Ss’ POV


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    The moment her words slipped past her lips-“Because I like him, that’s why I’m with him. As for what’s good about him… he treats me well”-something inside me burned and yet eased all at once.


    Freya’s voice had been steady, almost teasing, but I heard the truth thrumming underneath. She’d chosen me. Chosen me, not Kade ckridge, not Caelum Grafton, not anyone else.


    And yet the pup had to open his mouth.


    “I can treat you well too—’


    I cut him off before he could poison the air further. “Why stand here at the gates like rogues who’ve lost their den? If you have something to say,e inside and say it properly.” My tone was calm, but my wolf prowled beneath my skin, hackles raised. I let a thin smirk pull at my lips. “And since you’ve always called her ‘sister,’ perhaps, if you’re willing, you should start calling me ‘brother-inw.””


    Freya choked on her own breath, coughing twice, her cheeks blooming crimson. Her re shot at me like a thrown dagger. Brother-inw? Yes. Let him chew on that word until it splintered his teeth.


    Kade’s eyes shed, wolf-gold bleeding into his irises. “Whitmor, aren’t you a little too eager? You and Freya aren’t mated yet. The future is never certain. What’s desired today may be discarded tomorrow.”


    My grip tightened around Freya’s hand, our fingers stillced. I lifted our hands, pressing my lips to the back of hers, slow, deliberate, possessive. “But I know her,” I said, gaze never breaking from his. “She doesn’t want fleeting sparks. She wants bondfire-ever-burning, never-abandoning. If I never leave, she never will either. Isn’t that right, Freya?”


    Her blush deepened, and she pulled her hand back, flustered. “Enough. Let’s just go inside.”


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    Her words cooled the edge of the growl vibrating in my throat. I released her hand with reluctance, savoring the lingering heat of her touch. Together, the three of us stepped into the vi.


    Freya busied herself, clearly intending to serve our guest. But before she could rise, I caught her wrist gently. “I’ll make the tea,” I said smoothly. “You should rest?


    She hesitated, then nodded, trusting me. That trust twisted in my chest—it was heavy, dangerous, something I couldn’t afford to lose.


    I moved with purpose, preparing the tea, my movements controlled, precise. Steam curled in the air between us, fragrant but sharp. “Kade ckridge, your arrival was unexpected,” I said as I poured. “Freya and I weren’t prepared to host. Tell me, when do you n to return to the Capital?”


    I made sure toce her name into every sentence, every syble an anchor, every repetition another de driving between his ribs. Freya, Freya, Freya.


    Kade’s jaw tightened. The vein in his temple throbbed. He ignored my question and instead turned to her. “Sister Freya, when will you return to the Capital?”


    Freya blinked, startled. “Me? Once thest of the old estate paperwork is settled in my name. The demolition is almostplete. Once it’s done, I’ll go back.”


    Her voice faltered just slightly on the words “estate” and “parents.” The losses were still fresh, but she masked the pain with grace. I swallowed hard, knowing I couldn’t erase her grief-only stand guard against anything that might add to it.


    Kade smiled faintly, too faintly. “Then I’ll return with you.”


    The words struck like a challenge. My brow creased before I could stop it.


    Freya tilted her head. “Then why did youe to Ashbourne now?”


    “To see you,” he said simply, as though that justified everything. “Things in the Capital are mostly settled, and I remembered your promise-that if I ever came to your home territory, you’d show me around. Now that you’re here too… surely you won’t refuse?”


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    The air thickened. My wolf bristled. His “request” was a de wrapped in velvet.


    “Of course,” Freya answered, soft, kind, unaware—or perhaps deliberately ignoring -the sparks snapping between us. “I did say that. I’ll show you around.”


    Kade’s grin spread, smug and youthful. “Then I’ll look forward to it.”


    She nodded, then seemed to remember something. “Right—your umbre. You lent it to mest time. I’ll fetch it from upstairs.” She hurried off, her steps light, leaving only the faint scent of her perfume drifting on the air.


    The silence that followed was thick as storm clouds.


    I ced the cup of tea before him with a sharp clink. “Here. Drink.”


    Kade didn’t touch it. His eyes, sharp as a hawk’s, locked onto me. “Ss Whitmor,” he said, voice low, venomous. “I don’t know what spell you cast to make her agree to be with you, but you don’t deserve her. You never have. You and she are worlds apart.”


    I leaned back, a slow, dangerous smile spreading across my face. My wolf rose in my chest, pressing against the surface, my aura spilling across the room like shadows thick with iron. “Deserve her?” My voice dripped with mockery. “I don’t need your blessing, ckridge. She chose me. And one day, when she’s mated, marked, and standing at my side until ourst breath, it will still be me.”


    His snarl tore through the air. “Dream on!” He lunged forward, seizing my cor, yanking me half across the table. His breath hit my face, hot with fury.


    “Going to bare your fangs, pup?” I taunted, not flinching. “Because you’re jealous? Because to her, you’ll always just be the little brother? From the moment you called her ‘sister,’ you chained yourself.”


    His eyes red brighter, fury twisting his features. He actuallyughed, sharp and bitter. “You think you’re clever? You sent your people to sabotage my mother’sw firm in the Capital, didn’t you? Forced me to rush back to put out fires-so you could slither into her life unchallenged? What do you think she’ll say when she learns how you y your games?”