Roanoke clapped his hands, absolutely delighted. "Ah! There it is! The old magic recognizes the new!"
He thrust the gaudy gold wrapped gift toward them. "Now, my gift! For my one and only daughter…finally she is where she belongs!"
Kieran did not move or react.
Lyla touched her neck, her fingers coming away red. Still, she said nothing.
But her eyes…they finally flickered to him.
And in them, he saw…pity?
Maybe she saw through him now that they were connected…she saw him for who he really was.
The Alpha. The leader. The monster who had shattered the one heart he had sworn to protect.
"You are hurting," she whispered, so low only he could hear.
Kieran's scoff was a broken thing. "You don't know the half of it."
Roanoke shoved the gift into his arms. "Open it! It will be a symbol of your union!"
Mechanically, Kieran tore the wrapping.
Inside was a mirror.
But it didn't look normal… or maybe he didn't feel normal at the moment.
