Chapter 276: A selfish decision

Kieran quickly wrapped Yuki’s bleeding arm in a fresh layer of sterile gauze, securing the knot before taking her wrist and firmly leading her out of his private research office. He didn’t drop his grip for a single second as they walked in heavy silence down the corridor toward the elevator.

The silver doors slid shut behind them, sealing off the frantic noise of the medical wing.

A moment later, General Reed’s deep voice slid directly into Kieran’s mind through a private mental link. ’Doctor Ravencourt, where are you heading? The military records need an official autopsy and medical report regarding the deceased soldier.’

Kieran kept his eyes fixed on the illuminated floor numbers descending above the elevator door. ’Clara can handle the preliminary report and file the documentation,’ he replied through the link, keeping his mental tone entirely level. ’I need a moment to collect myself after what transpired.’

He could sense Reed had more to say, but the Gamma General held back. After all, Kieran had just been forced to personally put down a crazed soldier in a bloody display. It was the perfect, unquestionable cover he needed to vanish without raising immediate suspicion.

’Understood,’ Reed’s voice softened slightly over the thread. ’Don’t overthink it, Kieran. You did what had to be done to protect the facility.’

Kieran didn’t bother replying. He abruptly severed the mindlink, cutting off all incoming telepathic noise.

The elevator chimed, the heavy doors sliding open to reveal the dimly lit subterranean parking garage. Kieran pulled his key fob from his pocket, pressing the button to unlock his sleek navy-blue Aston Martin. The headlights flashed twice in the darkness.

He didn’t let go of Yuki’s hand even once, his warm fingers remaining tightly intertwined with hers as he guided her across the concrete floor. Yuki stared down at their joined hands, her thoughts a tangled mess of confusion and residual fear, but she didn’t pull away.

Stopping at the car, Kieran opened the passenger door. "Get in," he instructed softly.

Yuki slid into the leather bucket seat. Kieran shut her door, rounded the hood, and opened the driver’s side. He sat down, but he didn’t immediately start the engine. His long fingers tightened around the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white as he stared straight ahead through the windshield, his chest rising and falling in silent, heavy breaths.

Yuki glanced down at her own hand—the one he had held so tightly only seconds ago—and slowly curled her fingers into a soft fist, feeling the lingering warmth of his touch.

Kieran released a long, shuddering exhale and turned the ignition. The engine purred to life. Just as he shifted into gear, Clara’s frantic voice slid into his mind through the hospital’s internal frequency. ’Doctor Ravencourt! Lady Eloise has been asking for you repeatedly. She wants to know when you’ll be coming to sign her official discharge papers.’

Kieran’s jaw tightened. ’Why is she still admitted?’ he questioned flatly through the link. ’Killian closed the worst of her laceration yesterday. She only required a standard blood transfusion to recover.’

’I know, Doctor,’ Clara argued gently, ’but Lady Eloise assumed you would personally oversee her discharge. She’s been trying to reach your mental link for the past two hours, but she couldn’t get through.’

Kieran froze, a low groan escaping his throat as his eyes closed briefly. He suddenly remembered cutting his mental link to Eloise earlier that morning while researching inside the high-security archives to keep his concentration. With the explosive chaos at the hospital, he had completely forgotten to restore the connection.

His eyes flicked sideways to the blood-stained gauze wrapped around Yuki’s forearm. If he lingered at the hospital playing attentive physician to Eloise, the staff would inevitably notice the abnormality of Yuki’s unhealing scratch and begin asking lethal questions.

’Contact her mother to sign her discharge paperwork,’ Kieran instructed Clara, his tone clipped and unyielding. ’I am unavailable at the moment.’

He couldn’t ask Killian or Kaden to step in and handle Eloise’s release either. Doing so would immediately prompt his sharp, possessive brothers to demand why he couldn’t handle such a simple task himself.

’Understood, Doctor,’ Clara replied, fading from his mind.

Kieran stepped on the accelerator, and the navy Aston Martin shot out of the underground garage, roaring down the quiet coastal highway away from the capital.

The entire drive passed in total, heavy silence. Yuki didn’t utter a single word. The more she stared at her bandaged arm, the tighter her stomach became. A quiet dread settled under her ribs as the reality of her situation set in.

She turned her head slightly to look at Kieran. His dark brows were tightly knotted, his sharp profile carved in stone as he drove with intense, hyper-focused concentration.

After thirty minutes of continuous driving, the car turned off the main highway, navigating down a private, tree-lined trail that opened onto a stunning modern beachside villa perched on the isolated cliffs at the outskirts of Raven City.

Kieran brought the vehicle to a smooth stop in the courtyard and switched off the engine.

Yuki quickly unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out into the crisp sea air. She looked up at the striking architectural glass structure, then turned her emerald eyes toward him. "Is this your private residence?"

"One of them," Kieran answered casually, rounding the car and grabbing his medical briefcase from the back seat. "I have a private penthouse near the hospital that I use when my research shifts run overnight, but an isolated residence is far better for our current situation."

Yuki couldn’t stop the cynical words from tumbling out of her mouth. "Why? Is it because you’re terrified I’m going to turn into a rabid zombie wolf right in the middle of the city center?"

Kieran stopped in his tracks, shooting her a sharp glare over his shoulder. "Stop being ridiculous, Yuki. There is no such thing as ’zombies.’"

"Then how do you explain what happened to that warrior?" Yuki argued, crossing her arms defensively over her chest. "His mind was completely gone! He was drooling black liquid and smashing his own body against reinforced glass without feeling a single thing!"

Kieran clicked his tongue in deep annoyance and continued toward the front entrance. "If the rogue faction possessed a biological weapon capable of turning our entire population into mindless, unstoppable ghouls, they would have wiped the Ravencourt pack off the map years ago. Whatever serum was used on that soldier was a localized, unstable nerve agent."

He unlocked the heavy front door with a smooth chime. "Regardless... we need to run comprehensive tests to figure out why your cellular regeneration is rejecting standard magic."

Yuki followed him over the threshold, a sudden nervous edge lacing her tone as she looked at his tall back. "If... if I actually turn into one of those mindless monsters, Kieran... would you kill me?"