chapter 14
1456 Words
Chapter 14
Kael’s POV
“Daniel,” I said, my voice slicing through the thick silence, “there’s a reason we have phones. If someone like Elena walks into this pack, and I’m not there—” I slammed my fist on the damn table. Hard. The wood shuddered under the force. “—you send me a swift and straightforward text. It’s not rocket science.”
Daniel, ever the composed right-hand, didn’t even flinch. He calmly placed the manila folder he was holding onto the table like I hadn’t just rattled the entire damn building.
“I’m sorry, Alpha Kael. She didn’t—”
“Shut it,” I snapped, lifting a hand before his mouth could butcher more excuses. The milk was already spilled. The damage was done. And I was standing in it.
I stood abruptly, the chair scraping across the stone floor with a shriek. I didn’t look at him. Couldn’t. My jaw was clenched too tightly. My thumb had started drumming against the surface of the table—fast, erratic, like my brain had left my body and all that was left was this electric storm under my skin.
Was I really losing it?
I hissed.
Moved.
Stormed to the far end of the room, placing my palm against the cold wall like it could ground me. Like stone could absorb fury.
“Elena,” I muttered. Her name was acid on my tongue. That woman shouldn’t even be breathing the same air as Aria, let alone breathing it in my damn pack. My sanctuary. My house.
“Open it,” I barked without turning.
Daniel didn’t ask which file. He knew.
“The document—read it out loud. Every damn word. I won’t tolerate law-breaking under my roof. If something smells even remotely off, I want it torched.”
I heard him inhale slowly. A single breath before the first page rustled.
“Subject: Transfer of property from West Reign Pack to Crescent—” His voice was calm, like he wasn’t reading about flesh and blood. “—Seven female omegas, unmarked, unclaimed, between the ages of 19 and 23. Registered under the breeder clause for repopulation purposes.”
The word hit me like a whip across the back.
“Breeders?” I echoed. Quiet. Dangerous.
Danil paused. “Yes, Alpha.”
My body moved before my thoughts caught up.
In a flash of air, I crossed the room with my wolf speed, grabbed the front of Danil’s shirt and slammed him against the wall so hard the portraits rattled off their nails.
He choked out a breath, stunned. His eyes widened as I pressed him into the stone, my grip vice-like, my eyes burning.
“I will only ever have one breeder,” I growled, voice low, guttural, every word a drop of venom.
He blinked rapidly, confused, his pupils darting.
“W-what?” he stammered.
I shoved him again for good measure, my other hand fisting the front of his shirt.
“One. And her name is Aria,” I spat. “She’s not just some breeder. She’s my life.”
Danil’s lips parted like he couldn’t process the information fast enough.
He’d seen me scorn her. Ignore her. Hell, there were days I could barely look at her without that guilt clawing my insides. But now?
Now, I’d tear down this entire goddamn world for her.
His voice came out shaky. “Alpha… I thought you hated her.”
I released him.
Not gently.
He slid down the wall, catching himself on the table. The folder fluttered to the floor.
“Hate her?” I repeated, dragging my hands down my face like I could erase the mess I’d made. “I hate what I’ve done to her. I hate the way I’ve tried to protect her by pretending I didn’t give a damn.”
Danil remained quiet, rubbing his jaw.
I leaned back on the table, suddenly exhausted.
“I never needed more breeders,” I murmured, almost to myself. “I needed her.”
He crouched, collected the papers, and dusted them off.
“So… what do I do with the order?”
“Burn it.” My voice was sharp again. “Torch every last copy. And if any of those girls set foot in Crescent, I’ll personally send them back with their contracts in flames.”
He gave a curt nod but didn’t move. Not immediately.
“You’re serious about her,” he said, eyes searching mine.
I didn’t bother answering.
The silence was the answer.
He exhaled. “She’s not going to believe it.”
“She doesn’t need to.” I glanced at him. “She just needs to feel safe enough to stay.”
He tilted his head, thoughtful. “And if she doesn’t?”
My jaw clenched again. “Then I’ll become the monster everyone thinks I already am.”
A beat of silence.
Then he chuckled. Chuckled.
“I’ll be damned,” he muttered, straightening up. “The Alpha’s gone soft.”
I snorted. “Say that again and I’ll knock your teeth out.”
“Sure. Right after you sing Aria a lullaby.”
I growled, but my lips twitched.
“Get out,” I muttered.
He winked. “Already gone.”
The door clicked behind him.
I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding, slumping back against the table like I’d just fought a war.
Maybe I had.
Inside me.
And I’d lost.
Because Aria… Aria wasn’t just a woman in my pack. She wasn’t a breeder. She wasn’t a strategy to preserve my legacy. She was the legacy.
Every time I looked at her, my wolf howled.
Not for s*x. Not for pups.
But for her soul.
I moved toward the shelf and poured myself a drink, whiskey biting the back of my throat as I downed it in one go. Another. And another.
Fuck.
I’d ruined everything with her.
But I’d burn this whole world to make it right.
I turned toward the door, my mind already racing.
“Aria,” I whispered.
Then louder.
“Guard!”
A boy appeared in the doorway, stiff, alert.
“Bring Aria to me.”
He blinked. “She—she said not to be disturbed.”
My nostrils flared.
“Did I ask for her permission?”
He disappeared before I could snarl.
A few seconds later, silence again.
Then footsteps.
And her scent.
Lavender and lightning.
And pain.
She walked in like a queen and a ghost. Dressed in silk, barefoot, her eyes swollen from crying—but her chin high.
“Now you remember I exist?” she said, voice laced with venom. “Did Elena leave already or are you just bored?”
Her words stung.
But I deserved every single one.
“I told Daniel to bring you,” I said, straightening. “I needed to see you.”
She laughed, bitter and cracked. “Right. Let me guess. You need an heir and I’m the lucky contestant who gets to breed with the Alpha, right?”
I stepped forward.
She didn’t flinch.
But her lips trembled.
I stopped inches from her.
“Don’t ever call yourself that again,” I said softly.
“What?”
“A breeder.”
She narrowed her eyes. “That’s what I am to you, isn’t it?”
“No.” I shook my head. “You’re not.”
“Then what am I?” she demanded, voice rising.
I reached out and touched her cheek.
“You’re everything.”
She stared at me like I was speaking a foreign language.
“Kael…”
“I’m done pretending,” I murmured, fingers sliding down her jaw. “You’re not a means to an end. You are the end. You’re my beginning. My middle. My f*****g everything.”
She looked stunned.
Like someone had just handed her a galaxy and asked her to believe it was hers.
“Why now?” she whispered. “Why after all the silence?”
“Because I saw a file today,” I said honestly. “Seven girls. All meant to replace you.”
I laughed, bitter and low.
“They don’t even come close.”
She stepped back, eyes watery.
“I don’t know if I can trust you.”
I nodded.
“I don’t expect you to. Not yet. But let me try. Let me fight. Let me earn what I threw away.”
She didn’t answer.
Just stared.
And then—she left.
No storming.
No slamming.
Just a quiet, broken exit.
But even then—
My wolf didn’t whimper.
He growled.
Because she didn’t say no.
She just didn’t say yes.
Yet.
- Writer
