Chapter 71

Briar’s POV

I stared at Kylan, waiting for him to speak. His usual playful grin had melted away, replaced by something heavy and raw. Shadows pooled beneath his green eyes, and suddenly he looked years older. More tired. More human.

He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face as if bracing himself to reveal a secret he’d buried deep.

"Kayla," he finally murmured, the name coming out soft and bruised, like an old wound he’d never quite let heal. "Her name was Kayla Rivenhart."

I frowned, the unfamiliar name hanging strangely in the air. My stomach knotted with an instinctive dread. "Who was she?"

His jaw tightened briefly before he released another weary sigh. "She was my mate. My true mate. I was the only one among the three of us who had a true mate and my brothers were not connected to her."

His words struck me with an unexpected ache. Something twisted sharply in my chest, a surprising jolt of jealou