"Trust me, Layla." Kayden rose, placing himself between us and Finn. "He won't hurt you anymore."
I drew a deep breath. My anxious, racing heart finally began to settle.
Right. Kayden was here. He wouldn't let Finn touch us again.
I trusted him.
Kayden faced Finn, gun held steady. The warriors who'd followed him in spread out in a fan formation, weapons raised, blocking every exit.
"Why do this?" Kayden's voice remained calm, as if the person before him wasn't his half-brother at all.
Finn spread his hands, shrugging carelessly.
"Why?" He began to pace slowly, each step deliberate, splashing through puddles on the ground. "You really don't know?"
"Or..."
He stopped, those blood-red eyes boring into Kayden.
"You never bothered to think about it?"
Kayden didn't respond. Just waited.
"I'm the Alpha's son." Finn's voice began to rise. "Same as you. The same blood flows through us!"
"But you were born with everything—"
"Father's love, the pack's respect, the Alpha inheritance..."
"And me?"
His voice went sharp.
"I'm the bastard! The disgrace! The forbidden thing no one dares mention!"
"My mother was driven from the pack, died in the wilderness."
"I grew up being bullied, spat upon, treated like..."
His finger jabbed toward himself.
"Like a mistake that should never have existed."
His voice echoed through the mine, mingling with labored breathing.
"So you orchestrated this." Something complicated flickered in Kayden's gaze.
"Yes!" Finn burst into laughter. "Don't you think the plan is brilliant?!"
He threw his arms wide, as if embracing some invisible glory.
"Seven years! Seven years of meticulous planning!"
"Feigned death, framing her, escape..."
"Then allying with vampires, gaining power, building my forces..."
His eyes blazed unnaturally, pupils dilated, lost in some mad recollection.
