Chapter 14
Kael’s POV
Her pulse thrummed against my cheek, a frantic drumbeat that matched the thundering in my own chest. Every inhale drew more of her scent into me honey, spice, and molten hunger and every exhale left my control thinner than before. My wolf was no longer pacing inside me. He was lunging at the bars, teeth bared, demanding I open the cage. She’s burning. She needs you. My palm slid lower, from her cheek to her neck, feeling the fever under her skin. She arched ever so slightly into my touch barely there, but my body caught it, seized on it like a starving man spotting a scrap of bread.
“You have no idea what you’re asking for,” I murmured, though she hadn’t said a word. Her lips parted anyway, soft and trembling.
She’s begging without speaking. Give it to her.
I swallowed hard, my claws threatening to breach skin where my fingers rested. I eased them back, forcing my nails to blunt again. If I marked her right now, I wouldn’t stop at a mark.
Her gaze wide, glassy, and glazed with heat lifted to meet mine. “Kael…”
That single syllable in that voice almost broke me. The sound wrapped around my spine and pulled. I had to move. I had to do something before I lost every scrap of control. My arm came up and I hooked it under her knees, lifting her like she weighed nothing. Her surprised gasp brushed my neck as I carried her across the cell. I set her down on the narrow bed—not to make her comfortable, but to put space between her and the cold stone. I crouched in front of her, caging her knees with my hands. My head was bent, eyes closed, as I tried to breathe past her scent. It was like trying to stand in the middle of a wildfire and pretend I wasn’t burning.
“You can’t stay here,” I said roughly. “Not like this. Not with that scent crawling through the halls.”
Her voice was small. “Then where?”
The answer came before I could stop it. “My quarters.”
Her breath caught, but she didn’t argue. That was worse than if she’d protested her silence felt like agreement. Like consent. I rose, pulling her with me, my hand firm on her lower back as I led her out of the cell. No one stopped us; my glare dared anyone to try. The scent trailed after us like an unshakable shadow, turning every male head we passed. My wolf growled so loud in my skull I could feel the vibration in my teeth. By the time we reached my rooms, I was half feral. I shoved the door closed behind us and locked it. She turned to me, uncertain, standing in the middle of my space like she didn’t know where to put herself. My gaze raked over her flushed cheeks, dilated pupils, her breath uneven.
“You’re safe here,” I said, though the words felt like a lie. Safe from others, yes. From me? Not even close. Her scent swelled again, filling every inch of the room, curling low in my gut. I stepped forward. She stepped back. Her calves hit the edge of my bed. I braced my hands on either side of her hips, my head bent close enough to feel her heat on my lips. Take her. I shut my eyes. My jaw ached from how hard I was clenching it.
“Lie down,” I ordered quietly. “Sleep, if you can. I’ll stand guard.”
Her hand caught my wrist. “Kael please don’t leave.”
That was the final crack in my armor. My wolf surged, snarling in victory. I didn’t move away. I stayed there, hovering just inches from her, every muscle taut with the effort of not claiming her outright. Because I knew one more breath, one more heartbeat and there’d be no turning back.
That was all it took for my control to split down the middle. Her hand was still on my wrist, small and trembling, but it anchored me in the worst way it made me stay. Made me feel the soft, fever-warm skin beneath my fingertips. Made me taste the plea she hadn’t spoken. My wolf shoved past me, forcing my body closer until there was no space left. The bed pressed against the backs of her thighs; my chest pressed against the rise and fall of hers. Her scent was a drug and I’d stopped pretending I wanted to be sober. I bent, my nose brushing the curve of her neck. She stiffened, but it wasn’t fear it was something that sent a ripple of satisfaction through my wolf. I breathed her in, slow, deliberate, dragging the heat straight into my lungs. Mine.
The word was a growl in my skull, vibrating through my bones. My lips hovered over her pulse, feeling it race beneath her skin. My claws ghosted against her hip, not enough to break the surface, but enough for her to know how close I was.
“Kael…” Her voice cracked on my name.
“You keep saying that like you know what it does to me.” My voice was rough, almost unrecognizable.
Her breath hitched. She didn’t answer, but she didn’t pull away either. The edge was gone now there was no cliff to balance on, no choice left to make. My mouth brushed her throat, the heat between us twisting tight. She tipped her head back, giving me more, and my wolf all but purred.
I could feel the shudder that ran through her when my teeth grazed her skin. I hadn’t bitten not yet but the promise was there, hanging heavy in the air.
“You smell like you’re mine,” I murmured, each word sinking into her skin. “And every wolf out there knows it.”
Her fingers curled in my shirt. “Then make it true.”
That was it. The chain snapped. My hand slid to the small of her back, hauling her flush against me, my other hand braced at her jaw to tilt her face up. Her lips parted just as I claimed her mouth, and the world went silent except for the sound of her soft gasp and the pounding of our hearts. It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t careful. It was the kiss of a wolf who’d been holding back too long, whose instincts had been clawing at him for days, whose prey had just offered herself up willingly. Her heat wrapped around me, drowning out reason, and the only thought left in my head was that no one not a guard, not a rival alpha, not fate itself was taking her from me. I pulled back just enough to breathe against her mouth. “From this moment on, Evelyn, you’re not leaving my sight. Not for an hour. Not for a minute.”
Her eyes, dark and shining, locked on mine. “Good.”
My wolf rumbled low in my chest, satisfied in a way he hadn’t been in years. Because she was here. In my space. In my arms. And now, I had no intention of letting her go.