Chapter 165 The suffering Night

Chapter 165 The suffering Night

Lila made it to her small room before her knees gave out. She collapsed on the narrow bed, shaking. Her skin felt too tight. Her wolf paced restlessly beneath the surface, whining with need.

The bond. It burned. Not painful exactly but overwhelming. Every nerve ending screamed for proximity. For touch. For completion.

She had felt this before but never this intense. Never this consuming. As if every moment spent away from Adrian added fuel to a fire that would eventually burn them both to ash.

Sydney found her hours later, curled on the bed, trembling.

"Lila? Moon Goddess, what happened? You are burning up." Sydney pressed a hand to her forehead. "Should I fetch Keal?"

"No." Lila's voice was hoarse. "No healers. This is not illness. This is the bond."

"The bond? But I thought—"

"It is not broken. Not healed. Just damaged and bleeding and getting worse." Lila forced herself to sit up. Her hands shook. "Every day apart makes it worse. Every moment of distance adds to the pain. And today I was in his chambers surrounded by his scent and it felt like drowning and breathing simultaneously and I cannot do this much longer."

Sydney sat beside her. "Then go to him. Stop fighting it."

"I cannot. He will not. We are trapped in this torture because neither of us knows how to bridge the gap without destroying everything." Lila's laugh was hollow. "Four years of damage cannot be undone in weeks. No matter how much the bond demands it."

Night fell. The pain intensified. Lila's wolf thrashed. Demanded. Clawed at her from the inside.

She tried to sleep. Failed. Paced the small room instead. Her skin felt like it was on fire. Her chest ached with every breath.

Across the palace, Adrian suffered identically.

He paced his chambers. Four hours straight. Back and forth. Unable to rest. Unable to think of anything except the woman whose scent still lingered on his sheets despite them being changed.

The bond pulled. Demanded. Screamed at him to go to her. To claim her. To complete what they had started weeks ago.

But fear held him back. Fear of hurting her worse. Fear of the bond breaking completely if pushed too hard. Fear of losing her permanently if he acted on instinct instead of reason.

His wolf snarled. Fought for dominance. Wanted only one thing and would not be reasoned with.

Dawn found him standing at his window. Eyes bloodshot. Body vibrating with barely contained need. He had not slept. Could not sleep. The bond would not allow rest.

A knock at the door. Keal entered without waiting for permission. He stopped short when he saw Adrian.

"Your Majesty. You look terrible."

"Thank you for that observation." Adrian's voice was rough from disuse.

"When did you last sleep? Eat? Do anything except torture yourself?" Keal moved closer, professional concern overriding caution. "This is not sustainable. You know that."

"What would you have me do?" Adrian turned from the window. "Complete the bond? Claim her? Risk breaking what little connection we have left because the pain is too much to bear?"

"I would have you stop denying what you both need. Stop using fear as justification for suffering." Keal's voice was gentle but firm. "Your Majesty, I have been studying the bond. The damage. The spell that was used to force the rejection. And I can tell you with certainty that distance is making it worse, not better."

"I know that. I feel it every second of every day."

"Then why do you persist? Why continue torturing yourself and Lady Lila when the solution is obvious?" Keal removed his glasses, cleaning them. "The bond wants completion. Your wolf wants its mate. Your heart wants what it has always wanted. Why keep denying it?"

"Because I am afraid." The admission came out broken. "Afraid that claiming her now, damaged as we both are, will destroy us both. Afraid that the bond is too fragile. Afraid that I will hurt her worse trying to fix things."

"You are already hurting her. And yourself. Every day of this half-connected torture adds damage to an already fragile bond." Keal replaced his glasses. "Your Majesty, denying this is destroying you both. I can see it. Everyone can see it. The question is, when will you admit it?"

"I have no choice."

"You have every choice. You are the Alpha King. Your authority is absolute. If you want Lady Lila, if you want to complete the bond, nothing and no one can stop you." Keal's voice turned hard. "The only thing stopping you is yourself. Your fear. Your guilt. Your conviction that suffering is somehow noble."

Adrian had no response. Because Keal was right. He knew it. Had known it for weeks.

But knowing and acting were different things.

"Leave me." His voice held command despite exhaustion.

Keal bowed and left. But his words remained. Echoing. Accusing. True.

Adrian sank into his chair. Pressed his hands to his face. The bond pulsed. Ached. Demanded.

In her small room, Lila finally collapsed into fitful sleep. But even unconscious, her wolf whined. Paced. Searched for the mate who was close and yet impossibly far.

They suffered separately. Alone. Each convinced the other was better off with distance.

Neither realizing that the distance was killing them both. Slowly. Painfully. Inevitably.

Because bonds were not meant to be denied. And bodies were not meant to burn with unfulfilled need.

Something would have to break. Someone would have to be brave.

The question was who. And when. And whether they would both survive the breaking.