Kiara's POV
The silence after Draven's exit was worse than the battle. No growls. No snarls. Just the weight of his words hanging over us, pressing like chains I couldn't see.
Grey hadn't moved since slamming his fist into the table. His silver eyes burned like ice and fire both, but he refused to look at me. Xander, though—he never looked away. His golden gaze pinned me, desperate, pleading, protective in a way that made my chest ache.
Kaine lounged like it was all a performance, blood still dripping from a gash down his cheek, lips curved in that half-mad smile of his. He thrived in the wreckage.
I was the wreckage.
"Kiara," Grey finally said, voice low, dangerous. "Don't listen to him."
I swallowed, throat raw. "Why not? Because he's lying? Or because he said something I wasn't supposed to know?"
Grey's jaw clenched, silent.
My heart cracked.
Xander rose, shoving his chair back. "She deserves the truth, Grey. You can't shield her forever. Draven's right—you're losing control. Every time your wolf touches her, it gets worse."
"Shut your mouth." Grey's growl rattled the walls.
"Or what?" Xander's voice was steady, gold burning bright in his eyes. "You'll kill me? Go ahead. That won't change the fact that your bond is choking her."
I stood so fast the chair tipped over. "Stop it. Both of you." My chest heaved, my wolf clawing restlessly. "Do you even hear yourselves? You're not fighting for me. You're fighting to win. Like I'm some prize."
"Because you are," Kaine said lazily, licking blood from his knuckles. "The Moon's prize. The curse's prize. Our prize. Take your pick."
I spun on him. "Shut up."
He only grinned, teeth flashing. "Touched a nerve, did I?"
Grey was on him in an instant, claws at his throat. "Say another word and you'll bleed out where you sit."
"Kill me then," Kaine hissed, eyes glinting with madness. "But it won't change what she is. What she'll become."
Grey's hand trembled but didn't move.
I hated that Draven's words still echoed in me, hated that Kaine's madness rang truer than I wanted to believe. Something was wrong inside me. I'd felt it for weeks—the way my chest burned when Grey touched me, the way Selene clawed harder every time his wolf surfaced.
Maybe Draven hadn't been lying at all.
"Enough," I whispered, but no one heard. My vision blurred, heat crawling up my spine, Selene stirring with a fury that made my knees buckle.
Xander caught me before I hit the ground. His arms wrapped around me, steady and warm, his voice low against my ear. "Breathe, Kiara. I've got you. Just breathe."
Grey tore Kaine away and rounded on us, silver eyes blazing. "Get your hands off her."
"Not until you calm your wolf." Xander's grip tightened, protective, defiant.
Selene snarled inside me, fighting against the bond. My lungs seized. "Please," I gasped, clawing at both of them. "Stop. You're making it worse."
Grey froze. Xander stiffened.
And for a single breath, silence swallowed the room again.
Later, I found myself standing alone by the fire, wrapped in one of the thick wool blankets Grey's warriors had left. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. My wolf wouldn't stop pacing.
Grey hadn't left the room, though he kept his distance, prowling the shadows like a storm caged too tight. Xander refused to go either, leaning against the far wall, arms crossed, golden eyes soft when they landed on me.
Kaine had been dragged out by the guards, though not before winking at me like we shared some private joke.
I hated him for it. Hated that he made me feel like I was caught in a game I didn't understand.
"You should rest," Grey said finally, his voice rough, stripped of the steel he used on everyone else.
I turned slowly. "Rest? After what Draven said? After what just happened?" My laugh was bitter, hollow. "Tell me the truth, Grey. Is it real? The curse?"
His throat worked. For the first time since I'd met him, he looked away.
That was all the answer I needed.
Tears stung my eyes. "You should have told me."
"I was trying to protect you." His voice cracked low, guttural. "Everything I've done—everything—is to keep you safe."
"Safe?" I choked. "You're the one hurting me."
His eyes snapped up, silver flashing with pain. "And yet you're still mine."
The bond tugged sharp inside me, answering him, and I hated it. Hated that no matter how much it burned, part of me wanted him anyway.
Xander pushed off the wall, his voice steady but fierce. "You don't have to be his, Kiara. You can choose."
"Careful," Grey warned, his power bleeding into the room.
"No," I whispered, shaking my head, stepping back from both of them. "You're both wrong. I'm not a prize, I'm not a curse, and I'm not choosing either of you until I know the truth."
The fire cracked. My wolf growled. My heart raced.
And in the silence that followed, I swore I heard Draven's laugh echoing faintly, as if the walls themselves carried him