Chapter 88: Her request
"What did you say?" he drawled, clearly angry. The words hit the room like a thunderclap.
Yuki felt the weight of Killian’s aura pressing against her chest until it became difficult to breathe. Her toes curled inside her shoes as she fought the instinct to lower her head. She could not understand why he was angry. Wasn’t this exactly what he and his brothers wanted? She was handing them the freedom they had been demanding since the bond was revealed.
She drew in a slow breath and clenched her fists until her nails bit into her palms. "To redeem my favour," she repeated, forcing her voice to remain steady, "I want you to convince your brothers to publicly reject me."
Killian did not answer immediately. He simply stared at her.
Something dark flickered through his sapphire eyes before disappearing just as quickly. His expression barely changed, yet conflicting emotions crossed his face so briefly that Yuki could not decipher any of them.
"You want to be publicly rejected," he repeated at last. Each word came out slowly, as though it tasted bitter on his tongue. "Do you even understand what you’re asking?"
His gaze sharpened. "Or is this another one of your games?" he asked coldly. "Are you trying to play hard to get?" A humourless smile tugged at his lips. "If that’s your plan, Miyuki, it won’t work."
"I am not playing hard to get," Yuki shot back immediately.
Killian scoffed. "And you expect me to believe that?" He leaned back in his chair, studying her as though she were another business proposal waiting to be dismantled. "You expect me to believe you’re willing to throw away the opportunity to carry the Ravencourt name?"
His voice remained calm, but every word carried suspicion. "I wasn’t born yesterday."
The way he looked at her made her stomach churn.
"Believe whatever you want," Yuki snapped. "You owe me a favour, Killian. I thought an Alpha kept his word."
For the first time since entering the office, genuine interest crossed his face. He leaned farther back in his chair, one ankle resting over his knee. The evening sunlight streaming through the floor to ceiling windows caught the gold cufflinks on his wrists, making them gleam against the dark fabric of his suit.
Watching him sit there, completely composed, made it difficult to connect him with the man she had seen in the temple pool. That version of Killian had been consumed by desire. This one looked carved from ice.
The memory surfaced anyway. Water ran over his bare skin, his breathing grew uneven. The way he had clung to her as though she were the only thing keeping him sane sent an unwanted jolt of heat through her body.
Heat rushed into her cheeks. Yuki bit the inside of her cheek hard enough to ground herself. Now was not the time to think about that.
"How honourable of you," Killian drawled, dragging her back to the present. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "Tell me your real objective, Yuki."
She knew exactly what he meant. He still believed she was manipulating him.
Her fingers intertwined tightly in her lap. Being around Killian was exhausting. His presence alone made her choose every word carefully. Even Kaden, for all his hostility, had never made her feel this pressured.
"Stop talking to me like that," she said sharply.
His brow lifted. "Like what?"
"Like I’m some gold digger. Like I’m another scheming woman trying to trap you. I never asked for any of this."
His expression remained unchanged. "Isn’t that exactly what you are?" he replied without batting an eye.
The question left the room colder than before. Yuki stared at him. "I am not a gold digger," she blurted instinctively.
A chuckle escaped him. "Really?"
Despite the contempt in his eyes, the smile tugging at his lips only made him more devastatingly handsome. Yuki nearly laughed at herself. He was insulting her to her face, yet her stupid wolf still found him attractive.
"You happen to be the sister of one," Killian continued. "And judging by everything I’ve seen, you’re willing to support her regardless of what she’s done." He folded his arms. "So tell me... if you willingly stand beside a gold digger, what does that make you?"
The words stole the breath from her lungs because he had unknowingly struck the truth. One of the reasons she wanted this bond broken was Aevia. As long as Yuki remained tied to the triplets, Alexander would forever be forced to choose between Aevia and his sons. She could not bear becoming the reason her sister’s future marriage fell apart.
Her vision blurred for a second. She blinked the tears away before they could fall.
"So what exactly do you want from me, Killian?" she asked quietly. "You hate me."
Her voice remained calm, but the hurt beneath it was impossible to hide.
"You’ve made that very clear."
She held his gaze. "We both know this bond is a disaster. I’m giving you a way out, yet you’re refusing to take it."
A slow smile spread across Killian’s face. It wasn’t warm. It wasn’t amused. It was unsettling.
"Maybe," he said with a careless shrug, "I want you to suffer."
Silence settled between them. Instead of getting angry, Yuki let out a soft, defeated laugh. Killian frowned.
"You’re right," she murmured before looking directly into his eyes. "You spend so much time accusing Aevia of being a homewrecker and a gold digger, but did it ever cross your mind to ask why your father abandoned his fated mate after over twenty years together?"
She leaned forward slightly. "Maybe your mother wasn’t as innocent as you think. Or maybe your father was simply the problem."
Her eyes never left his.
"Who knows? Maybe the reason your bloodline is cursed is because your ancestors treated their mates like garbage."
Every ugly word left her mouth without hesitation. She expected an explosion or for him to shout. Instead, Killian remained unnervingly calm. He was nothing like Kaden.
"Finished?" he asked.
His composure unsettled her far more than anger would have. "Stop going around in circles, Yuki." His voice was almost emotionless. "You know about the curse."
He leaned forward slightly. "And you honestly believe I’d sacrifice the future of this pack simply because you asked me to?"
Her brows knitted together. "You won’t accept me. You won’t reject me." She swallowed. "Why are you holding onto someone you don’t even love?"
Killian answered without blinking. "I don’t need to love you to sire pups." The words landed like a slap.
For a heartbeat, the room seemed to disappear. The words echoed inside her head long after he’d spoken them.
"The curse never said my fated mate had to become Luna."
Yuki stared at him in disbelief. "You want to keep me as nothing more than a breeder?" she blurted.
"Maybe." He shrugged as though discussing the weather. "My responsibility is to secure this pack’s future. If that means sleeping with a woman I don’t love to produce heirs, then so be it."
He did not hesitate. "My brothers will understand." His voice grew colder. "So ask for another favour."
He rested his clasped hands on his knee. "Because this one is nothing more than selfish."
Yuki finally understood. Everything Aevia had warned her about...
...was true.
She rose slowly to her feet. "You don’t have to force yourself to tolerate someone you hate, Killian." Her voice was quiet but unwavering. "This is what I want."
She looked him straight in the eyes. "And if your word as an Alpha truly means something..."
She took a steady breath. "Convince your brothers to reject me." A bitter smile touched her lips.
"The more public..."
She held his gaze without looking away.
"...the better."