Chapter 8 8

DIANA'S POV

Kael pulls back and I finally feel able to breathe again. Something about the feeling of him so close sends goosebumps across my skin.

It's like if he touched me, my heart wouldn't be able to stand it.

He sits on the bed, arms behind him, and stares at his lap.

"That wolf you saw earlier today was me. I shifted into my wolf to show you I wasn't human, because I doubted your smarta** would believe me if I had just told you," he starts off. "I'm a werewolf, just like everyone else here."

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, like the next thing he's about to say tastes like lime on his tongue.

"Eric injected a poison into you. The toxin traveled as fast as light through your organs and blood vessels, destroying you from the inside out. You were dead... but only for a few minutes. I knew I had to do something quickly-I couldn't just watch you die-so I sucked out as much Kryptonite as possible, marking you in the process."

"I managed to keep you alive long enough to bring you here and place you in the healing pod that sustained both you and your child, Xiana."

"But... how was I able to deliver Xiana since I was unconscious?"

"Through Bernice. She's a doctor-not just an ordinary one." He stifles a chuckle. "I remember when she came running to us for shelter after the apocalypse. Bernice has been a great help to us... and to you. She performed the operation to cut Xiana out of you. It was either you'd die having her, or live after she was born. Xiana had torn deep into your stomach, that's when we realized you were due."

Kael laughs, shaking his head. "Xiana... she's always been a fighter, even before she was born."

Words clog my throat as I stare at Kael.

My parents had hated me for that exact reason. No one wanted to be around the girl who tried to eat her way out of her mother's body.

But he took care of her. He treated her like his own child.

I look away and fold my arms around my chest. "Wow..." I trail off, trying to find my words. "So... I have to live here forever? Is there any guarantee I won't freeze to death?"

"You'll adapt faster than you expect," he says. "This is the safest place you can be. Humans are incapable of invading this territory."

There's a hint of skepticism in his voice that makes me look at him.

"Eric has been trying to find me, hasn't he?"

Kael's shoulders tense. "Not just you, Diana. All of us. We aren't human-we're the discovery he's been searching for."

My heart skips three beats. "He knows you exist? I led him to all of you, didn't I?"

Kael looks at me, notices how tense I'm becoming, and stands. "No, you didn't-

"He must've known you'd come after me. That bastard used me to get to your people. I put everyone in danger-

"No, Diana. Relax. Eric had always known about us. It's my fault he got the certification that we exist. I led him here because I couldn't control my emotions. You're my mate, and it's my duty to protect you. It's a force I can't control. Eric ran the test, and it worked."

"You're alive. That's all that matters. What we need now is to stop Eric and make this place safe for everyone."

I don't say anything else, but I know it's my fault. If I hadn't been so naive as to believe Eric loved me, these people wouldn't be in danger.

Kael has nothing to do with it. It's all my fault-and I need to fix this.

I need to bring an end to Eric before he can hurt anyone else. It's the least I can do to repay Kael for being there for me and my child.

"How can we bring him down?" I ask calmly.

Kael's lips curve into a dangerous smile. "First, you need to get familiar with your new self."

Kael sees the confusion in my eyes. He steps forward and grabs my hand. My heart starts beating too hard. He leads me to a large mirror made of ice, and I'm startled by what I see.

My eyes are no longer blue but brown. My hair is longer. I'm thinner, weaker... and in a beautiful green gown that makes me look like one of those happy movie stars. I can't remember ever looking this... okay.

Kael's eyes are on me, soft and full of something I can't name.

No one has ever looked at me like that-not with awe, not with patience.

"You're gorgeous, love," he murmurs, "but not yet the version I know you'll become."

I stop myself from swallowing.

He stands behind me and runs his thumb over a deep mark on my neck.

"When I marked you, your metabolism changed. Over time, the wolves caring for you began to notice strange changes. You were becoming who you truly are. A hybrid-half wolf, half human, and something else... something we haven't identified yet. Your impulses have strengthened, but you haven't learned to control them yet."

No wonder I had caught Dante's hand so quickly... I could hear heartbeats so clearly... and I felt so strong when I came out of that pod.

"I'll teach you how to control those powers. And until we figure out what that other part of you is, I won't launch an attack on Eric."

"But why? What if he tries attacking again?"

"Then we'll defend. But we need a plan. We need to be strong enough to destroy him-

I turn to look at him, not realizing how close he is. Our noses almost touch. I swallow a gasp, and thankfully, he takes a good step back.

"Um... is there something about Eric that's changed over the years?"

Kael looks away and frowns. Something isn't right.

"Tell me."

Kael walks back to the bed and sits. I wait impatiently for a response. "What's wrong?"

"He got remarried." I don't feel my heart in my chest anymore.

"To a president's daughter. It must've been part of his strategy, he has more support than ever before. He's built so many organizations, so many security systems. The last time I sent a spy out to monitor him... I found out Eric is building something. Something deadly. But I have no clue what it is."

"That's why I need to be prepared. Who knows what that machine is capable of?"

As much as I no longer love Eric, it still hurts deeply to know he married someone else. It's obvious I was nothing more to him than a tool. A social experiment.

Now I have a child who's a product of him.

I'm glad Xiana never had to grow up around a man like that.

I need to see her.

I need to apologize for the blood that runs in her veins.

I need to tell her how happy I am she survived-that even if I got no love from my own parents, I'll love her more than anything.

"You're crying, Diana?" Kael says. I look away and wipe the tear that escaped my eye.

"No, I wasn't." But my voice betrays me. "I just... need to see my daughter, please."

I feel Kael's eyes on me. He gets to his feet and nods softly. "You can always see her, whenever you want. I'll go get her."

"...Thank you... Kael."

"You don't ever have to thank me, Diana."

He walks to the door and smiles grimly.

"You shouldn't waste your tears on those a**holes, love. They don't deserve a bit of it."

He leaves, and his words echo through my heart.

I try to hold it in-God knows I've held it in for too long. But the moment he leaves, everything spills out.

The tears, the guilt, the ache in my chest. I fold into myself, arms clutched tight, sobbing for everything I've lost... and everything I still have to protect.