Chapter 4 Secret

• Darius’ POV
• I stood on the balcony as I watched her kneeling under the scorching sun. My wolf was howling in my head, urging me to set her free from that punishment, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t do it even though she was my mate.
• Yes, Kira was my mate. I had known since I turned eighteen, four years ago—just days after her traitorous parents were executed for causing my mother’s death. But I never told a soul. How could I? How could I admit that the girl I had sworn to hate, the girl I had vowed to make suffer every day of her life, was my fated mate? How could I face my brothers knowing they would mock me for being bound to the daughter of traitors?
• I refused to be a laughingstock.
• So I decided to hide this secret, waiting until the day Kira turned eighteen when she would discover that we were mates. Then, I would secretly reject her and move on with my life. That was my perfect plan.
• Watching her trembling in discomfort, I felt a tiny pang in my chest, but just as quickly as it came, it vanished. Initially, when my wolf announced her distress to me, I left whatever I was doing and ran into the yard. Seeing her tied to that pillar and being flogged like a criminal made my wolf so furious that he wanted to tear off the head of the guard whipping her. But I had to keep my wolf at bay—acting that way would bring suspicion and whispers. I wanted to set her free, but doing so would only fuel more gossip. People would talk, saying I was showing mercy to her. Not that I cared what people said—I am the kind of person who doesn’t give a fuck about others’ opinions—but this was different.
• Kira wasn’t just any girl. I had spent the last four years convincing myself that she was nothing to me. Just a traitor’s daughter. Someone who deserved every bit of the suffering I inflicted upon her.
• So why did my hands clench into fists as I watched her collapse forward, her palms catching the burning ground to keep herself from falling completely?
• “What has the bitch done this time?”
• Damien’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. My brother stepped beside me, his arms crossed as he watched Kira with cold amusement. Quickly, I wiped the worry off my face and put on a stoic expression.
• “She was caught stealing from the storeroom,” I replied smoothly, even though I knew it was a lie. Kira could be many things, but she was not a thief. There had been countless opportunities for her to steal from me, and she never had.
• “I’m not surprised,” Dane, my other brother, added as he joined us. “I’ve seen her sneaking books from the library.”
• A heavy sigh left my lips as I continued staring at her kneeling in the sun. Her body was trembling, and her head was lowered to the ground. I could tell she was silently sobbing. The sight of it tore at my heart, but I kept a Stoic expression, not wanting my brothers to notice my discomfort.
• Fuck this mate bond.
• “Damn it!” Damien grunted beside me, and I turned to look at him. He looked angry about something.
• “Are you alright, bro?” I asked with concern.
• We were triplets—I was the first, followed by Damien, who was born a minute later, and then Dane, another minute after that. We loved each other more than anything in the world. We did so many things together, even going as far as sharing women if we felt like it. We shared secrets and never kept anything from each other. Except now. I was keeping a secret from them. Too ashamed to spill it out.
• He exhaled sharply, running a hand through his dark hair. “I was just thinking… if it weren’t for her parents, our mother, and little sister would still be alive.”
• I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to remain still, to show no reaction. I had heard those words countless times—spoken in anger, in grief, in hatred. And every time, I had agreed.
• But now… now, as Kira’s frail body trembled under the scorching sun, as her silent sobs reached my ears, something inside me twisted painfully.
• She was the daughter of traitors, yes. But was she truly guilty of their sins?
• Damien exhaled harshly, running a hand through his dark hair. “I swear, sometimes I think we’re being too easy on her. If it were up to me, I’d throw her into the dungeons and let her rot there.”
• Dane nodded in agreement, his sharp eyes fixed on Kira. “She’s just like them. It’s only a matter of time before she betrays us too.”
• I wanted to agree. I wanted to nod and say, Yes, you’re right. She’s nothing but a traitor’s spawn. She deserves this.
• But my throat felt tight. The words refused to leave my mouth.
• Instead, I turned back to her.
• She was still kneeling, her body weak. That pain in her, it was the same pain I had seen four years ago when she stood and watched her parents beheaded.
• “She won’t last much longer,” Dane commented, arms crossed. “Maybe we should just end it now.”
• My wolf snarled at the suggestion, but I masked my reaction with a cold chuckle. “Let her suffer a little longer. We will make life a living hell for her,” I said, my voice filled with hate.
• Damien smirked. “That’s more like it, brother.”
• I forced a smirk of my own, pretending not to care, pretending I didn’t feel the mate bond tightening around my heart like a noose.
• Silence filled the air as we continued watching her like some sort of entertainment, but suddenly, she collapsed to the ground and went still.
• Damien scoffed. “Tch. Weakling.”
• Dane clicked his tongue in disappointment. “I told you she wouldn’t last.”
• But I wasn’t listening to them anymore.
• My entire body tensed as I stared at Kira’s unmoving form. She lay face-down against the scorching ground, her arms sprawled lifelessly at her sides. The sun mercilessly beat down on her fragile frame, her once-trembling body now completely still.
• Too still.
• A strange, suffocating pressure wrapped around my chest, squeezing the air from my lungs. My wolf howled furiously in my head, his panic mirroring my own.
• “Go to her!” he roared. “She’s ours! She’s not breathing!”
• My hands gripped the rail tightly, my nails digging painfully into it as I tried to fight back the overwhelming urge to rush down to her.
• I couldn’t.
• I wouldn’t.
• Not in front of my brothers.
• But my wolf had had enough. He pushed against my control with such force that my legs moved before I could stop them.
• “Darius?” Damien called in confusion as I stormed down the balcony steps.
• I didn’t respond. I didn’t even slow down. My heart was pounding violently against my ribs as I approached Kira’s unconscious form, the heat from the ground radiating through my boots.
• “Get up,” I growled lowly, kneeling beside her.
• She didn’t move.
• She didn’t even flinch.
• Something dark and unfamiliar twisted in my chest.
• I grabbed her by the arm, turning her onto her back. Her face was pale, her lips dry and cracked. Sweat clung to her forehead, mixing with the dirt that stained her skin. Her breathing was shallow—too shallow.
• A sharp pang shot through my chest.
• She was too fragile. Too weak.
• And I had let this happen.
• “Shit,” I muttered under my breath. Without thinking, I scooped her up into my arms. Her body was light—too damn light—and the warmth of her skin against mine sent a jolt of something dangerous through me.
• “Darius, what the hell are you doing?” Damien’s voice was laced with suspicion as he and Dane rushed over.
• I turned to face them, forcing my expression into one of cold indifference. “She’s no use to us dead,” I said flatly. “If she dies, who else will we have to punish?”
• Dane smirked. “True. Keeping her alive means we can make her suffer longer.”
• Damien, however, narrowed his eyes at me. He wasn’t convinced.
• I ignored him and walked away, Kira’s unconscious body still cradled in my arms.
• For the first time in four years, I felt something terrifying.
• Fear.