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CHAPTER 54
KILLIAN’S POV
+25 BONUS
We got dressed quietly, and as soon as we were ready, we headed out to Ryan’s school. I was driving with one hand on the wheel, and the other occasionally reaching out to touch her thigh or brush her hand. Just to remind myself she was real.
That she was here. With me.
We pulled up outside the school, but before we could even get out of the car, one of the staff members came out and said, ” Miss Rivers. Welcome. Are you here to pick your son?”
“Yes, please,” Liana replied.
“Ryan was already picked up.”
She frowned. “Picked up? By who?”
My heart jumped a little.
“His grandmother,” the woman said politely. “She showed proper identification and said she was taking him home.”
“Ohh!” Liana exclaimed but I reached for my phone and dialed.
Mother picked up almost immediately. “Killian.”
“Mom. Is Ryan here with you?”
“Yes. He is. What about Liana. Is she okay now?”
“Yes, Mom, she’s fine. She’s right here beside me.”
There was a pause like she was trying to decide whether to ask something deeper, but instead she said, “That’s great. Ryan’s
with me. Do you want to speak with him?”
“Yeah, please.”
I heard her call Ryan in the background. A few seconds later, his little voice came through the phone.
“Daddy!”
God, I missed that voice.
“Hey, buddy,” I said, smiling as I turned to look at Liana. “You okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. I was just playing with Grandma. Where are you? Is Mommy there too?”
“She is. Hold on.” I passed the phone to Liana, and the way her eyes lit up just hearing his voice made my chest tighten.
“Baby?” she said softly. “Are you being a good boy?”
“Yes, Mommy! I helped Grandma make cookies!”
She laughed a little. “That’s good Don’t disturb Grandma and Grandpa too much, okay? We’ll come pick you up soon.”
“Okay, Mommy. I miss you.”
“I miss you too, sweetie. Take care, okay?”
“Okay Bye!”
She handed me back the phone and wiped at her eyes quickly like she didn’t want me to see how emotional that made her.
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But I saw it. And I felt it too.
I ended the call and tossed my phone on the dashboard. “You okay?”
She nodded, but her lips trembled just a little. “He sounds so happy.”
“He is. He’s safe. and he’ll be even happier when we’re all back together.”
She didn’t say anything, just reached out and grabbed my hand. Held it tightly. I squeezed back.
Without another word, I started the engine, pulled out of the parking lot and turned the car toward the most expensive boutique in town. I knew exactly where to take her. If she was going to be on my arm tonight, she was going to look like the goddess she was.
And this time, I wasn’t letting her walk behind me. She was going to walk beside me. Where she belonged.
The moment we stepped into the boutique, I already spotted a few familiar faces, pack members who lived scattered across the city but never, missed a biannual meeting. They stood straighter the second they saw me, eyes widening just a little before they bowed in quiet respect.
But then their gazes shifted.
To her.
To Liana.
I felt her tense beside me. She noticed it too,.the way their eyes lingered just a little too long, the way a few of them narrowed their gaze slightly like they were trying to figure out who the hell she was. Because they knew Cynthia. Cynthia had walked these halls. She had stood beside me before. But this… this was someone new.
A stranger.
A woman with no title. No announcement.
Yet she was standing at my side like she belonged there.
“This is my woman,” I said simply, my hand resting on the small of Liana’s back as we walked deeper into the store.
They nodded again, murmuring soft greetings, but the confusion was still there. Still written across their faces. Jared, the boutique manager, a young but loyal pack member, hurried over and asked what we needed.
“She needs a dress for tonight,” I said. “Something that makes every other woman in the room wish they were her.”
Jared grinned. “Right this way, alpha. We just got in a new selection, imported, rare fabrics, high–end pieces. She’ll love it.”
As he turned and began walking, Liana leaned closer to me. “They’re staring.”
“Let them,” I murmured. “They’ll understand soon.”
We were almost at the private section when I heard it
Low whispers.
“She’s not Luna Cynthia… who is she?”
‘She’s marked.”
“What?”
“I saw it. On her neck. A bite. His mark.”
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“He never marked Cynthia.”
“Never?”
“Not even once. But this woman? He marked her. She’s his.”
They weren’t even trying to hide it well. But it didn’t matter. The second they realized what that mark meant, their posture changed. Every single one of them bowed a second time. This time, deeper.
“Luna,” they murmured.
Liana froze just a little. I looked at her face, shocked. She didn’t expect it. Not now. Maybe not ever.
She glanced up at me like she needed confirmation, and I just gave her a tiny nod.
“Yes,” I whispered, just loud enough for her to hear. “You’re mine. and they know it now.”
They took us to a private section, one not open to the public. I could already tell from the way Liana’s eyes widened that she knew this was not your average boutique.
She moved to the first rack and ran her fingers across a silky deep red gown, but the second she saw the price tag, she dropped it so fast you’d think it burned her fingers.
“Nope,” she whispered, shaking her head. “Are these clothes made of gold or what?”
I laughed, watching her like I always did–like she was the only thing worth looking at. “Pick whatever you want, angel. I’ve got it all under control.”
She turned her head slowly, giving me a look that screamed ‘Are you serious right now?‘
“Killian, this one costs more than my life savings.”
“Exactly why you shouldn’t be saving,” I muttered under my breath, then louder, “Liana, I brought you here for a reason. Don’t look at the price. Just find what makes you feel like you own the room.”
She blinked, still a bit skeptical, but nodded. Slowly. Then she went back to the rack and picked out a few more dresses, holding them up to her frame while biting her lip.
“Try them all,” I told her.
She did.
One after the other, she walked out of the dressing room and stood there awkwardly while I sat on the plush couch flipping through a fashion magazine like I gave a damn about what was inside. Truth was, I didn’t. My eyes were on her.
“How about this one?” she asked, stepping out in a tight midnight blue gown that hugged every single curve of her body.
My mouth went dry.
“Hot,” I said, barely managing the word.
She blushed, looking down at herself. “Too much?”
“Not even close.”
She turned around and went back in. Then came out in the second dress, a silver one with a thigh slit that could ruin a man’s self–control if he wasn’t careful. I was hanging on by threads.
But it was the third one that did it. A wine–colored, strapless piece that pushed up her breasts and cinched her waist in the
most sinful way.
My entire body reacted. Fast.
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She stepped out slowly, as if unsure.
“This is… I don’t know, maybe too sexy,” she said quietly.
Too sexy? Hell, it was lethal.
I looked around quickly, and when I saw the attendant had walked to the far corner of the room, pretending not to watch us like the good little pack member he was, I stood up.
“Killian-” she started, but I was already closing the space between us.
She stepped back into the changing room, probably thinking she’d try one last dress, but I followed her in before the curtain even swayed back into place.
She turned around fast. “What are you-”
I didn’t let her finish.
I grabbed her waist, pulled her against me, and slammed my lips on hers like I was starving.
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