Kayla's POV I frowned. âWhat do you mean, he doesnât trust Hector?â Desmond smirked, his expression a mix of satisfaction and frustration. âAdrianâs always been protective of Kayla. And Hector has tried to be close to him by protecting Kayla, but thereâs a crack there. We made sure that Adrian would start to suspect Hector has his own motives for taking Kayla. After the fake attack we planned, we made sure that Xavier would not buy Hector's loyalty anymore. So If we can push him to distrust Hector even more, itâll create a bigger rift in their bond and Kayla would be in the middle of it.Adrian will have to deal with anyone he perceives as a traitor, and we can use that. We can Push him to attack Hector. The chaos will be perfect.â I thought about it, but something didnât sit right. âHector... Heâs been nothing but protective of the southern pack. It seems like heâs too loyal to attack his own people. And Adrian? Heâs no fool. Heâs not just going to throw away a possible ally lik
Adrian's POV I couldnât stop grinning as I stood in front of the mirror, touching the marks on my neck from where Kayla had kissed me earlier. I turned to her.Every time I looked at her, it felt like my heart was about to burst. She was here, she was really here, and no amount of blood or bruises could ever change how happy I was to have her back. I didnât even care how close I came to dying for it to happen. I was alive. She was alive. We were together. That was all that mattered. âYouâre staring,â Kayla teased, her voice soft and full of that playful edge I loved. She stepped up to me, her hands brushing against my shoulders, making me shiver at the warmth of her touch. âI canât help it. Youâre back. Youââ I took a deep breath, fighting back the overwhelming wave of emotion that threatened to drown me. âI thought I lost you forever.â Kaylaâs hands moved to my chest, and she smiled that smile Iâd missed so much. âYouâre not getting rid of me that easily.â Her words were lik
Adrian's POV I paused and tried to recall the memory of that day. The fight with Xavier was still fresh in my mind, but there was something... something else that happened. âI met someone who said they had information on how to find you,â I said slowly, âwe had a fight, but then... something attacked me from behind. I canât remember much after that.â Kayla looked at me, concern evident in her eyes. âSomething attacked you from behind?â âYeah,â I said, rubbing my temples as I recalled the foggy details. âThe memoryâs a little unclear. But there was definitely someone else involved. Iâm just... not sure who.âI made sure I didn't mention to her that it was probably her ex husband who had intentionally set me up and invited his friends to help him get rid of me.But that didn't make sense. Why would Xavier simply poison me and not just kill me off immediately.How did he even get the audacity to attack me when he knew that I could have defeated him especially when I wake up.Plus
Kayla's POV I stood in the hallway, watching Adrian storm out of the room with his usual intense expression. He was furiousâhis fists clenched, his jaw set tight, and a fire burning in his eyes that I hadnât seen in a long time. The moment heâd said the word traitor, my heart dropped into my stomach. I couldn't believe it. Hector, a traitor? No, that wasnât right. Hector had been nothing but kind to me, helpful to the the wolf less women and then heâd apologized for kissing me and promised me that heâd stop the ridiculous rivalry between him and Adrian. I had just started to thank the goddess for some peace between them, and now Adrian wanted to arrest him? I couldnât let this happen. I hurried after Adrian, calling his name as I caught up with him in the hallway. "Adrian! Wait please!" I grabbed his arm, trying to slow him down, but he just pulled away from me. "Kayla, stay out of this." His voice was cold, like it always got when he was angry. "I need to deal with this. Itâ
Kayla's POV I could feel my heart breaking. I couldnât believe he was accusing me of something so terrible. After everything weâd been through, after everything weâd shared, why was he pushing me away like this? I turned back to Hector, my heart pounding in my chest. "Iâm sorry, Hector. Iâll fix this. I swear." Hector gave me a soft, apologetic look. "Itâs not your fault, Kayla. We both never wanted this to happen." "I know. But I have to make Adrian understand," I said, my voice shaky. "Can you just go with the guards for now? Iâll talk to him. Please, Hector." Hector hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Iâll go. But make sure you talk to him, Kayla. I'm innocent of all his accusations but he's refusing to see things clearly." I nodded, trying to hold back tears. As Hector followed the guards down the hall, I hurried after Adrian. He couldnât just do this. He couldnât throw everything away because of his own insecurities. He had to know I would never leave him. I wasnâ
Hector's POV After Kayla ran after Adrian, I willingly let the guards to put me in chains and shove me in front of themThe chains clinked with every step as I was roughly escorted down the cold stone hallways toward the prison.The guards barely spared me a glance, their eyes hard and judgmental. They treated me like I was already guilty, as if my fate had already been sealed. It stung more than I cared to admit, but I kept my face neutral.I had never felt so disgusted with myself, or with Adrian. Betrayed wasnât even the word for it. He had accused meâhis own brotherâof trying to kill him. We were rivals for the position of alpha yes, but we weren't enemies! I didn't hate him. I was a little envious of his life yes, but I would never actually raise my hand against him.Never!So this was my reward for protecting Kayla? For trying to turn over a new leaf? For doing what I thought was right?Adrian was the one who had always preached for us to stop fighting, to stop hating each oth
Hector's POV I had to keep reminding myself that I truly hadnât chosen this life. This life of constant competition for love from my father, and now from Kayla too. But I had been thrust into it anyway. Every day, it felt like I had to prove myself that I could be better, stronger, smarter than Adrian for the pack and for Kayla.And what did I get for it? Nothing except being called a Traitor and being imprisoned. Adrian would always get everything without lifting a finger. I see that now Maybe I should just accept it and accept my role as the villain, at least maybe I could get something from it, right?Because the rivalry my father had created between us, made it impossible for Adrian to see me as anything other than his enemy. Even when I tried to help him, tried to offer him something real, he only saw me as a threat.A bang on the door jerked me out of my thoughts.I looked up, my heart sinking as the door opened, and Adrian stormed into the cell, his expression livid."Hec
Adrianâs POV My knuckles were bloodied by the time I realized how many times Iâd punched him. My chest heaved and my heart was thundering like it was trying to beat its way out of my ribcage, and still Hector just stood there leaning against the wall with his bloody face.He was swaying slightly from the pain but the asshole was still not fighting back and it made me fucking furious! He wasnât even trying to defend himself like he'd normally do when our father made us wrestle to prove who was better.Hector was often the winner when we were younger and that made me feel like he was just intentionally allowing me to beat him right now. That made it worse. "You love her?" I growled, my voice raw, trembling. "You love my Kayla?" Hector didnât speak, didnât meet my eyesâhis jaw was bruised, blood trickling from his noseâbut he didnât take it back either. Heâd said it. Out loud. Boldly. That he loved her. My fists clenched again. This fucking shameless asshole! It wasnât just that
Kayla's POV I didnât even realize Iâd said it until the words had already left my mouth.âIf you banish HectorâĶ Iâll leave with him too.âThe room went silent.What the hell was I thinking when I said that? I hadn't even actually meant it. I was just desperate to not let Adrian make such a stupid mistake that he'd regret, so I continued talking until I had said my piece.When I was done, even Hector stopped breathing for a second, his face bruised and bloodied, but stunned all the same. Adrian looked like Iâd slapped himâlike the floor had just crumbled beneath him. His jaw twitched, and the rage in his eyes flickered into something elseâsomething sharp and painful.Goddess, why did I have to say that? It sounded like Hector was more important than my relationship with Adrian.But I truly didnât mean it like that. I wasnât threatening him. I justâĶ I needed him to know that he was crossing a line. Hector was his stepbrother who had occasionally fucked up yesterday, but he didnât des
Adrian's POV "YOU FUCKING BASTARD!â I roared, lunging at him again. But before I could land the hit, two sets of hands grabbed me. âAlpha stop! Alpha Adrian please stop! âfuck, Adrian, stop it!â Loganâs voice was right in my ear, struggling to pull me back.He had forgotten all courtesy and had began to call me by my real name which he and Connor only did when they were either desperate, pissed, frustrated, worried or scared.He sounded like he was all of the above in this moment but I couldn't give a damn about that right now. âLet go of me!â I growled, thrashing against him. âCalm the hell down Adrian!â Connor snapped, shoving me away from Hector. I threw them both off like they were nothing, shoving Logan into the wall and elbowing Connor in the ribs. They tried again, but I was a storm now. Wild. Unraveled. And then I heard her voice. âADRIAN!â I froze at the familiar feminine voice."What the hell are you doing?!" she screamed with horror in her voice. Everything insid
Adrianâs POV My knuckles were bloodied by the time I realized how many times Iâd punched him. My chest heaved and my heart was thundering like it was trying to beat its way out of my ribcage, and still Hector just stood there leaning against the wall with his bloody face.He was swaying slightly from the pain but the asshole was still not fighting back and it made me fucking furious! He wasnât even trying to defend himself like he'd normally do when our father made us wrestle to prove who was better.Hector was often the winner when we were younger and that made me feel like he was just intentionally allowing me to beat him right now. That made it worse. "You love her?" I growled, my voice raw, trembling. "You love my Kayla?" Hector didnât speak, didnât meet my eyesâhis jaw was bruised, blood trickling from his noseâbut he didnât take it back either. Heâd said it. Out loud. Boldly. That he loved her. My fists clenched again. This fucking shameless asshole! It wasnât just that
Hector's POV I had to keep reminding myself that I truly hadnât chosen this life. This life of constant competition for love from my father, and now from Kayla too. But I had been thrust into it anyway. Every day, it felt like I had to prove myself that I could be better, stronger, smarter than Adrian for the pack and for Kayla.And what did I get for it? Nothing except being called a Traitor and being imprisoned. Adrian would always get everything without lifting a finger. I see that now Maybe I should just accept it and accept my role as the villain, at least maybe I could get something from it, right?Because the rivalry my father had created between us, made it impossible for Adrian to see me as anything other than his enemy. Even when I tried to help him, tried to offer him something real, he only saw me as a threat.A bang on the door jerked me out of my thoughts.I looked up, my heart sinking as the door opened, and Adrian stormed into the cell, his expression livid."Hec
Hector's POV After Kayla ran after Adrian, I willingly let the guards to put me in chains and shove me in front of themThe chains clinked with every step as I was roughly escorted down the cold stone hallways toward the prison.The guards barely spared me a glance, their eyes hard and judgmental. They treated me like I was already guilty, as if my fate had already been sealed. It stung more than I cared to admit, but I kept my face neutral.I had never felt so disgusted with myself, or with Adrian. Betrayed wasnât even the word for it. He had accused meâhis own brotherâof trying to kill him. We were rivals for the position of alpha yes, but we weren't enemies! I didn't hate him. I was a little envious of his life yes, but I would never actually raise my hand against him.Never!So this was my reward for protecting Kayla? For trying to turn over a new leaf? For doing what I thought was right?Adrian was the one who had always preached for us to stop fighting, to stop hating each oth
Kayla's POV I could feel my heart breaking. I couldnât believe he was accusing me of something so terrible. After everything weâd been through, after everything weâd shared, why was he pushing me away like this? I turned back to Hector, my heart pounding in my chest. "Iâm sorry, Hector. Iâll fix this. I swear." Hector gave me a soft, apologetic look. "Itâs not your fault, Kayla. We both never wanted this to happen." "I know. But I have to make Adrian understand," I said, my voice shaky. "Can you just go with the guards for now? Iâll talk to him. Please, Hector." Hector hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Iâll go. But make sure you talk to him, Kayla. I'm innocent of all his accusations but he's refusing to see things clearly." I nodded, trying to hold back tears. As Hector followed the guards down the hall, I hurried after Adrian. He couldnât just do this. He couldnât throw everything away because of his own insecurities. He had to know I would never leave him. I wasnâ
Kayla's POV I stood in the hallway, watching Adrian storm out of the room with his usual intense expression. He was furiousâhis fists clenched, his jaw set tight, and a fire burning in his eyes that I hadnât seen in a long time. The moment heâd said the word traitor, my heart dropped into my stomach. I couldn't believe it. Hector, a traitor? No, that wasnât right. Hector had been nothing but kind to me, helpful to the the wolf less women and then heâd apologized for kissing me and promised me that heâd stop the ridiculous rivalry between him and Adrian. I had just started to thank the goddess for some peace between them, and now Adrian wanted to arrest him? I couldnât let this happen. I hurried after Adrian, calling his name as I caught up with him in the hallway. "Adrian! Wait please!" I grabbed his arm, trying to slow him down, but he just pulled away from me. "Kayla, stay out of this." His voice was cold, like it always got when he was angry. "I need to deal with this. Itâ
Adrian's POV I paused and tried to recall the memory of that day. The fight with Xavier was still fresh in my mind, but there was something... something else that happened. âI met someone who said they had information on how to find you,â I said slowly, âwe had a fight, but then... something attacked me from behind. I canât remember much after that.â Kayla looked at me, concern evident in her eyes. âSomething attacked you from behind?â âYeah,â I said, rubbing my temples as I recalled the foggy details. âThe memoryâs a little unclear. But there was definitely someone else involved. Iâm just... not sure who.âI made sure I didn't mention to her that it was probably her ex husband who had intentionally set me up and invited his friends to help him get rid of me.But that didn't make sense. Why would Xavier simply poison me and not just kill me off immediately.How did he even get the audacity to attack me when he knew that I could have defeated him especially when I wake up.Plus
Adrian's POV I couldnât stop grinning as I stood in front of the mirror, touching the marks on my neck from where Kayla had kissed me earlier. I turned to her.Every time I looked at her, it felt like my heart was about to burst. She was here, she was really here, and no amount of blood or bruises could ever change how happy I was to have her back. I didnât even care how close I came to dying for it to happen. I was alive. She was alive. We were together. That was all that mattered. âYouâre staring,â Kayla teased, her voice soft and full of that playful edge I loved. She stepped up to me, her hands brushing against my shoulders, making me shiver at the warmth of her touch. âI canât help it. Youâre back. Youââ I took a deep breath, fighting back the overwhelming wave of emotion that threatened to drown me. âI thought I lost you forever.â Kaylaâs hands moved to my chest, and she smiled that smile Iâd missed so much. âYouâre not getting rid of me that easily.â Her words were lik