Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 316

Chapter 316: Someone Else’s Life

"What exactly are we supposed to be waiting for here?"

Derek’s voice was flat, the tone of a man who had been dragged out of bed for reasons he found deeply unconvincing. He sat in the passenger seat of Kai’s car, arms crossed over his chest, glaring at the empty street ahead of them.

Kai, sitting behind the wheel, simply smiled. "Calm down, cuz. Patience is an art form."

"Is it?" Derek turned to look at him. "Because from where I’m sitting, patience is what I’ve been practising all morning. You called me at five in the morning, told me you had a surprise that would change my life, and made me drive all the way to your territory before sunrise."

"And I stand by that."

"Then I helped you train your gammas in the mud." Derek’s voice rose with each word. "I am a King, Kai. I have people who do mud for me."

"You enjoyed it. I saw you smiling during the final lap."

"I was baring my teeth in frustration. There’s a difference."

Kai chuckled at that, the sound light and easy. "Ah, what are favourite cousins for if not for the inconveniences?"

Derek let out a long breath, but despite himself, the corner of his mouth twitched. "You’re lucky I love you. I would have ripped you apart by now." His eyes shifted to Kai, studying him properly for the first time that morning. "You look good, though. Better and happier than I’ve seen you in years. Does this have anything to do with this mysterious surprise?"

Kai didn’t answer immediately. He just tapped his fingers against the steering wheel in a rhythm that matched his own internal humming, and smiled out at the street like a man enjoying a private joke.

"We’ll see," he said. "We’ll see."

Derek’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Please don’t tell me this is another Jessica sighting. If you’ve dragged me out here to watch a red-haired woman walk past and claim it’s her, I want you to know in advance that I love you very much and I will still hit you. There aren’t even any cameras out here for—"

He stopped talking because Kai had reached over and tapped his arm.

"Look ahead," Kai said quietly.

Derek turned.

Forty metres down the road, a woman had just stepped out of an apartment building. A woman with ginger curls. She stepped down onto the pavement, adjusting the strap of her bag, and even from this distance, Derek could see the line of her profile clearly.

Then another woman—a brunette—came jogging out behind her. They greeted each other like old friends, and whatever was said made them both laugh. The brunette shoved her friend’s shoulder. The ginger one shoved back. Then they linked arms and started walking down the pavement in the direction of the car.

Derek’s mouth fell open.

"Is that—" He leaned forward, gripping the edge of the seat as though the extra centimetres would help him see better. "Kai, is that not her?"

Kai’s smile widened. "That’s her."

"That’s Jessica."

"Very good, cousin. Your eyesight has not failed you."

Derek turned to look at him, his face a mixture of shock and something close to awe. "How—how did you find her? When? Where has she been?"

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