Chapter 8

“It was just tea. Just a cup of tea. That’s what I keep telling myself. But the truth is a sharp blade, and no matter how many times I try to dull it, it cuts me open all the same. Kara lost her pup. And I… I gave her the tea. She never suspected. Kieran never knew. But what if he finds out? What if this secret, the one I buried so deep, finally comes clawing to the surface? He’ll hate me. He’ll tear me apart. And maybe—just maybe—I should keep the secret buried to myself.” Izzy murmured to herself, glaring at the picture opposite her.

—-

Back at Kieran’s office, he  stared at the picture in his hand, his grip tightening.

The image showed the former Alpha Zarek holding a child—a baby, small and bundled in cloth.

“Why is this picture here? Who owns this? I thought I asked the maid to burn this” Kieran muttered, his eyes locked onto the infant’s face. Something about it unsettled him.

Just then, his Beta, Mark, stepped inside.

“Alpha,” Mark greeted.

Kieran lifted the photo. “Who owns this picture?”

Mark’s eyes flickered to the paper before his expression hardened. “It’s from the past. The late Alpha, Zarek. The one you took down.”

Kieran’s fingers twitched. “And why is he holding a child?”

Mark’s voice was steady. “It doesn’t matter. The child is of no concern. Just burn the picture.”

But something didn’t sit right. Kieran stared at the baby’s face again, a strange feeling gnawing at him.

“Did Zarek have a child?”

Mark hesitated. “No. You were close friends once, Kieran. You knew him well. If he had a child, wouldn’t you have known?”

Kieran’s jaw tensed. “We were friends. Now we are enemies. Even in death, he remains my enemy.”

Mark sighed, his tone sharp. “You betrayed him, Kieran.”

Kieran’s head snapped up. “As my Beta, you should be loyal to me. Not stand here speaking as if you mourn him.”

Mark didn’t flinch. “I was loyal to you. But I was also loyal to the truth. Zarek wanted peace. He wanted to be an Alpha, to lead his own pack. You wanted a kingdom. You wanted all Alphas to bow before you. You knew Zarek was the strongest among us—you knew he would be chosen as king. That’s why you killed him.”

Kieran’s hands curled into fists. “Careful, Mark.”

Mark exhaled. “I was told he had a sister.”

Kieran’s gaze sharpened. “A sister?”

Outside the office, Kara froze. She had been walking past when she heard them. Now, her pulse thundered in her ears.

“Yes,” Mark continued. “Zarek’s bloodline isn’t completely gone.”

Kara’s nails dug into her palm. They can’t find out. Not yet.

She turned and slipped away before they could sense her presence

—

Kieran stood by the window, his arms crossed, staring out at the vast expanse of his territory. His mind wasn’t on the land, though. It was in the conversation he had just had with Mark.

Zarek had a sister.

It didn’t make sense. Kieran had made sure that Zarek’s bloodline had been wiped out. The throne was his. There had been no loose ends.

Had he been wrong?

A knock at the door pulled him from his thoughts. “Come in.”

The door opened, and Izzy stepped inside.

He sighed, rubbing his temples. “Not now, Izzy.”

Izzy ignored him, closing the door behind her. “You’re avoiding me.”

“No,” Kieran said.

“You clearly are, Kieran” Izzy said.

Kieran let out a deep breath. 

“I can give birth, it only takes time, maybe something is delaying it. I just need herbs to feel better, the healer should do something about it that is why she is the healer” Izzy said.

“I am not bothered about that” Kieran said 

“And why are you bothered? And why is there a picture in the fire? Why are you burning that?” Izzy asked, as she kept moving closer to the fire but Kieran stopped her.

“Don’t get too close to the fire,” Kieran said.

Chapter X

“Izzy, whose picture is that?”

Kieran’s voice was calm, but there was an edge to it, a weight behind his words that made Izzy pause. She glanced at the half-burned photograph in the fire, the flames curling around its edges.

“It’s not important,” Kieran said quickly.

Izzy exhaled, shaking her head. “You always say that when you don’t want to talk about something.”

She pulled off her jacket and tossed it onto the chair, rolling her shoulders. “It’s too damn hot in here.”

Kieran’s gaze flickered to her wrist, and he froze. The room, the fire, the conversation—everything else disappeared.

That bracelet.

The silver band with the intricate engravings. The one with the small, almost unnoticeable wolf insignia carved into the clasp. The same bracelet that Zarek had always worn. The one he never let out of his sight. The one he once told Kieran had been passed down from his mother—to him and his sister.

Kieran’s breath hitched, his mind snapping back to a memory buried deep beneath years of blood and betrayal.

—

FLASHBACK

The night air was thick with the scent of pine and smoke from the torches. Kieran and Zarek sat atop the old stone ledge overlooking the valley, their drinks in hand. They were younger then, reckless but loyal, bound by a brotherhood neither thought could be broken.

Zarek twirled the silver bracelet between his fingers, his expression distant. “Do you know what this means?” he asked.

Kieran smirked. “That you have terrible taste in jewelry?”

Zarek chuckled, shaking his head. “Idiot. This was my mother’s. She had it made for my sister and me when we were children. A way to always find our way back to each other.”

Kieran frowned. “Your sister?”

Zarek nodded. “I never talk about her. She was taken away before we were old enough to understand why. My father… he was never the same after that.” He sighed, rolling the bracelet between his palms. “I don’t know where she is now. If she’s even alive. But if she is, I hope she still has hers.”

Kieran studied him, sensing the raw pain beneath his words. “If she’s anything like you, she’s probably out there, raising hell.”

Zarek smirked. “Yeah. Maybe.”

The moment passed, but Kieran never forgot it.

—

Kieran’s jaw clenched as his gaze locked onto Izzy’s wrist. The same bracelet. The same engravings.

It wasn’t possible.

“Izzy,” he said, his voice lower now. “Where did you get that bracelet?”

Izzy looked down at it, then back up at him. “This? I’ve had it for as long as I can remember. Why?”

Kieran took a step closer, his eyes narrowing. “Who gave it to you?”

“I don’t know,” she said, shrugging. “I was a child. I barely remember but I could remember it was given to me by a female friend, well she passed away.”

Kieran’s heart pounded. His mind raced with a thousand possibilities, none of them making sense.

He was about to press further when the door swung open.

Mark stepped inside.

“Alpha.” His tone was firm, but his sharp eyes flickered between Kieran and Izzy. Something about their stance made him pause.

Kieran exhaled, pushing the questions aside. For now.

“What is it?”

Mark’s jaw tightened. “There’s been movement near the border. We need to talk.”

Kieran clenched his fists. He would deal with this later.

“Fine,” he muttered. “Izzy, we’ll finish this conversation another time.”

Izzy rolled her eyes. “Sure. Like you ever finish conversations.”

She turned and walked away, oblivious to the storm she had just set off inside him.

Kieran watched her leave, his hands still curled into fists.

Zarek had a sister.

And somehow… Was she the one standing right in front of him?