Page 85 of A Warrior's Fate

Sebastian snorted but didn’t make any type of “Warrior Princess” remark as she’d expected. Instead, his face turned serious. “Does Dad know about you and the alpha?”

Isla bit into her chip and answered once she swallowed. “No. No one else knows except for you guys and Kai’s beta.”

“The beta knows?”

“Yes, and it has to stay that way. I meant it when I said you can’t tell anyone,” she warned, reaching back into the bowl. “Why are you asking?”

Sebastian took a few steps forward. “That’s where I was during everything with the Gate when Lukas emerged. Why I wasn’t around. Dad wanted me to tail the Alpha or Beta of Deimos, whoever I could find—which was the beta for a little while until I lost him.”

Isla had ceased bringing the snack to her mouth mid-motion, her eyes narrowing. “Why?”

Sebastian shrugged his shoulders. “He doesn’t trust them." As her perplexed look persisted, he meandered his way to the kitchen. “Deimos has always been a mess to deal with, but Alpha Kyran…” He trailed off, seemingly choosing his words more carefully than she thought he ever had in his life. “From how I’ve heard Dad and other Council members complain, he was a different kind of bastard.” Before Isla could ask how, he continued, though the account diverged, “You and Lukas are the only two people who had to face multiple bak during the Hunt. The only ones. Fourteen hunters descended, and the Wilds is massive. You were either in the wrong place at the wrong time or targeted in there.”

Isla had never thought of that—how no one else had claimed to encounter multiple beasts. She replayed Sebastian’s words. Wrong place, wrong time…or targeted.

That latter option rang loudest.

“Where does Deimos fit into this?” she questioned.

Now Sebastian really took his time in crafting his answer. “If the alpha…if Kai had felt like avenging his father, he could’ve somehow drawn the bak to you with food or blood or—”

“Why would hurting me be avenging his father?”

“I guess we denied a lot of his proposals or something. I don’t know what they were for. Dad won’t tell me, and Alpha Cassius won’t tell Adrien.”

“Adrien didn’t go to the meetings? I thought he always got to attend the forums with other alphas?”

“They were private audiences. Not open forums. Alpha Kyran requested four of them with the Imperial Alpha within the past year. Alpha Cassius figured three was enough.”

“He denied the fourth?” Isla couldn’t even believe the Imperial Alpha had entertained him for three.

“A month before he died.” Sebastian let the words sit a while—as if leaving the air for respectful silence for the fallen—before he added, “If the former alpha went with unspoken grievances, if we wouldn’t listen, killing you is one way to get our attention…or saving you.” Another pause. “But if the alpha’s your mate, it disproves that theory.”

Does it? Isla thought, but then immediately brushed it away.

If Sebastian had brought this up before they’d gone on the Hunt—right after she and Kai had just met—she may have said no, it didn’t disprove anything. She did have a vague idea of how hard Deimos had been to deal with. Knew they’d withheld information and lied to Io in the past. So easily had she questioned a product of their pack a family-slaying killer. Her own mate for Goddess’s sake.

But she didn’t feel that way anymore. At least, not about Kai. His survival was twined with hers. Talk about leverage.

Isla had to sit down as she broke down each of Sebastian’s words, but he interrupted her thoughts with a question. “How did he know where to find you?”

“The bond,” she stated warily, absentmindedly tracing her fingers over the hilt of the dagger. “He knew when I started fighting my first bak and stayed back to track me. To make sure I was okay—and then, I wasn’t.”

“It’s that strong?”

Isla looked up to find her brother’s eyes filled with curiosity, and it dawned on her. Adrien had his chosen bond, she’d now found her fated, but Sebastian had never known what any connection felt like. She wondered if he even cared. He seemed invested as she spoke shallowly about how the bond and feelings came and went. How they were most potent when the emotions were strong enough in any sort of way. She purposely neglected to mention how much they’d wanted to jump each other upon first meeting.

“It was all involuntary,” she finished explaining, gazing at her hand. “Or most of it was.”

Sebastian pulled out a chair and sat beside her, beyond the counter’s corner. “Can you feel it now?” His tone had been edged in concern, surely prompted by her earlier meltdown. Another embarrassment today. Noting the absence of a particular member of their usual party, she held back her question as to where Adrien was.

“No,” she responded, nearly as soft as the sound of her finger gliding over the cool metal of the blade.

“And that’s okay.” Not a question, but a statement. Though unsure.

Yes.

“It’s what we want.”

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