Defying the Lycan King (Kira and Derek) novel Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Saving Face

"How much is he paying you?"

Brian spun Kira around and shoved her back against the cold wall. Pain exploded across her whip marks, and bit down hard on a gasp, refusing to let him see how much it hurt. Her vision swam; she felt light-headed, her legs shaky, but she stayed upright through sheer stubbornness.

"I have no idea what you’re talking about," she muttered, trying to keep her voice steady.

He studied her for a long moment, amber eyes narrowed, as if he could peel the truth off her face just by staring. "I’ll double whatever he’s paying you to leave this pack and never come back."

"Excuse me?" Kira blinked, wide-eyed and innocent.

She had heard their exchange in the ballroom to know exactly what he meant.

And yes, she currently hated Derek with the intensity of seven suns, but she wasn’t about to hand this smug cousin proof that the marriage was fake. Worse than fake. She had been dragged here against her will. Compared to Brian and that creepy Uncle Crane, Derek suddenly felt like the safer monster.

"Don’t play stupid, runt," Brian snapped.

Bingo, Kira thought. He’s got a temper. She decided to poke him a little. "Maybe you should use clearer words? I’m clearly too ’dumb’ to understand your implications."

Brian gave her a sneaky, fox-like smile. "I see why he picked you. He must have been really desperate to choose someone like you."

"What can I say?" Kira shrugged. "I’m a lucky girl, and clearly his best option."

Brian laughed, but it wasn’t a happy sound. "Don’t get ahead of yourself. Derek only married you so he could keep his throne."

"So?" Kira acted like she already knew. "He’s the man I love. If our marriage helps him out, I’m happy to help."

"You think you’re so smart," Brian sneered. "You’re just a pathetic, weak, runt, he’s using to spite me. You can’t seriously believe a King would marry a wolfless idiot for love?"

Those words cut through Kira, crumbling her resolve. They were the exact same ones her father hurled at her whenever he felt like twisting the knife. For a second her mask slipped; something raw flickered behind her eyes. But she refused to show Brian just how much he had hurt her or how scared she was right now. She just gave a casual shrug.

"If thinking that helps you sleep well at night, by all means go for it." She pushed herself off the wall, ignoring the fire in her back. "Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a wedding party to get back to."

She started walking away. Her heart was thumping against her ribs like a trapped bird. She kept waiting for him to grab her or hit her, but he just stood there.

"I always get what I want!" Brian called out behind her.

Kira kept her head high and didn’t look back. Suddenly, the door at the end of the hall swung open, and she stopped dead.

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