Chapter 5: The Truth
1073 Words
I got into the car.
Not because I wanted to obey him… but because the look in Kai’s eyes told me he wasn’t bluffing. He closed the door firmly, walked around to the driver’s side, and started the engine without saying a word.
The silence inside the car was heavy.
I stared out the window as the school disappeared behind us, my mind racing. Glowing eyes. Growling men. Mate bond. None of it made sense, yet I had seen it with my own eyes.
Kai’s hands were tight around the steering wheel. Every few seconds, I felt his gaze shift toward me before he forced himself to look back at the road.
“Are you going to explain now?” I asked.
His jaw flexed. “When we get home.”
“That’s not good enough.”
Kai let out a low, frustrated breath. “Lila. Please.”
It was the first time I had heard him say please. The word sounded strange coming from him — rough, almost reluctant. I crossed my arms and stayed quiet for the rest of the drive, even though questions were burning in my throat.
When we pulled up to the house, the lights inside were off. My mother and Richard still weren’t home.
Kai turned off the engine but didn’t move. The only sound was our breathing.
“Get out,” he said finally.
I followed him inside. The moment the front door closed behind us, the atmosphere changed. Kai locked it, then turned to face me fully. His eyes were darker than usual, but I could still see traces of gold flickering in them.
“Sit,” he ordered, pointing to the living room couch.
“Stop ordering me around.”
He stepped closer, towering over me. “Sit down, Lila. Or this conversation is going to be a lot harder than it needs to be.”
Something in his tone made me obey. I sat on the edge of the couch while he remained standing, running a hand through his hair like he was trying to stay in control.
“Those men earlier,” he began, “are from a rival pack.”
“Pack?”
Kai’s eyes met mine. “Werewolf pack.”
The words hung in the air between us.
I let out a short, disbelieving laugh. “That’s not funny.”
“I’m not joking.”
He pulled his shirt up slightly, just enough to show the side of his ribs. Faint, glowing markings — like ancient symbols — shimmered across his skin before fading again.
My breath caught.
“I’m a werewolf,” Kai said quietly. “Future Alpha of the Draven Pack. And those men came for you because of me.”
I stared at him, waiting for the moment he would smile and tell me it was all a joke. But his expression remained completely serious.
“That still doesn’t explain why they wanted me,” I whispered.
Kai’s gaze intensified. He took a step closer, then another, until he was standing right in front of me. Slowly, he lowered himself so that we were at eye level.
“Because you’re my mate.”
The pull in my chest throbbed almost painfully.
“I don’t even know what that means.”
“It means fate chose you for me,” he said, his voice low and rough. “The moment I saw you in that hallway the day you arrived, the bond snapped into place. Why do you think I can’t stop looking at you? Why do you think every male who gets close to you makes me want to tear them apart?”
I shook my head. “That’s crazy.”
Kai reached out and gently grabbed my wrist, placing my hand flat against his chest. Under my palm, his heart was beating hard and fast.
“Feel that?” he murmured. “It only does this when you’re near.”
My own heart was racing just as badly.
“I tried to stay away from you,” he continued. “I tried to fight it. But the bond doesn’t care that you’re my stepsister. It doesn’t care that you’re human. It only cares that you’re mine.”
The word mine sent a shiver down my spine.
I pulled my hand back. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”
“Neither did I.” His eyes flashed gold again. “But it’s done. The bond is already forming. Those wolves felt it the moment it started, and now they know what you are to me. That makes you a target.”
Fear crept into my chest. “What do they want with me?”
Kai’s expression darkened. “If they kill my mate before the bond is completed, it weakens me. Some packs would do anything to stop me from becoming Alpha.”
I stood up from the couch, needing space. My legs felt unsteady. “This is too much.”
Kai followed me. He didn’t touch me, but he stayed close enough that I could feel the heat coming off his body.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he said. “But you need to understand something, Lila.”
I turned to face him.
His glowing eyes locked onto mine, and for the first time, I saw something almost vulnerable behind all the possessiveness.
“The more time we spend together, the stronger the bond becomes. And the stronger it becomes… the harder it will be for either of us to resist.”
My mouth went dry. “Resist what?”
Kai lifted his hand and brushed his fingers along my jaw, slow and deliberate. His thumb rested just under my lip as he leaned in slightly, his voice dropping into a dangerous whisper.
“Everything.”
The front door suddenly clicked open.
Both of us froze.
My mother’s voice called out from the entrance. “Lila? Kai? We’re home!”
Kai’s hand dropped from my face instantly, but his eyes stayed locked on mine, still glowing faintly in the dim light.
He leaned closer one last time and whispered against my ear,
“This conversation isn’t over.”
Then he stepped back just as my mother walked into the living room, smiling like nothing in the world was wrong.
But everything had already changed.
And from the way Kai was looking at me across the room…
There was no going back.
- Writer
