep slumber.
***
Dawn,when Autumn woke up, the chair was empty.
For a stupid, traitorous moment, her chest ached.
Then she spotted it…a dagger plunged into the wood of her bedside table, a scrap of parchment pinned beneath it.
She yanked it free.
Few words, scrawled in sharp and clear. With blood. His blood?
" Next time, use this instead of a butter knife."
Autumn's breath caught.