16. Keiro
SIXTEEN
KEIRO
The morning sun filtered through the forest canopy overhead as Keiro and Poppy emerged from the wooded area, their clothes slightly wrinkled from being hastily pulled on after their shift back to human form.
The euphoria of their run still hummed through the mate bond—wild freedom, primal connection, and the intoxicating promise of what their future could hold.
His wolf remained close to the surface, content and possessive after claiming this territory alongside his mate.
He was just reaching for the Bentley's door handle when the low purr of an approaching engine made him pause. A sleek black Mercedes materialized on the gravel road, its chrome gleaming like a predator's teeth. The vehicle moved with deliberate slowness, as if its occupant wanted to be noticed.
Through their bond, Keiro felt Poppy's mood shift like a storm front moving in. Her contentment evaporated, replaced by a sharp spike of irritation that made his own jaw clench in response. Her shoulders went rigid and the scent of her rising anger reached him on the breeze.
"Who's that?" he asked, though the tension radiating from her told him this wasn't a welcome visitor.
"My cousin Sander." The name left her lips like a curse.
Keiro's eyes narrowed as he studied the approaching vehicle. "Any idea why he'd be here right now?"
"No." Poppy's voice carried the edge of a blade. "But I'm sure we're about to find out."
The Mercedes came to a stop with theatrical precision, positioned to block their exit route.
The driver's door opened with the soft thunk of German engineering and out stepped a man who looked like he'd walked off the pages of a luxury lifestyle magazine.
Tall, broad-shouldered, with carefully styled light brown hair and clothing that screamed expensive taste without subtlety.
Everything about him was calculated—from his confident stride to the practiced smile that didn't reach his blue-green eyes.
Keiro's wolf bristled immediately. This man moved like a competitor, someone accustomed to taking up space and expecting deference. But there was something else, something that made Keiro's protective instincts flare. The way Sander's gaze lingered on Poppy held a menacing quality.
"Poppy!" Sander's voice carried across the distance between them, warm and charming in a way that felt rehearsed. "What a pleasant surprise finding you out here."
"What are you doing here, Sander?" Poppy's tone could have frozen fire.
Sander approached with the easy confidence of a man who'd never been told no, his hands tucked casually in his pockets.
"I just came by to see what has the elders so excited.
What makes this place so special." His gaze swept over the empty woodland with theatrical disappointment.
"Though I have to say, I don't see what all the fuss is about. There's nothing to see here."
"The groundbreaking is in a few days," Poppy replied, her voice steady despite the fury Keiro could feel building through their bond. "There will be plenty to see soon enough."
Sander's laugh was sharp and dismissive.
"You really think this is going to change anything?
You think the elders won't realize soon enough that you're just using this billionaire to save your own ass?
" His eyes flicked to Keiro with undisguised contempt.
"Cozying up with this wolf, pretending you like him so he keeps dishing out money and resources.
Clever, really. I almost admire the desperation. "
The mate bond exploded with Poppy's rage, a white-hot fury that made Keiro's vision flash gold.
His wolf snarled, demanding action, demanding he put this arrogant bastard in his place.
But Keiro forced himself to remain still.
Poppy was Alpha here. This was her territory, her pride, her fight.
Stepping in now would undermine everything she'd worked to build.
But damn, it took every ounce of control he possessed.
"Poppy, I've been watching you," Sander continued, his voice taking on a mock-concerned tone that made Keiro's skin crawl. "I see what you're doing here. But you won't get away with this charade much longer."
"The only thing I'm doing here," Poppy said, her voice deadly quiet, "is trying to save our pride, and make this space a place of unity, not division."
Sander's laughter was genuinely amused now, the sound grating against Keiro's nerves like nails on stone. "You really are delusional, aren't you? This wolf has got you so emotionally compromised that you're actually believing his bullshit."
That was it.
Keiro stepped forward, his voice dropping to the dangerous register that made seasoned businessmen reconsider their life choices. "Enough. Poppy is building something here that will serve generations to come. She's a remarkable Alpha, and if you can't see that, you're blind."
Sander's smile widened, predatory and pleased.
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that. Without you, she'd be broke and scrambling, and on her way out of being Alpha in ninety days.
" He turned that calculating gaze on Keiro.
"I see what game you're playing too, Alpha Izell.
You've been politically isolated for years.
You see an opportunity to form an alliance, build something that will make you relevant again, and you'll do whatever it takes to seize that opportunity. "
The accusation hit closer to home than Keiro cared to admit, but he kept his expression neutral. This man was fishing, looking for weaknesses to exploit.
Sander pivoted back to Poppy, his voice dripping with false disappointment. "Poppy, I really thought you had better taste in men. That you were smarter than this. But clearly, you're not."
"Well, I'm smart enough to know that Keiro doesn't need to prove anything to you or anyone else," Poppy snapped, her protective instincts flaring through the bond. "He's a powerful Alpha who doesn't need help or approval from anyone to succeed."
"Of course you'd defend your little boyfriend," Sander sneered. "But I see what's really going on here. And you two won't get away with it."
Before Keiro could respond—before he could give in to his wolf's demands and show this pretentious bastard exactly what a powerful Alpha looked like—Sander turned and walked back toward his Mercedes with the same theatrical confidence he'd arrived with.
The engine soon purred to life, and gravel scattered as he drove away, leaving them standing in a cloud of dust and tension.
Poppy stood rigid beside him, fury radiating from every line of her body.
Through the bond, Keiro felt the storm of her emotions—anger, frustration, and underneath it all, a thread of old hurt that made his chest tight.
"Don't let him get under your skin," Keiro said quietly, moving closer to her.
"He's worried because he sees this is actually working.
He sees our partnership succeeding and sees that your elders approve.
" He paused for a moment. "This retreat will be everything we envisioned and more.
He's just lashing out because his relevance is slipping away. "
Poppy nodded but didn't speak as he opened the Bentley's door for her, and he didn't push any further when he finally climbed into the driver's seat.
The drive back to his estate passed in weighted silence, but he didn't press her, just offered his silent support.
By the time they reached his family's property, he could tell she was barely holding onto her composure.
After they stepped out of the car, Keiro approached her carefully. "Everything is going to be okay. Don't let someone who's clearly threatened by your success get the best of you."
Finally, she looked up at him, and some of the tension eased from her features. A soft smile touched her lips. "You're right. I need to focus on what matters—our retreat, and us."
Relief flooded through him. "Exactly. Focus on the positive."
He leaned down and brushed his lips against hers in a gentle kiss, tasting the promise of their future. When they broke apart, she walked toward her modest SUV with renewed purpose in her step.
But as Keiro watched her drive away, Sander's words echoed in his mind.
The man's accusations had been designed to wound, but there was something else there—something far more dangerous.
His wolf prowled, sensing a threat. Every instinct told him to fix this, to remove the obstacle that dared threaten his mate and their future.
The heavy oak door of his family estate slammed shut behind Keiro with enough force to rattle the antique stained-glass panels.
His wolf was agitated and restless, the encounter with Sander burning through his veins like acid.
The bastard's smug confidence, his calculated cruelty toward Poppy, the way he'd looked at her like she was something to be conquered—it all made Keiro's vision flash red with barely restrained fury.
He stalked through the marble-floored foyer without acknowledging the ancestral portraits that lined the walls.
The familiar scents of cedar and rain that usually grounded him did nothing to calm the storm building in his chest. His protective instincts screamed at him to return to Poppy immediately, to station himself at her side until this threat was neutralized.
But the logical part of him insisted on gathering more information first.
The estate's office occupied the entire east wing's second floor, a testament to generations of Izell business dealings.
Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the sprawling territory beyond, while mahogany shelves housed everything from first-edition business texts to his father's collection of territorial maps.
Keiro bypassed it all, heading straight for the massive desk that dominated the room's center.