Chapter 16
Kael’s POV
The first slice of morning light slipped between the curtains, cutting across her cheek like a painter’s stroke.
She didn’t stir at first. I’d been watching her for hours since the moment she curled into herself on my bed, blanket pulled high, as if it could shield her from the air thick with my scent. She’d fallen asleep with her face turned toward me. It had taken every scrap of control I had not to close the distance, not to drag the blanket away just to see her expression in full. My wolf didn’t understand restraint; he had been pacing the edges of my mind all night. She’s warm. She smells like us now. They’ll smell it too. Let them try and breathe near her I will rip them apart.
The sound outside ruined the fragile stillness. Low voices, footsteps more than one set. I stiffened instantly, my attention snapping toward the door.
"still in there?” one male voice muttered.
“That’s what Jace said. He locked her in all night.”
“He’s losing it over that omega. What’s so special?
The growl ripped out of me before the last idiot could finish. The sound wasn’t loud, but it carried. The hallway went silent in a heartbeat, followed by the hurried shuffle of boots retreating down the corridor. My wolf was a dark, pleased rumble in my head. Good. They know.
Still, I walked to the door and checked the lock. Again. It was solid. I’d checked it a dozen times already, but I needed the physical confirmation needed the click of metal under my palm. When I turned back, she was stirring, her lashes trembling before her eyes opened. Her gaze found mine instantly.
“You’re still here,” she murmured, her voice husky from sleep.
I sat on the edge of the bed, close enough that my knee brushed the edge of the blanket. “I told you I would be.”
She glanced toward the door. “I heard voices.”
“They won’t come in.” My tone was flat steel. “I’ll kill them before they try.”
That earned me a look half surprise, half something I couldn’t name. “Why does it matter so much to you?”
The question landed in my chest like a weight. I leaned forward, my hand bracing on the mattress beside her hip. The scent coming off her skin was a quiet, dangerous pull, stirring the heat I’d been holding back all night.
“Because you’re mine to protect,” I said simply.
Her lips parted, but no words came out. Another knock at the door cut through the tension.
“Alpha,” my beta's voice called, too steady to be casual. “We need to discuss patrol rotations.”
I didn’t move. “Later.”
“It can’t wait—”
“I said later,” I growled, my voice dropping into the register that brooked no challenge. Followed by silence and then the sound of retreating footsteps. Her eyes followed me as I stood, her expression cautious.
“You’re not leaving this room until I’ve dealt with them,” I told her.
Her brows drew together. “Them?”
“The ones who think they have a right to be near you.”
She shook her head, an almost disbelieving sound leaving her lips. “You can’t keep me locked in here forever.”
“I can,” I said. And part of me meant it.
Forever’s not long enough. My wolf’s voice was a silken snarl. They’ll take her if you don’t keep her close.
I turned toward the wardrobe. “I will get you food.”
She hesitated before saying softly, “Kael—”
I paused, looking over my shoulder.
“I don’t need guarding like this,” she said. “I’m not.
“You are,” I interrupted. “You just don’t see it yet.”
Her lips pressed together, frustration sparking in her eyes, but she didn’t push further. I left the room and made my way downstairs. Wolves loitered in the hallway, their postures too casual to be genuine. I let my gaze sweep over them, cold and steady, until each one dropped their eyes and moved on. In the kitchen, the air tightened when I entered. Conversations died. A tray of food waited on the counter. I took it without asking. The omega holding it stepped back quickly, her hands trembling under my wolf’s silent pressure. Back upstairs, I found her sitting cross-legged on the bed, the blanket pooled in her lap. The sight twisted something low in my gut.
“Eat,” I said, setting the tray on the table.
She picked up a cup, sipping slowly, her eyes never leaving mine. “And after?”
“After,” I said, “we set boundaries.”
Her lips quirked faintly. “Yours or mine?”
“Mine.”
Her laugh was soft, but it curled under my skin.
I stayed close while she ate, leaning one shoulder against the wall beside the bed. Every movement she made drew my eyes the way she tore the bread, the way her throat moved when she swallowed. My wolf purred approval. When she finished, I took the tray, opened the door just long enough to set it outside, and shut it again. She watched me. “Do you plan on standing there all day?”
“Yes.”
Her brows lifted. “To watch me?”
“To guard you.”
Her mouth opened like she might argue again, then closed. I crossed to her, bracing my hands on either side of her where she sat. The bed dipped under my weight, drawing us closer until the air between us was only her scent and my breath.
“You don’t understand yet,” I murmured. “They’re already thinking about you. Imagining things. I can smell it on them.”
She swallowed. “That’s… not something you can control.”
“Yes,” I said, my voice low, “it is.”
We stayed there, locked in that space, until her gaze flicked down just for a heartbeat before meeting mine again. It was my undoing. I reached up, my fingers brushing a loose strand of hair from her cheek. She didn’t flinch, didn’t move away. Her skin was warm under my touch. My wolf pressed harder against the edges of my control. Closer. She wants you closer.
My thumb lingered just under her jaw, feeling the rapid beat of her pulse. Her lips parted slightly, and for a second I let myself imagine closing that distance. But I didn’t. Not yet.
I drew back just enough to stand, the tension between us stretching like a tether. “Rest. I’ll be back.”
When I opened the door this time, I didn’t bother keeping my wolf in check. The pressure rolled out into the hall like a stormfront, daring anyone to meet my eyes. They didn’t. Because they knew. She was mine.