Chapter Nine
Klarissa stood in the center of the dojo, her bare feet pressed into the polished wood.
The silence pressed in around her, thick with memory, and she couldn’t help but think of what had happened here earlier that day.
The words, the accusations—it all clung to the air like smoke she couldn’t escape.
Her chest tightened, but she forced her shoulders back, spine straight.
Whatever came next, she would face it. No matter what the outcome was, she had to get through this.
The faint creak of the stairwell door opening had her turning.
Her breath hitched when she saw them. Rune and Kamon stepped into the light, and the sight nearly undid her.
They looked wrecked—clothes rumpled, faces pale, eyes shadowed with raw emotion.
Their hair was a mess, their posture tight with strain, and the pain in their eyes was raw enough to cut her in half.
Her lungs squeezed, but she didn’t move.
They came closer, but without her saying a word, they stopped a few paces away, as if an invisible wall barred them.
The space between them yawned wide, a physical chasm carved by betrayal and grief, and Klarissa wrapped her arms around herself to keep from trembling.
She lifted her chin, forcing steel into her frame, and waited.
They shifted, uncertain, but neither stepped forward. Rune’s jaw flexed, Kamon’s fists opened and closed at his sides. Klarissa arched a brow, waiting, her silence a challenge. She had given them this chance. Now it was on them to bridge the distance—or not at all.
Rune was the first to speak, his voice hoarse. “We’re sorry. Gods, Klarissa, we’re so fucking sorry. We hate ourselves for what we said.”
Kamon’s eyes glistened as he nodded. “We don’t deserve forgiveness, but we need to ask for it anyway. Please, waan jai.”
Klarissa’s voice was quiet but steady. “For what? Do you even know what hurt me the most?”
Both men answered at the same time, raw conviction in their tone. “You are not your father.”
The words slammed into her chest, and she sucked in a sharp breath. They were right—that was what had gutted her most. The one fear that had been her shadow, thrown back at her as truth.
Rune took a tentative step closer, his eyes never leaving hers.
“You are not him. You’re everything he could never be—brave, brilliant, compassionate.
We lashed out because of our own pain, and we’ll never forgive ourselves for it.
We beat you with words when you least deserved it, and that shame will stay with us. ”
Kamon added, voice thick. “Boonsri was our heart. Losing her shattered us. But it doesn’t excuse what we said. It never will. We will carry that guilt for the rest of our lives.”
Klarissa swallowed hard, her throat tight. “What did you mean earlier—about your parents?”
A ghost of a smile tugged at Kamon’s mouth, sad and soft. “We told them everything. We thought our father would want to fly here and kill you himself.”
Klarissa inhaled sharply, her hand going to her chest. Fuck, of course he would—they would hate her.
“Shit, no, waan jai,” Kamon said, his face a mask of horror, his hands out in appeal. “He was never thinking that, never. In fact, it was the exact opposite.”
Rune gave a short, broken laugh. “He said we were fools. That you’re a good girl, and that the blame is only Caruso’s. They were more intelligent than their sons, Klarissa. They told us not to come home without you.”
Kamon’s voice cracked. “They said they want their daughter-in-law to come home to them, so they can spoil you. Be there for the parent that you lost and the one you never had.”
Klarissa’s lips parted, her breath shaky. “And you think ... after what was said, after what was broken between us, we can just step back into that future?” Her arms tightened around her chest as if holding herself together.
Rune shook his head hard. “No. We don’t expect you to just forgive and forget, suuway. We expect to earn it. To prove every day that we are not those men who lashed out in pain. That we’re the mates you deserve.”
Kamon added, his voice low and urgent, “We’ll crawl if we must, beg if we have to. We’ll never stop trying to convince you we’re worthy of standing beside you.”
Her throat burned. “But how do I know you won’t look at me one day and see him again? How do I know I won’t always be a reminder of everything you lost?”
Rune stepped forward another inch, eyes glistening. “Because when I look at you, I see the woman who survived hell, who fights for everyone else even when she can barely stand herself. I see strength I could never dream of. You don’t remind me of him, Klarissa—you erase him.”
Kamon’s hand lifted, hovering mid-air, aching to touch her. “And when I look at you, I see my future. Our future. If you’ll let us. You asked if we know what hurt you most—we do. And we’ll never use those words again. Not even in anger. Not ever.”
She drew in a ragged breath, tears threatening. “You’re asking me to risk everything again. My heart. My trust. My soul.”
Rune’s reply was a whisper, raw and sure. “Then risk it with us. Because we’ll stake everything we are on giving it back to you tenfold.”
Klarissa stared at them, torn between fear and the flicker of hope, her pulse a storm in her ears. For the first time, she wondered if forever wasn’t as impossible as she’d always believed.
Her knees nearly buckled, the weight of their words crushing and lifting her all at once. For the first time since the rooftop, she let herself breathe. To actually take in a full breath.
She wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand, voice shaking but firm. “I don’t want to regret losing you.”
With those words, she stepped forward. Rune and Kamon moved at once, wrapping her between them, holding her where she belonged—safe in their arms. Klarissa tilted her face up and kissed Kamon first. His lips trembled against hers as he whispered, “I’m sorry. I love you.”
He turned her gently, and Rune’s mouth claimed hers, pouring his emotion into the kiss until she felt consumed. When he pulled back, his voice was raw velvet. “I love you too.”
Her breath shook as she looked between them. “So... what now?”
The twins shared a look, wry smiles tugging at their mouths. Kamon huffed a quiet laugh. “Well, now we go see if a lion wants to let a couple of tigers come play.”
Rune snorted, pressing a last kiss to her temple. “And hope he doesn’t bite our heads off.”
Hand in hand, with Klarissa tucked between them, they left the dojo together.
****
Walking downstairs with Klarissa between them, Kamon’s chest felt like it had been split in two, and was tenuously being held together with duct tape.
The mate bond was still absent, that invisible thread severed earlier by their actions in the dojo, but he clung to her presence at his side.
If the cost of their betrayal was the bond itself, he would learn to live with it—so long as Klarissa never left them again.
He would give his last breath to keep her safe.
They reached the bottom floor, and the others had moved to the living area.
Kieran stood apart from the others, his gaze locked on them with an intensity that made Kamon’s tiger prowl just beneath his skin.
The lion inside the Alpha was dangerously close to the surface, his presence radiating dominance and fury.
Kamon’s tiger paced restlessly, but there was no hunger for a fight, only the deep, instinctive urge to submit. To pledge. To belong.
Klarissa stiffened beside them, but Kamon gave her hand a quick squeeze. Then he kept his chin lifted, though his pulse hammered in his ears. He knew what was at stake.
Kieran’s voice was low, lethal. “You think you can walk down here, after what you did, and expect to stand in my Pride’s house without answering for it?”
Klarissa opened her mouth, eyes flashing, but Rune stepped in quickly. “Not you, suuway. Not this time. We broke trust with you, Alpha. Which means we broke trust with the Pride. That’s on us.”
Kamon nodded, shoulders squared. “We don’t deny it. We were reckless. Cruel. We let our pain drive us, and we failed her. We failed all of you.”
Violet snorted, arms crossed. “Well, look at that—two tigers admitting they screwed up. Mark the calendar, boys, I didn’t think I’d live to see the day.”
Mason smirked. “Careful, Vi. If they’re already humbling themselves, they might decide groveling is their new favorite pastime.”
Jacob chuckled. “Might be the only way they get back in Klarissa’s good graces.”
The sarcasm stung, but Kamon didn’t flinch. He kept his eyes on Kieran, waiting for judgment. He owed the man that respect. His lion had the right to demand answers.
Liam finally spoke, voice steady but sharp. “So, what do you want, tigers? Because you can’t have both. You can’t expect to carry the trust of this Pride and treat someone who is bending over backward to protect your pride mates like you did.”
Kamon’s throat tightened, but his voice came clear. “We want to stay. We want to fight for this city, for this Pride, for Klarissa. And if that means pledging our fealty to Black Ridge, then that’s what we’ll do. No hesitation.”
Rune stepped forward, matching his stance. “We’ll earn it. With blood, with sweat, with whatever it takes. We’ll never stop proving ourselves until you believe it.”
Kieran’s gaze flicked to Klarissa, who stood tense and silent, her hand still caught in Kamon’s. Then his piercing eyes returned to them. The air between them was a taut wire, straining under the weight of judgment.
Finally, Kieran spoke, slow and deliberate. “Words are easy, tigers. Proving them? That’s the hard part. You want in my Pride? Then you don’t just pledge—you bleed with us. For us.”
Kamon felt the weight of that promise settle on his shoulders like chains and wings at once.
His tiger surged in response, restless but ready.
He didn’t hesitate, not for a heartbeat, he tipped his head to the side in submission.
“Then we’ll bleed, Alpha. We’ll bleed until there’s nothing left if that’s what it takes. ”
Rune’s jaw flexed, tilting his own head and his voice rang out in unison. “Whatever it takes.”
Kieran stepped forward, his claws sliding free with a deadly shimmer.
“Shirts off,” he ordered, and both Kamon and Rune stripped without hesitation, baring their chests.
With one swift motion, Kieran slashed across Kamon’s chest, then Rune’s, the cuts shallow but burning with power.
Klarissa made a sound of distress but held.
Strong. As. Fuck.
Kamon’s tiger roared inside him at the sting, but he would never admit the pain. He welcomed it.
Then Kieran cut his own palm, Liam doing the same, and together they pressed their bloody hands to the wounds over Kamon’s and Rune’s hearts.
Fire seared through Kamon’s body, his knees buckling as the Pride bond forged itself within him.
Rune collapsed beside him, both of them gasping at the sheer, overwhelming force of it.
This was nothing like the mate bond—it was heavier, broader, stretching outward until Kamon could feel every heartbeat in the Pride.
Kieran’s voice thundered, ritual words vibrating through the floor itself. “By claw and by blood, by vow and by brotherhood. Do you pledge your fealty to Black Ridge, to fight and bleed as Pride?”
Kamon and Rune’s voices rose together, unshaken. “We pledge our fealty. Our blood, our lives, our loyalty—it’s yours.”
The bond snapped into place with the final word, locking tight around them like chains of fire and steel. They were Pride.
The room shivered with the echo of it. Then Kieran grabbed each of them by the forearm and hauled them to their feet. To Kamon’s shock, the Alpha pulled them both into a crushing hug. Over his shoulder, Kamon saw Klarissa crying openly, Violet wiping her own cheeks with uncharacteristic tenderness.
The moment broke with two deep voices booming from the staircase. “What the hell is going on down here then?”
Everyone turned. Kamon blinked, stunned, as two massive men, bear shifters, strode into the room—brothers, unmistakably, both radiating Alpha dominance.
“Everyone,” Kamon thought it best to introduce everyone. “The biggest bastard on the left is Victor, and the other is his younger brother Ivan Hrytsenko, the leaders of the Elite Shifter Enforcers.”
Violet’s eyes narrowed. “How the fuck did you get through my system?”
Victor grinned. “You really think your sensors and firewalls can stop us, little one?” He indicated toward Kamon and Rune with his head. “We got their resignation. We had to come and tell them that we don’t accept it.”
Rune stiffened at Kamon’s side. “What the hell does that mean? You can’t not accept a resignation.”
Ivan snorted. “You don’t walk away from the ESE, boys. And even if you tried, we wouldn’t let you. You’re ours as much as you are theirs. Fealty and pledge be damned.”
Kieran stepped forward, his lion surging, his voice sharp. “They’re Black Ridge now. My Pride. Do not step between me and one of mine, Yogi. It will not end well for you.”
Dominance crackled between them for a long moment, until the bears finally gave twin grins and nodded.
“Good.” Victor said with a grin. “It’s about time two of ours found their forever home. Gives us hope for the rest of them.” Their eyes slid deliberately to Klarissa. “You’ll need both of them.”
“They’re mine,” Klarissa said glaring at them.
“Too right, beauty,” Ivan admitted, hands in the air in surrender. “They are yours. Anyone with eyes can tell that.”
Kamon’s chest tightened as Klarissa flushed under the weight of that acknowledgment.
Victor added, “We’re here with a few of the brothers. Thought you could use some backup tomorrow.”
Klarissa’s voice broke through. “How did you even know?”
Victor winked. “Because we’re the ESE, sweetheart. We know everything.” He turned toward Violet. “Now, be a good girl and send the elevator down for the rest. They’re waiting in the lobby.”
Violet bristled. “If they couldn’t get past my systems, how the hell did you get in?”
Ivan shrugged. “Because no one climbs like a bear.”
The looks of confusion on everyone’s faces made Kamon bark out a laugh.
He wrapped his arm around Klarissa’s waist, Rune mirroring the gesture from her other side, both of them holding her steady in the storm of alliances and revelations.
Whatever came next, they would face it together.
And having members of the ESE here with them certainly gave them an edge.