IRIS POV
Iris can't sleep.
She leaves the archives in a daze and walks back to her room, her neck still tingling from where Kane's body was close to hers. His words keep echoing in her head. Marcus stepped between them. Took the full force. He died a hero.
Her brother was a hero and she never got to tell him that.
She sits on her bed staring at her hands and realizes something terrible. She's not thinking about Marcus right now. She's thinking about Kane. About the way his eyes looked when they shifted to gold. About the way his voice sounded like gravel and pain mixed together. About the fact that he knew exactly where she was hiding and didn't immediately throw her out.
That's not normal behavior. That's not how someone acts toward a spy.
The next morning Iris makes a decision. She's going to find out everything about Kane Blackthorne. Not because she's attracted to him. Not because her heart keeps racing when she thinks about his scars. But because her brother's death is somehow connected to him and she needs to understand that connection.
She spends the morning searching online. Kane Blackthorne, Silvercrest Pack, pack leader. The results are limited. No social media. No news articles. It's like he doesn't exist in the normal world. She searches pack history instead. Finds scattered references to the Blackthorne family. They've controlled Silvercrest territory for generations apparently.
Then she finds an archive from fifteen years ago.
Old newspaper clipping about a fire at the Blackthorne compound. Fire of unknown origin kills pack leadership. Next of kin takes control. The article is brief and vague. No details about what happened. No explanation for why a whole family would burn.
Iris searches for more articles about the fire. Nothing. It's like someone made sure the story died before it could spread. She tries the pack records next. Pulls up files related to the Blackthorne family.
They end exactly fifteen years ago. Then there's nothing. No family records. No succession documents. Just a gap where an entire history should be.
Kane's family burned and the pack covered it up completely.
Iris feels something shift inside her chest. Not sympathy exactly. But understanding maybe. Understanding that Kane has been carrying the weight of that loss for fifteen years while also trying to lead an entire pack. Understanding that the coldness she felt from him isn't cruelty. It's armor.
That night she does something impulsive.
She waits until everyone is asleep and sneaks into the compound kitchen. It's dark and empty. She finds bread and cheese and fruit. She makes a plate and leaves it on the counter in the most obvious place. Like an offering. Like a prayer.
She writes a small note and leaves it next to the plate.
For someone who carries too much.
Then she goes back to her room and waits.
The next morning she can barely breathe as she walks into the kitchen. The plate is empty. Not just empty. Spotless. Like someone wanted to make sure there was no evidence it had ever been there.
She feels a small victory bloom in her chest. He ate it. He took something from her.
Over the next three days, Kane becomes a ghost that haunts her constantly.
She's filming in the western zone when she catches sight of him in the trees. Just standing there watching her work. When she turns to look at him directly, he vanishes. She sees him again near the lake. Again at the edge of the compound. Always in the distance. Always watching. Like a predator deciding whether prey is worth the hunt.
The strange thing is she's not afraid anymore.
Every time she sees him her heart races but it's not from fear. It's something else. Something that makes her wake up in the morning thinking about which route she should film that day. Something that makes her choose paths that pass through areas where he might be watching.
She tells herself it's about gathering information. About understanding him better. About figuring out what happened to his family and why he's been alone all these years.
She's lying and she knows it.
On the fourth day, Iris deliberately walks deeper into the forest than she's supposed to. She follows a trail that curves away from the approved zones. Her camera is in her hands like a prop. Like she's not actually out here looking for Kane at all.
The forest is quiet around her. No birds. No rustling in the undergrowth. It's the kind of quiet that means something is watching. Something is close.
Iris keeps walking.
She finds a clearing near a river and sits down on a rock. She pulls out her phone and pretends to check her files. Her hands are shaking. Her heart is hammering. And she knows without a doubt that Kane is somewhere in these trees right now. That he's been following her since she left the compound.
She speaks into the quiet.
"I know you're there."
For a long moment nothing happens. Then branches move and Kane steps out of the forest like he's been waiting for permission to appear. He's wearing dark clothes that blend into the trees. His expression is guarded but his eyes are watching her like she's the only thing in the world that matters.
"You're in restricted territory," he says.
"I know," Iris replies. She stands up slowly. Doesn't run. Doesn't hide. Just faces him directly. "I came looking for you."
Something flashes across Kane's face. Hunger maybe. Or pain. It disappears too fast for her to identify it.
"You shouldn't have done that," he says. But he doesn't leave. He steps closer instead.
"Why not?" Iris asks. "You've been following me for days. Watching me. I'm just returning the favor."
Kane's jaw tightens. "That's different."
"How?" Iris moves toward him. One step. Two steps. Closing the space between them. "Explain it to me."
"Because what I'm feeling toward you isn't safe," Kane says. His voice is low and dangerous. "Because every time I see you my control gets worse. Because I've spent three hundred and sixty-seven years learning to lock things away and you're breaking that lock apart just by existing."
Three hundred and sixty-seven years.
Iris's mind tries to process the number and fails. She focuses instead on what he just said. What he's feeling. The fact that he's admitting it at all.
"What are you?" she asks.
"Something that will destroy you if you don't stay away," Kane replies.
But even as he says it, he steps closer. His hand reaches out like he's going to touch her and then he pulls it back. Like touching her would be a line he can't uncross.
"I searched for information about your family," Iris says. "About the fire. There's almost nothing. It's like someone erased them completely."
Kane's expression hardens. "You were searching the archives without permission."
"I was looking for answers about my brother," Iris says. Her voice is steady even though her legs feel weak. "I found yours instead."
"My family's story isn't yours to uncover," Kane says. But something in his voice sounds broken.
Iris reaches up without thinking. She touches his face like she did his scars in the archives. Her palm against his cheek. His skin is warm. His jaw is tight beneath her hand.
"Tell me," she whispers. "Tell me what happened."
Kane closes his eyes. For a moment he lets himself lean into her touch. Let's himself be vulnerable in a way she can tell he never is with anyone else.
Then he pulls away.
"Go back to the lodge," he says. "Stay in your room. Don't come looking for me again."
"No," Iris says.
"No?"
"No," Iris repeats. She's surprised by her own courage. By the way she's willing to stand in this forest and defy a man who's older than entire countries. "I'm not running away. Not from Marcus's memory. Not from you."
Kane's eyes open. They're not gold this time but they're close. The color shifts between gray and something ancient.
"You keep testing me," Kane says quietly. "Like you don't understand what I am."
"Then show me," Iris says. "Show me what you are instead of telling me to leave."
Kane reaches out and this time he doesn't stop himself. His hand finds her chin and tilts her head up. He's looking at her like he's memorizing every detail. Every scar. Every freckle. Every piece of her that exists.
"I'm going to hurt you," he says. "Not today maybe. Not tomorrow. But eventually I'm going to hurt you because that's all I know how to do."
"You're already hurting," Iris says. "I can see it."
And that's when she realizes the truth. She's not looking for Kane because she wants information about her brother anymore. She's looking for Kane because she can't stop. Because something inside her recognizes something inside him. Because her heart won't stop racing when he's near and she's completely powerless to make it stop.
She's fallen for him. Actually fallen for the monster in the forest.
Kane must see it on her face because something breaks open in his expression.
"Don't," he says. But his hand stays on her face. "Don't do that."
"Too late," Iris whispers.