Chapter 18
KIERAN
Finding Darian wasn’t hard. The guys are about as predictable as hangovers after tequila. He will be at the gym, trying to beat his anger into a punching bag… or some poor bastard dumb enough to take him on. Happens every time he’s pissed, but this time it’s over a girl.
Temptress.
She came into our lives like she had always belonged there, and it almost felt natural, even if I didn’t speak a lot to her. But I always watched.
Ronan is completely gone for her, like she’s the only person he sees now.
I get it. Hell, I feel it. She’s gorgeous, trouble in the kind of body that men lose sleep over. And that scent… cherries and vanilla. It hits me every time she’s near, and it gets under my skin, makes my chest tighten like I’ve been chain-smoking.
I needed to drink, but I couldn’t, and usually I would take the edge off between someone’s legs. But now the thought repulsed me, because the only legs I wanted to be between were hers.
It makes no fucking sense.
But she’s forbidden. Was forbidden.
I don’t fucking know.
The blood mage had clearly staked his claim on her, but that wouldn’t stop Ronan. Darian, on the other hand, can’t stand her, hence why he’s currently trying to murder that poor punching bag in the corner. Two others already lie dead on the floor, ripped clean off the chain.
He has one hell of a temper, that one.
From what I could tell, he knew Temptress, and something had gone wrong between them. But every time her name came up—or his gaze lingered on her—his eyes betrayed him. I know him well enough to see the difference between real hate and the kind of hate he forces himself to feel.
As I got closer, ignoring everyone else who was loitering around, Darian was throwing punch after punch. Just gym shorts on, tattoos out, hair tied back with a few strands clinging to his sweat-slicked skin.
Every punch was sharp. Measured. Controlled—because that’s just who he is. Even when he’s seething, he still counts under his breath.
“You let all that anger out yet?” I called, my tone edged with amusement.
He didn’t answer. Didn’t even glance my way, his knuckles already raw. He just wiped the sweat from his brow and kept his eyes locked on the bag like it had personally wronged him.
I leaned against the wall in front of him, arms crossed, waiting. My fingers twitched ever so slightly, and my mouth was dry.
Whisky. Alcohol. Something.
Darian wasn’t the type to spill his feelings, but as I said, I know him better than most.
“Let me guess,” I drawled. “You’re pissed because a certain little witch is still breathing.” His jaw tightened, but he didn’t react.
I pushed off the wall, stepping closer to him and lowering my voice. “Or maybe, just maybe, you don’t actually hate her. You hate that you can’t hate her.”
That did it. His fists clenched at his sides, his breathing a little sharper.
Bingo.
He swung at me without a second thought. I saw it coming from a mile away and stepped back, chuckling at how predictable he was.
“Jesus, you’re predictable,” I taunted. “I’ve never known anyone to piss you off so much, and you voluntarily spend time with Sera.”
His ex—or whatever label fits. Fuck buddy, mistake, walking headache. She’s a piece of work either way. Spreads her legs for anyone with a pulse and can’t seem to keep her tongue off the floor whenever Vespera is around.
Obsessed doesn’t even cut it. It’s pathetic.
“Piss off, Kieran.” He snapped, ripping off whatever bandages were still on his hands. As they hit the floor in a careless heap, he walked over to his bag.
I watched him grab his water bottle, chugging half before tipping the rest over his head. His chest heaved as he tried to cool off, water running down his jaw and soaking the waistband of his shorts.
Darian was unravelling, and it was pretty fucking entertaining because he never lets anything get to him unless it's dirt or an untidy kitchen.
“Did she leave?” He asked after a moment, dragging a towel over his face, gaze locked onto me, waiting for an answer.
I smirked, sliding my hands into my pockets. My fingers brushed the small blade I kept there, and I pressed against it until I felt the sting—just enough to ground me. The sharp bite cut through the craving, dulled the urge to drink.
For now.
“No,” I drawled. “Pretty sure Ronan’s balls deep in her right about now.”
Lucky bastard.
His body went rigid, his grip on the towel tightening like he was imagining strangling someone with it. For a second, I thought he might lose it, but instead, he forced a slow breath through his nose and bent down to grab his shit.
“He’s letting his dick control him.” He muttered, shoving things into his bag with more force than necessary.
I have no room to comment about that, as I’m pretty sure my cock and alcohol control me.
Stepping closer to him, my voice dropped just enough to make him listen.
“You’re wrong, Darian.” His jaw clenched as he looked at me.
“He cares about her. You can see it every time he looks at her or talks about her. If you think he’s just in it for a quick fuck, then you don’t know him as well as you think. It won’t be long before he loves her.”
“Then he’s just going to get hurt.” He responded, throwing his bag over his shoulder.
“Whatever happened between you two, you need to get over it. I don’t have a clue what happened, and I don't really care. The past is the past, you need to try and be civil or next time I won’t stop Ronan from fucking you up.”
He scoffed, barely sparing me a glance. “She’s trouble, always has been. And ever since she showed up again, shits been off—vamps walking around in the damn sunlight and coming into Velmore a lot more frequently. She’s hiding something. I can feel it.”
He's not wrong, and I wish I could tell him, but he’s too close to Vespera.
I side-stepped him. “I’m not disagreeing with you. But, maybe instead of threatening to chop her up, ask her why she left, because I think she’s here to stay. And she also stopped Daleyza from being killed last night.”
His head snapped towards me so fast I thought he might give himself whiplash. “What are you talking about?”
I kept pressing the blade into my skin. “She’s in our place recovering because she nearly drained herself dry saving Daleyza from those fuckers who won’t leave her alone,” I said, voice low. “They had a knife this time.”
I paused, letting him take it in.
“She didn’t even know your sister. But she stepped in anyway, risking her life for a stranger.”
Darian just stood there, gripping the handle of the bag over his shoulder. “She got my respect and a sliver of my trust the moment Drew and Daleyza told me.”
She’s keeping secrets. Can’t blame her for that—she doesn’t know us, well, she doesn’t know me.
But I know she hasn’t lied to us. I’d feel it if she had—perks of whatever witch crept in my bloodline generations ago.
It’s not a flashy gift, but it’s useful for my job as a Hunter. I can always tell if someone is lying.
Ronan’s different. He can block his mind. Only a handful of Hunters get abilities, and even then, it's rare. You’ve gotta be descended from witches, and most witches don’t shack up with humans or anything else. They stick to their own.
Darian exhaled sharply, tilting his head to stare at the ceiling like the answer to all of his problems was written up there. “I still hate her.”
I was curious to know what happened. But I also needed a drink, because my blood was all over my hand now.
I smirked at him. “You’ll have to get over that at some point.” I started walking with him, both of us heading towards the exit. I shot him a look.
“Your brother has claimed her as his best friend. Daleyza is probably thrilled to have another girl around. Don’t fuck it up with your hot-headed bullshit.”
We stopped by the doors, and I rested my hand on the bag next to him, careful to avoid his shoulder. “Look, I get it—there's history between you two, and it doesn’t help that she's… well, fucking gorgeous.”
“I haven’t noticed.”
I laughed. “Fucking liar. The woman is in our life now, Ronan isn’t far behind in loving her and fuck, she’s so lonely in those woods.”
It pissed me off, knowing she was lonely.
Not just the kind you feel after a bad day—the kind that eats at you, day in and day out.
I saw it in how she melted under Ronan’s touch, how she clung to his smiles like she hadn’t had warmth in years.
Even the blood mage's obsession didn’t scare her off.
That kind of emptiness doesn’t just go away.
It makes you crave connection so badly; you’ll take it in any form—kindness, obsession, even chaos.
She’s guarded, yeah, but not stupid. She watches everything and calculates before she speaks.
And still, there’s something in her eyes that’s starving for closeness.
Loneliness will do that to you. It breaks you down.
It makes it easier to let people in, even when you know better.
She hasn’t even told us her name, and still…
she’s already let us see more than she probably meant to.
I’m just a stubborn bastard who doesn’t let anyone else in but my brothers and Daleyza. Hence why I fuck and throw women away, never letting myself feel.
“How do you feel about her?” He asked.
I shrugged. “I would fuck her if that’s what you’re asking.”
“You fuck everyone.” He deadpanned
True. But not since I met her.
I sighed, sidestepping a group of hunters that came through the door. “Look… she’s different, I respect her, and I accept that she will be in our lives. But that’s it, even if I did like her, I would never have her.”
Nobody deserved to be stuck with me.
My hands twitched in my pocket, and he noticed, he always does when I need a drink.
“Just talk to the girl.”
“I’ll talk to her when you deal with your shit, Kieran.” I knew he was worried; everyone was, but it was easier said than done.
The doors slid open again, and in walked Sera—hair yanked into a too-tight black ponytail; face caked in makeup thick enough to crack. Brown eyes dull as ever, fake smile stretching across overfilled lips. She was wearing a light two-piece get-up and heels, which meant she was working today.
“Hey, handsome.” She cooed—if you could call that nasally high-pitched voice a coo. It was that high-pitched that I was half expecting the animals from the Whispering Woods to come crashing through the windows.
Darian must be deaf to have sex with her.
“Sera,” he grunted, barely sparing her a glance. His eyes flickered over her once, flat and unreadable, not a hint of interest on his face. “What do you want?”
She didn’t even spare me a fucking glance, probably a good thing because I didn’t particularly like being around her.
“Two things, first, do you fancy going out tomorrow night?” she batted her eyelashes, and I tried not to eye roll. “Secondly, Vespera has called an emergency meeting tonight.”
Well, that didn’t sound good.
Darian eyed me, “We will be there, do you know what it’s about?”
Some of the other Hunters that came in before, including Ronan’s friend Jeremy, came over when they spotted Sera. Some fancied her, probably been dick deep in her, but luckily, Jeremy also hated her, which made me tolerate him.
I could tell she was annoyed that he didn’t answer her first question; she tapped her fingernails against her side, her chest pushed out like that would change his mind.
One woman I haven’t touched—and not for lack of trying, I’d sooner suck off a cactus with one up my ass than lay a finger on her.
“The seers had another vision, and Vespera isn't happy.”