Chapter 130
Kai POV
I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. The only thing that mattered was finding Lily.
I ignored my mom calling out to me to at least shave but her voice faded into background noise. My wolf – Hud was clawing at my insides, desperate to reach our mate. The revelation that Lily was meant to be mine had ignited something primal within me—a need that couldn’t be reasoned with or contained.
I drove recklessly through town, my knuckles white against the steering wheel. Questions passing through my mind: Did Lily feel the connection too? Had she been experiencing the same inexplicable pull that had been tormenting me despite the short break? And most importantly—was she safe?
When I reached her dormitory, I pounded on her door with enough force to make the hinges rattle.
“Lily!” I called, not caring who heard me. “Lily, open up p>
After several minutes of relentless knocking, a door across the hall opened. A girl with sleep-mussed hair and annoyed eyes poked her head out.
“Would you stop that racket?” she snapped. “Some of us are trying to sleep off midterms p>
I turned to her, barely containing the growl building in my throat. “I need to find Lily. Is she here p>
The girl rolled her eyes. “She left last night. Seemed in a hurry p>
My heart rate spiked. “Did she say where she was going p>
“Do I look like her secretary?” The girl started to close her door, but my hand shot out, holding it open.
“Please,” I said, forcing my voice to soften. “It’s important p>
Something in my expression must have convinced her because she sighed. “Look, I don’t know where she went, but she had a bag with her. Like she was planning to stay somewhere for a while p>
I nodded my thanks and was already halfway down the hall before her door clicked shut.
Celeste. Lily would go to my sister. Despite our strained relationship lately, Celeste and Lily had formed a fast friendship. If Lily needed somewhere safe to stay, that’s where she’d go.
The drive to my sister’s house on the edge of pack territory felt endless. By the time I pulled into her driveway, Hud, was so close to the surface that I could feel my canines elongating. I had to take several deep breaths before getting out of the car, forcing myself to appear calm even as every instinct screamed at me to find Lily, to claim her, to protect her.
I didn’t bother knocking, just pushed through the front door. The scent hit me immediately—Lily had been here. Recently. Her sweet, intoxicating scent mingled with pine and vanilla laced the air, making my head spin.
“Celeste?” I called, following the sounds of conversation to the kitchen.
I stopped short in the doorway. My grandparents sat at the kitchen table with Celeste, all three of them holding steaming mugs of coffee. Their hushed conversation died abruptly when I appeared.
“Kai,” my grandmother said, surprise evident in her voice. “What are you doing here so early p>
I nodded absently in greeting, my eyes scanning the room. “Where’s Lily p>
The three of them exchanged glances that set off warning bells in my head.
“Sit down, Kai,” my grandfather said, his tone carrying the authority that had once commanded our entire pack before my father took over. “You look like you’re about to shift right here in the kitchen p>
“I don’t want to sit,” I snapped, then immediately regretted my tone. “I’m sorry. I just—I need to see Lily. Now p>
Celeste stood, moving between me and the doorway as if she thought I might tear the house apart looking for Lily. Maybe I would.
“You need to calm down first,” she said, her eyes narrowed. “What’s going on with you? You look… unhinged p>
I could read the concern in her face, but beneath it lay something else—suspicion, maybe even fear. My own sister didn’t trust that Lily was safe around me. The realization stung, but I couldn’t blame her. Not if what my mother had told me about my past was true plus what she had witnessed the other day.
“Mom told me everything,” I said, my voice dropping to almost a whisper. “About my first mate. About what happened to me when the bond formed p>
My grandmother gasped softly, and my grandfather’s expression hardened. Celeste just looked confused.
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“It doesn’t matter right now,” I insisted. “I just need to talk to Lily. It’s important p>
Celeste crossed her arms. “She’s not here p>
“Don’t lie to me,” I growled, my patience fraying. “I can smell her p>
“She was here,” my grandmother intervened, her voice gentle. “But she went out early this morning p>
“Where?” I demanded.
“Kai,” my grandfather’s voice carried a warning. “You need to get yourself under control. Your eyes are changing p>
I closed my eyes, forcing my wolf back down. When I opened them again, Celeste was watching me warily.
“She said she needed some air,” Celeste finally said. “She went to see the old pack gardens by the lake with James p>
Relief flooded me—he was family, someone safe—followed immediately by an irrational surge of jealousy. My wolf didn’t want any male near Lily, related or not.
“When will they be back?” I asked, fighting to keep my voice steady.
As if on cue, I heard footsteps on the porch, followed by the sound of the front door opening. Lily’s scent grew stronger, washing over me in intoxicating waves. My entire body tensed in anticipation.
And then she appeared in the doorway, cheeks flushed from the morning air, her dark hair falling in waves around her shoulders. Everything else faded away—my grandparents, Celeste, my own name—everything except Lily.
Until I noticed her hand, firmly clasped in a man’s own that didn’t look familiar.
Time seemed to stop. My gaze fixed on their intertwined fingers, on the way the man stood slightly in front of her, protective. On the way Lily’s eyes widened when she saw me, her body instinctively stepping closer to the man.
Not away from danger. Away from me.
The room went deadly silent. I could hear five heartbeats—mine thundering painfully in my chest, and the four others, one of which—Lily’s—had accelerated to match my own frantic rhythm.
“Kai,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “What are you doing here p>
Before I could answer, the strange man moved slightly, positioning himself more firmly between us. The gesture was subtle, but its meaning couldn’t have been clearer: he was protecting her from me.
“I came to see you,” I managed to say, fighting every instinct that demanded I tear the man’s hand from hers. “We need to talk p>
Something flashed in her eyes—fear? Confusion? I couldn’t tell, and it was driving me mad.
“Now’s not a good time,” the man said, his tone respectful but firm.
I took a step forward, unable to stop myself. “I wasn’t asking you p>
The tension in the room thickened. I could feel my control slipping, my wolf rising in response to the threat—imagined or real—to our claim on our mate.
“Kai,” Celeste’s voice cut through the haze of jealousy and possessiveness. “Don’t p>
Just that one word, laden with warning, was enough to make me hesitate. I looked at Lily again, really looked at her, and what I saw made my heart sink. She was frightened. Of me.
Whatever connection I thought we had, whatever my mother had seen in her visions, Lily didn’t feel it. Or worse—she did, and it terrified her.
“I’m sorry,” I said, taking a deliberate step back. “I shouldn’t have come barging in like this p>
The relief on Lily’s face was like a knife to my gut. The man squeezed her hand reassuringly, and I had to look away.
“Maybe we can talk later,” Lily offered, her voice kinder than I deserved.
I nodded, not trusting myself to speak again. As I turned to leave, fighting every instinct that screamed at me to stay, to claim, to make her understand, one thought burned through my mind:
Something was very wrong. And I wasn’t going to rest until I figured out what it was just as I reached for the hand of the door, a voice rang out.
“Are you in pain, Alpha Kai p>
When I turned, it was the strange man with Lily.
I felt anger surge through my body. Hud was snarling. “And who might you be to ask me questions p>
“I am Lily’s Uncle. She’s my niece p>