Chapter 117 Chasing Her
Adrian’s POV
The second I saw her, my brain short-circuited.
There she was…Kira’s wolf…standing in that little clearing like the moon itself had dropped down to earth.
Pure white fur glowing under the patchy moonlight, thick and soft-looking, every strand catching the light like it had been brushed by the Goddess. She wasn’t just big or strong…she looked… eternal. Like she’d been carved out of starlight and snow and pure power. Regal head held high, eyes wide but steady, cute rounded ears twitching, that fluffy tail giving the tiniest flick.
My chest squeezed so hard I forgot how to breathe. She was the most beautiful thing I’d ever laid eyes on. My mate. Whole. Real. Mine.
I almost lost my damn mind earlier when Victoria’s mindlink slammed into my head: “Your majesty! The Princess is missing. I only stepped out for a second…just a second and she’s gone.”
My vision went red. Claws punched out right there in the middle of the meeting under the table.
The Summers. Those slimy pieces of shit had to be behind it. I’d already mapped out their quick, clean end…company take over, fast bullets, fast graves, done.
But now? Because they tried to hurt my mate? No. I was going to drag it out until they begged. I’d keep them alive for weeks, months if I had to. Dangle death right in front of their faces, let them taste it, then snatch it away. They’d lose their minds screaming for it to end. And I’d smile the whole time.
Then Victoria linked me the rest…how she’d walked in on my mate on the damn floor, body cracking and reforming like she was about to have her first transformation.
Pride hit me like a raging storm exploding in my ribs. She did that. My girl. I’d been losing sleep thinking up ways to gently coax her wolf out, and she didn’t need any of it. She was stronger, more powerful than she even knew. And seeing that white fur up close now? My whole body vibrated like I’d stuck my finger in a socket. Excitement, awe, pure need…everything buzzing under my skin.
She was circling me now, slow and wary, hackles half up. I stayed dead still, hands open at my sides. “Easy, princess. It’s me. You know me.”
Her growl rumbled out, deep and warning, but her tail gave that little twitch again. Her wolf wants this…wants to come closer. I could feel it humming in the air between us even before the bond locked in.
Then she lunged.
Paws left the ground. She slammed into my chest like a furry cannonball and we went down in a tangle of white fur and my torn shirt.
Her jaws opened and…fuck…the pain was instant.
Her teeth sank deep into the side of my neck, right over the pulse. Wolf marking hurt like hell, white-hot fire ripping through muscle and bone, but it snapped the bond into place faster than anything. I could feel the imaginary threads of gold wrapping around my heart, around hers, locking tight. Permanent. This mark wasn’t going anywhere like the rest.
Because her wolf marked me.
I held her close, arms locked around her ribs, one hand buried in that soft fur as I pulled her deeper. I could feel her unease spiking through the new link, her confusion and panic and that raw, needy pull underneath. I groaned through the burn, teeth gritted so hard my jaw ached, but I didn’t let her feel it. No way I was scaring her off now.
Thank the Goddess. I still couldn’t mark her back because of that stupid ancient tradition, but I was hers. Completely. No other woman would ever get this from me.
Eat that, you dusty old ancestors and your rules.
Because as long as I have her mark, I won’t be able to mark another…even if the person is the mother of the first prince. It will buy me enough time to figure out how to get Caroline and her son out of my life for good!
I dropped my forehead against the top of her head, breath ragged as I kept muttering the words like incantations. “I’ve got you,” I whispered again, over and over, like a promise. “I’m never letting you go. Ever.”
After almost ten minutes, she finally pulled back slightly, muzzle stained red, eyes hazy and wild. Something was wrong.
I pushed up on shaky legs, hand flying to my neck, fingers brushing the fresh, burning mark. A stupid, satisfied grin spread across my face anyway. “Princess…”
She backed away fast, whimpering, head swinging around like the woods were closing in. I felt her panic slam through the bond like ice water.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, voice low. I took one slow step, hands up. “I can help you. It’s okay, princess. I’ve got you.”
My phone exploded in my pocket just then…a sharp, loud ring cutting through the quiet woods like a gunshot. Probably Thomas with more palace news.
Her head jerked and her eyes went huge. And just like that she spun and bolted, white blur vanishing between the trees.
The ringtone must have set her off.
“Princess!” I yelled, already ripping the rest of my clothes off and shifting mid-stride. Bones cracked, fur burst out, and my black wolf hit the ground running hard.
She was fast. Stupid fast. First-run adrenaline plus brand-new wolf energy…she could probably sprint until sunrise.
I wouldn’t have minded back in the kingdom, but here? These woods were full of hunters, silver traps, possibly rogue wolves who’d love a white pelt. One wrong step and—
I howled long and deep, the sound rolling through the trees as I called my men. They would hear. They’d come running to join in the search before something happens to her.
Her scent hit me like a rope around my chest…jasmine, wildflowers, that sweet Kira smell that was all mine now.
I followed it, paws pounding and heart hammering.
‘Please, Goddess. Let her be okay. Let me get to her before anything else does.’