The air in Kieran's study feels oppressive, charged with a tension that has little to do with the looming threat of Lila.
The room reflects Kieran's personality—strong, ordered, and unyielding—but tonight it feels different.
The dark wood paneling seems heavier, the grand bookshelves looming like silent witnesses.
A massive oak desk dominates the center, but its surface is barren, save for a few scattered papers and a half-empty decanter of whiskey.
Kieran stands by the fireplace, his broad shoulders slumped in a way that doesn't suit him.
The firelight dances over his face, carving deep shadows into the hollows beneath his eyes and the rigid set of his jaw.
His hand grips the mantle tightly, fingers flexing like he's bracing against a weight only he can feel.
His appearance right now is a thing Ace has never associated with Kieran before, and the realization stirs something unwelcome in his chest—something he doesn't want to name.
Jun sits at the table, his posture tense, arms crossed as he glares at Kieran.
His sharp eyes flick between Kieran and Ace, as though waiting for one of them to snap.
Across from him, Ace sits stiffly. He avoids looking at Kieran altogether, keeping his gaze fixed on the polished wood of the table.
Kieran's voice breaks the silence, gravelly and low. "We need a plan. Lila's running out of time, but that doesn't make her less dangerous. She won't stop until she gets what she wants. She won't stop until she gets back at the three of us before trying to destroy the packs again." His words hang ominously in the air.
Jun leans forward, his elbows hitting the table with a thud. "So then, what's your plan, Kieran? Or is this just more of your alpha posturing?"
Kieran's jaw tightens, but he doesn't snap back. He turns slowly, the firelight casting flickering shadows across his face as he meets Jun's gaze.
"I have my ways and I know She's desperate," Kieran says, his tone measured but cold. "Trying to give life to her magics again, but—it's unstable. She's burning through it faster than she anticipated. That desperation makes her reckless."
"Reckless?" Jun scoffs, leaning back in his chair with a derisive snort. "She's been ahead of us every step of the way. You think desperation is going to make her slip up now?"
"It already has." Kieran's voice drops, quiet but firm. "She's cornered. Cornered animals always make mistakes."
The room falls into a heavy silence.
Ace shifts in his chair, his fingers curling tightly around the edge of the seat. He can feel Kieran's gaze flick toward him, lingering for a moment before turning back to Jun.
"She's focused on Ace, now that the anchor might not work , she will desperately need Ace's powers." Kieran continues, his voice hardening. "That's her weakness. She'll come for him, and we'll use that to draw her out."
Jun's eyes narrow as he straightens in his chair. "You want to use Ace as bait?!"
Kieran doesn't flinch. "I want to stop her before she destroys everything. This isn't just about Ace. It's about all of us."
Jun stands abruptly, his chair scraping loudly against the floor as he slams his hands down on the table. "That's easy for you to say. You're not the one being put on the front line! And definitely not the person you love , put at the front line!"
Kieran flinches at the last words that Jun say, for a moment before saying...
"I'm always on the front line," Kieran snaps, his calm façade finally cracking. He takes a step toward Jun, his voice low and dangerous. "And I don't have the luxury of pretending otherwise. It's not like I am pushing Ace there and leaving , I'll be there with him! We will both be there with him!"
The tension between them thickens, suffocating.
Ace rises suddenly, his chair legs screeching against the floor. "Stop. For a second time am telling you, none of you get to decide what I'll do and what I'll not!"
The command in his voice startles them into silence. They turn to him, the firelight catching the determination in his eyes.
"If using me is the only way to stop her, then fine," Ace says, his voice steady even as his heart pounds in his chest. "Let's do it. But I'm not doing this for you," he adds, glancing between them. "I'm doing it because I'm tired of running. I want my life back."
The room falls quiet again, Ace's words settling heavily between them.
Kieran studies him, something flickering in his tired, shadowed eyes.
Jun exhales sharply, raking a hand through his hair as he sinks back into his chair. "Fine. But if this goes wrong…" His glare sharpens, locking onto Kieran. "It's on you."
The conversation shifts to the finer points of the plan, but Ace barely listens.
His thoughts keep drifting back to Kieran—the dark circles under his eyes, the tension in his shoulders, the way his hand trembles slightly when he pours himself a drink from the decanter.
When Jun finally leaves for the restroom, the tension in the room doesn't.
Kieran leans heavily against the mantle, his head bowed as he massages his temples.
The firelight illuminates the rawness of his knuckles, the strain etched into his every movement.
Ace hesitates. The sight of Kieran like this—it twists something inside him.
Before he can think better of it, he steps closer. "Kieran?"
Kieran glances up, his brows furrowing slightly.
"Are you…" Ace falters, then forces the words out. "Are you okay?"
Kieran straightens, his expression hardening almost instantly. "I'm fine."
Ace doesn't buy it, so he pushes further. "You don't look fine," he murmurs. "You look like…" He shakes his head, frustrated with himself. "You don't have to pretend that everything is fine, we've been through a lot together and you can let me..."
Kieran exhales sharply, the sound heavy with both exhaustion and annoyance. "I said I'm fine," he says, his voice softer but no less firm. "I've been through worse__ like mating with a man when I totally didn't want it myself! But the goddess is so considerate, isn't she? She knew it's a torture for me to call a man my own , so she severed the bond. So now you can go back to your beloved boyfriend, and be with him happily because there's nothing stopping you anymore , no bond to push you to me!"
Ace's chest tightens painfully. He knew Kieran never wanted him, but going as far as telling him this now__ how there's nothing pushing him to Kieran, when he doesn't feel any difference with or without the bond, just hurt him to the level it has never been before.
"Very well!" Ace says bitterly, tears lingering in his eyes. "I wish that all this thing with Lila was over so that you never set your eyes on me ever again, because it seems I disgust you really much, but don't worry , I'll make this as fast as possible because I never wanna see you too!" Ace storms out of the study heading to the exit of the compound.
Kieran exhales shakily.
He lets his head fall forward, his grip on the mantle tightening until his knuckles turn white.
He won't acknowledge it—the unsettling feeling that griped him when he realised that after Ace left the other day saying he can't stand the fight between Kieran himself and Jun, he later went back to Jun, and he just showed up with him today.
He watches in the window, again Ace leaving with Jun.
It gnaws at him, sharp and insistent, but he buries it beneath layers of duty and denial.
And yet, as the fire crackles softly behind him, Kieran can't shake the hollow ache in his chest or the gnawing thought that he's losing control of something far greater than this fight against Lila.