“So, let me get this straight. Your grand plan is to stroll back into that pack and just hope for the best?” Belle questioned, her disbelief palpable.
When met with silence, she huffed in annoyance, leaning forward on the table to address her alpha and beta, Zane. “Am I the only one here with a functioning brain? Dominic will rip us to shreds the moment he spots you with his pregnant mate!” Her voice echoed through the room.
She wasn’t wrong. Kiara had voiced the same concerns to Blake, but he seemed oddly confident that they would be okay. His assurance likely had something to do with the goddess who had graced them with her presence.
It would have been helpful if either Artemis or Blake had shared the reason for his calm demeanor, but Belle was used to being left in the dark. She was accustomed to piecing together the puzzle on her own, only to have someone swoop in at the last minute with the missing piece. She was tired of the gods’ meddling and their cryptic ways.
So, she found herself slumped in a chair at the back of the room, disinterested in the ongoing discussion. What was the point of trying to pry answers out of him?
Despite her indifference, she couldn’t tear her gaze away from Blake. The revelation that he was Dominic’s twin was still a shock, but the more she studied him, the more she saw the similarities.
They shared the same build, the same nose, the same lips. The more she looked, the more she found.
How they had missed this was a testament to Artemis’s power. The familial bond should have revealed his identity when he was first captured by Alaric, but it hadn’t. Blake claimed it was the goddess’ doing, and Belle wondered why Artemis had gone to such lengths to keep him hidden.
A nagging feeling told her that the gods had been manipulating their fates for far longer than she’d realized. If she was right, then her torture was also part of this twisted game of destiny. She was going to have a field day with the next god who dared to show up.
She may have gotten some answers, but there was still so much they were withholding. She was done jumping through hoops for them. If she was going to be a pawn in this game, she was going to play by her own rules.
The gods’ words may have guided her, but they had also landed her in her current predicament. No more. If she was destined to be a victim, she sure as hell wasn’t going to take it lying down.
Artemis wanted her to fight, and fight she would, but on her own terms. The goddess had told her she hadn’t given up, and she was right. But what reignited her fighting spirit was the realization that she had been a puppet, manipulated by unseen forces. All she needed to understand that was Blake’s story.
He had suffered so much, all in the name of destiny. Well, fuck destiny and fuck the vision. If Lycaon and Zeus were coming for her, let them come. She had fought so hard to prevent the vision and keep them at bay because that’s what she was told to do. But now, she was done listening to others.
All it had brought her was pain and more questions than answers. Let those who sought her come, and she would show them that she was not a mere pawn in their game.
Kiara was a luna. A mate. A mother. And she would show them exactly what a mother would do to protect her own.
“Nic won’t harm us. Kiara sent him a message before they were cut off. He knows we didn’t kidnap her and that she left of her own accord,” Zane argued with Belle.
“You can’t be that naive, Z,” Belle retorted. “Nic will assume you did something to make her leave. He won’t just take your word for it.”
Amidst the bickering, a lightbulb went off in Kiara’s head. She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head. “Unless Artemis didn’t just visit us,” she interjected, looking at Blake.
Blake gave her a small nod, causing her to harden her gaze. “Why didn’t you just tell us that then!?” Belle practically screamed.
“Don’t bother trying to get an answer, Belle. You won’t get one,” Kiara said bitterly. Blake sighed, a pitiful look on his face. “Artemis wants things done a certain way, and I’m just following her orders.”
“Maybe you should stop bending to her every whim and think for yourself. You’re asking us to trust you when you’re the only one who knows Artemis’s plan. We’ve all seen what can happen when others aren’t prepared,” Kiara shot back at him.
He didn’t flinch, but she saw it in his eyes. “We’ve all been kept in the dark for far too long while only a select few know what’s really happening or what’s going to happen. Too many wolves have died because of that, and I’m done letting a goddess tell me it’s all in the name of fucking destiny,” she declared, rising to her feet and approaching the table. “So, I’m going to ask you now, what did Artemis tell you!?”
She held his gaze as he swallowed. “Artemis told Acontes why you’re here. She said you needed to come here for answers and that you’d be returning soon, but not alone. She said you were bringing the second Fireblood wolf,” Blake replied.
Her mouth fell open as the pieces fell into place in her mind. He was Dominic’s twin, which meant he carried the same blood and had the same powers. “Artemis helped you master your powers,” she murmured, thinking out loud. It was the only explanation.
But Blake shook his head. “No, she didn’t. The bastard beside me did,” he said, pointing to Zane. “Zane has been with me for as long as I can remember. We grew up together. My powers manifested much earlier than Nic’s, and if it hadn’t been for Zane, I would have succumbed to them.”
“And you just happened to be in the exact place you needed to be all this time?” Kiara asked, studying the beta with his sun-kissed skin, curly black hair, and strong jawline. “I was, but you already know that nothing is a coincidence.”
“Artemis brought you two together,” she concluded, looking back at Blake.
“Basically.”
“That still means she helped you with your power,” Belle pointed out, earning a glare from Blake and a small smile from Kiara. “I wonder what would have happened if Artemis had never intervened,” she mused, causing Kiara to look at her.
“Maybe then things wouldn’t be such a fucked-up guessing game.” Belle pursed her lips, sighed, and nodded in agreement.
“So, we’re going back to the pack,” Zane broke the heavy silence.
Kiara’s eyes snapped to his. Yes, they were going back. She should have been thrilled. She was returning to her family, her pack, her mate. But in reality, she was terrified. How would Dominic react to everything, and more importantly, how would he react to the news that he was going to be a father?
“This is going to be fun,” Belle sighed.
“Is being pessimistic a natural trait of yours or something?” Zane asked, clearly annoyed with Belle’s attitude.
“There’s no good that can come from this, at least not initially! I’d rather brace myself for a potential beheading than walk in there thinking everything will be fine!” Belle snapped back at him.
“Oh, please, spare me the drama,” Zane retorted, crossing his arms over his chest. “Your mate is there; they won’t kill you just because he hasn’t either rejected or accepted you, so stop whining.”
A low growl rumbled from Belle as fur began to sprout on her arms.
“Okay! Enough!” Kiara quickly intervened, stepping in front of Belle and blocking her view of Zane. “Belle, go run it off,” she instructed the fuming female, whose eyes were now locked on Kiara, promising pain.
Belle was grappling with the reality of Kyle’s distance. They hadn’t fully accepted each other yet, but a bond was beginning to form. She could sense his anger, his pain at her departure, and it had brought her to tears more than once.
Each time, Kiara was there to soothe her, to prevent her from succumbing to the bond and rushing back to the pack. She knew that wouldn’t end well. It would either result in her imprisonment or her being used to track down the rest of them.
Kiara, of all people, understood the danger of being used as a pawn.
“Go,” Kiara urged, gently nudging Belle toward the door.
A growl rumbled in Belle’s chest before she spun around and dashed out the door.
Kiara sighed, turning to meet Zane’s gaze. “Don’t do that to her. It’s not fair and you know it.”
Zane scoffed, shaking his head as he walked past her and out of the room.
Before Belle met Kyle, she and Zane had been inseparable. Now, Zane was struggling to find his place. They hadn’t been lovers, but they’d been so close that Belle had always turned to him for comfort. It was killing him that she was pushing him away now that she’d found Kyle and was in such turmoil.
Kiara had tried to reassure Belle that it was okay to let Zane in—he was like a brother to her. But Belle had always refused, insisting that it didn’t feel right, that she needed her mate. Kiara could understand that, but she also understood Zane’s hurt. She couldn’t fault him for it.
“They’ll find their way around this mess sooner or later. They’ve always had each other’s backs and I don’t see that changing any time soon,” Blake said, moving to stand beside Kiara.
“I hope so, because I have a feeling that she’s going to need it,” Kiara replied, absentmindedly stroking her slightly swollen belly.
“Do you feel him yet?” Blake asked softly.
She glanced at him, then followed his gaze to her belly. “It’s only been five weeks, Blake. It’s way too early to feel anything.”
Blake hummed, placing his hand over hers on her belly. “Well, let me know when he does. I don’t want him to think his uncle doesn’t care about his future as a pro soccer player.”
Kiara snorted, shaking her head as she met his eyes. “What if it’s a girl?”
“Then she’ll be the most beautiful baby girl who kicks your insides like they’re a pink squeaky ball,” Blake replied with a grin.
Kiara snorted again, shaking her head as she turned toward the door. “She’s not a dog, you know.”
“Only half,” Blake joked. Kiara gaped at him as he smiled, winked, kissed her forehead, and walked away.
“WOLF, NOT A DOG, ASSHOLE!” she yelled after him, his laughter echoing in response.
