Chapter 9 Familiar face in my room

"What the hell?"

For a split second, I thought I was being kidnapped again. But this time, I wasn't going down without a fight.

I grabbed the intruder's wrist, twisting it behind his back and slamming him into the wall.

He didn't flinch. Just stood there with one of my photo frames in his hand, head tilted like he was admiring it, completely unfazed by the fact that I was ready to break his arm.

"Ivan?" I hissed, breath short, heart racing. "What the hell are you doing here? And how did you even get in?"

"First take your hands off me," he said coolly, voice low. "Then we'll talk."

He glanced over his shoulder, eyes glinting with amusement. "Window," he added, like it was the most obvious answer in the world. "How else? I've been waiting."

"Waiting?" I echoed, narrowing my eyes. "In my room?"

He gave a lazy shrug. "An hour, maybe. You take forever to fall asleep."

My jaw dropped. "Well, yeah-because I wasn't planning on sleeping with you lurking around like a damn stalker!"

Ivan smirked, clearly entertained. "Relax. Your mom's out cold, and your brother hasn't made it home yet. I checked."

"You checked?" My voice rose in disbelief.

He arched a brow. "Wouldn't be a great warrior if I didn't know who was in the house, would I?"

He wandered to my desk, dragging his fingers over a messy pile of notebooks like he was inspecting evidence at a crime scene.

"You're insane," I muttered, still trying to wrap my head around how casually he was treating all this. "You can't just break into someone's house. What if someone saw you?"

"Well..." He shot me a devilish grin. "No one did."

"That's not the point!" I snapped, voice sharp with frustration. "Aran will kill you if he finds you in here."

He pressed a finger to his lips. "I'm not here to kill you, Nyra."

"Oh, well, great," I said, folding my arms. "Then maybe leave before my brother rips your head off."

Instead of answering, Ivan picked up a pen from my desk and sniffed it.

Sniffed it.

He scrunched his nose. "You actually smell like math homework," he muttered, tossing it back down.

I stared at him, completely done. "Are you finished? Or is there more weird behavior you plan on checking off tonight?"

His smirk faded.

"You're taking too long," he said.

That caught me off guard. "Too long for what?"

"To figure it out. To make a decision." He leaned back against my bedpost, calm as ever. "The prophecy isn't going to wait until you're ready."

A chill crawled up my spine. "I am ready."

His eyes darkened. "No, you're not. You're hesitating. Hiding behind excuses." His tone wasn't cruel, but it cut through me all the same. "You think just saying you're prepared is enough-but deep down, you know it's not."

I looked away, jaw clenched. "You don't know that."

"I do," he said flatly. "I know what happened with Bethany."

My head snapped toward him. "How-?"

"You think I wouldn't find out? The twins see everything." His voice softened just a fraction. "You lost control, Nyra. You let your power take over."

"I didn't mean to," I whispered, shame clawing at my throat.

Ivan stepped closer. Something about him felt heavier-less playful, more grounded.

"Intentions don't matter when your wolf takes the reins."

"She won't," I insisted, but the words rang hollow even to me.

His gaze pierced through me. "She will. Unless you stop pretending you have time and start facing what's coming."

I hated that he was right. Hated how easily he could see through me.

He sat down on the edge of my bed like he belonged there. His fingers brushed against the fabric near my pillow, grazing the worn teddy bear I hadn't had the heart to move.

"This was your dad's last gift, wasn't it?"

My throat tightened. "Yeah."

"You still sleep with it when you miss him."

I didn't answer. I didn't need to.

He stared at the bear a moment longer before gently placing it back.

"My dad gave me a knife once. Dull as hell-barely cut paper. But he told me I'd sharpen it over time... just like myself." His voice went quiet. "I lost him too."

I looked up, and the Ivan I knew-the smirking, reckless warrior-was gone. In his place was someone raw. Someone carrying scars of his own.

"What happened?" I asked quietly.

"An outsider tried to take our land. I was too young to stop it."

The silence that followed wasn't awkward. It was heavy. Sad. Real.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

He looked like he wanted to say something else, but instead, he stood and placed the bear gently beside my pillow.

"Look, kid," he said, voice low. "We might be outsiders... but we're not lost. We follow the prophecy. And we need you. You have to learn how to connect with your wolf. Control her. She's stronger than anything we've seen. Stronger than any Alpha."

For a few heartbeats, we just stood there-until the sound of a key twisting in the front door made us both freeze.

Click.

My blood turned to ice.

"My brother," I breathed.

Ivan was already at the window, movements swift and soundless.

"What do I do?" My voice trembled.

"Nothing." He tossed me one last grin. "I'll be gone before he even makes it up the stairs."

"Ivan-"

He pushed the window open, letting the night air sweep in. "Sweet dreams, Luna."

And just like that, he was gone-curtains fluttering in his wake.

The front door slammed shut downstairs.

"Nyra?" Aran's voice rang out.

I scrambled to the window, slammed it closed, and locked it tight. Then I pressed my back to the wall, chest heaving.

It wasn't the fear of being caught that made my hands shake.

Ivan had been right.

I was stalling. I wasn't ready.

And deep inside me, something stirred. Something that wasn't quite me.

She had heard him too.

And she agreed.