Nn POV


    I saw it before I even realized I was moving.


    Kieran had his hand at the small of her back. Subtle. Possessive.


    Every muscle in my body went tight, my wolf snarling low beneath my skin. I''d told myself to keep control this time, to stay calm, to not make a scene-but the second I saw that touch, all that restraint went up in mes.


    He was smiling at her like he already owned her. And she... she was trying to hide how ufortable she looked. Her posture was too stiff, herugh too forced. I knew her too well not to notice.


    Before my mind could catch up with my feet, I was there.


    "Kieran," I said sharply.


    He turned, his grin widening like a cat catching a mouse. “Alpha Nn, Always a pleasure."


    "I doubt that,” I muttered. My gaze flicked to Ellie, who took a half-step back, clearly uneasy. That alone made the blood in my veins run hotter. "You''re crowding her."


    Kieran arched a brow. “Just a conversation. Surely you don''t intend to police those, too?"


    "Back off," I said evenly, though my tone carried the warning beneath it.


    He didn''t move. "You sound jealous."


    "I''m not jealous," I lied. "I''m warning you."


    Theughter that spilled from him was too soft to be friendly. "That''s rich,ing from the man who treated her like a possession for years. Now you care how she feels?” He took a slow step closer, lowering his voice so only I could hear. "Or are you just afraid she''ll find out she deserves better?"


    My jaw clenched, and it took everything I had not to punch him in the face right there.


    The room hummed around us-music,ughter, the faint clinking of sses-but for me, the sound fell away. All I could hear was the rush of my pulse.


    "You''ve had your fun," I said, voice low. "Now walk away."


    But he didn''t. He leaned in just slightly, eyes glinting. "You think you can scare me off, Nn? You forget, I know more about you than you''d like the world to know."


    My stomach dropped. "What''s that supposed to mean?"


    He smiled, sharklike. He moved in closer, speaking to me in a conspiratorial whisper.


    "I know," he said simply.


    My shoulders tensed, and a low growl escaped before I could stop it. "Know what?” I snapped.


    "I know that Ellie wasn''t hiding from your little spies. I know that she ran away from you." His gaze shifted to Ellie briefly, then back to me. "She didn''t disappear on her own, did she? Someone helped her. Someone close."


    I froze.


    He knew.


    +25 Bonus


    The realization hit me like a blow. The only ones who knew the truth were me, Ellie, and Cassian. And if Kieran was throwing that out so casually, it meant he wasn''t bluffing. He wanted me to react-to slip, to show my hand. I forced my expression nk. "You''re imagining things."


    He smirked. "Am I? Funny, because I remember offering to help her myself. But she chose someone else''s help instead. I''ve always wondered who that was.” He let the words hang, then added softly, "You must''ve been furious."


    He was baiting me. Trying to get me to lose control in front of all these witnesses. And gods, it was working. My wolf snarled, pacing, desperate to break through.


    I stepped closer, close enough that only he could hear me. "If you ever so much as


    hint at that again—if you so much as breathe her name with that tone-you''ll regret it."


    Kieran''s smile never faltered. "Careful, Nn. Threats in public don''t suit you. You might remind people of what you really are."


    "Which is what?" I hissed.


    "Desperate." His grin widened. "And losing."


    That was thest straw. My hand shot out before I could stop myself, gripping the front of his jacket and dragging him forward. He didn''t flinch, but I saw the flicker of surprise in his eyes.


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