Chapter 290: The hot-tempered one

Alexander’s stern gaze instantly snapped to Kieran, his expression hardening into absolute seriousness. "Enough games," Alexander commanded, his voice dropping an octave as he walked around the counter and leaned against the edge of the desk. "Kieran. Explain to me exactly what happened at that facility—and you had better not leave out a single detail," he warned.

Kieran’s lips parted, then closed again as he carefully formulated his words. He took a slow breath before beginning. "A senior warrior injured during the rogue border attack was brought to my ward with a completely bizarre condition," Kieran explained, his tone shifting into his professional medical voice. "His wounds simply refused to heal. He wasn’t infected with any known pathogen, nor was there any trace of poison in his bloodstream."

Alexander frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Go on." he urged

"Standard regenerative treatments failed entirely," Kieran continued, his brow furrowing as he recalled the bloody scene. "Days passed without any breakthrough until the warrior lost complete mental stability. He broke down crying, claiming he could feel his wolf dying inside him. My medical staff attempted to administer a heavy sedative, but the chemical reaction triggered a violent, involuntary shift."

Kieran paused, his fingers tightening against the leather armrest of his chair. "During the shift, his mind broke completely. He lost every trace of cognitive recognition—he couldn’t even recognise his own mother when she tried to calm him down. He went completely rabid and slaughtered her on the spot. I was forced to put him down myself to prevent further casualties."

The unsettling details left Alexander in deep, quiet thought, his eyes narrowing as he processed the implications of a wolf losing its mind so entirely.

"After neutralising the beast, I noticed Yuki," Kieran added, his voice lowering. "She had been scratched during the struggle. Even though it was merely a minor surface laceration, the wound refused to close. It showed the exact same stagnant properties as the warrior’s injuries."

Kieran looked his father dead in the eye. "I was shaken by the turn of events. I knew if the council saw her wound failing to heal, they would execute her on suspicion of contagion. I didn’t think straight—I took Yuki away in secret to isolate her in my villa. But after a long night of work, I managed to synthesise a counter-agent and stop whatever infection was taking root."

Alexander released a long, heavy breath, his shoulders dropping slightly as the immense pressure in the room dissipated. "As long as she is fully healed and safe, the council won’t have grounds to pursue an investigation against you," Alexander said sternly. He fixed Kieran with a hard, uncompromising glare. "But do not ever act so recklessly again. Am I clear?"

"Understood," Kieran replied quietly. Alexander was still bothered by this. He had heard of the unrest from other territories, and something this strong could completely cripple the Ravencourt’s military. It was thoroughly disturbing.

"Good," Alexander said, turning his back to them as he refilled his glass. "And make sure none of you causes any trouble at the engagement ceremony tomorrow."

Alexander’s low, gravelly warning made Kaden’s lips twitch in mild annoyance. He could not stop the rebellious urge to sneer. His golden eyes flashed as he crossed his arms.

"What, do you think we’re children prone to throwing tantrums?" he shot back sarcastically.

Alexander’s heavy gaze locked instantly onto him, narrowing into a sharp, pointed glare.

"Especially you, Kaden," Alexander retorted flatly. "You all understand how critically important this political alliance is."

That felt entirely targeted. Kaden clenched his jaw, feeling the familiar prick of irritation beneath his skin. Alexander released a long, exhausted sigh and rubbed his temple. He was genuinely glad Yuki was finally recovering, and he was still furious about how recklessly Kieran had handled the medical crisis, but deep down he knew this was not the right time or place to drag out that argument.

********

Later that evening, thick, bruised clouds swallowed the moon and cast the estate in a blanket of heavy darkness. Kaden had spent the entire day stuck indoors for two very distinct reasons.

First, Killian, acting in his infuriatingly overbearing workaholic mode, had practically ordered him to take the day off and stay put to recover. Second, Kaden could not set foot outside even if he wanted to visit his own villa, simply because he refused to watch the sprawling, sickening preparations for tomorrow’s engagement ceremony.

Alexander was treating the event like a royal coronation. Though, to be fair, Kaden did not entirely blame him. The older man was clearly thrilled to finally get his claws on those lucrative mining rights.

The Alpha’s residence had stayed a frantic hive of activity until late into the night. But finally the grand courtyards had quieted down, and Killian was not breathing down his neck anymore. At least not physically, though Kaden knew the shadow guard Killian had secretly tailed behind him had only just been recalled.

Needing to escape the suffocating walls of the manor, Kaden slipped out the back doors and broke into the thick, shadowed woods behind the estate. Shifting seamlessly without breaking stride, his pitch-black wolf darted effortlessly through the dense underbrush.

He let the freezing night wind rush through his dark fur, clearing the chaotic noise from his mind until he finally broke through the tree line and reached a familiar, secluded riverbank.

It was the exact same spot where that stubborn little wolf had stumbled out of the woods weeks ago and caught him swimming naked.

The river was dead quiet, save for the rhythmic rushing of water over smooth stones. The surface of the water was so clear it mirrored the glittering constellations above. Kaden slowed to a walk, stopping near the wet edge to stare down at his own reflection for a long, brooding moment. Seeking some semblance of peace, he relaxed his long legs and dropped onto the riverbank, lying flat in the damp dirt and shadows, trying to let the absolute silence calm the restless storm raging inside his chest.

The black wolf closed its eyes. Its massive, powerful frame blended perfectly into the midnight darkness.

Kaden was just beginning to drift off into a light, exhausted sleep when a sudden snapping of twigs echoed through the brush. He snapped awake instantly, his instincts flaring. Hearing a foreign presence approaching fast, and running entirely on sleep-deprived survival reflexes, he lunged out of the shadows and attacked before his brain even registered who or what it was.

A sharp, startled howl rang through the clearing as the massive black wolf slammed into a smaller shape, pinning the white wolf forcefully to the muddy bank.

Kaden snarled deep in his throat, baring his teeth at the intruder. For a terrifying second, he did not recognise her. After all, he was not intimately familiar with Yuki’s wolf form. But the sudden rosewood-vanilla scent hitting his nostrils made his breath catch.

Pure shock paralysed him. Without thinking, his form rippled and shifted back into his human state as he scrambled to disentangle himself.

Yuki, caught in the exact same instinctual panic, shifted back as well. And that was when absolute, catastrophic reality crashed down around them.

Because Kaden possessed ancient Lycan heritage, he did not require a layer of fabric to covered up after safely shifting back, whereas standard werewolves like Yuki did.

The biological reality of the process led to a profoundly bizarre, heart-stopping scene. A completely naked Yuki, her long damp golden blonde hair spilling wildly across the cold sand, pinned helplessly beneath the heavy muscular frame of Kaden, who was fully dressed in fitted joggers and a dark T-shirt.