Page 63 of The Alpha King's Hunt
"Actually," he says, voice shifting, hands restless for once. "There's something I need to tell you."
He hesitates, eyes flicking to mine. "When it happened, when you were?—"
The door bursts open.
The sound hits like a shockwave; I flinch, pain knifing through my side. Octavian’s hand hovering near my shoulder but stopping short, a habit, or a boundary, or both.
And in that small distance between his hand and my skin, everything we haven't said hums like live wire.
I see Callum storm in, Declan and Lyra behind him.
"You okay?" Callum demands, eyes scanning me.
"I told you, she's fine," Declan says. "Lyra already checked her out."
"God, Keira," Callum says, looking me over.
"I'm fine," I say quickly and clear my throat. "Really. I'm ok."
"You sure?" he asks.
"I already checked her vitals when we got her," Lyra says.
"I know, I know, but I want to hear it from her," Callum says.
"Yes, Cal. I'm ok."
He breathes a sigh of relief and then nods to Octavian. "Thanks to him, I suppose."
I glance at Octavian, who's moved back to the chair like he's trying to give us space.
"Yeah," I say. "Absolutely."
Lyra sets her bag down on the bed and starts pulling out who knows what.
She doesn't ask permission. She just starts working.
"Now that you're up," she says, shining the light in my eyes, "I want to just check some things. How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Two."
"Good. Follow the light."
I do as she says, and she hums, satisfied.
Declan leans forward, his arms crossed. "What do you remember?"
I try to piece it together. "Not a whole lot," I say, my throat tightening. "You'd have to ask him," I say and point to Octavian.
"Already did," Declan says. "Motherfucker put a bullet in the guy's head who detonated the bomb, plus a few more."
I look at Octavian, who doesn't give me anything.
Callum paces. "We're working on identifying him. Declan's man Shane is already pulling footage."
"Shadowharbor, obviously," I say. The word tastes bitter. "It has to be. I was supposed to meet with their VIPs and they all canceled last minute. Now I know why."
Lyra presses her fingers against my ribs, and I hiss, jerking away.
