Chapter 29
[Kaelen’s Penthouse]
Kaelen woke to silence and with a strange sense of steadiness and the kind of peace he had never experienced before.
That alone made him sit up.
Sunlight filtered through the tall glass windows of the penthouse, pale and clean, stretching across stone floors and dark furniture. The city moved below him, distant and unaware.
Inside him, the curse was quiet.
It was not gone but resting.
Kaelen pressed a hand to his chest slowly, as if expecting the familiar burn to surge the moment he acknowledged it.
It didn’t.
His jaw tightened because that scared him more than any loss of control ever had.
Last night replayed in fragments, the pressure, the breaking point, the moment his vision had locked onto her across the room. The instant the chaos inside him had stilled.
Lyra Hale.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed.
Just then a knock sounded at the door.
“Come in,” Kaelen said.
Riven entered, already reading the room the way he always did. His eyes flicked to Kaelen’s posture, his breathing, the absence of restraints.
“You are upright,” Riven said slowly. “That’s new p>
Kaelen didn’t answer immediately.
Riven stepped closer. “How is it p>
Kaelen finally looked at him. “Quiet p>
“That doesn’t happen,” Riven said.
“I know p>
The word sat heavy between them.
Riven folded his arms. “Well, something different happened yesterday p>
Kaelen’s gaze drifted toward the window, unfocused. “The curse surged,” he said. “Harder than it has in years p>
Riven’s expression darkened. “And then p>
“And then it stopped p>
Riven let out a sharp breath. “Because of her p>
Kaelen didn’t deny it.
“How is she?” Kaelen asked quietly.
Riven studied him for a long moment before answering. “Pale, exhausted. I asked Jacob to give her a day off p>
Kaelen’s fingers curled slowly against his thigh. Guilt twisted sharp and unwelcome in his chest.
“I think she felt it too,” he murmured.
“Yes,” Riven said. “Varyn confirmed it. Whatever you felt, she felt the other end p>
Silence stretched again.
Riven broke it carefully. “Kaelen, you need to tell me what this is p>
Kaelen closed his eyes briefly.
When he opened them, the fear was no longer something he bothered hiding.
“She is my mate p>
The words felt quiet and absolute.
Riven froze and for a heartbeat, the room felt too small.
“Are you sure?” Riven asked, though his voice had already lost conviction.
Kaelen gave a humorless smile. “I have lived with this curse my entire life. I know the difference between instinct and fate p>
Riven exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair. “That’s a problem p>
“I know p>
“She calmed it down,” Riven said. “That shouldn’t be possible p>
“And yet,” Kaelen replied, “it happened p>
Riven looked at him sharply. “Do you understand what that means p>
“I am not sure but it surely means she’s in danger,” Kaelen said immediately.
“And it means you are,” Riven added. “If the packs find out—if the Shadowed Ones sense the shift p>
“They already have,” Kaelen interrupted.
Riven went still. “You felt it p>
“Yes.” Kaelen’s voice dropped. “Something old stirred when she collapsed. They definitely felt it p>
Riven cursed under his breath.
“You can’t go near her,” he said. “Not yet p>
Kaelen’s jaw tightened. “I don’t intend to p>
“That’s not what I meant p>
Kaelen looked at him then, eyes hard. “I will not mark her. I will not touch her and I will not pull her into my world until I understand what she is to this curse p>
Riven searched his face. “And if she is the only thing keeping it from destroying you p>
Kaelen didn’t answer right away.
When he did, his voice was steady but raw. “Then I will stay away from her long enough to keep her alive p>
Riven held his gaze.
“That’s not how mate bonds work,” he said quietly.
Kaelen looked back toward the city.
“I have been defying fate my entire life,” he replied. “What’s one more war p>
The curse stirred faintly at his defiance but it didn’t rise and that terrified him more than anything else.
[Seraphina’s Place]
Lyra woke to muted light and the familiar scent of dried herbs.
She knew where she was the moment she opened her eyes, it was Seraphina’s place.
She lay still for a few seconds, letting her body adjust. The exhaustion was still there, heavy but manageable now, like the aftermath of a fever rather than something actively wrong.
When she turned her head, she wasn’t surprised to see Rogan sitting beside the bed.
He looked like he hadn’t slept.
“You are awake,” he said quietly.
Lyra nodded. “I didn’t want to sleep anymore p>
Rogan shifted in his chair, leaning forward slightly. “How do you feel p>
“Tired,” she answered honestly. “But clearer p>
That seemed to unsettle him more than if she had said she felt awful.
She pushed herself up against the pillows and Rogan didn’t stop her this time.
“You came back.” she said.
“Yes p>
There was a pause.
“Seraphina?” Lyra asked.
“She had to step out early,” Rogan replied. “She will be back p>
Lyra studied his face for a moment, then looked away. “Something happened last night,” she said.
Rogan didn’t deny it.
“I felt it too,” Lyra continued softly. “Not just fainting, something else p>
Rogan’s jaw tightened.
“I know you felt something,” he said. “And I know you want answers p>
She waited.
“But whatever it is,” he went on, voice controlled, “it’s not something I can explain halfway. And it’s not something you should hear without Seraphina here p>
Lyra frowned faintly. “Why p>
“Because once you know,” Rogan said, meeting her gaze, “it won’t just change how you see yourself. It will change how others see you p>
The words settled uneasily in her chest.
Lyra hugged her knees closer. “So you are asking me to wait p>
“Yes p>
“For how long p>
“Until she comes back,” he said. “Then I will tell you everything, I promise p>
She searched for his expression for a long moment.
Rogan had always been careful with her, protective but this felt different. Like he was holding a door shut with his whole weight.
“Okay,” she said finally.
Relief crossed his face, quick and unguarded.
“Thank you,” he murmured.
Lyra turned her gaze toward the window again.
She didn’t know what Rogan and Seraphina were afraid of but she knew this much with quiet certainty whatever had brushed against her last night hadn’t gone away.
It was only waiting and the beginning of something.