Chapter 213 The Rival Under Her Roof

Ken had left for an emergency at work and came back two hours later. Brooklyn waited until he finished freshening up before going in.

He was stretched out on the bed, shirt loosened, one arm behind his head. When Brooklyn walked in, he smiled. It faded the moment he saw her face.

“My heart… what is it?” He swung his legs off the bed and stepped toward her.

“Arianna,” she murmured.

His steps slowed. “What about her?”

“She moved in with us,” she said. Her voice cracked. She pressed her fingers together, then let them fall apart. “She keeps saying things… ugly things. Not straight at me, but I hear it.”

“What kind of things does she keep saying?” Ken asked.

“Ken…” Brooklyn’s fingers tightened around his hand. “I need you to be honest with me. Were you ever planning to make Arianna your mate? Were you going to hand me severance papers next week and call it a surprise?”

Ken stared at her. “No.” He lifted her chin. “You’re my everything. Where is this coming from?”

“Arianna.” Brooklyn looked away. “I overheard her talking.”

A dark look crossed his face.

“And you believed her?”

“I just wanted to hear it from you.”

Ken let out a sharp breath. “That good-for-nothing she-wolf will say anything to get under your skin.”

Brooklyn looked down at her hands and picked at her fingers.

“Maybe,” she said quietly. “But she sounded so sure of herself.”

She lifted her eyes to him.

“And it’s not just what she said, Ken. It’s the way she acts around you. Like there’s still something between the two of you.”

Ken dragged a hand through his hair.

“She’s always been like that,” he said. “She sees something she wants and acts like it already belongs to her.”

His eyes met Brooklyn’s.

“But she’s wrong. You’re my mate, Lyn. The only she-wolf who belongs beside me is you.”

Brooklyn’s hand slipped from the hanger she was holding. She sank onto the edge of the bed, staring down.

Ken moved again, slower this time. He crouched in front of her, head tilted up to meet her eyes.

“Lyn, breathe,” he said quietly. “She’s leaving. Right now.”

She gave a small nod.

He straightened and walked out without another word.

Down the hall, his voice cut through the house.

“Arianna Grant, what are you doing in my house?”

Arianna’s voice floated up, light and careless. “Hei… calm down. It’s just a harmless visit, okay? I’m not a stranger here.”

Ken’s jaw tightened. “Go back to your house.”

“My father knows I’m here,” she said, like that settled it.

Ken stepped closer, voice snapping. “This is my house, not your father’s house.”

Arianna gave a short laugh. “Ken… before you got mated, you told me yourself. You said you were getting mated and I supported you.” Her voice sharpened a little. “If you had told me you’d stop me from coming here after the matebond, I wouldn’t have supported it. I would’ve insisted we… we—” she scoffed softly “—get mated, even though I hate matebond.”

“That’s not what I’m saying,” Ken cut in, breathing hard. “I want you out. Now.”

Arianna tilted her head. “I’m not leaving.” She brushed past him and started down the stairs. “Your father and mine are allies. That makes us moonallies forever.”

Ken stayed where he was, eyes locked on her as she moved, her steps light, almost mocking.

Brooklyn’s hand settled on his shoulder from behind.

Ken exhaled sharply. “She’s a spoiled brat.”

He turned and walked off toward the chamber, leaving the space heavy behind him.

Brooklyn didn’t follow.

Arianna reappeared a moment later, a small box of cookies in her hands.

She stopped at the top of the stairs, eyes sliding over Brooklyn slowly.

The smile on her face didn’t reach her eyes.

“He’s your mate, and he’s my moonmate. We’re not breaking up. Stop looking at me like that. Stay in your lane, I’ll stay in mine.” She let out a long breath, turned, and walked toward her chamber.

Brooklyn stood frozen for a moment, words stuck somewhere in her throat. It felt unreal, like she was watching a scene she didn’t belong in.

“You’re messing with the wrong person,” she muttered under her breath as she moved down the stairs.

Her device rang.

She glanced at the screen and picked up.

“Hey, Emma,” Brooklyn said quickly, forcing a smile into her voice.

“Have you attended to your visitor?”

“Yes.”

“Who is she?”

“My neighbor,” she answered without blinking.

“I hope everything’s fine.”

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” Brooklyn said. She wasn’t about to give Emma one more thing to worry about while she was still recovering from the shock of the shooting.

She dropped onto the sofa, sinking into it a little too fast. One hand rested on a cushion while the other held the device.

Emma kept talking—easy, detailed, too relaxed for Brooklyn’s mood.

Brooklyn gave short replies, “yeah,” “hmm,” “okay,” but her eyes kept drifting away. Her fingers pressed slowly into the fabric of the cushion.

Emma went on, unusually open today, talking about her and Brandon in Monaco—more than she usually ever shared.

Brooklyn listened, but her mind stayed split, stuck on what had just happened upstairs.

“Emma, I’ll call you back tomorrow,” she said.

“I’m not sure about tomorrow. Ever since what happened in Monaco, Brandon’s been the one holding my device. He doesn’t like me talking too much.”

“I took it when he went into the bathchamber. I kept my eyes closed, acting like I was asleep. He hung it up and walked out.”

“Alright. I’ll call him myself.” She ended the call.

She dialed Elara’s number several times, but the call went unanswered. With a frustrated sigh, she tossed the device aside and pulled the Vision Hearth remote closer.

“Don’t change the channel. I was here before you,” a tiny voice said from behind her.

She turned and saw Arianna standing behind the sofa, still holding the box of cookies and a glass of juice. Brooklyn’s eyes dropped to the shirt Arianna was wearing.

Ken’s shirt.

For a moment, she wondered where Arianna had gotten it. Had she gone into their bedchamber and taken it, or had she picked it up from the laundry?

The shirt hung loosely on Arianna’s petite frame, falling almost to her knees. At least it covered her properly.

Brooklyn got to her feet and walked out of the living chamber without saying a word.

Arianna dropped onto the sofa and threw one leg over the backrest, exposing the red thong beneath her oversized shirt.

“Hmmm.” Lyn hissed through her teeth and quickened her pace.

Destruction was exactly what Arianna was after, but Lyn wasn’t about to let her have it.

Just as she reached the stairs, her device rang.

Elara.

She answered immediately. At that moment, she needed that call more than anything.

“Hi, Lyn. I’m sorry I didn’t call you back,” Elara said. “How was your voyage?”

“It was smooth.”

“How’s Ken?”

“He’s resting. The trip took a lot out of him.”

“You should get some rest too.”

Brooklyn let out a dry laugh and rubbed her forehead.

“Yeah, well, I have a bigger problem right now, and it’s driving me crazy.”

There was a brief pause.

“What happened?” Elara asked.

“Do you know Ken’s ex-moonmate?”

“Arianna?”

“Yes.”

“Of course. She was at Emma and Brandon’s royal matebond. Didn’t you see her?”

“I saw her.”

“Did she do something stupid?”

Brooklyn started pacing the hallway.

“She moved into my house, Elara. My house. She’s walking around in Ken’s shirt like she owns the place… like she owns him. I couldn’t stand it. I just walked out of the living chamber and left her there.”

“Oh, Goddess!”

Elara groaned loudly.

“Lyn, that Arianna is impossible. She’s a loud-mouthed troublemaker. Everywhere she goes, drama follows. I can’t stand her.”

Brooklyn leaned against the wall and closed her eyes.

“Has she been bothering you since you moved in with your mate?” Elara asked.

“She practically lives at Ken’s office. She’s there almost every day, and…” She stopped and blew out a breath. “Elara, I want her gone. Tell me what to do.”

“You can’t get rid of her, and you know it.”

Brooklyn’s shoulders slumped.

“Her father is the High Fang Regent’s closest ally. Nobody touches Arianna without consequences.”

“Elara, help me.”

“I have an idea. Why don’t you report her to the High Fang? He’s a father. He’ll understand,” Elara said.

Brooklyn shook her head.

“She’s too stubborn. Even if he tells her to leave, she won’t listen.”

“I know.” Elara paused. “Just talk to him first. If Arianna refuses to go, call me back.”

“What then?” Brooklyn asked.

A smile crept into Elara’s voice.

“Then I’ll tell you what to do, and I promise you she won’t step foot in your house or Ken’s office again.”

“Tell me now, Elara.”

“Don’t worry. Call Ashley first. He’ll help you. If he doesn’t…” Elara’s voice trailed off, followed by a soft laugh.

Brooklyn stopped pacing and frowned.

“If he doesn’t what?” she asked.

“Then I’ll tell you exactly how to get Arianna out of your house.”

Brooklyn’s grip tightened around the device. For the first time since Arianna had arrived, a flicker of hope stirred inside her.

“How?” she asked immediately.

There was a brief silence on the other end of the call.

When Elara finally spoke, her tone had changed.

“By tomorrow’s moonrise, Arianna will be the one begging to leave.”

Brooklyn went still.

The confidence in Elara’s voice sent a strange feeling through her chest.

“What are you planning?” she asked.

Elara chuckled softly.

“Call Ashley first.”

Before Brooklyn could press for more, the line went dead.

She lowered the device slowly and stared at the screen.

Arianna begging to leave?

For the first time all moonfall, Brooklyn found herself wanting tomorrow to come as quickly as possible.