~Killian~

I left before sunrise because staying one more day would destroy whatever self-control I still had left.

The twins were awake when I found them. Diana sitting on her bed looking small and miserable. Devon pacing near the window like he had too much energy and nowhere to put it.

“You’re leaving.” Diana pointed out flatly.

“Yeah.” I crouched down so I was eye level with her. “I have to get back to Moonstone. My pack needs me.”

“Will you forget about us?” Her voice cracked on the last word.

“Never. Not possible.” I touched her cheek. “You two are stuck in my head forever whether you like it or not.”

She threw her arms around my neck and sobbed. Full body shaking kind of crying that made my chest hurt.

I held her until the crying slowed down. Until she pulled back and wiped her face with her sleeve.

Devon was still by the window. Not looking at me.

“Hey.” I stood up. “You gonna say goodbye or just stare at the trees?”

He turned. His face was all twisted up. “I’m sorry about what I said before. About replacing Dad. That was stupid.”

“Yeah, it was.” I walked over to him. “But you were scared and saying stupid things when you’re scared is pretty normal.”

“I didn’t mean it.”

“I know.”

“Dominic is your father,” I declared. “Always will be. I’m just the guy who got to hang around while you were growing up.”

“You’re more than that.” Diana’s voice was muffled because she had her face buried in her blanket now.

“Maybe. But that’s how it has to be.” I looked at both of them. “You two take care of each other. And listen to your mother. She’s been through hell trying to keep you alive.”

“We will and we will miss you.” Devon nodded.

I left their room before I could say something that would make this worse.

One more stop. Then I was gone.

Dominic was still unconscious in the medical wing. Samantha was asleep in a chair beside his bed. Her hand was wrapped around his even in sleep.

I stood in the doorway watching them for longer than I should have.

She looked exhausted. Hair a mess. Dried blood still on her clothes. But she was holding onto him like letting go would kill her.

Jealousy mocked me hard I had to look away.

I had spent years telling myself friendship with Samantha was enough. That being near her was better than nothing. That watching her love someone else was fine as long as she was happy.

All lies.

Every single one.

Standing there watching her sleep beside her mate made me realize how much I had been lying to myself. How much I had been pretending the soul-tie did not matter. How much I had been hoping Dominic would screw up badly enough that she would finally see me.

Pathetic.

I turned and walked out before she could wake up. Before she could ask me to stay. Before I did something stupid like tell her the truth.

Hearing her ask me to stay would ruin me completely.

***

Moonstone Pack wasn’t  the same when I got back.

I tried throwing myself into pack work. Reviewing reports. Checking borders. Settling disputes between warriors who could not stand each other.

None of it stuck. My brain kept drifting back to Samantha. To Devon and Diana crying when I left.

My beta found me three days later drinking alone in my office at two in the afternoon.

“You look like shit,” He remarked from the doorway.

“Thanks. That’s exactly what I needed to hear right now.”

“When’s the last time you slept?”

“I can’t remember but it should be yesterday.”

“When’s the last time you slept more than two hours?”

I did not answer.

He came in and sat down across from me. “You’ve been back less than a week and you’re already falling apart. What happened over there?”

“Nothing.”

“Killian.”

“I said nothing happened.”

“You’re drinking at two in the afternoon and you’ve picked three fights during training this week. That’s not nothing.”

I took another drink. “Maybe I just love the thrill of it.”

“You like fighting when it means something. You don’t pick pointless fights with people weaker than you just to feel something.” He leaned forward. “Talk to me. What’s going on?”

“At some point, I couldn’t draw the line between delusion and love.” The words came out before I could stop them. “When she went back to him, I thought she would never forgive him for what he did and finally accept me as her second chance mate.”

“I was ready to be a stepdad to those kids. To love them like they were mine but somehow, Dominic just got the upper hand with everything.”

He was quiet for a minute, probably processing everything. “Did something happen between you two?”

“No. That’s the problem. Nothing happened. Nothing will ever happen. She’s mated to Dominic. She loves him and I’m just like a friend to her. Worse, a brother.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“Stay here. Run my pack. Forget about her.” I poured another drink. “Eventually.”

“You don’t sound like you want to. Normally, I’d tell you to go get your girl but it seems she is gone for good.”

“Yeah, the only chance I can ever have is if Dominic dies in his state but I don’t want that for the kids or her.”

“Funny enough, I want him to survive.”

He sighed, pity in his eyes. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. Finding your perfect match. All that romantic bullshit. Except when your match is already someone else’s mate. Then it’s just torture.”

“Yeah. Pretty much.”

“Bottom line is, I wish things had turned out differently,”

“Now this pack would probably be without a Luna and possibly a heir.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t put a baby in her.”

I frowned immediately even though the idea of it made me want to grin.

“No, that would star a war with Dominic.”

Part of me had been hoping he wouldn’t make it. That Samantha would be free again. That I would finally have a chance.

Hating myself for thinking that made everything worse.

“I know this is hard for you and I could cover up till you’re back to normal. The pack is starting to notice and they’re getting worried.”

“Tell them I’m fine.”

“I’m not lying to them.”

“Then tell them whatever you want. I don’t care.”

He left without another word.

I sat there alone in my office, staring at the empty glass. Thought about Samantha’s hand wrapped around Dominic’s.

My phone buzzed from an unknown number.

I almost ignored it. Then curiosity got the better of me so I opened the message.

“Shadow power never dies. You already know that.”

Attached was an image which was blurry but clear enough to recognize.

A symbol of black lines forming a circle with smaller symbols inside.

It was identical to Black Moon’s array.

My blood instantly boiled.

I stared at the words that should not have been possible because Black Moon was dead. The array was destroyed. The shadow magic was gone.

Except it wasn’t.

I tried calling the number back. It did not ring. Just went straight to a disconnect message.

I did some research on the image, just to find out it had been scrubbed clean. Not even a location or identifying information.

Whoever sent this knew how to cover their tracks.

I forwarded the message to Samantha without thinking. Then immediately regretted it because reaching out to her would make everything worse.

But she and Dominic needed to know. The twins needed to be protected.

My feelings did not matter compared to that.

I put my phone down, poured another drink and stared at nothing.

Now I had to deal with this nagging feeling that something bad would happen and I shouldn’t have left them alone in the first place.