CH.101

Serena curled herself into a little ball, feeling deflated and exhausted.

There was a soft rap at the bedroom door before it eased open.

Killian stuck his tousled head through the gap, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he took in her absolutely wrecked appearance with an amused snort.

"Well, well...look who finally decided to rejoin the land of the living," he drawled, sauntering into the room with a large cup of steaming coffee clutched in one hand and what appeared to be a couple of pain relievers in the other. "Got to say, you're looking pretty damn rough around the edges there, sister-in-law."

Serena could only respond with a pitiful sniffle as he set his offerings down on the nightstand and settled himself on the edge of the mattress beside her.

"Just kill me now and put me out of my misery," she rasped out, sounding utterly wrecked.

"Ah ah ah, none of that kind of talk," Killian chided. "We've got way too much fun still ahead of us for me to let you kick the bucket over a little hangover."

“Hangover you say?” Serena glared at him.

The incessant pounding behind her temples gradually increased and the roiling nausea washed over her.

"Just breathe through it nice and slow," Killian murmured as though he could sense what she was feeling. "I've got you, sister-in-law. Just let my melodious voice that bitches would pay to listen to all day long work his magic and you'll be right as rain in no time."

Serena couldn't quite stifle the sneer that slipped past her lips. She prepared to let out a harsh retort when she felt a sudden violent lurch in her stomach.

She scrambled out of the tangled sheets, barely making it to the en-suite bathroom before she began violently expelling the contents of her abused stomach into the porcelain bowl.

The worst finally passed, leaving Serena slumped in an utterly spent heap on the cool tile floor.

She crawled to grab a damp washcloth from the marble vanity and gently wiped away the streaks of smudged mascara and strands of hair from her damped face. Then she forced herself out of the bathroom.

"Easy there..." Killian soothed. “It’s good to let it all out and don't try to hold anything back. You'll feel like a million bucks once you get all that toxic shit fully purged from your system."

Serena felt so drained and fragile at that moment like a strong gust of wind might shatter her into a thousand pieces if she didn't have Killian anchoring her back to the rumpled sanctuary of the bed.

He grabbed the glass of fresh water and the discarded pain relievers from earlier. "Here, get these down, and then we'll try some plain toast or crackers once your stomach has settled a bit.”

Serena mutely complied. She gulped down the painkillers and fluids in one goal.

She couldn't quite wrap her muddled mind around how or why Killian was being so doting and attentive in the wake of her utter debasement.

Shouldn't he be utterly disgusted and repulsed by her pitiful state after witnessing her in such an undignified light?

As if sensing the weight of her scrutiny, Killian quirked a brow in her direction. "See something you like?" he teased. "Or are you just trying to figure out new and exciting ways to get back at me for enabling last night?"

The unexpected cheekiness of his quip caused a startled laugh to tumble past Serena's lips before she could rein it in.

She was abruptly reminded of why she enjoyed Killian's company so much despite his flagrant disregard for rules, authority, and societal conventions.

He simply had a way of cutting through all the superfluous bullshit to inject some much-needed fun into even the darkest or most stressful of situations.

"You're an ass, you know that?" she rasped out with a weary shake of her head, unable to stop the fond smile from tugging at the corners of her mouth. "But I suppose I can't stay too mad at my partner-in-crime for very long. Especially when you're being all...sweet and taking care of me like this."

Her smile abruptly disappeared when she remembered her fight with Knox earlier.

"Where is he?" she demanded, venom dripping from her words.

Killian immediately got what she was asking. His lips pressed together in a tight line for a moment before a sardonic smirk played across his features.

He leaned casually against the bed frame, looking far too relaxed for Serena's liking.

"Well now, if you two lovebirds can't even go a few minutes without each other, maybe you should just skip the fighting and get right to the makeup sex," he drawled. "Isn't that what newlyweds are supposed to do - bang all day and night instead of trying to claw each other's eyes out like feral cats?"

Serena's face contorted with disgust. "You're a pig, Killian," she spat. "And don't you dare call us lovebirds! There's no love here."

Killian raised an eyebrow. "Oh? No love, huh? Could've fooled me with all the longing in your eyes and cussing you were throwing around earlier."

"Love?" Serena practically spoke the word out like a curse, her eyes blazing with fury. "What stupid 'love' are you even blathering about? Even if I did feel that way, I would never admit to loving that cold-hearted asshole!" The last word came out as a near-shriek.

Killian held up his hands in mock surrender. "Whoa there, tiger. Retract those claws before you hurt someone." He chuckled, clearly enjoying getting under her skin. "You know, for someone who claims not to love him, you sure seem pretty worked up about this whole thing."

Serena's nostrils flared. "Of course I'm worked up! How am I supposed to react?"

"I don't know," Killian shrugged, his eyes glinting with mischief. "Maybe with a little less drama? Or trust him? You're acting like he killed your puppy or something. He could be telling the truth, you know? I mean… what reason does he have to lie?"

Serena's mind flashed back to that bizarre conversation with Knox earlier about not being fully human and having crazy, uncontrollable powers.

His words about mates, along with the memory of that brief, inexplicable flash in his eyes, kept flashing in her mind.

‘What if he had been telling the truth?’ a small voice in the back of her mind whispered.

As if on cue, Killian launched into one of his unhinged rants. "You should've seen it, sis. The big man damn near brought this whole friggin' estate down with his pheromones. The shit was so thick and suffocating, I thought we were all going to choke to death!"

He shook his head vigorously. "Bunch of the staff nearly kicked the bucket from your dearest little tantrum. He was completely out of his mind, raging like a feral beast thanks to his anger over you."

Serena's brow furrowed. "What are you talking about? Pheromones? Feral beast? You sound insane."

"Insane?" Killian laughed, the sound bordering on maniacal. "Oh, sis, you have no idea what insanity looks like. Not yet, anyway."

Killian paused, regarding Serena with a sly, almost predatory grin that made her skin crawl.

She took an involuntary step back, suddenly aware of how alone she was with this clearly unhinged man.

"Do you have any idea what kind of feat you just achieved?" he continued. "You managed to provoke a level of fury in him that I've been trying for centuries to trigger."

"Centuries?" Serena scoffed. "Now I know you're full of it. You can't be more than thirty."

Killian's grin widened, showing too many teeth. "Appearances can be deceiving, sister-in-law. You'd be surprised how old some of us really are."

Serena shook her head, trying to clear it. "This is ridiculous. You're talking nonsense."

“Am I?” Killian let out an impressed whistle and shrugged.

His eyes glinted with something akin to admiration and a hint of jealousy. "You know, seeing your unshakable darling brought to the brink like that by a woman - his own wife and mate no less? Now that's a damn sight to behold, let me tell you. I'm almost jealous I didn't get to witness the full meltdown myself." A dark chuckle escaped his lips.

"You keep saying 'mate' like you were animals or something," Serena said. "What is wrong with you people?"

Killian's eyes sparkled with amusement. "Oh, if you only knew the half of it, sister-in-law."

Serena's head was spinning from Killian's nonsensical ranting about centuries, pheromones, and supernatural anger.

Were these people really trying to gaslight her into believing they were some kind of otherworldly creatures?

The absurdity of it made her temper flare again, a muscle ticking in her clenched jaw as she fought the urge to slap that smug look right off Killian's face.

"You're insane!" she hissed. "You're all completely out of your minds. I don't know what kind of sick game you're playing, but I want no part of it. I'm leaving right now, and none of you can stop me."

Killian's expression suddenly turned serious. "Now, now, let's not be hasty. You might want to stick around for what's coming next."

She opened her mouth to continue her tirade, but Killian held up a hand, effectively cutting her off.

"Before you go getting your panties in a twist and storming out of here like some drama queen, just wait until you see the surprise your husband has in store," he said with a wink and a conspiratorial grin, then quickly corrected himself.

"Well, I suppose it's actually a surprise he had planned for you before this whole cheating fiasco blew up. Trust me, you're going to want to stick around for this. And you should learn to have some trust in your man. The last thing a person of his character would do is lie!!"

Serena's brow furrowed in utter confusion as she went to ask what the hell he meant. But before she could get a word out, the bedroom door swung open, and a figure stepped through that made her eyes go wild with shock and disbelief.