Page 28 of A Warrior's Fate

“Pudge!”

The two wolves jumped back from each other and snapped their heads towards the doorway where the third member of their trio strode into the room with open arms. If Isla really needed a distraction from the darkness, Sebastian was surely the epitome of one.

“Have I ever told you how much I love you?” her brother asked, leaning against the pearly cabinet and folding his arms. His smile stretched as wide as his face. “My favorite baby sister.”

“I’m your only sister,” she replied plainly, with her own small but tired grin. “Why are you so happy?”

“You came in second,” he bellowed as if it were obvious. Upon the flat look he received from his compatriot, he added, “And you’re awake.”

Isla’s jaw went slack. “I was second? How?”

There was no way she was in any early position out of that forest. It had been too much time, and she hadn’t even gotten out on her own accord.

“You killed two bak, the alpha killed four, everyone else only got one of those suckers. You were one of the last ones out, sure—and barely, you know, alive—but they ranked you second.” He adjusted the collar of his coat. “And I just made a thousand bucks.”

She couldn’t hold in her laugh, both in disbelief at the fact she’d accomplished all she’d wanted and the fact that her sibling somehow always got his way.

“You have no shame.”

“What’s the point of being a brother if you can’t profit off your sister being a badass? And I’m not a monster, it’ll go straight towards your gift after you get your lumerosi.”

“Your generosity knows no bounds,” she deadpanned, but it was hard to keep a straight face.

New lumerosi, her ranking putting her in a prime position to be considered to lead a team in the coming years—it was all exactly as she hoped and envisioned. Although there was a small twinge of guilt in her heart, she tried to focus on the elation. “Where’s Dad? Does he know?”

“Emergency meeting in Callisto’s Hall—Imperial Alpha, the other alphas. They’re trying to figure out if we should really be worried about whatever the hell happened out there.”

The light dimmed from Isla’s face. “Emergency meeting?” She turned to Adrien. “Aren’t you usually there for things like that?”

Adrien shrugged. “I didn’t have to, and I wanted to make sure you were okay. I’ll get briefed on it later anyway.” Isla gave him a look. “And then, of course, I’ll tell you.”

She grinned as a “thank you” but did not refrain from a narrow of her eyes, a reminder that she hadn’t forgotten him keeping Kai’s secret from her.

Sebastian paced over to look out the window, his eyes squinted as if searching for something. “Could those bastards really be evolving to be smart enough to work together?”

Isla bit the inside of her cheek. There were more issues than the fact they’d ambushed in groups, that they’d gotten within feet of each other without first battling over who would get the chance to have her as a meal. Their killer instinct wasn’t just reserved for intruders—at least, it hadn’t been.

“It didn’t kill me.” Isla swallowed, trying to dispel the detail without the barrage of mental baggage. “Two times I should’ve been dead, yet I’m here. It took its time. It…taunted me.” She heard Adrien move, ready to jump up, wary she was about to fall down a rabbit hole. She almost had but steeled herself. “It didn’t make sense, and it still doesn’t.”

Her words hung thick in the air, even for Sebastian who didn’t have an immediate quip. They all went quiet, mulling it over. It bubbled into a tension that they typically didn’t find themselves in. A tension that was soon broken by a figure crossing the threshold into the room.

Isla didn’t even need to look to know who it was. She hadn’t expected her body’s reaction to be so…intense.

Kai was dressed in plain dark clothes with bandages peeking out beneath the neckline of his shirt. When Isla met his eyes, she was washed by an overwhelming sense of ease, comfort, and peace. Like she had been in the Wilds but amplified ten-thousand times. He didn’t send her pulse skyrocketing, he didn’t make her catch her breath, didn’t send her burning with desire this time—at least, not in a lustful way. She just wanted him close. Not ravaging her body, but caring for it, for her.

“Hi.” The word fell from her mouth simply before she cleared her throat, recalling their company. “Alpha.”

“Hi.” Kai looked between the three of them, making sure to lower his head to Adrien who just edged him out in the hierarchy. “I heard you were awake; I thought I’d come check on you.”

There was a flash of perplexity on the boys’ faces, likely wondering how he knew she’d awoken and why he’d gone through the trouble to come see her in the first place. Even with the act of heroism, there was no other known attachment between them. Most alphas would take the glory and disappear to continue with their leader duties, not visit the common girl they’d rescued.

“I’ll be departing for Mavec in the morning,” Kai added, feeding Isla’s understanding of why he’d visited and not so much theirs, “so, I wanted to see how you were doing before I left.”

So, this was it. The last time they’d speak. She tried to ignore the small pit forming in her stomach.

“I’m okay. Recovering.” Isla winced as she held up her arm for proof. “Thank you.” There was no need for the clarification that her gratitude was two-fold.

Kai nodded in response. “Good to hear.” He looked between the boys before meeting Isla’s eyes again. She wished she could decipher the words in his. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”

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