072
1646 Words
~Iris
I miss Ky.
I didn’t mean to think it so bluntly. I didn’t mean for it to hit me the moment I woke up, or when I passed the coffee shop where she used to steal the first sip from my cup, or when my phone stayed stubbornly quiet for hours.
But I missed her.
The night before she left keeps replaying in my head.
We didn’t do anything reckless.
We didn’t promise forever.
We just… existed.
She had come over late. The room was dim, the only light coming from the lamp beside my bed. I remember how she stood there for a second, just looking at me like she was memorizing something.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I told her.
“Like what?”
“Like you’re about to miss me.”
She smiled softly. “I am.”
We lay on my bed facing each other, knees brushing, hands intertwined between us. No chaos. No rivalry. No hallway confrontations.
Just quiet.
She traced slow circles over my knuckles.
“You’re going to overthink while I’m gone,” she murmured.
“I am not.”
“You are.”
I sighed. “Maybe.”
She leaned closer, pressing her forehead against mine. “Don’t let guilt eat you alive.”
I stilled.
“I know you,” she whispered. “You carry everyone.”
“And you don’t?” I shot back gently.
She smirked. “I carry what’s mine.”
The air shifted then,softer, heavier. She brushed her lips against mine, slow and intentional. Not urgent. Not desperate.
Just real.
I melted into it.
Her hand slid to my waist, steady and warm. Mine curled into the back of her shirt. The kiss deepened slightly, familiar and tender, like something we both understood without needing to explain.
“I love you,” she breathed against my mouth.
I swallowed. “I love you too.”
No confusion in that moment. No competing thoughts. Just us.
When she finally pulled away, she didn’t leave immediately. She stayed curled around me for hours, our legs tangled, her breath steady against my shoulder.
At some point, she whispered, “When I come back… we’ll figure it out.”
I didn’t ask what “it” meant.
I just nodded against her chest.
Now it’s been a week.
And everything feels… strangely calm.
Alice and I are fine.
Actually fine.
We study together. We laugh. We walk to class side by side. Sometimes she bumps her shoulder into mine like she used to, and it doesn’t hurt the way I expect it to.
We haven’t talked about labels.
We haven’t talked about that night again.
We’re just… best friends.
I think.
At night, sometimes she still falls asleep on my shoulder while we’re watching something stupid. Sometimes I wake up and she’s there, breathing softly, her hand resting lightly against my arm.
It’s comfortable.
Safe.
But not the same.
And I don’t know if that’s growth… or distance.
Eunice, on the other hand, has been quiet.
Too quiet.
She hasn’t cornered me in hallways.
Hasn’t made sly comments.
Hasn’t brushed past me with that calculated smirk.
Nothing.
It’s strange.
Because it’s been three weeks since she walked in on Duncan and me.
Three weeks since she caught us tangled together in his chambers.
Three weeks since she saw exactly how deeply he had chosen me.
And she hasn’t retaliated.
That doesn't sound like Eunice. At least should she be mad, that her brother gets to f**k me before her.
Eunice does not forget humiliation.
She doesn’t forgive it either.
Silence from her isn’t peace.
It’s strategy.
I told myself I was being paranoid.
Until today.
I didn’t mean to spy.
That was the lie I told myself as I slipped through the back corridors of the academy, heart thudding, palms damp.
Eunice had been too quiet lately,no taunts, no sudden appearances, no calculated touches meant to unnerve me.
Silence from her was never peace.
It was preparation.
So I followed my instincts.
The old council chambers hadn’t been used in years. The place still smelled of dust, old magic, and decisions soaked in blood. I pushed the heavy door open just enough to slip inside, easing it shut behind me.
And froze.
Two voices echoed from the inner chamber.
One of them I knew far too well.
Eunice.
Her tone was different.lower, stripped of her usual theatrical flirtation. This was her true voice. Sharp. Calculating. Dangerous.
The other voice was male. Deep. Smooth in a way that crawled under my skin.
“You’re sure he’ll accept the challenge?” the man asked.
“He won’t have a choice,” Eunice replied coolly. “Duncan Blackwood lives by pack law.
A formal challenge from Crimson Ridge, witnessed and sanctioned, forces him to participate.”
My breath caught.
Crimson Ridge.
No. No, no, no.
I moved silently, pressing myself behind one of the broken marble pillars, heart pounding so loudly I was sure they’d hear it.
The man stepped into view.
Cassian.
Alpha Cassian of Crimson Ridge.
He was even more terrifying up close,handsome in a sharp, predatory way.
The kind of beauty that hid cruelty behind charm. His dark eyes flicked lazily across the room as if he owned it already.
“And after the challenge?” he asked. “You promised something more… final.”
Eunice smiled.
It was not the smile she wore in public.
This one was cold.
Certain.
“The full moon run,” she said. “Duncan always runs the boundary lines personally. It’s tradition. Predictable. Romantic, even.”
She scoffed.
“He won’t see it coming.”
Cassian chuckled. “An ambush during sacred tradition. Bold.”
“Necessary,” Eunice snapped. “Silver weapons. Wolfsbane-tipped. My people will be positioned at the ravine bend,narrow terrain, poor visibility. One clean strike to the heart.”
My knees nearly buckled.
They weren’t just plotting an attack.
They were planning an execution.
“And the omega?” Cassian asked casually, as if discussing weather.
Eunice’s gaze darkened. “Iris dies if she’s with him. If not…”
She shrugged.
“She’ll break without him.”
Something twisted violently in my chest. I pressed a hand over my mouth to keep from making a sound.
Cassian stepped closer to her, lowering his voice. “You’re risking everything for this. Your brother. Your pack.”
Eunice laughed softly. “I already lost everything the moment he chose her. This just evens the scales.”
Then, quieter,poisonous.
“She was never supposed to be his mate.”
Cassian’s lips curved. “Still angry about that night?”
Her eyes flickered,not with shame, but irritation. “That night meant nothing. You were leverage before I even knew I needed you.”
He didn’t look offended. If anything, he looked impressed.
“Once Duncan is dead,” Cassian said, “Crimson Ridge absorbs his territory. You rule at my side. Luna.”
Eunice’s fingers tightened around the edge of the table. “I rule. With or without you. Don’t confuse alliance with ownership.”
Cassian raised his hands in mock surrender. “Of course. Partners, then.”
They sealed it with a glance.
Not a kiss. Not affection.
An agreement soaked in blood.
I felt sick.
The door creaked somewhere down the corridor.
Eunice stiffened. “Did you hear that?”
My heart slammed against my ribs. I didn’t breathe. I didn’t move. I prayed,something I hadn’t done in years.
Cassian tilted his head, listening. After a long moment, he smirked. “Just the building settling. Relax.”
Eunice exhaled slowly. “Good. Because if anyone overheard this..”
“They’d already be dead,” Cassian finished calmly.
They turned and walked out through the opposite exit.
Only when their footsteps faded did I slide down against the pillar, legs shaking so badly I couldn’t stand.
They were going to kill him.
Not someday.
Not maybe.
During the full moon run.
I pressed my forehead to my knees, fighting the urge to sob.
I had proof now.
And absolutely no idea how to save him without destroying everything else.
For a long time, I just sat there in the dust and silence, listening to the echo of their voices replay in my head.
Silver weapons.
Wolfsbane-tipped.
Ravine bend.
Every detail carved itself into my memory like a blade.
The full moon run was sacred. It wasn’t just tradition,it was history. Alphas had run those boundary lines for generations, proving strength, reaffirming territory, reminding the pack that their leader still stood at the front.
Duncan loved that run.
He told me once that it was the only time he felt completely untethered. No council. No politics. No expectations. Just wind in his lungs and the moon above him.
They were going to turn his sanctuary into a grave.
I forced myself to breathe slowly.
Panic would not save him.
Crying would not stop a silver bullet.
Think.
If I ran to Duncan right now and told him everything, what would happen?
He would storm into Eunice’s chambers. He would confront her. He would demand answers.
And she would deny everything.
Cassian would vanish back to Crimson Ridge, untouchable. There were no witnesses. No recordings. No proof.
It would become my word against an Alpha and his sister.
And Eunice was smarter than that. She had chosen a place without surveillance for a reason.
If I accused her publicly and couldn’t prove it, I would look paranoid. Emotional. The insecure omega afraid of losing her mate.
Exactly the image she wanted.
And worse,Duncan would still run.
He was too proud to cancel the full moon run because of an unverified threat. That would look like weakness. It would shake the pack’s confidence.
No.
I need to do something. But I have no idea on what to do.
- Writer
