Chapter 32 Conflicted

Chapter 32 Conflicted
Cael's POV

Conflicted

I picked up my jacket. I didn't put it on. My back was too raw. I walked out of the study. The guard outside didn't look at me.

I walked through the halls. Each step sent a jolt of pain through my body. But the pain in my body was nothing. The order echoed in my head.

Eliminate her.

I got back to my room. I locked the door. I went to the bathroom and took off my shirt. It was stuck to my back with blood. I pulled it off slowly. The wounds stung in the cool air.

I looked in the mirror. My face was pale. My lip was swollen. My back was a mess of red welts and blood.

I was the Crown Prince. The future Alpha. And I was standing in my bathroom, bleeding from my father's cane.

And I had an order to kill the only person who had ever looked at me like I was more than a title.

I leaned on the sink. My hands were shaking.

What was I going to do?

Selene’s POV

The robe was too big. It swallowed me whole. The fabric was soft, expensive. It smelled like him. Like cold air and pine trees. I could still smell it even after I shut the door to my own room.

I stood in the middle of my small room. It was dark and quiet. But I could still feel his eyes on me. I could still feel the cool air on my bare skin. My face burned.

I had knelt. I had taken off my clothes. I had stood there, naked, while he looked at me. I had let him win.

My hands curled into fists. The fabric of the robe was soft in my grip. Why did I do it? Why did I obey?

The data chip. That was why. He had proof of me and Riven in the lab. He could have me killed.

But was that the only reason?

I walked to my small mirror. My face was pale. My eyes were too wide. I looked... different. The girl in the mirror was not the fierce warrior who had beaten Lyra. She was not the cunning spy who had infiltrated the Academy. She was just a girl. A girl who had been stripped of everything.

I touched my cheek where his fingers had been. His touch had been firm. Not cruel, but not gentle either. It was a claiming touch.

My wolf, Nyra, was quiet inside me. She was not angry. She was... thoughtful.

He is strong, she whispered in my mind. He did not take what he could have. He showed control.

I shook my head. "He humiliated me."

He tested you, Nyra countered. And you passed. You showed you would bend to survive. That is not a weakness. That is wisdom.

I turned away from the mirror. I didn't want to hear it. I wanted to be angry. Anger was easier than this confused, hot feeling in my chest.

I took off the robe and put on my own nightclothes. But even my own clothes felt strange now. I could still feel the ghost of his gaze on my skin.

I lay in my bed, but I couldn't sleep. I stared at the ceiling. My mind kept going back to his room. The lock clicked shut. The way he looked at me when I knelt. I feel the buttons of his shirt under my fingers.

I thought about his chest. It was broad and strong. I had tried not to look, but I saw. I saw the hard lines of muscle. I saw the pale scars of old training.

My face felt hot again. I pulled the blanket over my head.

This was stupid. He was the enemy. The Crown Prince. The son of the people who killed my family. I was here to destroy him, not to... not to think about his chest.

But I couldn't stop.

I thought about the way he had wrapped my hair around his finger. The way he had whispered in my ear. His voice had been so low. So sure.

A shiver went through me. It wasn't a bad shiver.

I groaned and turned over. This was a mess. A complete mess.

My mission was in danger. Tiana was still missing. The Council was doing horrible things in the lab. And here I was, lying in bed, thinking about Cael's hands.

I had to focus. I had to remember why I was here.

Revenge. For my family. For my pack.

But the thought of revenge felt cold and distant. The memory of Cael's touch felt warm and close.

There was a soft sound at my window. A tiny tap-tap-tap.

I sat up quickly. My heart jumped. Was it Cael? Had he come back?

I crept to the window and looked out. It wasn't Cael. It was a small, gray bird. It had a tiny scroll tied to its leg.

A message.

I opened the window carefully. The bird hopped onto my hand. It was light and warm. I untied the scroll. The bird flew away into the night.

I unrolled the scroll. The writing was small and neat. I recognized it. It was from the old general. The man who raised me.

The Council is moving, the message said. They have called a special meeting after the Gala. They plan to purge the Academy of "unclean elements." They know there is a rogue heir here. They are closing in. You must find the proof before the Gala. Or all is lost.

The paper felt heavy in my hand. A purge. They were going to kill anyone they suspected. They knew a rogue heir was here. They were hunting me.

And I had just spent the night letting the Crown Prince undress me.

I crumpled the paper in my hand. My mind was clear now. The confused feelings were gone. Replaced by cold, hard fear.

I had to find proof of the Council's experiments. I had to find Tiana. I had to expose them.

And I had to do it before the Gala.

I looked at the robe lying on my floor. It was a symbol of my shame. But maybe... maybe it could be something else too.

Cael had power. He had resources. He wanted to control me.

Maybe I could let him think he was controlling me. Maybe I could use his interest to get what I needed.

It was a dangerous game. The most dangerous one I had ever played.

But I had no choice.

I picked up the robe. I folded it neatly. I would go to the Gala. I would stand by his side. I would smile when he told me to smile.

And while he thought he owned me, I would find a way to destroy everything he stood for.