Chapter 15: Chapter Fifteen.

Kaidon sat in his chamber, shadows dancing over his tattooed chest, bare and heaving as he leaned back on the velvet couch.

His legs were spread wide, body relaxed but his jaw tense. The low flicker of torches cast an amber glow across the dark room. A wooden table in front of him was littered with empty wine bottles, and a half-filled goblet hung from his fingers like an afterthought.

“She’s finally here.” a voice whispered in his head—ancient, primal.

Kaidon’s eyes twitched, blood-red and gleaming.

“Proceed with the mating… our mate is perfect. Her scent, her soul… she belongs to us.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Kaidon growled, the vein in his neck bulging. Without warning, he hurled the goblet at the wall. It shattered with a sharp crash, wine streaking the stone like blood.

“Shut up! Shut up!” he snarled again, both hands gripping his head as his wet hair clung to his face. The voice was too loud. Too possessive. Just like him.

A knock cut through the chaos.

The heavy chamber door creaked open and Rylan stepped in. His gaze swept over the wreckage, then to the broken man sitting in the middle of it.

“You’re drinking?” Rylan asked with a tired sigh.

Kaidon lifted his head, his eyes glowing like hellfire.

“How is she?” Rylan asked carefully.

Kaidon’s expression twisted. “She. Is. Mine.” he roared, the words clawing out of his throat. “Stop asking about her!”

Rylan flinched, instinctively stepping back. “I—I apologize,” he murmured, bowing slightly.

Kaidon stood, his presence thick and dangerous, and without another word, stormed out of the chamber. Rylan exhaled sharply, only breathing once Kaidon was gone.

♥︎♥︎♥︎

Down the long hall, Kaidon’s heavy boots echoed off the cold floor as he neared her.

Meanwhile, in the bathing chamber, the air was warm and scented with crushed roses and vanilla milk. Taliya sat submerged in a marble pool, steam curling up around her bare shoulders. Her eyes were fixed on the moonlight pouring through the arched window.

“This is… peaceful.” she whispered, more to herself than anyone.

Lenora stood nearby, silent and still, like a shadow with a pulse.

Taliya exhaled a shaky breath, but her heart wouldn’t settle.

Just then, Lenora’s breath hitched—she felt it. That dense, chilling presence.

Her eyes shifted, and her entire body froze when she saw him.

Kaidon.

He stood like a shadow carved out of power, his glowing eyes fixed on the girl bathing in the pool. His chest was bare, his black pants hanging low on his hips, damp hair falling over his forehead like he’d been in a storm.

“M—Master—” Lenora tried to speak, but his voice came out like a whip.

“Leave.”

One word.

Sharp. Unquestionable.

Lenora bowed her head and turned quickly, disappearing through the arched doorway without another word.

And he remained.

Silent.

Still.

Watching.

Her black hair floated like silk across the milky water, the moonlight casting a pale shimmer on her bare skin. He didn’t blink. Didn’t breathe. His chest rose and fell, but all he saw—all he wanted—was her.

“Mine,” he growled low in his throat, voice barely a whisper. “All mine.”

Taliya, still blissfully unaware, sighed softly as she leaned back in the water. After a while, she called out gently, “Lenora… I’m done.”

Kaidon tensed.

Her voice—soft, delicate—it clawed into him, lit something on fire inside his chest. His fists clenched at his sides, and his feet moved before his mind did.

He needed to be near her.

To touch her.

To breathe her in again.

Suddenly, Taliya’s body stiffened. That same cold aura wrapped around her like a noose. A shiver raced down her spine.

“Lenora… did you hear me?” she called out again, slowly turning—

Only to find him there.

Standing at the edge of the marble pool.

Kaidon.

Eyes glowing Crimson, chest heaving, his body towering and still. He looked feral—haunted.

Taliya’s heart slammed against her ribs.

Where the hell is Lenora? How did he even—

She jolted when Kaidon stepped into the water, the surface rippling around his form.

“No—don’t—!” she turned, trying to escape, but his arms wrapped around her waist in an instant and pulled her back into him.

“Let me go!” she gasped, thrashing in the water. “Are you blind?! I’m naked—this is indecent! You can’t just—!”

But Kaidon didn’t flinch.

Didn’t look away.

His hands didn’t shake.

“You’re so… beautiful.” he murmured like he was confessing a secret only the moon should hear.

Taliya blinked.

Her heart stuttered.

Is he… is he actually demented?

Because nothing in his gaze looked sane. Only hunger. Only obsession.

“My soulmate is so beautiful,” Kaidon murmured, voice low and reverent, eyes burning into her skin. “You don’t need to cover yourself from me. You were made for me.”

Taliya froze, her lips parting in horror as he added, “You’ll have me soon… and you’ll see me too.”

Her face twisted. Disgust. Fear. Rage.

“Yep. He’s absolutely demented.”

“Let go of me.” she snapped, trying to push away from him, her wet hands slapping weakly against his stone-like chest. “Don’t touch me. You can’t just—!”

But he didn’t budge.

Didn’t even blink.

“I can’t stop touching you,” he whispered, smiling in a way that made her heart drop. “You’re mine. My soulmate.”

The word felt like poison in her ears.

“I’ve told you before,” Taliya screamed, her voice echoing through the chamber, “I AM NOT your soulmate! You kidnapped me! I’m not yours—I’ll never be!”

For a moment, there was silence.

And then—

Crack.

Taliya flinched as the marble wall behind him split.

A loud crumble followed as a part of the bathing chamber collapsed in the distance, sending tremors through the floor. Her eyes snapped to Kaidon, and what she saw made her stomach lurch.

His eyes.

No longer crimson.

But deep red.

Dark.

Empty.

Emotionless.

“Oh my god… how could I forget? He has dark magic,” she cursed herself, her heartbeat roaring in her ears.

I need to get out of here. Now.

She turned, ready to risk running out naked if she had to—but before she could even lift herself from the water, his arms tightened around her waist like iron.

And then his voice—too calm, too quiet—slithered down her spine.

“Did that boy steal your heart?”

Taliya stilled.

Her lungs stopped moving.

“Was it him?” Kaidon asked again, but now she heard it—the unspoken wrath buried in his calm tone, the storm he was holding back behind his breath.

He was chaos wrapped in silence.

And he was holding her like he’d never let go.