Chapter 37 Valen's POV (Soul mate)
Valen's POV ( Soul Mate)
A soul mate.
A fucking soul mate! Valen gripped the edge of the table making deep grooves in the mahogany wood, as he watched Dorian lead the woman away from the study.
As soon as she had stepped foot into his territory,he had felt it. A strange scent. A scent of life, of warmth, had seeped through the ice inside him. It was a strange feeling he couldn't comprehend.
No. He must be imagining things. After being cold for so long, his mind was craving what he couldn't have. At his age, he might be close to losing his mind.
But the feelings kept getting stronger and stronger, the scent irresistible.
He had been thankful Dorian hadn't barged in like he sometimes does in times of emergencies. The little minutes he had used to announce his presence with the healer was enough for him to turn his back to the door and regain his composure. It took a lot of self control to steel his voice and order for them to come in.
As soon as she stepped into the room, her presence struck him like a lightning bolt.
The scent hit him again, a mixture of wild earth and soft blossoms. It wasn’t the heavy musk of an ordinary werewolf. It was something unique—something primal. His chest tightened as his vampire instincts screamed to claim, to possess. Yet the man in him was equally captivated, and for the first time in centuries, he felt alive.
He wanted to be alone with her, to understand who she truly is and what power she had over him like that, only vampires had that strong hold to manipulate and that works only on humans.
" You can leave us," he said to Dorian, dismissing him. As soon as the door clicked shut, notifying the absence of Dorian, he felt he had gained enough composure. Turning into his vampire's form to hide the emotions in his eyes, he turned to face her.
As soon as he Turned to face the woman and locked eyes with her, nothing could have prepared him for the fire, the punch in the gut, desire that stopped him in his tracks and then he heard it.
'Thud'... Something foreign knocked against his chest. His breath rushed out of him.
'Thud' there it was again. His heart. It was beating.
No. This can't be happening, it's impossible. That sound, one he hadn't heard for a very long time, was a thunderous boom in his ears.
He lost Control
Staring daggers at her, he commanded her to leave, the aura emanating from him overwhelming, but she stood there paralyzed, staring right at him as if wondering what he was.
"I said... Leave!," He commanded again but she was still frozen in place.
Her defiance stirred a dangerous mix of emotions within him. He had wanted to break her, crush her will, yet the thought of her bowing before him felt wrong.
The door burst open and Dorian rushed in. The moment Dorian touched her shoulder, Valen’s instincts screamed at him to intervene. But he forced himself to stay still, watching as Dorian led her out of the room.
As soon as the door closed behind them, his legs gave way and he collapsed onto his sofa, he felt his body calm down, the pressure,the overwhelming aura all dissipated gradually till he was able to gain full control again.
After some moments he called for Dorian. As soon as Dorian entered, he noticed he let out a sigh of relief as he bowed towards him.
"Take her to one of the rooms downstairs, I won't be seeing her today".
"And let one of the servants take dinner to her, I want her alive". He urgently added. Seeing the confused look on Dorian's face,he realized he might have said the unexpected. Clearing his throat he said " I want her alive, I don't want her dying of starvation, even if she must die, it will be by my hands". The words tasted bitter on his tongue even as he said them, his body recoiled at the idea of harming her
"Yes my Lord" Dorian bowed and left.
Valen stood up pacing his office.
Fuck! When he'd seen her, his control had shattered, her very presence had cracked the ice inside of him. Even with her gone from his presence, his body raged out of control, she was still within his territory,he could still sense her. All he could think about was her. Her scent, an intoxicating blend of jasmine, sun-kissed honey, and rain-drenched earth, wrapped around him, tempting, seducing, maddening and utterly inescapable.
It was a miracle he hadn't claimed her right there as his body and instincts demanded. Thank the god's for the self control he had honed in his thousand years of existence.
The idea of claiming her felt like a betrayal, not just to Lydia's memory but to himself. He had built his life around control, around the absence of emotion. A soul mate would destroy everything he had worked for.
Damn it! He wasn't going to allow Fate dictate his life, for more than a thousand years he'd lived by his own rules. If he claims her, his soul would return.
'A soul?' He scoffed. Who needed a soul? It was a distraction, one he couldn't afford. Killing was easier when he didn't have a conscience.
But the thought of killing her was equally unbearable.
He clenched his fist, his nails digging into his palm as he replays their encounter in his mind. The way her eyes had burned with defiance, the way her body had trembled under the weight of his power. She was unlike anyone he had ever met. Bold, resilient and maddening intriguing.
He placed his hands on his chest again,his heartbeat was a strange sound to his ears. The feel of it beating again was a distraction. The only time his heart had beaten was when he met Lydia and since after her death, his heart hadn't beaten until now.
The thought of Lydia sent a wave of guilt crashing over him.
He had loved her with everything he had, and her death had destroyed him. She had been his world, his anchor, and when she was taken from him, he had vowed never to let anyone hold that kind of power over him again.
And now this woman—a werewolf, no less—had cracked through the ice that had encased his heart for centuries.
Valen stood, pacing the room once more as he tried to make sense of it all.
'How could he be bound to the very species that killed his mate?, is this some kind of trick or what? Or should he just kill her? Pretend all this never just happened’.
But he couldn't do it, his entire being rebelled at the mere thought of hurting his mate, much less killing her.
His chest tightened as he remembers her scent, her presence, the knowing feeling that she was just downstairs.
He sank into his seat, burying his face in his hands.
“What am I supposed to do?” He muttered, his voice breaking with uncharacteristic vulnerability.
For the first time in centuries, Valen felt lost. The ice around his heart was cracking, and he didn't know if he could survive what lays beneath.
His instincts screamed at him to claim her, to bind her to him before another male tried to take her away. But his mind rebelled against the idea. He couldn’t afford to let his emotions control him.
"I won’t allow this," he muttered, his voice a low growl. "I refuse to let fate dictate my life.”
But even as he said the words, he knew it wasn’t that simple. The bond was a living thing, pulling between them like a rope. Ignoring it wouldn’t make it go away.
But yet despite his turmoil, one thought lingered, unbidden and undeniable.
She's mine.
But how could a werewolf be his Queen?