Chapter 20
[Blackthorn Enterprise—Next Day]
Riven didn’t announce his visit.
He stepped into the Operations floor mid-morning, suit immaculate and expression relaxed enough that a few heads lifted in surprise rather than alarm. The low hum of work continued, keyboards clicking, phones ringing softly.
Jacob noticed him a second later and straightened at once. “Sir—good morning p>
“Relax,” Riven said easily. “I am not here to audit anyone p>
A few nervous smiles appeared.
Riven’s gaze drifted casually across the floor as he spoke. “I heard your team pulled overtime last night p>
Jacob nodded. “Yes, sir. The deadline was moved up unexpectedly p>
“Makes sense,” Riven replied. “Everyone stayed back p>
“Yes p>
Riven walked a few steps farther in, his eyes scanning faces, desks, chairs.
There were too many scents and too many heartbeats but the one he was looking for was missing.
He stopped beside Jacob. “Everyone p>
Jacob blinked, then nodded again. “Yes, sir. The whole team p>
Riven tilted his head slightly, as if thinking. “Including the new hire p>
Jacob’s expression softened. “Lyra? Yes, she stayed until late p>
“And today?” Riven asked lightly.
“She took a personal day,” Jacob said. “She wasn’t feeling well last night. Looked pretty pale, actually p>
Riven didn’t respond right away.
His gaze flicked instinctively toward the desk near the aisle, neat, organized, empty p>
“I see,” he said at last, tone unchanged. “Make sure she doesn’t rush back p>
“Of course p>
Riven offered a polite nod and turned away, hands slipping into his pockets as he walked out.
Only once he was gone did the tension ease on the floor.
In the hallway, Riven slowed.
He didn’t draw conclusions, not yet but he didn’t like coincidences.
And he especially didn’t like the way this one fit.
[Kaelen’s Penthouse]
Riven reached the top floor just before noon.
The penthouse occupied the entire level of the Blackthorn tower, hidden behind biometric locks and soundproof walls.
Floor-to-ceiling windows curved around the space, overlooking the city in quiet dominance. Steel, glass and dark wood defined the interior, minimal, controlled, precise.
It didn’t feel like a home but more like a fortress.
The lights were dimmed, the air was cool and still. No staff, no movement, just silence layered over power.
Riven moved through the space without calling out. He already knew where Kaelen would be.
When he entered the room, Kaelen was asleep.
He lay stretched across the couch near the windows with one arm draped loosely over his eyes, chest rising and falling in slow, measured breaths.
The city lights spilled across his face, catching faint shadows beneath his eyes that no amount of control could erase.
The curse had taken its toll.
Elder Varyn stood a short distance away, hands folded behind his back and his gaze never leaving the Alpha. His presence was quiet, reverent, like a sentinel guarding something fragile.
Riven stopped just inside the room.
“He hasn’t slept like this in weeks,” Varyn said softly, without looking away.
Riven nodded. “He almost lost control last night p>
“Yes,” Varyn replied. “The pull resurfaced p>
Riven exhaled slowly. “It happened inside the Enterprise p>
That made Varyn turn.
“Inside?” he echoed.
“Yes, Operations and a few from Finance worked overtime. The timing matches p>
Varyn exhaled slowly. “Then the curse is responding to proximity p>
“Lyra Hale—” Riven lowered his voice instinctively, glancing at Kaelen. “We crossed her off the list p>
Varyn’s expression remained unreadable. “And yet you are here p>
“She was there when it happened,” Riven said. “And today, she isn’t p>
Varyn went still.
“One absence doesn’t prove anything,” he said carefully.
“No,” Riven agreed. “But patterns do p>
Varyn looked back at Kaelen, something old and weary settling into his eyes. “You know why this terrifies him p>
He looked at Riven. “Because for every other wolf, the pull is a blessing and for him—” he sighed, “It is a trigger p>
Riven folded his arms. “Every wolf feels it when they find their mate, the recognition, the draw p>
“Yes,” Varyn said. “But for Kaelen, the moment the bond begins to form, the curse awakens with it p>
Riven remembered the first time it had happened. The blood, the screams and the loss that followed still haunted the pack.
“The closer the mate,” Varyn went on, “the stronger the fracture. His wolf doesn’t calm, it destabilizes and control becomes optional p>
“And if the bond completes?” Riven asked, though he already knew the answer.
Varyn’s voice dropped lower. “The curse takes over completely p>
Riven looked at Kaelen again. He looked powerful even in sleep and dangerous without meaning to be.
“That’s why he ran to the Sacred Valley,” Riven said quietly. “That’s why he refuses to let anyone close p>
“Because he knows what he becomes,” Varyn replied. “And he refuses to be that monster again p>
“Does it affect her?” he asked.
Varyn turned fully toward him. “The mate p>
“Yes,” Riven said. “Whoever she is. When the pull activates, does she feel it too p>
Varyn didn’t hesitate.
“It does,” he said. “The bond is not one-sided. If the pull destabilizes Kaelen, it unsettles her as well p>
Riven frowned slightly. “In what way p>
“Pressure,disorientation, physical strain,” Varyn replied. “The bond tries to form and her body responds whether she understands it or not p>
Riven went still.
“If it’s hard on Kaelen,” Varyn continued quietly, “then it’s hard on her too, especially if she doesn’t know what’s happening p>
Riven’s mind shifted immediately.
Jacob’s voice echoed in his memory.
’She looked pretty pale, actually p>
“She took today off,” Riven murmured. “Personal day, under the weather p>
Varyn’s eyes sharpened. “After being present during the surge p>
“Yes p>
Varyn looked back at Kaelen, something thoughtful settling into his expression. “Then whoever she is, the bond has already begun testing her limits p>
Riven’s jaw tightened.
“And she doesn’t even know it,” he said.
“No,” Varyn agreed. “Which makes her vulnerable p>
They both fell silent, watching Kaelen sleep, powerful, dangerous and utterly unaware of how close the inevitable was drawing.
Riven spoke again, softer this time.
“If she is feeling it too,” he said, “then keeping them apart won’t protect her p>
Varyn nodded slowly. “It never does p>