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Chapter 74
~Snow’s POV~
Koda’s face twisted in pain, and I felt a flash of sympathy for him. It was obvious how he cared for Aira—how he felt for her.
"What? Go back? Why?" His eyes widened in hurt and disbelief, and I could see the raw emotion behind them. "What did I do wrong, Aira? Talk to me! Please."
"You did nothing wrong, Koda. It’s just... it’s not going to work between us. It was nice the brief moment of peace you showed me but... but it’s not working."
"What isn’t working?" He stepped closer, trying to grab her hand again, but Aira pulled back, her voice rising with desperation.
"Everything. It’s not working. Just leave, Koda. Please."
"But—"
I couldn’t stand by any longer. I hated to see Aira hurt and now he was hurting her. Not in a bad way but I could see she understood his love for her but she wasn’t ready to accept him.
"She said, leave." My voice cut through the tension, my aura flaring in warning. I didn’t like this either. Then, there was a shift in Koda’s expression—a flash of anger, and something else.
"This isn’t your concern, Snow. Stay out of it."
I laughed harshly, the sound cold. "She’s my sister. It is my concern."
Koda’s eyes blazed, his body tense, and I could see the wolf in him struggling to come out. His wolf was restless but he was no match for Glacier and I. He bared his teeth, and a growl slipped through his clenched jaw.
"It’s not your place to interfere, Snow. This is between me and her." His eyes glowed as he challenged once more. Dimwit!
"And her feelings are clear. She doesn’t want you here. So, leave."
"Why don’t we let her decide, huh? Let’s ask her how she feels, shall we?"
I could feel the anger radiating off him, the aggression, and for a moment, it was as if something broke within him.
But Glacier hated a threat. He loved putting those down and now Koda was in for the kill if care wasn’t taken. My eyes glowed red as I stepped forward, daring him to say one more word out of his mouth.
"Aira," his voice softened. "Talk to me. Tell me what I did wrong. Tell me how I can fix it."
He reached out to her, his hands cupping her face gently, and this time, she didn’t pull away to my amazement. Tears fell down her cheeks, and I could see the pain in her eyes—the confusion.
"Please," he whispered, his voice trembling. "Tell me what to do. Tell me how to make it better."
She sobbed, shaking her head, her shoulders trembling with emotion. "Koda... I can’t. We can’t."
He pulled her close, pressing her body against his. "You can. We can. You just have to let me in. Don’t think about your mate. He doesn’t deserve you. He never has. Please. Aira, I love you."
Love?!
I was about reacting when I felt a change in teh air around us. That’s when I realised. All these while she hadn’t made a sound. She quietly watched it all but I knew that feeling.
I turned my head in her direction, my eyes taking in the sight of pure jealousy and... I stiffened. I knew that look all too well.
I had given it to Zar when another man was with her and now Tempest gave it to Aira? No... It was... Koda.
B-but why? Have they met before? I doubt. If not, why was she...?
Glacier purred within me. He sensed what I found difficult to come to terms with and I guess Koda too, as his wolf reacted differently.
A loud scoff fell off her lips which pulled everyone’s attention to her but then I saw it for the first time, the word rolling off her lips before she could stop it.
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~Tempest’s POV~
The moment Koda stepped into the clearing, I felt it—like a jolt straight to my core, a pull so powerful that it nearly knocked the wind out of me. My wolf stirred awake, and a wave of recognition hit me hard.
’Hell no. No. No. It can’t be him.’
But the truth was undeniable. My heart raced, thumping loudly in my chest as I stood frozen in place, watching Koda rush toward Aira.
The raw emotion in his eyes, the desperation in his voice as he pleaded with her—it was like a stab to the gut. He didn’t see me. He didn’t feel it, not yet. He was too focused on her.
Aira.
My sister.
The woman he loved.
I swallowed hard, trying to keep my breathing steady as I watched the scene unfold before me. Aira, with her tear-streaked face and trembling hands, shook her head as Koda begged her to let him in.
"You did nothing wrong, Koda. It’s just... it’s not going to work between us. It was nice the brief moment of peace you showed me but... but it’s not working."
Us?
Was there an us?
Aira never told me about him. Only that someone was there for her when her mate treated her poorly but she couldn’t love him.
I had even scolded her for why she didn’t accept him, seeing as he was better and cared for her. They had only shared a kiss, she said, but it felt different than her mate’s.
He loved and chased after her but he was never forceful. He was her regret but now he was mine.
My heart clenched painfully at Aira’s words, but my wolf—Autumn—pushed against me, growling in frustration.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
Fate wasn’t supposed to be this cruel.
"He’s ours," Autumn’s voice echoed in my mind, laced with both anger and sadness. "How can he not see it? How can he not feel it?"
I could barely breathe. Koda wasn’t just anyone. He was my... our mate.
And he was standing there, professing his love to my twin sister.
My hands balled into fists at my sides, nails digging into my palms as I forced myself to stay rooted in place and breathe.
Every instinct screamed at me to walk away, to leave before this went any further, but I couldn’t move. I was stuck, watching the man fate had chosen for me fall apart in front of someone else.
It wasn’t fair. Not to me, not to him, and definitely not to Aira.
"Please," Koda’s voice broke, his hands cupping Aira’s face, desperate to hold onto something that was already slipping through his fingers. "Tell me what to do. Tell me how to make it better."
Aira shook her head again, sobbing quietly, and I knew she couldn’t give him the answer he wanted. She couldn’t, because it wasn’t her choice anymore. It wasn’t even his.
It was mine.
A sharp scoff escaped my lips before I could stop it. I hadn’t meant to make a sound—I hadn’t meant to make anything worse—but it was too late.
Koda’s head snapped up, his eyes locking onto mine for the first time since he’d arrived.
The air shifted. I saw it—the confusion in his gaze, the flicker of something deeper as his wolf stirred within him.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢