Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 234

Chapter 234: To Win the Brother

The driver opened the car door, and Derek stepped out, coughing gently into his fist.

As he turned to climb the terrace stairs, he stopped short. Kai stood at the top of them, watching him. The two of them simply looked at one another for a long moment, cousin to cousin, a whole month of silence and fury and grief sitting in the space between them.

Kai had not spoken to him, had not so much as looked at him, in all that time.

A few minutes later, they were inside, sitting together at the bar in the living room.

"How are you?" Kai asked.

Derek reached for the bottle. "How do I look?"

Kai considered him for a beat. "Like a piece of shit, honestly."

Derek nodded and poured himself a measure. "That’s fair." He downed it in one.

"I hear you’re planning to apologise to the werewolves soon," Kai said.

Derek nodded and took another sip. Then he coughed again, quietly, into his palm.

Kai’s eyes narrowed a little, watching him. "You cough now?"

"I might have caught a cold." Derek wiped his mouth, looking a bit embarrassed. "It’s nothing."

Kai nodded and let it go, though something flickered behind his eyes. Then he asked, "Do you want me to do anything for you? During this meeting with the werewolf Alphas?"

"Declan will brief you on the setup," Derek said.

Kai nodded again, swirling the drink slowly in his glass. Then, more quietly, he asked, "How is Nana?"

He had been visiting her himself, every few days. But he could barely stand it anymore. Watching that indomitable old woman grow frail and small in her bed did something to his chest that he had no words for.

Derek’s jaw tightened. "Not good," he said. "I can’t stand to see her like that either." He stared into his empty glass. "It’s all my fault."

Kai groaned and dragged a hand down his face.

"Oh, here we go. Not you trying to shoulder the blame for the entire world again. This is exactly what you did ten years ago, Derek. You blamed yourself for not saving your mother, when there was absolutely nothing a child could have done. You blamed yourself for Jasper’s death, when the man laid down his own life for you willingly because he chose to. You blamed yourself for not being able to fix everything when you were a literal boy."

He shook his head. "And that blame twisted you. It made you cold, and it made you make mistake after mistake, mistakes you’re still paying for right now."

Derek said nothing.

"You messed up. Yes. You did." Kai’s voice softened. "But it is not your fault that our dear Uncle Crane turned out to be a psychopath. He is the one who did this to Nana. He broke her. She simply couldn’t bear knowing that a son she carried and raised could be so full of malice. That’s what’s eating her alive, not you."

He exhaled. "And it’s hit my mother hard too. She’s been grieving Uncle Maurice and Aunt Natalie all over again, fresh as the day it happened. Your mum was her best friend in the whole world. They were inseparable."

Derek sighed and blinked hard, fighting the sudden sting behind his eyes.

"But Nana’s still angry with me," he said. "For what I did to Kira. And she’s right to be." He turned the glass slowly in his fingers.

"She doesn’t even want to see me now," he said. "I saw her yesterday, at the Wolf Council in Aethelwulf. And she didn’t look at me the way she used to. Her eyes were cold. Dead, almost."

He swallowed. "Kira always had this sparkle in her eyes. And it hurts more than anything to know that I’m the reason it’s gone."

Kai downed the rest of his drink and set the glass down.

"I saw her yesterday too," he said. "And you’re right. She’s hurt, Derek. Deeply." He chuckled bitterly. "She laughed with us, cracked jokes, all bubbly and bright, same as ever. But every single one of us saw right through it. It’s a performance now. Underneath it, she’s in pieces."

Derek laughed, low and broken. "That’s my Kira. Always covering everything up with a smile." He rubbed his face. "I don’t have the faintest idea how to fix any of this."

"Well, sitting here sulking and feeling sorry for yourself certainly won’t fix it."

"I’m not sulking," Derek said a bit defensively. "Kira asked me to stay away until she’s ready to speak to me. And I’m trying to respect that. Even though every instinct in my body wants to storm straight into Crystal Moon Pack, rip out the throat of every single person who kept her from me for a whole month, and carry her home to Dravengard where she belongs."

Kai laughed properly at that. "Goddess, you really have changed. The old Derek wouldn’t have hesitated. He’d have levelled the place by now."

He grew a little more serious. "But here’s a thought. You could actually try reaching out to her older brother, Braxton, without using any form of violence. No threats, no throat-ripping."

Derek scowled. "Braxton’s her brother?"

"Yes, Braxton’s her twin brother," Kai said. "Set that mile-high pride of yours aside for once and appeal to the man’s conscience first."

He shrugged. "I don’t know how he did it, but that Alpha has a great deal of influence over her right now. If you want the sister, you need to get the brother on your side first."