bChapter /bb28 /b

Darius pov

bSs /bbwas /bfurious. I could bsee /bit in the way he growledb, /bthe way he struggled for control at the sight of the wolfless girl being

bso /bclose to that man.

bYet/b, I remained bstill/b, my gaze unwavering. I watched the scene unfold before me, my bexpression /bcold, bas /bcountless thoughts swirled in my mind.

That killing intent she radiated earlier bwas /bintense. It was something no wolfless girl should be able to do. Was she breally /bbwolfless/bb? /b

bBack /bin the woodsb, /bshe’d undressed as though she was about to shift, yet there was no wolf scent, nothing bat /ball. ording to Cassian, she’d been wolfless since birth, but… how could that be? There had to be something more to her than what met the

beye/bb. /b

b“/bIs that really important right now?!” Ss snapped, his voice low and dangerous in my mind. “Get our mate away from that bastard! I don’t like the way he’s staring at her, like she belongs to him.” He hissed through thest part, but I ignored him— ignored the force that surged within me as I kept my eyes nk, locked on the scene before me.

“What’s wrong, baby? Why are you doing this? Did I do something wrong? If I did, then talk to me. I’ll do anything for your forgiveness. Stop ignoring me and don’t just throw everything we’ve built away like this,” the man’s voice reached me, louder than I would have liked. I tilted my head to the side, my fingers tracing the coin in my hand.

“Fucking bastard!!” Ss roared, and for a brief moment, my body went rigid, as a force mmed against me, causing me to frown and swallow back the blood threatening to spill from my lips.

My eyes darkened, and I gripped the coin tighter in my hand at Ss’s audacity. I had chosen to ignore his antics, mainly because he had found a new pet he liked after so many years. However, that pet was going to die in two days due to my rejection. To keep things in bnce, I had made the coin work in Ss’s favor, but it was getting out of hand. As he began to grow more attached to the girl, I realized that when the time came to reject her, it might be harder than I had anticipated.

Should I just secretly kill her? I thought to myself, but then I knew I couldn’t stain my hands with the blood of my mate that way. There would be repercussions, and I was well aware that the Moon Goddess knew I didn’t fear death- whatever punishment awaited me would be something else entirely.

“Cassian,” I called out, and almost immediately, I heard a sharp intake of breath followed by a curse.

My eyes flickered to the seat where Darius and Drake were hiding, newspapers clutched in their hands, trying to shield their bfaces/bb. /b

But it was useless, and they knew it. I had caught their scent miles away, following me secretly as soon as we left the packhouse, but I chose not to say anything because I simply didn’t care.

I watched as Darius and Cassian quickly dropped their newspapers, and the moment they met my cold gazeb, /bthey immediately lowered their heads in a respectful bow.

“M–my king, it bis /bnot what it looks like-” Darius began, but I was about to cut him off, to tell him to sort out whatever was going on. But before I could speak, I frozeb. /bMy gaze darkened instantly as my head snapped to the side, eyes narrowing on the hand that had grabbed hers.

That was when everything inside me seemed to snap. I wasn’t sure what happened or how, but in a blur, I had risen and, in the blink of an eye, appeared between the woofless girl and the bastard. Without hesitation, I mmed my fist into his chest, sending him crashing backward.

bGasps /bechoed through bthe /bbair/b, and for a brief momentb, /beveryone froze- beven /bthe bgirl/b. Her beyes /bbwere /bwideb, /bblips /bparted in shock bas /bbshe /bbstared /bat me. But before bI /bcould bprocess /bwhat was happening, Ss bsurged /bforwardb, /bseizing control bfor /bba /bbrief moment. bMy /bbeyes /bshifted, turning a chilling shade of white.

bI /bbwatched /bbas /bbshe /binhaled ba /bshaky breath and took ba /bbstep /bback from bme /bbut I followed, closing the bdistance /bbagain/b, my beyes /bbnever /bleaving her. bThen/bb, /bba /bbweak /bvoice broke through the tension, snapping my attention baway/b. I turned slowly, bgaze /bdropping to the bastard on the ground, and my eyes darkened with a cold, killing intent as bSs /bgrowled lowly.

b“/bM–my king,” the man stammered weakly, but I was already moving away from the girl and toward him. bHe /bbgroaned/b, his hand reaching to his chest in pain as blood dripped from the corner of his lips, body trembling, eyes wide with bfear /bbas /bbI /bloomed closer.

But I didn’t stop.

bSs /bdidn’t bstop/b.

Not until I stood directly in front of him, a low growl rumbling from my throat,ced with Ss’s fury.

“How dare you,” Ss hissed, his voice cold, overtaking mine “How dare you

touch my

mate!”

Silence filled the air, and I watched as his eyes shed with fear. His mouth parted, but instead of words, blood spilled from it. I observed as the girl, the one Nyssa had directed her killing intent toward, rushed to his side. Her eyes bwere /bfilled with worry as she wrapped her arms around him, her hand gently reaching for his face.

“Kieran, Kieran, are you okay?”

My frown deepened, and my hands clenched in anger. Not because of what was happening, but because of Ss- the idiot. He had taken control again, but this time, it was only partial. I still had control over my body, but I was reacting to his emotions and thoughts. Whatever emotion he was feeling, I was forced to feel it too, and I couldn’t help but act on it.

“Darius, kill him… kill him forying a hand on her,” Ss growled. I closed my eyes, taking a step back, staggering slightly as I tried to regain control over my emotions.

“King!” I heard Darius scream, rushing behind me.

This was really getting out of hand.

“Ss,” I called out in my head, my voice calm and steady despite the chaos unfolding around me. “You’ve been crossing linestely. Trying to take over when you shouldn’tb, /bdisobedient and reckless.” I paused for a brief moment, letting my words sink in. “And the reason for this change is because of the new girl–a girl who is going to die in two days.”

My words seemed to provoke Ss, his rage ring up, burning hotter than before.

“She won’t die in two days, Darius!!” he roared.

bA /bsmall, humorless smirk tugged at the corner of my lips.

“You’re right,” I said coldly, “she won’t die in two days. Because with the way you’re acting, I might just kill her right here and now.” My words weren’t a threat; Ss knew that. It was something I would do without hesitation.

The mate bond? I didn’t care about it. I didn’t have a mate other than her, and no one could ever be my mate- not even the one the goddess had destined for me. And as for the punishment of taking her life with my own hands, I wasn’t concerned about that either. Nothing could be worse than the curse of living for eternity. The curse bof /bseeing those around me die bas /btime passed on. The bact /bof taking someone’s life or dying didn’t faze me anymore.

Ss didn’t respond for a brief moment, and I could sense him weighing my words. In the bnext /bsecond, he severed the connection bbetween /bbus /bentirely, bwisely /bchoosing silence. He loosened his control, and almost instantly, the tension that had

gripped the air dissipated. The anger, the pent–up frustration- all vanished, leaving only a hollow emptiness in its ce.

My eyes slowly opened, and I exhaled a deep breath, my gaze returning to its usual silver hue before locking onto the man trembling on the ground. The woman beside him did the same, her fear palpable. My eyes narrowed on her arm, still wrapped around him, and I couldn’t help but tilt my head to the side as I observed them.

ording to Darius, these two were her fiancé and her best friend, but the way they acted it felt like there was something

more between them.

The corner of my lips slowly tilted into a cold smirk as I ran a hand through my hair. It wasn’t my business.

“My king, are you okay?” Darius asked, his concern clear, but I ignored him and turned around. Nyssa and her servant girl were standing nearby, both wearing different expressions. The servant girl looked iat /ime with fear, while Nyssa… I couldn’t quite pinpoint it, but her expression was dangerously close to anger.

I narrowed my eyes, my gaze cold, and casually slipped a hand into my pockets as I made my way back to the couch. But just as I passed by her, I froze for a brief moment, the words barely above a whisper but cutting through the silence.

“Tsk, you should have killed him.”