Chapter 44 Good guy
~Kael's POV~
She finally managed to push herself into a sitting position, although it took her several unsteady seconds to gather enough strength. When she succeeded, she released a soft breath that trembled faintly, then took the plate from my hand.
She leaned her back against the headboard, allowing the support to cradle her exhausted body, and began to eat one spoonful at a time with fragile but determined movements.
My eyes refused to leave her face. Even while looking pale, drained, and fragile, she remained breathtaking. Her beauty carried a quiet force that refused to be dimmed by weakness or illness. Every strand of her hair, slightly messy, still framed her face with an effortless elegance.
Her eyes held a depth that drew me in every time she turned them in my direction, and her lips… my gaze lingered far too long on that soft and plump pair. The subtle movement of her mouth as she chewed felt hypnotic, almost spellbinding, pulling me deeper into a trance I had no desire to escape.
“Why are you staring?” Her voice broke through the haze, sharp enough to cut through my trance. I lifted my eyes from her lips back to hers and saw a frown tightening her features.
“Am I not allowed to do that?” I asked, completely unaffected by the displeasure in her expression.
“No.”
A small smile tugged at my lips at her response. Her attempt to chase my gaze away only amused me, but it did nothing to stop me from staring. After a moment, she gave up trying to challenge my eyes and looked away, continuing with her food as if ignoring me would make the intensity fade.
“Can you still feel your wolf?” I asked quietly. I had noticed earlier, when I found her unconscious on the floor, that her scent was faint. Now, it was far fainter than it had ever been before. That observation now pulsed in my mind like a warning.
“Only very slightly,” she answered in a contemplative tone, and to my surprise her face softened with sadness. “She is barely there.”
I studied her again, letting her finish her food while I observed the exhaustion that clung to her like a second skin. When she swallowed her last bite, her hand began to lift, but I moved faster. My fingers touched the corner of her mouth, wiping a small spill before she could react.
The moment my touch grazed her skin, her cheeks flushed a deep and startling red. Her reaction intensified when I slowly brought my finger to my lips and licked it clean. Her blush deepened as though her skin might ignite.
“Do you like the food, or would you prefer something else?” I asked softly.
She frowned and turned her face away from me again. “Why do you care all of a sudden?”
“All of a sudden?” I echoed, genuinely surprised. “I have cared from the very moment I set my eyes on you. You cannot be too blind or too naive to see how much you affect me.” I spoke truthfully, wondering how she could have missed it. I had taken criticism and suspicion from my own people because of her.
She still did not look convinced, and something within me urged me to explain further.
“If I did not care, you would have died the moment I found you in that forest.”
“You did not kill me only because you wanted to use me,” she shot back, and although that was not entirely wrong, the implication sat wrong with me. I wanted her to understand the full truth.
“Is that what you think?” I asked.
“I was not deaf when your beta suggested it and you agreed,” she said, and I nodded once in acknowledgement.
“Do you think I could not still use you even if I had allowed you to be tried with the condemned that day?” I leaned slightly closer. “If you believe that, then think again. I could use you without giving you a comfortable room. I could use you without allowing you proper food, the kind no prisoner in Ironfang would ever dream of receiving. I did all of that because I cared, even when I did not understand why.”
Her expression shifted. The defensiveness that had been sharp as a blade softened into curiosity. She looked straight into my eyes, as if she thought she could uncover my soul if she stared long enough.
“Do you now understand why?” she asked.
“It's because you are my mate, the one person destined to bring meaning and calm into my life,” I said with complete certainty. I felt grateful that I finally had the chance to speak those words to her. “Although I was not expecting my mate to be a naive little witch.”
As expected, her frown immediately returned. I almost laughed.
“Neither was I expecting mine to be a terrible alpha wolf,” she shot back. Her voice carried bite, and instead of irritating me, it stirred something dangerously alluring inside me. I normally despised defiance from anyone, but from her, it felt intoxicating.
“Terrible, hmm?” I smirked and leaned back slightly. “You did not think that way when we were kissing and you were massaging my dick days ago.”
Her face erupted in a fierce shade of red. Her eyes widened, and she whipped her head away from me so fast her hair brushed her cheek. She did not say a word, but the silence was loud with embarrassment.
“What is wrong? Did a cat steal your tongue?” I asked, even though I knew she would refuse to answer.
“Are you really going to release Taren?” she asked instead, instantly crushing the lightness of the moment. My mood soured immediately. Her voice, filled with concern, rubbed salt on an already throbbing wound. I had kept myself composed for as long as I could, but hearing his name again from her pushed my restraint dangerously close to breaking.
“I must confess, you are making me reconsider,” I answered honestly.
“What?” she gasped. “Why?”
“It is bad enough that you were willing to starve yourself to death because of another man. Hearing you speak so passionately in his defense is irritating me and making me want to leave him to rot in the dungeon.” I let the truth spill, though I held back the darker thoughts swirling in my head. I couldn't believe that while I stood here trying to connect with my mate, all she could think about was another man.
“What? But…” she trailed off.
“But what?” I asked sharply.
“Nothing.” She shook her head and pressed her lips together. The refusal to speak only fueled my irritation.
“Now you don't want to talk because you want to save his life, correct?” I asked. Anger and something dangerously close to jealousy coiled in my chest. Did she care about him so much? Would she ever fight for me the way she fought for him?
“What do you want from me?” she asked, confusion flickering across her features.
“Do you like him?” I asked.
“What?”
“Answer the question. Do you like Taren?” I pressed. Every part of me braced for the answer I did not want to hear. I was spiraling, losing control, unable to center myself around anything except this obsession to know.
“I… he's the only link I have to unlocking my full identity,” she began slowly. “He’s the only one who did not treat me like an abomination since I came here. He listens, he's considerate, he makes me feel comfortable whenever he's around. So yes, I…”
She faltered when she saw the way my eyes narrowed dangerously. I watched her swallow the rest of her confession, clearly understanding the risk of finishing it.
“Um… he is a good guy and he does not deserve to be punished,” she said instead, choosing a safer path and saving us both from the explosion that would have followed.