Chapter Thirteen: My Brother
1534 Words
ANGEL’S POV
I ended up outside without realizing it. My feet just kept moving until the palace walls didn’t feel so close anymore. The morning air was cool against my skin. The gardens were quiet except for the sound of birds and the soft movement of leaves whenever the wind passed.
It should’ve felt peaceful, but my chest still felt heavy. I walked slowly along the stone path, wrapping my arms around myself. Everything still felt strange.
The palace.
The whispers.
The way people looked at me now.
Like I suddenly became someone else overnight. I hated it. I stopped near the fountain at the center of the garden and stared at the water. My reflection looked tired.
Honestly… I felt worse than I looked.
“You look like you fought a war.” I heard a voice
I turned quickly and it was my brother
“Kingsley.”
Relief hit me so fast my chest hurt. He stood a few steps away, dressed in black like usual, one hand inside his pocket. His expression was calm, but I could see the concern in his eyes immediately.
He walked toward me slowly.
“What are you doing out here alone?” he asked.
I shrugged lightly.
“I needed air.”
His eyes scanned my face carefully.
“You didn’t sleep.”
It wasn’t a question.
I looked away.
“Neither did you.”
A small breath left him. Almost a laugh.
“Fair.” He said
Silence settled between us for a second. But unlike the silence with Alex or Emerald… this one didn’t suffocate me. This one felt safe.
Kingsley moved beside me and leaned lightly against the edge of the fountain.
“They’re already talking,” he said quietly.
I swallowed.
“I know.”
The whispers this morning were impossible to miss.
He glanced at me.
“You okay?”
The question almost made me laugh, almost.
But instead, my eyes burned a little, and suddenly I was tired. Too tired.
“I don’t know,” I admitted softly.
Kingsley’s expression changed immediately.
That same look he always gave me whenever something hurt me as a child. He sighed quietly and pulled me closer by my shoulder.
“You don’t have to pretend with me,” he murmured.
That nearly broke me. I looked down quickly.
Trying not to cry again. Because lately, it felt too easy.
“I’m trying,” I whispered.
“I know.”
His hand stayed on my shoulder. Steady and Comforting.
“I just…” I stopped, exhaling shakily. “Everything happened too fast.”
Kingsley nodded slowly.
“It did.”
“One minute I was trying to survive Clinton and Linda…” My voice tightened slightly. “Now this.”
I laughed weakly.
“But somehow this feels worse.”
Kingsley’s jaw tightened at the mention of Clinton.
I noticed it immediately.
“You still want to kill him?” I asked quietly.
“Very much.”
That actually made me smile a little. Just a little.
He looked down at me briefly.
“There’s the Angel I know.” He said
The smile disappeared almost immediately.
“I don’t even know who that is anymore.”
His brows pulled together slightly.
“Don’t say that.”
“But it’s true,” I said softly.
I stepped away from the fountain, hugging myself again.
“Everything changed in one night.”
I looked up at the palace. Still massive. Still intimidating.
“I don’t belong here.”
Kingsley was quiet for a moment. Then he walked toward me.
“Yes, you do.”
I shook my head immediately.
“No.”
“You think being born Omega makes you less than them?” he asked.
I didn’t answer.
Because sometimes… Yeah. Maybe I did.
Kingsley noticed anyway.
His eyes hardened slightly.
“Angel,” he said firmly, “don’t let these people get into your head.”
“It’s not just them.”
“Then who?”
I hesitated.
“Alex.”
The name came out quieter than I expected.
Kingsley’s expression shifted immediately.
“He said something?”
I shook my head quickly.
“No… not exactly.”
But he didn’t need details. He already understood enough.
“The bond is difficult,” he said carefully.
I laughed softly.
“Difficult?”
“That’s the word you’re using?”
He rubbed the back of his neck.
“Alright. Terrible.”
I looked away again.
“It’s confusing.”
Kingsley nodded slowly.
“That part is normal.”
“How?” I asked
He leaned lightly against the fountain again.
“Because your wolf accepts him before your mind does.”
I frowned slightly.
“That sounds unfair.”
“It is.”
I stared down at the ground quietly.
“The worst part?” I whispered.
“What?”
“I still feel it.”
Kingsley didn’t speak. But I continued anyway.
“That pull.”
I pressed my palm lightly against my chest.
“It doesn’t stop.”
My voice lowered.
“Even when I’m angry.”
Even when he’s cold.
Even when I don’t want it.
Kingsley watched me carefully.
“You know something funny?” he said after a moment.
I looked at him.
“You’re not the only one suffering from it.”
I blinked.
“What do you mean?”
He hesitated.
Like he was deciding whether to say it.
“Alex hasn’t looked normal since last night.”
I frowned slightly.
“Normal?”
Kingsley nodded.
“He’s calmer… but somehow more irritated.”
“That sounds normal for him.”
Kingsley laughed quietly.
“Trust me. It’s not.”
I stared at him.
Trying to picture it.
Alex is affected by this bond. Alex is struggling. It felt impossible.
“He hides things well,” Kingsley added. “Too well.”
My chest tightened slightly. I didn’t know why.
Maybe because part of me wanted to believe I wasn’t alone in this. That I wasn’t the only one feeling trapped by it.
Kingsley looked toward the palace before lowering his voice.
“You need to be careful though.”
The softness in his voice disappeared.
I noticed immediately.
“Because of Emerald?”
His eyes met mine.
“Yes.”
A cold feeling settled in my stomach.
“She came to see me last night.”
Kingsley went still instantly.
“What?”
“She came to the room after Alex left.”
His jaw tightened.
“What did she do?”
“Nothing,” I said quickly. “Not physically.”
That didn’t calm him.
“What did she say?”
I thought about it for a second.
Then I shook my head slightly.
“It wasn’t really her words.”
“It was the way she said them.”
Kingsley’s expression darkened.
“I don’t trust her.”
“Neither do I.”
Silence fell for a moment. The wind brushed softly past us.
Then Kingsley sighed.
“She’s not used to losing.”
“That’s obvious.”
“And Alex choosing another woman publicly?” he continued. “Even if he had no choice… that would destroy her pride.”
I frowned slightly.
“But he didn’t choose me.”
Kingsley looked at me carefully.
“No,” he said quietly. “Fate did.”
That somehow felt heavier. I looked away again.
“Same difference.”
“No,” he said firmly. “Not to people like them.”
People like them.
The rich. The powerful. The royal family.
People who cared about status and control and appearances.
People like Emerald.
A small silence passed again before Kingsley suddenly nudged my shoulder lightly.
“You’ve survived worse.”
I looked at him.
“Have I?”
“You survived losing Dad.”
My chest tightened slightly.
“You survived school.”
A tiny smile pulled at my lips.
“Barely.”
“You survived Clinton.”
The smile disappeared immediately.
Kingsley sighed dramatically.
“Okay, maybe not emotionally yet, but still.”
I laughed before I could stop myself.
A real laugh this time.
Small but real.
Kingsley smiled softly.
“There she is.”
Something warm settled briefly in my chest.
Not the bond.
Not pain.
Just comfort.
My brother always knew how to pull me back before I drowned completely.
Then his expression turned serious again.
“Listen to me carefully.”
I straightened slightly.
“If anything feels wrong,” he said quietly, “you tell me immediately.”
I nodded.
“I mean it, Angel.”
“I know.”
His eyes stayed on mine for a moment longer before he finally sighed.
“You should eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“That’s not a choice.”
“You sound like Mum.”
“Good. Someone has to.”
I rolled my eyes slightly.
And for the first time since yesterday… Everything didn’t feel completely dark.
Not completely.
Because no matter how confusing this place became…
No matter how cold Alex was…
No matter what Emerald planned…
I still had Kingsley. And right then
That felt like the only stable thing left in my life.
- Writer
