Chapter 263: He recognised the picture

Eloise offered a quiet nod, letting her hands fall from his waist. She watched his face carefully as he stepped back, searching for any flicker of hesitation. There was none.

Kieran offered her one last reassuring look before turning around and stepping out of the room, pulling the door closed behind him.

As he strode down the wide, dimly lit hospital corridor, Killian’s deep voice suddenly slid into his mind through their private link. ’ How is she?’

’She is stable,’ Kieran replied mentally, keeping his long stride even. ’Just a bit emotional from the ordeal.’

Killian’s presence in the link faded out without another word, asking no further questions about her state.

Kieran descended to the quiet underground parking facility, pulling his key fob from his pocket and unlocking his sleek, navy-blue Aston Martin. He slid into the driver’s leather seat, pulling the heavy door shut, but he didn’t start the engine right away.

Instead, Kieran leaned across the central console, opening the locked glove compartment. He reached inside and pulled out a small, folded piece of thick sketch paper—the exact same high-grade paper texture as the sheets in Yuki’s personal notebook.

He unfolded the paper carefully beneath the dim interior dome light.

On the page was a detailed, partial pencil sketch of a man’s face. The stranger possessed striking, refined features, bearing a subtle, unmistakable resemblance to Aevia. The drawing was incomplete, the jawline and lower neck left as light guideline strokes, making it impossible to be entirely certain of his full identity.

It was the single drawing of a person in Yuki’s sketchbook that wasn’t a portrait of Kieran himself.

Kieran stared down at the drawn face, his intense blue eyes narrowing into cold slits. He hadn’t secretly torn this specific page out of her notebook out of petty jealousy or anything of the such.

It was something far more dangerous.

The man’s features were eerily, unsettlingly familiar. The shape of the eyes. The angle of the cheekbone. Something about the unfinished mouth tugged at a memory that refused to surface. Maybe it was an old medical archive, perhaps, or a case file he had reviewed years ago and never thought of again.

Kieran was absolutely certain he had seen this exact face somewhere before in his medical or pack travels.

He just couldn’t yet place where.

*******

The pale, silvery rays of the midnight moon slanted steeply through the high arched windows of the grand Ravencourt estate, cutting cold geometric shadows across the polished marble floor.

Killian strode silently through the second-floor corridor. His golden hair was still damp from a recent shower, falling loosely over his forehead in dark blonde strands. Dressed in simple, dark lounge pants and a loose white shirt, he looked relaxed on the surface, but beneath his exterior, his head throbbed with a brutal, relentless headache that threatened to split his skull open.

He was supposed to be heading directly to his bed chambers, yet somehow, his feet carried him toward one of the sweeping open balconies overlooking the sprawling front courtyard.

He could feel a presence approaching the perimeter long before the sound arrived. Pushing open the heavy glass doors, he stepped out into the crisp, howling night air, the breeze whipping through his damp hair.

11:05 PM.

Far off down the winding driveway, two sharp beams of headlights pierced through the darkness, sweeping across the wrought-iron gates of the Alpha residence. The deep, guttural purr of a sports car grew louder as the sleek red vehicle smoothly glided to a stop near the main entrance steps.

They were back.

Killian stood quietly by the stone balustrade, taking a slow sip from the glass of warm water he carried in his right hand. Down below, the passenger door opened, and Yuki stepped out onto the driveway. Her golden hair caught the moonlight, and a soft, genuine beam lit up her face as she turned back to wave at the driver’s side.

’She’s back now... so can we finally fucking sleep?’ his wolf scoffed deep inside his consciousness, the voice dripping with dry, cynical sarcasm.

Killian raised the glass to his lips, his blue eyes tracking her every movement. ’I wasn’t waiting for her,’ he replied plainly through his mind, his tone flat. ’I simply couldn’t sleep. Besides, it’s late. Xavier should know better than to keep her out close to midnight.’

His gaze remained fixed on the cherry-red car. Killian knew precisely where they were coming from. Despite the harrowing rogue assault at the luxury shopping centre, Yuki and Xavier had somehow decided to remain at the mall to finish their evening.

At least, that was the report Maverick had delivered to him an hour ago. Maverick, stationed as Yuki’s covert shadow guard, had monitored their every movement from out of sight.

Down on the driveway, Yuki turned toward the glass double doors of the mansion, but paused, glancing back over her shoulder at the sports car. The night wind howled softly across the courtyard, muffling their words so Killian only caught fragmentary snippets of their conversation.

"Wait, Yuki! You forgot something," Xavier called out, his deep voice carrying faintly up the stone facade.

Yuki paused, her brow furrowing in confusion as she tucked a loose, windblown strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "Forgot what?"

A broad, mischievous grin spread across Xavier’s handsome face as he stepped out of the driver’s side and closed the distance between them. Before she could react, he wrapped his long arms around her waist, pulling her into a warm, lingering embrace against his broad chest.

Yuki’s body visibly stiffened. For a long, agonizing beat, her hands remained pinned awkwardly at her sides, making no move to return the physical contact.

Up on the balcony, Killian’s fingers tightened violently around the crystal glass in his palm, the knuckles turning deathly white.

Down below, Yuki let out a quiet sigh and slowly raised her arms, placing her hands on Xavier’s back to return the embrace. The two pulled apart a moment later, Xavier letting out a sheepish, lighthearted laugh.

"At least give me a proper goodbye hug... until you’re finally comfortable enough to kiss me goodnight."

Yuki let out a soft, melodic laugh, shaking her head at his audacity.

CRACK.

A sharp, hairline fracture snapped across the glass in Killian’s hand under the brutal pressure of his grip.

’Yeah, he’s infuriatingly annoying. I completely understand why he makes Kaden lose his absolute mind,’ Killian’s wolf snickered internally, sounding just as deeply agitated by the romantic display unfolding below.

"Shut up," Killian hissed aloud through gritted teeth, his jaw working as his eyes burned down into the courtyard.

The beast inside him let out an amused, wicked chuckle. ’Don’t tell me you’re actually mad, Killian? You were the brilliant tactician who handpicked the Velmore heir specifically for his political lineage and defensive assets. This is just the tip of the iceberg, brother. They are an engaged couple now. Of course they’re going to kiss... and eventually do way more than that.’

CRACK