Page 242 of A Warrior's Fate

Isla sighed, knowing there was nothing she could say to him. Nothing to make it easier.

Ten years later and what happened to their mother—along with what had and hadn’t happened after she’d left them—haunted her brother more than he’d ever like to admit. Even if he’d only been fourteen when she disappeared, sixteen when their father felt their bond break, he felt responsible. Like he should’ve done, could’ve done, more to find her before it had been too late.

The sound of a heavy door opening and closing came from the front room, followed by that familiar tugging inside her.

Not long after, Kai and Rhydian, sans Ameera, entered the sitting room.

Isla abandoned her photos and met her mate at the entryway. Kai greeted her with open arms, a kiss on her hair, and an embrace too tight and too long for Isla to suspect anything but something wrong. She lifted her head to gaze at his face. “What happened?”

His eyes traced over her features before he kissed her forehead again, and they broke away from each other.

“No signs of the woman Daisy saw or the stand she was selling from,” Rhydian said, parting from Davina’s embrace.

“Where’s Ameera?” she asked, earning a sidelong glance from Sebastian that Isla didn’t miss.

“She went to check on Ezekiel,” Kai answered.

“Your beta?” It was Adrien who’d questioned it. He’d done so carefully, likely feeling what Isla had with Kai’s disposition. Higher ranking in the hierarchy or not, better not to push an alpha in his pack. Never mind his own home.

Kai nodded in confirmation along with, “Her father.”

And he left it at that.

Everything was left at that as a tension already lingering from the photographs bolstered in the room. Unspoken words sat on everyone’s tongues, and Isla had a feeling each person had something different to say or question.

Eventually, Rhydian broke the silence, throwing an arm around Davina, “Ready to head home, my love?”

“You can stay here,” Kai said, his tone unnervingly impassive. “We have plenty of room.”

Rhydian and Davina looked between each other, more in concern for their friend than anything, before agreeing to take the offer.

Kai turned on his heel. “I’m going to bed,” he said and stalked out of the room. Not even a goodnight.

Isla furrowed her brows and looked between where he’d disappeared and where everyone else stood.

“He’s been like that since you all left. You know how he gets.” Rhydian shrugged. “But I can’t figure out exactly what it is, though.”

Isla nodded as if accepting the challenge and looked at the boys. “You remember where your rooms are, right?”

They both gave sounds of agreement, and wasting no more time, Isla spun to follow her mate.

Kai had been quick and was already undressing in their bedroom when she opened the door. He tossed his shirt to the side and turned to face her.

“Are you o—”

Isla never got to finish the question. Kai’s mouth was on hers, and she was up in the air before she even had the chance.

He kicked the door closed behind them while her legs wrapped instinctually around his waist, her fingers knotting in his hair as he carried her over to their bed and laid her down on the mattress. He pressed his hips into her as he brought his body weight down, drawing the softest moans that he smothered with a kiss. Her shirt disappeared in one swift movement, and he braced his arms on either side of her head.

Isla could feel her mind swimming as she became lost in the feeling of his bare skin against hers, his warmth, the solidness he was. She wanted him to wash the night away. Wanted to get lost in this ecstasy, in his touch—that had gone to her breasts, tauntingly tracing along the hem of her undergarments, making her greedily bow into him—but she couldn’t. Because he clearly wanted the same.

She recognized these kisses of his. The ones that were heavy, weighted down by thoughts he’d rather ease the burden of with intimacy before they were shared.

“Kai,” she whispered as he trailed his lips down her neck to her chest, where his tongue teased as his fingers once had, while his free hand worked lower, lower. She groaned, feeling her stomach tighten, parts of her begging to feel him there next.

“Isla,” he muttered back against her skin, his mouth now making its way down, too. His fingers brushed that sensitive spot between her legs, making her whimper and arch for more. She felt him smile against her stomach, his fingers hooking into her waistband to remove her pants.

Isla ground her teeth.

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