Chapter 26 TWENTY SIX

Chapter 26 TWENTY SIX
KAEL’S POV.

“She’s lucky,” Atasha said as she inspected the wound, cleaning it and wrapping the last bandage around it.

“Really?” Lucienne said, both of them looking at each other sourly, only for Atasha to turn to me, “The wound was not as deep as expected, but her body started healing the moment it entered her. All you have to do is change the wrapping every day, and she’ll heal in a week.”

Lucienne sat up on the bed, pulling her hand away from Atasha and pushing her off as she looked at me. “But what if I couldn’t heal? What if I was an omega and I was stabbed too? Would you just call the doctor and have them treat me without punishing that girl?”

“She stabbed me, Kael,” she said softly.

My wolf growled inside me, irritated and restless. My thoughts were still tangled in how I had reacted with Ilyana. It was the fastest I had ever moved without there being an attack. The moment I saw the blood, every rational thought disappeared from my head and I just moved to her, hoping it wasn’t hers.

Why was it that I felt so strongly for her? It felt more than the mate bond, like something else entirely was at play. My wolf gnawed at me every day, wanting everything about her—her scent, her face, even her wolf. Was it just the mate bond? And even if it was, was it normal to feel this way?

“You should send her away, Kael.” Lucienne’s voice cut into my thoughts.

“Wh…what?” I asked.

“Haven’t you been listening to me, Kael? I said you should send her away.” Atasha stiffened beside her. “I know you like to take care of strays, but she’s not a stray. She’s a menace waiting for the right moment to exploit you. Let her go.”

I watched Atasha clench her jaw, visibly restraining herself. She said nothing, only packed her things. Her eyes met mine briefly—there was a warning in them—before she walked out. The door closed gently behind her.

I turned back to Lucienne.

“Why?” I asked.

“Why what?” she replied immediately, still in disbelief.

I stood and moved closer, taking the seat Atasha had just vacated as I watched her coldly. There was no way Ilyana’s emotions would have been like that if she had actually stabbed Lucienne. She was my mate and I could sense every one of her emotions.

Her emotions had been stable. Slightly shaken, maybe, but not the emotional state of someone who had just attacked another person.

“You lied, Lucienne. Ilyana did not stab you.”

Her eyes widened slightly, shock flashing across her face before she quickly masked it. “Lied, Kael? Why would I lie to you?”

I scoffed, my anger sharpening with every passing second. “That’s what I’m trying to understand. Why would you put yourself and everyone else in danger? You lost so much blood. Do you even realize what could have happened if you didn’t heal?”

“Kael…” she cried out.

“This is your last warning, Lucienne. Any more of this, and I will stop treating you like a childhood friend and start treating you like a threat.”

I turned to leave, already at the door, when her voice stopped me.

“You promised.”

I halted instantly, “Promise what?”

“You said it would be you and me together,” she said slowly. “And now you are throwing that away for a stupid omega like her?”

The room stilled. The rage in my wolf sharpened instantly as I turned back to her. She was still on the bed, but her expression had changed completely. No longer soft. No longer fragile.

“What did you just say?”

“I saw the contract papers in her room,” she said coldly.

My eyes narrowed and a slight crease formed on my forehead. There was something different in her tone and the way she looked at me now.

“You only want a child from her because she is your mate. You don’t want her or need her. And let’s be honest… she’s beneath you.”

Lucienne stood, her robe dragging along the floor as she walked toward me. She was still in the same flimsy thing she wore when she came to my room but clearly not the same person.

“I don’t mind you having a child with her…I will even help raise it. I will be a good mother. But I know you, Kael…”

She stopped in front of me, her hand pressing lightly against my chest as she trailed her finger up my chest, “I see you, Kael. I know you. We are meant to be together.”

I grabbed her hand, my grip tightening hard around it. She gasped out in pain but I didn’t let go, my body burning with rage I couldn’t contain.

“You… went through her room?”

“Kael…” she choked.

“How did you become this delusional?” I snarled at her.

“Everything I have become… is for you,” she forced out.

I went still, my grip faltering on her wrist. I blinked. Not once. Not twice. This was not Lucienne. No. This could not be. Something about her felt wrong. Not just jealous or possessive, something deeper, unstable.

I released her and she collapsed to the floor, coughing. I did not look at her again.

“I didn’t promise you anything, Lucienne and you know it.” I stated firmly. “It seems you think what we had meant something more than it did,”

I turned away, every emotion detached from my voice, “You will attend the next full moon gathering.”

Her head snapped up, eyes widening as she shook her head rapidly “Kael… no…no…please…I didn’t…

“It is time you found your mate,” I continued. “This is not a suggestion, Lucienne. It is an order from the alpha of your pack.”

I heard her burst into her fits of cry, my name rolling out of her tongue in a desperate plea as I walked out of her room.

I’d known Lucienne all my life, and I had allowed too much because of that history. When she brought up us having sex, I had denied it at first. Then one drunken mistake had led to another and we started. It had felt simple at the time. We were adults, friends, and she knew I would never take a Luna, and she also didn’t want a mate.

But that was the mistake.

I should have seen it. I was an alpha. A leader. I should have known it meant more to her than it ever did to me.

And now I had turned something simple into something destructive without realizing it. Guilt sat heavy in my chest.

I entered my room and saw Atasha sitting where she always does, her eyes following my every movement in the room. I didn’t say anything, opening my wardrobe as I removed my bloodied shirt.

“You are late.” She started.

“Hmm,” I replied.

Silence settled between us, awkward and uncomfortable. I rummaged through my wardrobe, waiting for her to break it. Atasha was many things, but not a silent person. Three minutes later and she was still quiet. I sighed, finally picking a shirt.

“Get on with it, Tasha. I know you have things to say.”

She released a sharp breath before she spoke. “You keep choosing her, Kael. Ever since we were kids, if she gets into trouble, you run to her and pick her up. Every single time, and now look at her.”

“I did not coddle her today,” I cut in, my voice harsher than intended.

“Oh really?” she said sharply. “Then what was that? Carrying her in like she was your lover and placing her on the bed?”

“She was injured,” I snapped. “Did you expect me to drag her in?”

Atasha scoffed. “She is always injured, Kael. You could have called a guard. You could have called Carius. Lucienne feeds on things like this. I know her.”

I clenched my jaw angrily, Lucienne’s actions replaying in my head. I still couldn’t fathom it. And it was just baffling. How was it that everyone knew and I didn’t?

“And what does your mate think about it?” Atasha asked.

I stiffened slightly, thoughts of Ilyana taking space in my head again as I put on my shirt. I turned to the bathroom and rinsed my hand in the sink before stepping towards the door.

“My mate does not think about it because she knows Lucienne was injured,” I scowled. “And why is it that you hate Lucienne so much? You guys were close. You went to the same wolf academy, picked the same things to do, and one day you just called it quits. Why?”

She stood up from the bed and packed her things, meeting me at the door before finally whispering with a forced smile, “Because she’s a bloodsucking vampire. And I hate vampires.”

She slapped my shoulder lightly. “Anyway, I just decided to check on you before going back. Where are you off to?”

“To my mate, if you didn’t ridicule me with your questions,” I scowled at her again.

She smiled, her usual wide, strange one that meant nothing but headache and trouble, “I quite like her! She’s so simple and she looks at me like she’s in love with me! Let me go with you!” she said excitedly.

I rolled my eyes, pushing her lightly away. “Goodnight, sister.”

“Fine. But don’t call me when she’s injured!”

I didn’t answer her and she mumbled an insult as she walked away while I made my way to Ilyana’s room. Despite our rooms being close, the distance felt so far, and every step I took made my body heavier, Atasha’s words drilling in and out of my head. Did she also think anything about how I carried Lucienne?

I got to her door, rasping my knuckles twice on it. There was no answer, no shuffling of feet. Was she asleep? Was I disturbing her?

I waited for a minute but there was nothing and for a weird reason, my stomach sank with disappointment.

I wanted to see her, I realized. I contemplated knocking again, maybe she’ll wake up but it was already late, the entire hallway was quiet. I turned away from the door to return to my room and had just taken a few steps when a door opened behind me and I heard her voice, my body going rigid.

“Kael, is that you?”