CHAPTER 6
1042 Words
THE ALPHA'S ENFORCER
Lyra's POV :
"Step away from her."
Darian's voice was calm.
Too calm.
Riven's smile widened.
"No."
The two men stared at each other across the clearing.
I stood between them, my heart pounding.
The strange creature had disappeared.
The shadows around my feet had finally settled.
But something inside me hadn't.
My entire body still hummed with unfamiliar energy.
Darian's gray eyes moved toward me.
"Are you hurt?"
I almost laughed.
"That's your first question?"
His brow furrowed.
"What should I ask?"
"Why you're here."
His expression hardened.
"Because I was ordered to find you."
"By Cassian?"
A pause.
"Yes."
The name still hurt.
It shouldn't have.
I'd spent the entire night telling myself I was done caring about him or the stupid bond that tied us together in the first place.
Yet hearing his name from Darian's mouth made my chest tighten.
I looked away.
"Then take me back."
Darian's eyes narrowed.
"You want to return?"
"No."
"Then why did you say that?"
"Because I wanted to see whether you'd actually do it."
Riven chuckled.
Darian ignored him.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
He took a step toward me.
I instinctively stepped back.
He stopped.
Something flickered across his face.
Not anger.
Recognition.
He had noticed.
He noticed that I was afraid.
"Your Alpha ordered me to bring you back alive," he said.
My stomach tightened.
"Alive."
Riven's smile disappeared.
Darian continued.
"But someone else issued a second order."
"Who?"
"The council."
"What did they want?"
His silence answered before his words did.
"Your death."
The forest suddenly felt colder.
I stared at him.
"And you?"
Darian's jaw tightened.
"I don't kill people who haven't earned it."
Riven laughed softly.
"That's a lie."
Darian's eyes flashed.
"You've killed plenty."
"Yes."
"Then why are you here?"
Riven's expression became unreadable.
"Because she isn't yours."
The tension between them became almost physical.
I stepped forward.
"Enough."
Both men looked at me.
"I am not a thing you can claim."
Darian's expression changed.
"I know."
Riven smiled.
"I know."
I hated how different their answers sounded, even if it was the same two words they used in answering me.
Darian looked toward the forest.
"We need to move."
"Why?"
"Because the hunters won't be the only ones coming."
"Who else?"
He looked at my glowing birthmark.
"The Council knows what happened tonight."
My blood ran cold.
"How?"
"The creature you summoned."
"I didn't summon it."
"I know."
His gaze remained fixed on me.
"That's what makes this worse."
---
We left the clearing before dawn.
Darian walked ahead.
Riven stayed behind me.
I didn't trust either of them.
But I trusted being alone even less.
For hours, we traveled through the forest.
Eventually we reached an abandoned stone structure.
Darian pushed open the door.
Inside was a small underground chamber.
"Stay here."
I crossed my arms.
"I'm beginning to hate those words."
He looked at me.
"You're injured."
I glanced down.
Blood covered my arm from a branch I'd barely noticed.
"I've had worse."
"That doesn't mean you should have to."
The words caught me off guard.
Darian crouched beside a small fire.
He pulled a medical kit from his bag.
"Give me your arm."
"No."
His eyebrow lifted.
"Why?"
"Because I don't know you."
"You know enough."
"You're Cassian's enforcer."
"Yes."
"The man who was ordered to bring me back."
"Yes."
"And you're asking me to trust you?"
"No."
He looked directly at me.
"I'm asking you to let me stop the bleeding."
I hesitated.
Then held out my arm.
His fingers were surprisingly gentle.
He cleaned the wound.
Wrapped it.
Didn't say a word.
I watched him.
"You don't talk much."
"No."
"Is that intentional?"
"Usually."
"Why?"
He tied the bandage.
"Words can be used against you."
I studied him.
"You sound like someone who learned that the hard way."
His eyes lifted to mine.
For a moment, something dark passed through them.
Then it vanished.
"Everyone learns eventually."
He stood.
"Sleep."
I almost asked him why he cared.
But I didn't.
Because something about his expression told me I already knew the answer.
He wasn't protecting me because he trusted me.
He was protecting me because he had begun questioning the orders he'd been given.
And that frightened me more than obedience would have.
---
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