Chapter 83 SUBTLE SCENT
Kael's POV
I opened the chamber door and forgot how to breathe.
Adam was already there, barefoot, soft clothes clinging to him like they belonged nowhere else but his body. The shorts. The shirt. The ones I told him not to wear outside. Loose at the shoulders, sleeves slipping down his arms, legs bare and devastatingly beautiful.
He looked up the moment the door shut behind me.
Those eyes.
Storm-gray, gentle, worried.
He crossed the room in quick steps and wrapped himself around me before I could say a word.
“Hey,” he murmured into my chest. “You’re back. Did it go okay? You look like it stressed you out.”
His arms tightened like he was trying to hold me together.
I stood there, frozen, hands hovering uselessly at his back.
If you knew.
If you knew what Vance said.
If you knew what Star Moon did.
If you knew your body is fighting a war you never agreed to fight.
I swallowed.
Adam pulled back just enough to look at my face. “Kael?”
I forced my arms to move and wrapped them around him, slow at first, then tighter. Too tight. I didn’t care. He made a small sound and melted into me like that was exactly what he wanted.
“I’m fine,” I said.
It was a lie. A terrible one. But the only one I had.
He pressed his cheek to my collarbone. “You said I always say that when I'm not fine, should I believe you’re not?”
I almost laughed. He's so adorable.
“I just didn’t like leaving you alone,” he added softly. “I kept thinking maybe you’d come back more stressed, so I figured I should be extra nice.”
Extra nice.
He tilted his head up and kissed my jaw. Once. Then again. Light, and careful. Like he was afraid I’d pull away if he pressed too hard.
My chest burned.
“You don’t have to cheer me up,” I said, my voice rough.
“I know,” he replied. “I want to.”
Gods.
I guided us to the bed before my legs gave out. I sat on the edge, breath heavy, thoughts louder than thunder. He followed without hesitation and climbed straight into my lap, straddling me like it was the most natural thing in the world.
My hands moved on instinct. One to his lower back. One to his waist. Holding him in place.
He hugged me around the neck and rested his forehead against mine.
“You’re shaking,” he whispered.
“I’m just tired,” I said.
Another lie.
He smiled anyway. That soft, crooked smile that felt like forgiveness even when I didn’t deserve it.
“You work too hard,” he said. “Even your frown looks tired.”
I closed my eyes and pressed my face into his shoulder.
You might die.
The thought slammed into me without mercy.
Because of me.
Because you trusted me.
Because you let me touch you.
Because you now carry my blood.
My arms tightened around him until he let out a surprised laugh.
“Kael,” he said, amused. “I can’t breathe if you keep doing that.”
I loosened immediately. “Sorry.”
He cupped my face, thumbs brushing my cheeks. “Hey. I’m okay. See? Still here.”
Still here.
For now.
He leaned in and kissed my forehead, lingering there like it was his favorite place.
“I changed back,” he said casually. “The shorts, I mean. I figured I’m not going outside, so it’s fine.”
I looked at him then… the way the shirt slipped off one shoulder. The faint curve of his stomach under thin fabric. The way his legs fit around my hips like they belonged there.
So small in my lap. So warm. So alive.
“How could anyone hurt you,” I thought wildly. What kind of monster looks at this and decides to break it?
My hand slid to his back, then lower, then stilled when my fingers brushed his belly.
I froze.
He noticed immediately.
Adam followed my gaze, then placed his own hand there, absentminded, gentle.
“Oh,” he said softly. “I keep doing that too, sometimes without realizing. It's okay for you to do it, I'm starting to like it.”
My throat closed.
Inside him was everything. A future I was terrified to imagine too loudly.
“I like it when you touch me there,” he added, almost shy. “It makes me feel… pampered, and it makes me imagine having a bigger belly.”
I pressed my palm flat against his stomach, reverent. Careful. Like I was touching something holy.
“You are real,” I said hoarsely.
He smiled and leaned down, pressing his forehead to mine again.
“You’re thinking too loudly,” he said. “Your face does that thing.”
“What thing?” I asked.
“The storm thing,” he replied. “Like there’s a lot going on and none of it wants to behave.”
If only he knew.
He hugged me tighter, legs locking around my waist, anchoring himself to me like he was afraid I’d drift away with my thoughts.
“I’m here,” he murmured. “Okay? You don’t have to carry everything by yourself.”
I almost told him.
The words climbed up my throat, desperate and sharp.
Star Moon says your body is failing.
They say my presence is hurting you.
They say I’m killing you slowly.
But then he nuzzled into my neck and breathed me in, content, safe, trusting.
And I couldn’t.
I breathed him in instead.
That new soft, sweet scent he's had since he got pregnant. Something blooming beneath his skin that hadn’t been there before. Mine. Ours.
My wolf stirred, restless and aching, pressing against the cage I’d built around it.
Let me protect them.
“I love you,” Adam said suddenly, muffled against my neck.
The words shattered something fragile inside me.
I hugged him closer, one hand cradling the back of his head, the other still warm over his belly.
“I love you,” I replied, barely more than a breath.
Outside, the world could burn and I wouldn't care.
Inside this room, in my arms, was everything I would destroy kingdoms to keep safe.