Kira woke slowly and felt warmth enveloping her. A heavy arm was draped possessively over her waist, pulling her back against a broad chest, and soft breaths fanned against the back of her neck. 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

For a moment, she stayed perfectly still, eyes still closed, letting the feeling settle. Derek’s scent wrapped around her like a blanket.

How did I get back in our bed? she wondered.

The last thing she remembered was curling up on the lounge sofa, angry and exhausted. Now here she was, tucked in beside him as if nothing had happened.

Butterflies fluttered low in her stomach. In the entire time they had been married, she had never woken up to find him still in bed. He was always gone before the sun had properly committed to rising, already somewhere else, already out training or buried in pack business.

Part of her wanted to sink back into the warmth, to enjoy this rare, quiet closeness. But she was still furious with him.

She tried to wriggle out slowly, careful not to wake him, but Derek’s arm tightened around her instantly, pulling her closer even though his breathing stayed deep and even.

Kira froze, heart, doing a silly little flip despite everything. She lay there another second, torn between the comfort of his hold and the hurt still simmering inside her.

Then she remembered him and Ruby. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw two of them stepping out of the car together, looking like a united front while she’d spent her night fighting off the Alphas’ judgements alone.

She flung his arm off, slid out of bed, and stood up quickly.

Derek stirred, and a low groan vibrated in his throat as he rolled onto his back.

He blinked his eyes open, squinting at the brightness of the room. He looked toward the window, seeing the sun peeking high into the sky, then at the still-warm space beside him.

"Kira?" he rasped, his voice thick with sleep.

She didn’t answer or even look at him. She grabbed her robe, cinching the belt, and hurried into the bathroom.

Derek stared at the ceiling.

He had slept through the entire night. He could not remember the last time he had done that. He had lain down beside her and simply gone under, and now it was morning and the sun was out, and Kira was still not speaking to him, which meant the problem had not been resolved.

Derek sat up, rubbing his face with his hands. He felt more rested than he had in months. But why is she still so angry? he wondered.

To him, the situation was clear-cut. The Umbra alarm had been urgent, and he responded to it. It was the logical path of a King. He had explained it, hadn’t he? He expected her to see the reason in it.

When Kira came out a few minutes later, freshly showered and wrapped in a towel, Derek was already sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed, watching her.

She moved directly to the wardrobe, pulling it open and beginning to sort through her clothes with her back to him.

"Are you still angry?" he asked.

"I’m not angry," she said, without turning around.

"Kira." His tone carried a warning. "Look at me."

She turned. Her eyebrows were up, her expression perfectly level. "What?"

He looked at her for a moment. "Are you going to talk to me?"

"I’m talking to you right now."

"You know what I mean."

She turned back to the wardrobe.

He tried again. "I’ve already explained what happened. I didn’t miss the event deliberately. There was an alarm, and I had to respond to it immediately; that’s the reality of what I do. I thought you, of all people, would understand it."

Kira went still.

It was like he’d slapped her with his lack of empathy. She fought the sudden urge to cross the room and yank his hair until he actually felt a fraction of the pain she was carrying. She slowly counted to ten in her mind to calm herself.

Why is he acting like he doesn’t know what he did wrong?

She had tried so hard to understand. Pack safety came first — she got that. But he had spent the entire night with Ruby by his side while she stood on that stage feeling abandoned. He didn’t even bother with a text.

"As I said, I understand. You’re making it a big deal by not leaving it alone," she said.

He looked completely aghast. "But you’re still mad. If you understand, why are you acting like this?"

Kira groaned inwardly. Goddess, this man has the emotional intelligence of a robot.

"Just drop it," she snapped, turning back to the closet. "Please. I’m not in the right headspace to have this conversation calmly right now. Maybe later when we’re both rational."

"No."

She turned around fully. "No?"

He met her eyes. "You are angry with me, and I want to know why, because I don’t believe I did anything wrong. The pack’s safety comes first. That is not a preference; it is a responsibility. I don’t understand why you can’t see that."

The way he said it was what undid her patience. He wasn’t cruel or dismissive. He looked genuinely confused, as though the answer were so obvious to him that her reaction made no logical sense at all.

She put the blouse down on the chair.

"I thought we were getting to know each other," she said. Her voice was controlled, but the edges of it were real.

"I thought things between us were actually becoming something. And then you promised to be there, and you weren’t, and I stood in that room in front of all those people, and the booth was empty and the whole night nearly fell apart."

She paused. "You made me feel unimportant. That’s the problem. Not the pack, not the alarm."

"I missed the event for a valid reason," he said. "I’ve explained that reason. I don’t see why—"

"And I get it!" she screamed, the tears finally stinging her eyes. "I get it, okay? I know where your priorities are, and I know I’m not one of them. That is totally fine. But you couldn’t even be bothered to send a text? You couldn’t spare ten seconds to tell your wife you weren’t coming?"

"You know the dynamics of this marriage." His voice had gone flat, and she recognised that flatness.

"You knew what this was from the beginning. I didn’t sign up to be accountable to someone for every decision I make. If I wanted someone nagging me to death, I would have gotten myself a real wife."

The room went very quiet.

He regretted the words the moment they left his mouth. Leo’s voice rang through his head immediately, sharp and furious.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. You’ve ruined it.