Chapter 111 Adrain's Rage
Lila had been reading for hours when the library doors slammed open.
The sound cracked through the peaceful silence like thunder. She jerked upright, the anatomy text sliding from her lap.
Adrian stood in the doorway.
His presence filled the space, dominating it. His eyes swept the library with predatory precision, landing on her hidden corner. Even from this distance, she could see gold bleeding into the gray of his irises.
He crossed the room in long strides, his boots echoing on marble. The temperature seemed to drop with each step he took.
Keal had returned at some point. He stood from a nearby table, bowing immediately. "Your Majesty."
Sydney, refilling Lila's teacup, froze mid-pour. The tea spilled over the rim. She set the pot down with shaking hands and curtsied low.
Adrian ignored them both. His gaze locked on Lila with an intensity that made her breath catch.
"You missed training." His voice was controlled. Too controlled. Like a blade pressed against a throat, not yet cutting but promising blood.
Lila stood on unsteady legs. "I was delivering supplies to Gerrit. When I finished, I came here to study instead. Delta Keal suggested..."
"I don't care what Keal suggested." Adrian's eyes flashed brighter gold. "You were ordered to train. Not sit in libraries drinking tea like some pampered noble."
The accusation stung. Lila's hands clenched. "I'm studying wolf anatomy. Learning about transformation. That's training too."
"Don't." The single word carried so much warning that Sydney took a step back. "Don't presume to tell me what constitutes training."
Keal cleared his throat carefully. "Your Majesty, if I may. Lady Lila was exhausted from yesterday's duties. I deemed it more beneficial to—"
"You deemed?" Adrian turned that burning gaze on Keal. "You made a decision about my orders without consulting me first?"
Keal bowed lower, but his voice stayed steady. "I apologize, Your Majesty. I believed I was acting in the best interest of her training progression. Physical exhaustion impedes learning. I made a judgment call."
"Your judgment is not required." Adrian's jaw clenched. "When I give an order, it is followed. Exactly. Without modification."
"Of course, Your Majesty. It won't happen again."
The submission in Keal's tone should have satisfied Adrian. But his hands were fists at his sides. His breathing was too controlled, like he was physically restraining himself.
His eyes went back to Lila. Raked over her. Took in the way she sat close to Keal's abandoned seat. The shared tea service. Sydney hovering protectively nearby.
Something dangerous flickered across his face.
"How long have you been here?" His voice dropped to something quiet and deadly.
"A few hours."
"A few hours." He repeated it like the words tasted wrong. "Alone with my Delta."
"Sydney was here too. And other scholars came and went." Lila didn't understand why he cared. "I was just reading."
"You were hiding." Adrian moved closer. Each step deliberate. "You were supposed to be in the training yard. Under my observation. Where I could..." He stopped himself.
"Where you could what?" Lila heard her own voice rising. "Where you could humiliate me in front of warriors? Where you could watch me fail again?"
"Where I could keep you safe." The words came out raw. Unguarded.
The library went silent.
Adrian's expression shifted immediately, walls slamming back into place. But for one second, Lila had seen something underneath. Something that looked like fear.
"Your quarters. Now." His voice turned to ice. "You're confined there for the rest of the day. No duties. No library. No wandering the palace alone."
"That's not fair."
"Fair?" Adrian laughed, but there was no humor in it. "You want to discuss fair? You disobeyed direct orders. You disappeared for hours without reporting your location. In any proper household, you'd be flogged."
Lila flinched.
"But I'm merciful." Adrian's smile was cruel. "So you'll sit in your quarters and think about obedience. Tomorrow, training resumes. No excuses. No studying instead. You will be on that yard at dawn or I'll drag you there myself. Do you understand?"
Every word was a lash. Lila's throat tightened but she refused to cry. Not here. Not in front of him.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Good. Go."
Lila moved toward the door. Her legs felt wooden. As she passed Adrian, his scent hit her. Pine and winter rain and something darker. It made her wolf stir, whimpering.
She pushed it down and kept walking.
"Delta Keal." Adrian's voice stopped her at the doorway. "A word. Privately."
Lila glanced back. Keal's expression was neutral but his eyes were sharp, calculating. He bowed to Adrian.
Sydney caught Lila's arm gently as she passed. "I'll check on you later," she whispered.
Lila nodded and fled.
Behind her, she heard Adrian's voice, low and controlled. "You will not modify my orders again. You will not give her special treatment. And you will not spend unsupervised time alone with her. Is that clear?"
Keal's response was measured. "May I ask why, Your Majesty? She was only reading. Nothing inappropriate occurred."
"I don't care what occurred." Adrian's voice turned sharp. "She is under my authority. My protection. Mine. No one else's."
The possessive fury in those words made even Keal pause.
"Of course, Your Majesty. I understand completely."
"Do you?" Adrian laughed bitterly. "I doubt that very much."
Footsteps. Adrian was leaving. Lila pressed herself against the wall as he strode past without seeing her. His face was a mask of cold rage, but his hands shook.
She waited until his footsteps faded before moving. Her quarters felt very far away.
When she finally reached her small room, she collapsed on the narrow bed. Her body ached. Her mind spun.
'Where I could keep you safe.'
'Mine.'
What did that mean? Why did he care if she was in the library? Why did the sight of her with Keal make his eyes go gold?
She didn't understand any of it.
Outside her window, the sun was setting. She'd missed the entire day. Tomorrow would bring more training, more pain, more of Adrian's confusing cruelty mixed with flashes of something that looked almost like concern.
Lila closed her eyes and tried to sleep.
It didn't come easily.