Page 10 of Theirs to Rule

Dante said nothing, his gaze boring into me. Finally, he said, “I’ll be right back.”

As soon as the door clicked shut, my composure cracked. I squeezed Kage’s hand tighter, like it could transfer some of my own strength to him.

So what if Dante slept with Jane? He’d probably slept with hundreds of women before we met. I was probably just a novelty for him and his interest would pass soon.

Suddenly, the door burst open.

I flinched, my head jerking up. Moira, Kage’s mother, swept in, her face a mask of grief and fury. Behind her, Callum andSeamus followed, their postures stiff, their eyes darting around the room like they were walking into a battlefield.

I stood instinctively, my heart racing. “Mrs. O’Hare?—”

Her gaze pinned me in place, sharp and unforgiving. “Don’t.”

The single word cut through the air like a knife. Callum stayed by the door, his eyes unreadable. Seamus stood behind Moira, his presence imposing but silent.

Moira crossed the room to Kage’s bed, her hands trembling as she brushed a strand of hair from his forehead. For a moment, her mask cracked, and the raw pain on her face was almost unbearable to witness. Then, as if sensing my pity, she turned to me, her grief hardening into anger.

“What happened?” she demanded, her voice low and dangerous.

I opened my mouth, but the words tangled in my throat. “T-there was a car chase,” I managed. “Kage was shot. The man chasing us—Officer Davis—he went off the road and?—”

“This is your fault,” she snapped, her voice rising with every syllable. “My family has suffered nothing but pain since you walked into their lives.”

“No, I?—”

Her hand came out of nowhere, the slap landing with a sharp crack. My head whipped to the side, my cheek stinging as the room seemed to tilt.

“Ma!” Callum stepped forward, grabbing her wrist before she could strike again. “What the hell are you doing?”

“This is all her fault!” Moira hissed, her voice shaking. “Ava, now Kage?—”

“We don’t know that,” Callum interrupted, though his voice was tight. He glanced at me, his expression guarded but not outright hostile.

I straightened, ignoring the pain in my face. “I love Kage,” I said, my voice steady despite the tremble in my hands. “I would do anything to protect him.”

Callum’s gaze softened slightly, but Moira was unmoved. “You’re nothing but a distraction. A toy. Leave.”

I shook my head. “He’d want me here.”

Her laugh was cold and sharp. “You think that means something? You’re just another temporary fix. The only people Kage needs right now are his family and hisfiancée.”

I flinched back harder than when she’d hit me.

“What?” I whispered, the word barely audible.

Fiancée? Kage was engaged?

No, he wouldn’t have kept something like that from me. She had to be lying. Saying whatever she could to get rid of me. Her eyes slid past me.

“Oh my God, Kage!”

I whirled around at the female voice. A girl walked in. She was tall, her body a silhouette of curves that seemed to draw the light toward her, her near-black hair cascading in waves that shimmered like liquid night. Her beauty was so stark but that wasn’t what knocked the air from my lungs – it was her saying Kage’s name and the look of possessiveness on her face. She dropped down to his side, into the seat I’d been using, winding her fingers around his as though they belonged there.

Hurt, betrayal and anger coursed through me.

Wasshewhy Kage had been okay with my attraction to Dante and Ty? Because he had a woman of his own waiting for him? Had he been with her? Had he fucked her?

Had he loved her the whole time he was with me?

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