[Rael's POV]
Smoke still clung to his coat.
Rael sat on a rooftop two cities over, bandaged arm cradled in his lap, phone burning with silence. The hideout was gone. The operation? Delayed. But not ended.
Kieran had made his choice.
Again.
Rael stared at the street below—cars, people, meaningless noise. But in his mind, he saw him.
The boy he once bled beside.
The boy who saved his life more times than he could count.
And the boy who left him behind in the dirt.
---
It wasn't just loyalty.
Rael loved him.
Maybe not the way Leo did. Maybe not the way Kieran needed.
But Rael's love was carved in blood and steel. Feral. Loyal. Unshakable.
And when Kieran walked away—Rael stayed behind to clean up the mess.
Now Kieran had someone else.
Someone soft. Hopeful. Brave.
And it made Rael want to burn everything again.
---
He pulled out a tiny black case. Opened it.
Inside—
A photo. Worn. Faded.
Him and Kieran, barely 15. Dirty. Smiling. Stupid.
You promised me forever, Rael thought bitterly.
Then he slid the photo back, stood up, and made the call.
"They're together. Kieran and the boy."
A pause.
Then the voice on the line: "We proceed?"
Rael stared into the sunset.
"No. Not yet."
A beat.
"I want to do this my way."