Chapter Eighteen

Tori’s POV

"I think that was the only way she could show how sorry she was," Nicole mentioned, his voice calm like he was talking about something normal. "Are you fine now?"

I slowly turned my head to look at him, my brows pulling together slightly as the question settled in my chest. Someone had just killed herself right in front of me. The smile that was plastered on her face right before she died was unable to leave my head.

And he was asking if I was fine?

A quiet breath slipped past my lips as I looked away from him, my fingers tightening slightly against the bed sheets.

"I’m fine," I muttered, even though the word felt empty the moment it left my mouth.

I knew I wasn’t and he knew I wasn’t. I swallowed slowly, my throat feeling tight.

I was sure Kael might have listened if I had pleaded more. She shouldn’t have taken her life that way. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

"She was still going to die either way," Nicole added, like he could hear my thoughts. "Kael wasn’t going to let her off the hook."

My eyes lowered slightly, and I exhaled quietly. He had a point.

Kael had been a little different with me lately, softer in ways I didn’t expect, but that didn’t mean he would show the same mercy to someone else.

Elora had crossed a line, and I knew that even if I had begged, it probably wouldn’t have changed anything. Still, it didn’t stop the uneasy feeling sitting in my chest.

I shifted slightly, trying to sit up properly, but the moment I moved, a sharp pain surged through my abdomen, forcing a small gasp out of me as my body tensed.

Nicole moved immediately, stepping closer as his hand reached for my arm, steadying me before I could lose balance.

This made me remember what almost happened last time. The way he has almost kissed and how Kael got angry because of that.

"I thought you said you were getting better," he said, his brows furrowing slightly as his grip tightened just enough to keep me in place.

"Maybe I thought I was," I replied quietly, my voice softer now as I avoided his gaze.

His hand didn’t leave my arm. "No, you aren’t."

The way he said it made me pause, my eyes lifting to meet his for a second before I let out a small sigh.

"Okay," I said, leaning back slightly against the bed. "Since when did you know me so well?" A faint pause followed before I added, more quietly this time, "Thank you—for your help."

The words felt strange coming out of my mouth, but they were real.

Ever since the incident, he had been the one checking up on me, making sure everything was in place, doing things I didn’t expect from someone like him.

"Don’t take my actions as kindness," he replied almost immediately, a smirk forming at the corner of his lips as he slowly released my arm. "I told you already, I’m just like my brothers. My approach to wanting to get you fucked by me is just different."

My expression didn’t change, but my fingers curled slightly against the bed. I didn’t argue, but I almost chuckled. He was so honest about it.

"What happens after you get what you want?" I asked instead, my voice steady as I looked at him.

His smirk deepened slightly.

"There’s only one way for you to find out," he said, his tone low, teasing. "How badly do you want to figure that out?"

"I’m definitely not that curious," I replied immediately, shutting it down before he could push further.

His eyes lingered for a second too long, dropping briefly to my lips before lifting back to my eyes again, and I could feel the weight of that gaze in a way I didn’t like.

No.

Never.

There was no way I was falling for something as cheap as that. My jaw tightened slightly as I looked away from him, trying to push the feeling aside.

Then suddenly Elora’s words came back into my head and it was something she had told me before.

My brows furrowed slightly as my mind tried to piece it together again, something about what she had said refusing to leave me alone.

I had always known werewolves had mates and wolves.That was what I had read. That was what I believed. So why were they different?

I turned back to Nicole, my eyes narrowing slightly as curiosity pushed past everything else.

"Do you guys communicate with an inner wolf?" I asked slowly. "Do you have a mate? Why are you three different?"

The change in his expression was immediate. It was subtle, but I caught it. The slight tension in his shoulders.

It was like I had crossed a line I wasn’t supposed to, he didn’t speak and he then exhaled.

"Yeah," he said finally, his voice quieter now. "We don’t have a mate, we don’t have a wolf. I don’t think there is a way to fix it either."

I blinked, confusion written all over my face. That didn’t make any sense. How were they even this powerful then?

My mind tried to connect everything I thought I knew with what he had just said, but nothing fit properly, and it only made the confusion worse.

"We have a strong bloodline," he continued, his tone more controlled now. "Our power feeds on emotions and instincts instead of a wolf. We can still transform, but it depends on what we feel."

He paused briefly, his jaw tightening slightly before he continued.

"We were once seen as weak." Something about the way he said it made me still. There was more to it, and he looked like he was forced to tell me all of these.

"They call it the Blackthorne curse."

I stared at him for a second, trying to process it. They were this powerful without a wolf?.My mind couldn’t even fully wrap around that.

If they had one, then—

I shook the thought away slightly.

Even with all that power, there had to be something they lacked.

"That’s.impressive," I admitted quietly, my voice softer now.

I couldn’t even lie about that.

"It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it," I added after a moment, watching his face carefully. "Your brothers might get mad if they find out I know this much."

He scoffed lightly, shaking his head.

"What? I’m just telling you what everyone already knows," he said. "Do you really think I’d tell you something that’s meant to be a secret?"

A small breath left me.

Oh! That made sense. I almost laughed at myself. Why did I think he was trying to bond with me?

Stupid.

"Do you think the game will continue after this?" I asked, shifting the topic.

He looked at me for a second before smirking again.

"Why don’t you fuck around and find out?" he replied. "You know the kind of brothers I have. What do you think they’ll do?"

I didn’t need to think too hard about that. Kael would definitely want to continue in order to prove a point.

There was only one round left, and nothing about them suggested they would stop now.

"Okay," I muttered, leaning back slightly. "I just hope they take their time." Because I had no idea what would happen after it ended.

He stood up from the bed, about to walk away, but before he could take a step, my hand shot out, grabbing his wrist.

He stopped.

"Elora mentioned something about a knife," I said, my grip tightening slightly as I looked up at him. "And you all seem to know who it belongs to."

I held his gaze and needed this answer.

He let out a quiet sigh, his shoulders dropping slightly as if he had already made up his mind.

"Fuck it," he muttered. Then he looked at me.

"Riven."

Riven was the owner of the knife?