Chapter 50 BLEEDING ALPHA
Kael barely made it back to their room.
The door shut behind him with a dull thud, and the moment the latch clicked, his strength gave out. He leaned heavily against the wall, breath ragged, one hand pressed tight against his side where blood soaked through his clothes. The metallic scent filled the room almost instantly.
Adam looked up from the bed.
At first, he smiled softly, relieved his Alpha is back, until his eyes dropped to Kael’s hand, to the dark red spreading beneath his fingers.
The smile vanished.
“Kael?” Adam’s voice broke on the name.
Kael tried to straighten, to reassure him with posture alone, but his legs wavered. He hissed sharply, jaw tightening as pain flared through his ribs.
Adam was at his side in seconds.
“Oh my God—Kael—what happened?” Adam’s hands hovered uselessly, afraid to touch, afraid not to. His chest felt too tight, his breath coming too fast. “You’re bleeding—you're bleeding so much—”
“I’m okay,” Kael said, though the words came out strained. “Hey… hey, look at me. I'm fine. Calm down.”
Adam didn’t look. His eyes were locked on the blood, on the way it kept seeping no matter how hard Kael pressed.
“I need—what do I do?” Adam whispered, panic flooding his voice. “I don’t know—should I call someone? Should I scream? Kael, please—”
“Baby.” Kael reached up, cupping Adam’s cheek with a bloodied hand. “Breathe. For me.”
Adam’s breath hitched.
“There’s a first aid kit,” Kael said gently. “Bottom drawer. By the dresser. Can you get it?”
Adam nodded too fast, already moving, tripping slightly in his rush. His hands shook as he yanked the drawer open, rummaging until he found the kit. He nearly dropped it on the way back.
Kael had eased himself onto the edge of the bed, teeth clenched as he peeled his shirt away from the wound. The slash across his side was deep, angry, still bleeding steadily.
Adam’s knees almost buckled at the sight.
“I’m sorry,” Adam whispered, already tearing open antiseptic wipes with trembling fingers. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry—this is because of me—”
“No.” Kael’s voice was firm despite the pain. “This is because some people don’t know when to stop looking to steal from other people. Those bastards won't develop some functioning brain parts.”
Adam swallowed hard and pressed the cloth gently to the wound. Kael hissed, muscles tensing.
“I’m sorry,” Adam said again, tears blurring his vision. “I’m hurting you—”
“You’re helping,” Kael murmured. “You’re doing great.”
Adam cleaned the wound as carefully as he could, hands shaking, heart pounding. He wrapped bandages too tight at first, then loosened them when Kael gently guided his wrists.
“There,” Kael said softly once it was done. “See? Already better.”
Adam didn’t answer. His shoulders shook as the fear finally broke through.
Kael pulled him close despite the pain, one arm wrapping around Adam’s back. Adam collapsed into him immediately, sobbing against his chest, fists clutching Kael’s clothes like he might disappear if Adam let go.
“Don’t,” Adam cried. “Please don’t fight because of me anymore. I can’t—every time you walk away I think you won’t come back—”
Kael rested his cheek against Adam’s hair. “I would never leave you.”
“You say that,” Adam choked, “but you’re bleeding. You’re bleeding because of me.”
Kael tilted Adam’s face up gently, thumbs brushing away tears. His golden eyes softened, filled with something deep and steady.
“Hey,” he whispered. “Calm down. I’m okay. I’m an Alpha. This will heal before morning.”
Adam shook his head weakly, tears still falling. “What if next time it doesn’t?”
Kael leaned in, kissing the tears away one by one; slow, reverent, almost too intimate. His lips brushed Adam’s cheek, his temple, the corner of his mouth.
Adam’s breath stuttered.
Kael pulled back just enough to look at him, really look at him. “You’re so beautiful,” he said quietly. “How could I not protect you from evil eyes?”
Adam’s lips parted, his chest aching with too many feelings at once.
Kael didn’t resist the urge.
He pulled Adam close and kissed him; deep, warm, full of promise and restraint all at once. It wasn’t rushed, it wasn't desperate. It was grounding. Claiming in a way that soothed Adam and reassured Kael that his mate is still his; that Adam belongs to him and not to some sick fellows who wants to hurt Adam.
Adam melted against him without realizing it, hands gripping Kael’s shoulders, body pressing close like it was the only place he belonged.
Kael broke the kiss only when Adam needed air, resting their foreheads together.
“I’m here,” Kael whispered. “And I’m not going anywhere. You're already carrying my mark, I'm bound to you as much as you're bound to me. And I won't let anyone or anything come between our bond.”
That was enough.
They didn’t talk after that.
Kael lay back slowly, careful of his wound, and Adam curled against him instinctively. Kael’s arm wrapped around Adam’s waist, holding him close, protective even in rest.
Adam’s breathing gradually evened out, exhaustion finally winning over fear.
They slept like that… tangled together, heartbeats aligned, the world held at bay by walls of stone and devotion.
But the night wasn’t done with them.
Sometime past midnight, Adam gasped awake.
Pain flared suddenly at his neck, sharp and burning, like fire spreading beneath his skin. He whimpered in his sleep, body curling inward.
The mark has spread out across his body, up to his neck, glowed violently, brighter than ever before. And burning the mate mark Kael left on his neck.
Kael stirred, brow furrowing even as he slept.
Adam’s fingers twitched.
“No,” Kael whispered hoarsely as he opened his eyes and saw the glowing marks.
His wolf stirred uneasily inside him, pacing, restless, confused. Kael clenched his jaw. He knew that feeling too well. It was the same restless tension he’d felt every time Adam’s marks surfaced; every time his own emotions spiked too high, too sharp.
Possessiveness. Fear. Desire.
“Me,” Kael realized with sick clarity. “It’s me again.”
Carefully, painfully slowly, he eased his arm from beneath Adam’s head. The movement earned him a sharper whimper, Adam’s grip tightening instantly.
“Shh,” Kael murmured, though Adam didn’t wake. “I’m here. I’m right here.”
But staying wasn’t helping.
Kael sat up on the edge of the bed, chest tight, breathing controlled but strained. His wolf pressed forward, uneasy, wanting to curl back around Adam, to shield him, to pull him closer. Kael forced it down.
“You’re hurting him.” He said to himself.
He stood up quietly, and took a step away from the bed. If his presence and his scent was the trigger, then he needed to put distance between them. Just until the burning stopped. Just long enough for Adam’s body to calm.
He reached for the door…
“Don’t,” Adam whispered, voice raw. “Don’t leave.”
Kael turned back immediately, kneeling in front of the bed without thinking. “Adam,” he said softly, guilt thick in his throat. “I’m not leaving. I just—”
“You are,” Adam cut in, tears spilling down his temples. “I can feel it. You’re pulling away.”
Kael shook his head, lifting Adam’s hand to his chest and pressing it there. “I’m trying to help. Your mark—it’s burning because of me. Because of my wolf.”
Adam swallowed hard. “It’s burning because I’m scared,” he said shakily. “And because you’re thinking about leaving.”
Kael stilled.
Adam’s grip tightened. “When you moved away… it got worse.”
Kael’s breath caught painfully in his chest.
Slowly, carefully, he climbed back onto the bed and gathered Adam into his arms, pulling him against his chest. He kept his wolf restrained, his emotions leashed tight, but the moment Adam felt Kael’s body fully around him again, his breathing began to steady.
The glow dimmed.
Not gone, but softer.
Adam buried his face against Kael’s neck, fingers clutching his shirt as if afraid he might vanish. “Don’t go,” he pleaded quietly. “Please. I know you think you’re hurting me, but… I’m hurting more when you’re not here.”
Kael closed his eyes, pain and love twisting together inside him.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered into Adam’s hair. “I thought distance would protect you.”
Adam shook his head weakly. “I don’t want distance. I want you.”
Kael’s throat burned. He cupped the back of Adam’s head, holding him close but gentle, grounding both of them. “Then I’ll stay,” he promised, voice steady despite the storm inside him. “I’ll stay, and I won’t let my wolf overwhelm you. We’ll figure this out together.”
Adam nodded faintly, exhaustion pulling him back under. “Don’t… don’t disappear on me,” he murmured, already half-asleep.
“I won’t,” Kael said firmly. “Never.”
Gradually, the heat beneath Adam’s skin faded to a dull warmth.
Kael stayed awake long after Adam drifted back into sleep.