Chapter 221 The Calm Before the Storm

“Tell your father that Skylar Ashford—the pup of Louis Ashford—said he can’t touch me. I don’t care who he is, or what position he holds. I’m not afraid of him.”

Skylar calmly reached for his napkin and wiped the corner of his mouth as though they were discussing the weather instead of threatening each other.

She jabbed a finger at him.

“By the time my father is done with you, you won’t even be able to charge that walking radio you call a mouth.”

Skylar pressed a hand to his chest and gasped.

“That’s it? That’s the threat?”

A grin spread across his face.

“Tell your father to bring a spare battery. This radio runs all day.”

“Tell that to your lawyer.” Arianna shot back, jerking her chin at him.

Skylar’s grin didn’t budge.

“Good idea.” He leaned back, a lazy grin tugging at his lips. “I’ll tell him right after I explain why you’re so interested in my schedule.”

Arianna folded her arms tightly across her chest.

He chuckled.

“And while we’re at it, I won’t leave out the part where you ended up in my bed begging me to fúck you.”

He shook his head and laughed again.

“No, I’ll tell him everything. Every last detail.”

Arianna’s face burned.

“You pup of a bitch!”

With a shriek, she lunged at him.

Skylar leaned back in his chair, a dry laugh slipping from his throat.

“Ask him about Room 608.” He lifted his glass and took a slow sip. “But if you still need him breathing, wait until he’s taken his life-support medication first. He’ll need every bit of strength he can get.”

He set the glass down with a soft click and shook his head.

“What a useless bunch.”

His gaze drifted toward the window before returning to her.

“I still can’t figure out why a noble as decent as Ashley keeps company with a useless set of people.”

Ken appeared behind her almost immediately. He caught her by the waist before she could reach Skylar and hauled her backward.

“Enough!”

The single word cracked through the chamber.

Still struggling, Arianna continued shouting while Ken dragged her toward the entrance. A moment later, the front door slammed with such force that the dishes on the table rattled.

Silence settled over the house.

Lyn sat still and listened.

Heavy footsteps sounded from the entrance hall. One after another, they climbed the staircase. Each step seemed harder than the last.

Ken never came back downstairs.

Lyn glanced at Skylar, who was helping himself to another bite of food as if nothing unusual had happened.

A laugh escaped her before she could stop it.

“What a memorable dinner.”

Skylar grinned.

“One of the better ones I’ve attended.”

That only made Lyn laugh harder.

“Brooklyn, you don’t keep your enemy under your roof. She could kill you. You and Ken are smarter than this. Come on.”

“Ken let her stay because of her father.”

“Who the hell is her father? That scumbag?” He blew out a breath and shook his head. “If she ever sets foot in this house again, call me.”

“Ken may be my cousin, and yeah, we look alike, but that’s where the similarities end. I wouldn’t put up with this.”

Brooklyn looked at him, a smile tugging at her lips.

He had no idea what he’d just done.

For the first time in days, the knot in her chest loosened. Another person has finally seen how ridiculous the situation was, and that alone made her feel lighter.

“Skylar,” she said, resting her chin on her palm, “do you and Ken have anything in common at all?”

“Yeah.”

She smiled. “Want to share?”

“Sure. But let’s start with the differences.”

“Fair enough.”

Skylar leaned back in his chair.

“He’s twenty-nine. I’m twenty-six.”

She nodded.

“And somehow he still looks younger than me.”

A grin spread across Skylar’s face.

She burst out laughing.

He leaned back, a grin tugging at his mouth.

“He’s an introvert. I’m the extrovert,” he said, pointing between himself and the empty air like Ken was standing there. “He’s into basketball. I’m a soccer player. Dude writes with both hands. Me? Left-handed and proud.”

Laughter rolled around the chamber, and he rode it like he liked the attention.

“He’s quiet… like silent-killer quiet. Me? I don’t shut up. I’m loud, vociferous—whatever you wanna call it. Basically a walking radio.”

She chuckled harder. He shrugged like it was nothing.

“Ken’s the brainiac. My mother says I’m… what did she call it again? Electronica. Meaning he breaks his brain, I break electronics.”

He tapped his temple, smiling.

“He’s 6’3. I’m 6’4,” he added, chin lifting slightly. “Younger, taller… don’t ask me how that worked out, it just did.”

More laughter.

“He’s into Sherlock Holmes. I’m a Harry Potter guy. He can grow a beard if he wants. I want one so bad, but it just won’t show up for me.” He rubbed his chin, smirking. “He hits the gym. I do yoga. He’s action movies. I’m a thriller series guy.”

His shoulders rolled loosely as he went on.

“He stays off social media. I live there. He plays it cool with people. I… don’t.” A short laugh slipped out. “He knows how to keep moonallies. I just show up and hope for the best.”

The chamber had gone warm with laughter by now.

He paused, then tilted his head slightly, smile softening just a bit.

“Only real difference that matters though… he’s a mate to one of the most beautiful she-wolves in the world.”

For a second,no one spoke.

“I’ve got no moonmate.”

“Thank you, Skylar,” she said, rising from the chair.

He lifted a hand slightly. “I didn’t even get to the best part—the similarities.”

She paused, then lowered herself back down.

He leaned back like he owned the place. “We look the same. Same face, same bloodline from our grandfather. People always notice.”

A faint smirk touched his lips. “Shewolves notice too. They like us. I don’t waste time—I just do what I want, and I tell them how I feel.”

She let out a short breath, half disbelief, half amusement, then stood again.

“Ken’s mad at you right now. I need to talk to him.”

“He doesn’t stay mad at me. Or Liora.”

Her gaze sharpened. “You shouldn’t have slept with his moonmate.”

He only shrugged. “She came to me first. I didn’t force anything. Same way your cook kept hanging around me.”

“Oh my—Skylar.” She pressed her fingers to her forehead for a second, then dropped her hand.

“Why is she scared of you?” she asked.

He tilted his head, voice calm. “I told her how I felt after. She didn’t take it well. Now she keeps her distance. Problem solved—I sleep in peace.”

He pushed back his chair and stood.

Without another word, he walked toward the stairs.

Lyn stayed behind, hands on her hips, watching him disappear up the steps.

Lyn settled into her chair with a satisfied smile and pulled out her device. The moment she opened a video call with Emma, she added Elara to the conversation.

Emma appeared on the screen first, her blonde hair falling over one shoulder as she looked straight into the camera.

“Well?” Elara asked before anyone else could speak. “Did Skylar show up?”

A grin spread across Lyn’s face.

“Show up? He’s already here. Arianna is gone too.”

Emma frowned. “What do you mean she’s gone?”

Lyn laughed, unable to hide her amusement.

“You should’ve seen it. Skylar completely destroyed her. Every time she opened her mouth, he had something waiting for her. By the end of it, Ken couldn’t even sit there and pretend everything was fine. He threw her out himself.”

Emma’s mouth fell open.

“He actually threw her out?”

“Yes, he did.”

Elara let out a long breath and rubbed her temple.

“That’s not good.”

Lyn’s smile faded slightly.

“What do you mean?”

“The plan was to make her leave on her own,” Elara said. “Not to have her thrown out in front of everyone.”

Lyn shrugged.

“Either way, she’s gone.”

Emma and Elara exchanged a look through the screen. Neither of them seemed nearly as pleased as Lyn expected.

A knot slowly formed in Lyn’s stomach.

“What aren’t you telling me?”

Elara leaned back and sighed.

“Lyn, think about who her father is.”

The amusement vanished from Lyn’s face.

For a moment, nobody spoke.

The noise from the cookhouse around her seemed distant now as she stared at the screen.

“He won’t be happy,” Emma said quietly.

Elara’s voice stayed steady, but there was something tight underneath it. “He won’t take this lightly.”

Lyn barely had time to respond. Her device lit up again, cutting through the moment like a blade. She glanced at the screen and let out a faint scoff under her breath.

“Speak of the devil,” she muttered.

Emma leaned in, curiosity sharpening her gaze. “Who is it?”

Without answering, Lyn angled the device so both of them could see the name flashing across the screen.

Ken.

A slow smile returned to her lips as she accepted the call.

“Miss me already?” she said lightly, leaning back in her chair as if nothing in the world could touch her.

But the voice that came through wasn’t playful.

“Where are you?” Ken asked.

The change in tone was enough to make Lyn pause. Her fingers tightened slightly around the device, the ease in her expression slipping just a fraction.

“What happened?” she asked, her voice lowering.

For a moment, only silence came through the line.

Then Ken exhaled.

“Arianna’s father just called.”

The air around Lyn seemed to shift.

The faint amusement on her face disappeared completely.

She straightened.

“What did he say?”

Ken gave a short, humorless laugh, the kind that carried no relief in it at all.

“He’s not happy.”

Nobody spoke for a few seconds

Then the line went dead.

Lyn lowered the device slowly.

The chamber felt quieter than it had a moment ago, as if even the air had changed its mind about staying.