CHAPTER 5
KILLIAN'S POV
It had been seven painful years.
Seven years since I last saw her face‚ since Liana walked out of my life without a single word or a second glance‚ since I broke her heart and walked away like it didn't mean anything‚ like I hadn't just lost the only person who ever truly mattered to me.
and now?
Now I was drowning in the same silence I forced on her.
I kept telling myself I did it for her. That I was doing the right thing. That if I was cruel enough‚ if I pushed her far away‚ if I shattered her heart first‚ maybe she'd forget me. Maybe she would move on and be free from the mess I had become.
But that was a lie.
She never left me.
Not even for a second.
She lived inside my chest like a scar that refused to fade. I saw her everywhere. I heard her laugh in my dreams. I felt her hands on my skin even when I touched other women. It was never the same. It never would be. She was stuck in my head.
I had built an empire since then. Wolfe International. I was the youngest alpha to rule both the human world and the werewolf world. I sat on top of a throne built with power‚ money‚ respect. I had every damn thing a man could want.
But I didn't have peace.
Because I didn't have her.
and I knew I didn't deserve her.
She was my fated mate‚ the one the moon gave me. But I ruined it.
I ruined her.
She was only sixteen when I felt the bond snap into place‚ that burning connection that tied her soul to mine. She was my stepsister. a human. The daughter of the man who married my mother. Sweet. Innocent. Untouched. Everything I shouldn't want.
But I did.
I wanted her more than I wanted air.
So I stayed away. I told myself it would fade. That if I disappeared long enough‚ the bond would break. I ignored my mother's calls. I missed holidays‚ dinners. I buried myself in work just to avoid her.
It didn't work.
When she turned nineteen‚ my mother begged me to come home. I told myself I could handle it. Just one dinner. One night.
The second I stepped inside the house and took in her scent... I knew I was totally screwed.
I couldn't look at her. I couldn't speak. I sat across from her like a robot while my whole body burned. That night‚ I locked myself in the bathroom like a sick pervert and jerked off while whispering her name like a prayer.
Then I heard her gasp.
She saw me.
She saw everything.
and instead of walking away... instead of stopping like I should have‚ I gave in.
I went to her room the next morning when no one was home.
and I made her mine. Because she was mine.
But after it was done... when she lay there with trust in her eyes and hope on her lips‚ I left.
I didn't even say goodbye.
I ran like a coward. Just like my father did.
He was an alpha too‚ fated to a human‚ my mother. But he let the elders pick his Luna. He pushed my mother aside and married someone else. She left him. She rebuilt her life. She married andrew Rivers and raised me the right way.
and still‚ I became the same monster.
I came back to that house a few weeks later with another woman by my side.
Cynthia. The Luna they wanted for me. The perfect choice on paper.
But not the one I wanted.
Not the one I needed.
Not Liana.
and the second the ache became too much‚ I did the unthinkable again. I went to her room like a thief in the night and took what never stopped being mine.
and after I took her... she begged me. I could remember it vividly‚ her voice trembling‚ her hands shaking‚ little streaks of tears on her face.
"Don't marry her‚" she said. "Please. I'll be anything. Just don't marry her."
and I walked out again.
That was the day I destroyed everything.
Because after that day‚ she disappeared.
No note. No warning. Just gone.
Her father searched everywhere. He blamed himself. But I knew the truth. I was the reason she ran.
I made her feel used. I made her feel disposeble. and I've been punishing myself every day since.
Until today.
a knock on my office door snapped me out of my thoughts.
One of my men stepped in‚ his face pale‚ his voice tense.
"alpha‚" he said. "We found her."
I stood up so fast my chair hit the wall.
"What?"
"She's alive‚" he said. "She's working in a hotel as a janitor."
"a janitor?" I asked in disbelief.
"But that's not all..."
He slid a photo across the table.
I picked it up.
and everything inside me shattered.
There she was.
Thinner. Paler. Tired.
But still mine.
Still the girl who haunted every dream.
and next to her…
a little boy.
Curly black hair. Dark eyes.
My son.
"She has a child‚" he whispered. "He's six."
My throat closed. My heart exploded in my chest.
"She didn't list a father. But she's been struggling‚ working double shifts. Sometimes skips meals so he can eat. She walks him to school. She's received two eviction warnings."
My hands curled into fists.
My mate. My child.
and I wasn't there.
"Bring. Her. To. Me." I growled.
"alpha... I think we should—"
"I said NOW!"
LIANA'S POV
I was on my knees‚ scrubbing the tile on the third floor like I always did as if I had no other purpose in the world‚ when the static hiss of the walkie-talkie clipped to my hip made me jump.
"Liana. Report to Mr. Gregor's office. Now."
My hand paused mid-scrub‚ my chest tightening.
I sat back slowly‚ mop water dripping from my gloves. I wiped my face with my trembling sleeve‚ while my heart had already started racing. I didn't know why‚ but I had a bad feeling‚ a really bad one.
I pushed the bucket aside and forced myself to my feet. My legs were shaking‚ and I didn't want to go‚ but I had no choice.
I walked to the back corridor‚ the one staff used when we didn't want to be seen‚ when we weren't meant to be seen.
I knocked once and peeked in. Mr. Gregor was behind his desk. His face was blank‚ his eyes cold. He didn't even say hello.
"You're needed in Room 1904‚" he said as he tapped his screen.
My voice was barely there. "R-Room 1904?"
He nodded once.
I blinked quickly‚ my voice cracking. "B-But I don't clean that hallway. I—I only do the lower floors‚ the cheap rooms. I—I don't go up there."
He looked straight at me. "You're not going to clean."
I gripped the edge of the doorframe‚ my chest starting to hurt. "T-Then... w-why am I going?"
He shrugged‚ his lips curling slightly. "He likes you. He wants to see you. Be there by seven o'clock."
I shook my head. "N-No. I can't… I—I can't go."
His eyes narrowed. "Then be ready to hand in your uniform tonight."
Just like that.
I opened my mouth‚ but I couldn't speak.
I couldn't breathe.
He meant it. I saw it in his eyes.
"M-Mr. Gregor... p-please‚" I stuttered. "P-Please don't make me. I—I need this job. I—I've worked here for almost three years now. I've never been late. I—I clean better than anyone else here. P-please don't do this..."
I clenched my fists at my sides as I blinked back the tears.
I have a son. He's just a little boy. He needs me to keep this job. He depends on me for everything‚ for food‚ for rent‚ for school shoes I can't even afford. I didn't care what I had to do. I'd scrub the entire hotel with my bare hands if it meant keeping this job.
Mr. Gregor didn't blink.
"Please..."
"Then be there‚" he said again. "Dress properly. Be neat."
I nodded. I didn't even realize I was nodding until my neck started to ache.
I stumbled out of his office‚ my hands shaking so hard I could barely hold the doorknob.
I didn't dress properly.
I didn't want to look nice. I didn't want to be looked at.
at 6:45‚ I went into the changing room and stared at my face in the mirror. I looked pale‚ so pale I could barely recognize myself.
I didn't fix it.
I tied my hair in a bun‚ washed my face‚ changed back into my stained uniform. I left my cleaning gloves in the pocket. I didn't put on perfume. I didn't even touch my lipstick.
at 6:59‚ I stood in front of Room 1904. My legs were shaking‚ my stomach felt like it was going to spill out of me.
I raised my fist.
I hesitated.
Then I knocked.
Once.
Twice.
The door opened slowly.
I looked up‚ and the breath in my lungs vanished.
My vision became blurry.
My lips shook.
My knees almost gave out beneath me.
My mouth opened‚ but my voice cracked with disbelief.
"K-Killian?" I gasped.