Isaldora looked at Renna, who was sitting as still as a statue, for a second she thought she has gone under a fit arrest. She pinched the bridge of her nose. The last thing she needed was to babysit a meltdown when her own life was a damn mess right now. After what felt like a lifetime, Renna finally managed to choke out some barely... barely proper words. "You—you can't be serious. You're telling me that wolf guy is my… what? My forever person? My fated 'other half'? That's insane. That's straight-up insane."
Isaldora's eyes narrowed, her pateince was running out. "Renna, listen to me. I get it, alright? This is a lot. But stop calling him a wolf guy—he's your mate. That bond? It's damn real. You can kick, scream, deny all you want, but it won't just go away." she almost snapped at her. "And weren't you saying that you were in a damn relationship with Xavier. You already feel the pull, so cut the crap denying it." Isaldora said and for a moment her own words slapped back to her. Wasn't she also denying? But hers was a different case. She brushed off the thought focussing back to Renna.
Renna's eyes filled with fresh tears, her voice cracking. "But I don't want this! What if he—what if he hurts me?"
Isaldora looked at her, just looked at her. She knew that Renna had her right to panic but she had her own problems—Kaelith, the mate bond, her revenge. But she forced herself to breathe, forced the edge out of her voice. Barely.
"Renna." Her tone was firmer now, slower, like she was talking to a kid on the verge of hysterics. "Xavier would never hurt you. He might've shifted reclessly scaring the shit out of you, but he would die before he lets happen to you. Do you get that? He'll protect you—at any cost. That's what mates do."
"You've been with him for two months now, haven't you?" Isaldora asked and Renna's gaze flicked up, confused but she nodded
"Then tell me," Isaldora pressed, tilting her head, "in all that time, did he ever once make you feel unsafe? Did you ever believe Xavier would hurt you?"
Renna froze, the words catching in her throat. It was true Xavier had always made her feel safe. He'd been gentle with her, all gentlemen type. And somehow Isaldora's words cleared the haze before her eyes.
Isaldora saw the way Renna's shoulder began to relax and she sighed a breath of relief. Finally, thank goodness. She looked at the ceiling relieved she won't have to spend more of her energy coeing her.
"Look, I know you're still scared. But trust me on this one thing—you're safer with him than without him. He'll do anything to make you happier. So give him a chance." she added her tone casual.
After a moment Renna nodded slightly. Isaldora was enjoying the silence when Renna leaned forward slightly, fiddling with her sleeve. "So… Mr. Bane. He's a wolf too? Like Xavier?"
Isaldora let out a long sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. Of course. Another question.Too much for her silence. Her temples were already throbbing. Chatter was never her thing. "Renna, you need to understand something. Duskhowl might look like a town to you, but it's not. It's a pack. A royal werewolf pack."
Renna's mouth opened again, and Isaldora quickly lifted a hand. "And before you start with another round of what-ifs—no, I don't know much about them. If you want details, you should ask Xavier. He'll tell you more than I care to."
Which was true enough. She actually didn't know much about them even though she used to read about them out curiosity when she was eight. And Ivan had always pestered her for her smitness to them. But who knew that actually her interest would come bitting at her.
Renna frowned but stayed quiet, which was a miracle in itself. Isaldora studied her for a moment, then added in a lower, steadier voice, "One more thing—you'll need to be careful around Xavier. Not that he's gonna hurt you but Renna wolves are possessive of their mates. Sometimes he's going to get protective, maybe even a little overbearing. Don't panic when that happens. Just—use your brain properly."
She almost snorted. Damn. Look at me—giving mate advice like some seasoned matchmaker. Never mind the fact that my own bond was the one thing I refused to acknowledge. Hypocrite much? Yes.
Renna tilted her head, her eyes narrowing as if she'd caught a flicker of something unspoken. "And what about Mr. Bane? Is he… yours? Like Xavier is mine?"
Isaldora froze for a split second. Her mind went blank. Wow. She noticed? Damn it.She had assumed Renna had been too rattled back in the hall to catch on to anything between her and Kaelith. But nope—apparently she'd had been paying attention damn too well.
Still, she schooled her face, "That… is complicated," she said smoothly, shutting it down with a dismissive tone. "And not something you need to stick your nose into."
Renna wanted to ask more but one look at Isaldora shut her up fast.
——
"Dig into Aether," Kaelith said, leaning back in his chair, voice low but firm. "Everything. I want every scrap of detail—about Isla, the company, her connections. Even her family, if you can dig that deep."
Xavier frowned. "You think something's wrong with her?"
Kaelith exhaled slowly, eyes narrowing on nothing in particular. "Not wrong. Just… not adding up. I just can't put my finger on it."
Three years. That's all it took for Aether to climb into the big leagues. Empires didn't rise that fast without leaving bones buried somewhere. And Isla—she carried that truth about werewolves like it was casual trivia. No shock, no fear, no hesitation. Not even a flicker of doubt. Just cool, collected silence, while her human secretary damn near fell apart.
Yeah. Things weren't adding up.
And then there was the bond.
The way she'd stood her ground, eyes locked on his like she didn't feel a thing, like the most sacred tie in their world wasn't affecting her. No one had ever resisted it. And humans? Not a chance. And yet somehow Isla, was fighting against that pull. Humans weren't strong enough to do that.
The thought made Kaelith's wolf snarl in the back of his mind.
Kaelith's gaze snapped back to Xavier. "When you first met Renna… how did it feel? What happened?"
Xavier blinked like he'd just been asked to solve calculus. "Uh… how is that helpful?"
"Answer the damn question."
"Right. Uh…" Xavier scratched at his neck. "I was at the club. Then my wolf just flipped—restless as hell. Next thing, I catch this scent… sweetest damn thing I've ever smel—"
Kaelith cut him off with a snap of his fingers. "Exactly. The scent."
Xavier just stared, blankly. Lost. His expression screamed: What the hell are you on about, bro?
Kaelith clenched his jaw. "Scent, Xavier. You smelled Renna before you even saw her. That's what drew you in." He leaned forward, eyes darkening with the weight of the thought clawing at him. "But with Isla? There was nothing. Every time I've met her, her scent's been faint. Like smoke slipping through my fingers. Not forgetting that both our mates are human."
Xavier blinked again, still looking like he was trying to keep up.
Kaelith ignored him.
Before, he could barely catch Isla's scent—like it was always slipping through his fingers. But today, right when he was about to step in and clean up the mess Xavier had created, something snapped in him. He felt a heaviness in his chest—and the next second his wolf lost it. For a second he didn't understand why his wolf was annoying him—but then it slammed into him. Isla's scent. Roses under moonlight, lavender with a soft, sweet edge. It wasn't strong but enough. Enough to tear through him, enough to make his wolf growl the one word he'd been craving, dying for—mate. His chest tightened, the truth settling heavy in his bones. He had been given a mate.
He couldn't believe it, and his wolf? he wasn't making it easy for him to think. He was snarling, pacing, gnawing at the him for control, to take her, to claim her right then and there. And then she was in his arms, how good she felt, fitting him perfectly. Every damn cell in his body was screaming to make her his, to claim her. But all those thoughts shattered when she pushed him off. He was shocked that she could do that.
And then her scent became faint again, as if it had never been there at all.
Kaelith closed his eyes for a beat, jaw clenching. Why the hell would her scent flicker like that? What the fuck is she hiding?
His eyes opened, pinning directly at Xavier with a sharp look. "Find me everything you can, her clients, the people she moves with. Every detail."
Xavier nodded once, serious now.
"And, Xavier—" Kaelith's tone hardened, brooking no argument. "This stays between us. No one else hears a word of it."
———
Isaldora stood in the middle of her room, ready to poof the hell out of there. Sitting here doing nothing? No way in hell was she just gonna sit around, twiddling her thumbs like some idiot, when what she needed were answers—when what she needed was a way out of this mess.
Once Renna's meltdown finally burned out, Isaldora shoved her out the door without a second thought. Honestly, the girl should've been grateful she'd even bothered to answer half her questions instead of letting her sob herself into a puddle on the floor.
She might've shoved the bond aside for now but she knew damn well how much effort and focus it took to ignore it—and she wasn't stupid thinking it was gonna stay that way. Sooner or later, it'd snap back and hit her like a goddamn freight train.
And hell according to what little she knew, if she'd had a wolf — or any beast clawing inside her — she probably would've already crawled back to Kaelith, maybe even get mated. Her mind wandered as she could almost feel his breath burning against her ear, his mouth moving along her skin, his hands locking her in place, her hands tracing him—
She shuddered visibly, "Nope. Thank goodness she didn't have a wolf." She snapped her head to the side, knocking the thought out.
"Alright then," Isaldora muttered, "Let's just get this over with." She was about to vanish—when the damn door to the room creaked open.
Her eyes narrowed. Seriously, ever heard of knocking? Manners were apparently dead in this place. Her back was to the door. She turned, irritation cutting sharp across her face—only to be tackled. Arms wrapped around her with suffocating force, knocking the breath right out of her lungs.
She froze, stunned, more annoyed than anything. What the—? What was with everyone and the hugging today?