Kyra’s POV
My shoulders and hands were trembling. The scent of mint and the salt-tinged harbor air did nothing to calm the grief pulsing through . The news on the television kept replaying in my mind over and over. The last smile. The last talk. The last hug. I rembered everything that happened before Dad made escape. He smiled at and said he’d wait for .
"He knew," Sylvia whispered in my mind. "He knew what was coming to him."
The fear of losing soone I loved dragged my heart back into the darkest pit of misery, and I couldn’t accept it. I lost my dad. The official report claid he jumped, but no Alpha—not even a weakened one—would ever fall to his death by accident. His claws could shred steel, his reflexes outpaced bullets. A fall? Impossible.
Kieran planned to kill my pup, and he could kill my dad too. He had already threatened to kill my dad if I escaped from him, and I did. I escaped.
Sobbing, I stared at the man sitting in front of after I pushed him away and wiped my tears. He wore a ball cap, black jeans, and a black shirt, and although he had a fake beard, my wolf senses recognized him imdiately—the familiar minty scent cutting through the harbor’s brine. The second man who had ever broken my heart after my dad. The second man I trusted but who ended up hurting for his first love.
The look on his face and the gentleness in his eyes were so familiar. I could never forget those stares. I could never let go of our beautiful mories, even when he hurt so badly.
Sucking in a breath, I pulled myself up and grabbed my bag. I was about to go back when Nathan grabbed my wrist, stopping .
"Let go!" I growled at him, letting my wolf’s fury bleed into my voice. I didn’t care if other shifters were watching.
He shook his head as his eyes softened and reflected pain. "Don’t go back, Kyra. I’m begging you." His voice cracked with Alpha command, though he had no right to use it on anymore.
I pushed him away and angrily slapped him. The sound echoed through the terminal, drawing glances from nearby humans who couldn’t sense the tension between two wolves. "Did you see what happened? Huh?"
He held my wrist again. Firmly, this ti, his wolf strength undeniable. "Kyra, your dad won’t be happy if you go back to that house. Please think of yourself—"
"What about my dad?" I growled back. "I wasted so much ti hating him, and we just reconciled. I need to go back to him! Let go!"
"Kyra, listen to ." He tried to cup my cheeks, but I pushed him away again. His touch sent electric shocks through our fractured bond. "Please, hear out."
"I said let go!"
"No, please. Don’t." His eyes flashed—just for a second—before he reined his wolf in. "You need to leave."
I sobbed as I couldn’t take it anymore. I looked him in the eyes with so much hatred and misery. "My d-dad, Nathan... I promised him I-I’d co back but look..."
He pulled closer again and cupped my face. He made look at him as he gazed into my eyes, mirroring the pain I was feeling as if he could feel it too.
"I-It hurts..." I sobbed again and hit my chest. "The bond between my father and is gone—I can no longer feel his presence."
"Shh!" He caressed my cheeks with his thumb, trying to wipe away the tears that kept falling. "I know. The whole Raven Shadow pack feels his loss. But you can’t go back there, Kyra. You can’t..."
"How a-about my dad?" I asked in a hoarse voice. "He n-needs , Nathan."
"He did, and you ca, Kyra." His scent wrapped around like a shield, the way it used to before Sophia ca back. "You ca when he needed you the most."
I cried harder. The pain in my chest wasn’t just emotional—the broken pack bond with my father left a physical ache no dicine could heal. I wasn’t even given a chance to stay with him longer. Why did it have to end like this? Why did it have to happen to him? Just when we finally reconciled.
He promised. He said he was going to wait for . He said that while smiling and looking at with trust in his eyes. I promised to co back and get him but he... he didn’t wait for .
I shook my head. "No! I need to leave. I can’t leave my dad like this."
He suddenly pulled closer and hugged . The familiar mint-and-rain scent of Nathan enveloped , stirring mories I’d tried to forget. That was when my flight was called. Nathan pulled away and stared into my eyes again. He used his hands to gently wipe the tears that kept rolling down my cheeks.
"Listen to , Kyra. You need to leave. You can’t go back because Kieran’s waiting for you. He will use this chance to get you and I don’t want that to happen. You need to leave and take care of your baby. Your baby needs you, Kyra. Please think about your baby."
I paused and stared at him. My pup... My pup. Kieran would kill my baby. I would not allow him to do that. Sylvia growled in agreent.
"That’s right... Just like that," Nathan whispered and let go of . "I know this is hard, but you have to be strong. Your baby needs you, Kyra. You have to firmly stand your ground." His hand hovered over my belly, not quite touching. "Don’t look back and get on with your life. You need to."
I swallowed hard and continued caressing my bump. The tiny heartbeat beneath my palm steadied more than any words could. I felt Nathan move. He carried my bag and picked up my passport.
"Let’s go."
He only let go after we boarded the private yacht—no comrcial ferries for wolves in hiding—and sat next to each other. He stared at , and that’s when I realized he was with , his identity carefully concealed.
"Why are you here?" I demanded, my wolf senses scanning the cabin for threats.
"Nathan, answer !" My voice ca out sharper than intended, edged with a growl.
He just held my gaze, lips pressed tight. The mind-link between us remained stubbornly closed.
I tried to pull away, but the engines roared to life, the deck vibrating beneath us. My pulse spiked—this wasn’t where I was supposed to be.
"You’ll be safe with , Kyra. Just this ti, allow to save you from the pain."
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