My Sister Stole My Mate And I Let Her (Seraphina) novel Chapter 23

Chapter 23: Chapter 23 RUINED EVERYTHING

SERAPHINA’S POV

The shower had washed away the sweat, but not the frustration. Lavender ointment tingled on my bruised knuckles as I towel-dried my hair, the scent doing little to calm my racing thoughts.

The failed training drills. That wretched garden confrontation. The way Kieran’s gaze had burned through me like I was the one betraying him.

I exhaled a deep sigh. I should stop thinking of that annoying Kieran. We were divorced. He shouldn’t crash through my life like a hurricane anymore.

My phone buzzed on the sink counter.

Lucian: Left the protein shakes in your fridge. Don’t overdo it tomorrow.

A small smile tugged at my lips. Lucian had stayed late under the guise of reviewing my training schedules, but we both knew the truth—he’d been giving me space to process while silently ensuring I wasn’t alone. No prying questions. No false platitudes. Just steady presence, the way one might guard a wounded packmate.

I typed back: Thank you, Lucian. For everything you do.

Outside, the stars twinkled. At that moment, I just wanted to let the peace claim me.

However, the animal suddenly fiercely banging against my door did not get the memo.

With an annoyed huff, I tied my robe, and when the towel wrapped around my head fell to the floor, releasing my damp hair around my shoulders, I didn’t bother to pick it up.

I padded barefoot into the hallway, muttering angrily to myself. I swear, whoever was on the other end was going to—

I blinked, taking in Kieran. He filled my doorway like a tornado made flesh—jaw tight, eyes stormy. His chest heaved like he’d run here.

"What—?" I barely got the word out before he spoke.

"Where is he?" he growled.

I frowned. "What?"

He stepped closer, his presence flooding the threshold. "Where. Is. Lucian?"

Exasperation flowed through me, and I held back the urge to scream in his face. Had he followed us home? What the fuck was he playing at?

"Kieran, what the fuck?"

Then his mouth crashed onto mine.

My body went rigid, frozen by sheer disbelief.

Kieran had never kissed me before, but I’d imagined it a million times. In my fantasies, it would be sweet, soft, loving. He’d take me into his arms, and we’d just sink into it—the kind of kiss love songs were written about.

But this... this was nothing like that.

It was sudden. Consuming. A wildfire of need that threatened to devour me whole. His lips collided with mine like a tidal wave held back too long. Desperate. Heated. Possessive—like I belonged to him.

I couldn’t push him away. I was too stunned, too caught off guard to think, let alone move. My heart pounded against my ribs, my breath caught somewhere in my throat, trapped between longing and shock.

His tongue violently opened my lips, claiming. His broad hands gripped my hips onto his firm body, my robe slipping from one shoulder under his rough handling. His gaze darkened at the exposed skin.

"Kieran—" I gasped between searing kisses, fingers twisting in his shirt as the heat radiating from his beastly muscles threatened to melt my resolve. The way he looked at me, damn, sent liquid fire through my veins.

But I knew it was not right. I should remind him. "K-Kieran, we shouldn’t—"

Another possessive growl vibrated against my lips as he swallowed my protest with a deeper kiss, his hands locking around my hips like living shackles.

My brain screamed that we were divorced, that this needed to stop—but my body arched into his touch, trembling. Ten years as his wife, and never once did he want me like this. And this time, I could feel it was not just for need.

When his hand slid beneath my robe, the embers of my love for him that I thought I’d already buried seemed to flare dangerously, aching to—

Then, a phone rang—shrill and jarring—shattering the moment like glass on concrete.

Kieran tore himself away from me as if I’d burned him, and still, I couldn’t move. I stared at him, breathless, eyes wide, brain short-circuited.

He was breathing heavily, his gaze unfocused, his entire body trembling.

"Your... phone," I whispered, unable to think beyond the ringing—around us, in my head.

Kieran swore softly and shoved his hand in his pocket. He turned away from me as he answered it.

"Ethan, hi." Another curse. "She’s crying?" A sigh. "I didn’t... I didn’t mean to. I’ll make it right, I swear."

Then he hung up.

"What the hell was that?" I whispered, my voice a thin rasp.

Kieran didn’t answer right away. His expression flickered—confusion, regret, unsatiated hunger.

"Did you fight with her?" I asked, and my voice came out colder than I expected. "With Celeste?"

He didn’t respond.

His guilty silence was answer enough.

"Oh my God," I stumbled back, clutching the fallen robe to my chest as humiliation burned up my neck. I couldn’t believe I’d almost repeated history.

"I wasn’t thinking," he said, stepping toward me. "I just—"

"You just what?" My voice cracked. "Thought you could kiss your problems away? On me?"

"Sera—"

"Are you out of your mind?" The words tore from me raw. "What am I to you? A convenient distraction? A stand-in?"

"No, Sera, it’s not like that—"

"Get out!" I snapped, heart pounding. "You have no fucking right to do this to me!"

He hesitated, hunger still dark in his gaze. I didn’t care.

"Get out, Kieran," I repeated, firmer. "Some nightmares aren’t worth reliving."

When he didn’t move fast enough, I shoved him back, and he stumbled back out. The door hit his shoulder as I slammed it shut and turned the lock.

I stood there, breathing hard, one hand on the doorknob, the other pressed against my pounding heart.

The kiss still lingered on my lips, burned through my flesh, imprinted on my fucking soul.

But I’d learned enough over the past ten years.

Some paths, once broken, should never be retraced.

***

KIERAN’S POV

Something was wrong with me.

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