CHAPTER 272: MY MOON

(... continued)

The door clicked shut as little Freya padded out, bouncing yet without her usual charm...her voice fading into the hall... Kieran could even catch faint whimpers. But he didn’t intervene. He knew she was strong and she would overcome her own grief for her siblings. That’s why he gave her that job.

He straightened slowly, his chest still heaving, eyes shadowed. His hand lingered at his side as if he would almost reach for Autumn again.

The silence that fell was suffocating.

Too tight.Too loud.

Then it was Autumn who moved.

Without warning, she lunged straight at him.

Fury blazed in her eyes.

"Talk in the morning, Kieran?" Her voice sliced...dripped with sudden,unexplained loathe and sarcasm. "Were you too ashamed to tell her I am her mother?"

Her chest rose and fell violently, each breath rattling through clenched teeth.

Her hands planted themselves on her hips, but they trembled...half with rage, half with something more raw.

Kieran flinched...not at her words, but at the fire blazing from her.

His jaw locked...his eyes closed for a heartbeat before snapping open again.

"Autumn! Calm. Down." His voice thundered low, but cracked with desperation. He took a step closer, palms raised as if warding her flames. "You know it’s not like that. She just lost Lyla. All her life she’s only known Lyla as her mother. She’s just a kid, Autumn. One shock after another..."

"I don’t give a damn!" she spat, cutting him off. "And don’t you dare use Lyla as a shield for your cowardice."

"Autumn!!! I just..." He swallowed hard, dragging a hand through his hair. His voice faltered, trembling. "I just didn’t want to make it ugly tonight. I wanted to soothe it down, just a little..."

The words had barely left his mouth before Autumn shoved him...hard.

The impact cracked against the wall. His shoulder slammed first, then the back of his head thudded against the cold stone.

Kieran staggered. A groan escaped as his hand flew back, rubbing the sore spot. His eyes widened...not with anger, but with shock. He had never seen her like this.

Autumn’s voice blazed, scorching the air between them.

"Soothe it down, huh? What the fuck is there to soothe down, Kieran?" Her eyes gleamed wet...yet unyielding. "Do you even hear yourself?"

He pressed harder against the back of his skull, wincing, but his voice steadied when he spoke...cutting through.

"What the hell are you even talking about, Autumn?" his eyes locked on hers, searing, "...it was you who left her at the cave.You lived so long without her without any problem.What got into you all of a sudden???"

Autumn’s breath stilled...her jaw dropped open just a fraction.

Kieran stepped forward...his voice rose, harsh and broken all at once. "So what the fuck is this about?!"

Her lips trembled once, then curled into a snarl.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did."

Her voice cracked like lightning, sharp, jagged... bleeding.

"Because I thought she was dead!" Her chest heaved, tears shimmering like molten glass in her eyes. "I had to leave her and run...because, fuck, Kieran...I was running from you!"

The words exploded out of her, shaking the chamber walls with their force.

And then fell silence.

The kind of silence that burned hotter than fire.

Kieran’s breath dragged ragged through his teeth, his body rigid, golden eyes locked on her like a man standing at the edge of a cliff.

Autumn’s fists clenched at her sides, her whole frame trembling, tears quivering but refusing to fall.

The air between them was dangerous.

Too heavy to breathe.

Kieran’s hands snapped forward before he could stop himself, gripping Autumn’s shoulders like a man drowning who had finally found something to cling to.

His voice cracked, low at first, then broke into a growl.

"Running from me? Why, Autumn? Why?"

He shoved his body closer...not to crush her, not to dominate...but because the distance was unbearable.

His forehead almost brushed hers, his eyes burning, desperate. "You rejected me... You left our baby for dead. Why? What did I do so wrong? Tell me! I searched for you like a fucking mad man!"

His voice boomed through the stone walls. His grip trembled on her shoulders. Then, almost wild with need, he shook her once, twice, as if the jolt might shake the truth out of her.

Autumn’s chest heaved, her lips trembling before they pulled back into a snarl. Her flames hissed up her arms, glowing blue, crackling like live veins.

"You killed my father, Kieran..." she spat, her voice cutting like steel dragged over stone. "You wiped out the entire Skarthheim.What else was I supposed to do?Fuck...fuck this..."

The air in the chamber shivered with her fury.

Kieran froze, disbelief hardening into silence.

Autumn’s eyes brimmed but did not soften. Her flames surged, spilling down her sides, licking the floorboards as she shoved him...again.

The force slammed him back. His head cracked against the wall yet again.

He blinked.

Then her words tore into him before he could recover.

"He was the only family who ever cared for me. For the first time I knew what filial love was... and then you ripped it away. You destroyed it. You left me with ashes, Kieran."

She stepped forward, each pace heavy, stalking, her flames trailing like chains.

"My mate?" she hissed, voice rising, shaking. "My mate did this? Why? Why did you do that to me? To us? Why, Kieran Blackmoon???"

Her body shook as if her fury couldn’t find enough air to breathe. She cursed under her breath.

Kieran’s back hit the floor as he stumbled. His hands spread instinctively, palms open...

Autumn’s flames flared hotter.

And then...

With a guttural sound, Kieran moved. His hands snapped out, wrapping around her waist, pulling her down with him in one swift, desperate drag.

The two of them crashed against the carpeted floor. Her blue flames hissed, flaring, but his weight bore her down, chest heaving against hers. His grip was so strong as he held her wrists...pinned.

"Autumn!" Kieran roared. "Stop! Stop! Just...fucking stop!"

Her body writhed under him, the flames threatening to scorch him alive, but he pressed harder, not out of rage but desperation. His voice broke raw as he panted into her face.

"Why... why would I....how could you even think..."

His eyes burned, wet at the edges, trembling between fury and devastation.

"Autumn..." His voice cracked into something softer, but no less desperate. "I never killed your father. Never. I combed the entire Skarthheim...because I couldn’t find you. Because I couldn’t find my pregnant mate, for fuck’s sake. I lost my fucking mind looking for you."

His forehead pressed down against hers, shaking with the force of his words.

"How could you think I would take him from you? Take your family? Fuck, Autumn...you are my family. My Moon."