LOGINThe door creaked open.
The sound cut through the silence like a blade through silk, sudden and sharp and completely unexpected.My breath froze in my chest, trapped there as though my lungs had forgotten their function. The heavy wood swung wide on well-oiled hinges that nonetheless groaned with the weight, and Kael stepped through.My heart stopped. Actually stopped, missing several beats before resuming with painful force, hammering against my ribs like it was tryHis question lingered between them. “What are you so afraid of me finding?” Aria searched his face, desperately trying to find an answer that wouldn’t destroy everything. There wasn’t one. And If Kael found the truth… Mira would be implicated. The old servant in Vale would be exposed. She would be punished if not killed. Every fragile thread she had managed to gather would snap before she ever reached the truth. Her heartbeat hammered against her ribs. She had only one weapon left: him. Before Kael could speak, before the sharp edge of his suspicion could crystallize into a demand, Aria bridged the remaining distance between them. She reached up, her fingers tangling tightly into the dark, thick hair at the nape of his neck, and pulled his face down to hers. Kael stiffened for a fraction of a second, caught completely off guard by the violent suddenness of her approach. But the hesitation vanished the instant her lips pressed into his. A low, subterranean sound vibrated d
His wolf was dominant, but the man was present too—watching my face intently, reacting to every small gasp, every slight shiver that ran through my frame. He adjusted his angle slightly, his hips grinding against my center with a firm pressure that sent a sharp lightning bolt of pleasure straight up my spine. "Look at what you do to me," Kael rasped against my lips, his voice completely raw and stripped of his usual stern demeanor. "You drive me insane, Aria." I couldn't answer him. I couldn't form coherent words even if I tried. All I could do was feel. The chamber was warm, filled with the crackle of the hearth fire and the heavy, intoxicating scent of pine and rain-slicked earth that rolled off him. His weight over me was solid, heavy, and grounding—a powerful anchor in a world that felt like it was constantly shifting and breaking beneath my feet. Kael sped up, his thrusts becoming harder, faster, and more possessive with every passing second. His hands moved down my body, g
Kael shed his shirt with frantic, impatient speed, tossing the fabric onto the floor. His golden gaze never left my face for a single moment.The sight of his bare torso—scarred from past battles, his powerful muscles taut and gleaming under the faint, amber light of the hearth—made my heart leap directly into my throat. He was beautiful in a dangerous, deadly way. He lowered himself back over me, his movements smooth and predatory. His hands reached out, pinning my wrists to the mattress beside my head, his long fingers entwining tightly with mine as he pressed his full weight down upon me.His mouth trailed down my chin, finding the sensitive flesh at the base of my throat. He bit down gently—just enough to mark me, just enough to make me gasp at the sudden sting—before instantly soothing the tiny pain with the warm, slow slide of his tongue.He moved lower, his lips tracing the swell of my breasts. He took one hardened peak into his mouth, sucking gently, testing my reactions.An e
Kael shifted his weight, driving me backward until the back of my thighs bumped hard against the edge of the dark wooden bedpost. His large, calloused hand moved slowly down the curve of my waist, trailing over the flare of my hip, before sliding with slow, deliberate intent between my legs. His long fingers traced over the heavy, luxurious silk of my dress, applying a steady, torturous pressure through the fabric.I caught my breath sharply, every muscle in my frame coiling tight as a spring. Instinct shrieked at me to pull back, to stop this dangerous game before it swept us both into a current we couldn't swim out of. But the cold, hard memory of what was at stake kept me completely frozen.If I flinched now, if I stopped him, the spell would break. The fog of desire would clear from his golden eyes. He would look directly into my face and see the stark terror instead of the passion I was faking. He would ask why.So I didn't stop him.Instead, I leaned fully into the pressure of h
His question lingered between us, heavy and sharp. “What are you so afraid of me finding?” Kael stood in front of me, tall, imposing, and entirely watchful. His dark, analytical eyes searched my face, tracking every subtle shift in my expression, measuring the sudden silence that had settled between us like a physical wall. He was an Alpha in every sense of the word. He was perceptive, dominant, and utterly ruthless whenever he smelled a lie. The air in the chamber grew thick and suffocating, pulled tight with a tension that felt like a bowstring ready to snap. I searched his handsome face, my mind racing at breakneck speed as I desperately tried to construct an answer. I needed a lie—a convincing story that would satisfy his sharp, suspicious mind without unravelling the delicate web of deception I had worked so endlessly to spin. There wasn’t one. Any explanation I offered right now would just be a loose thread he could pull. And if Kael began pulling threads, the entire str
The corner of his mouth moved.Not a smile.Something close to one."You are a terrible liar.""Then stop asking me questions."That seemed to amuse him.Only slightly.But I saw it.And for some reason, that was more unsettling than his anger. This side of him—almost playful, almost warm—felt more dangerous than his fury ever had.His hand moved.I tensed.He didn't reach for the letter.He placed his palm against the mattress.The movement brought him slightly closer.My breath caught.The space between us became smaller.Not gone.But smaller.The air seemed warmer.I became painfully aware of everything.The position of my knees.The hand still resting against his chest.The letter concealed behind his shoulder.The way his eyes remained fixed on mine.Then his gaze dropped.Only for a second.To my lips.My entire body went still.The movement was brief.So brief that I could have imagined it.But I hadn't.His eyes returned to mine.Neither of us spoke.I forgot what I had been
The world was reduced to sensation. The gritty, unforgiving cold of the stone beneath my knees. The dampness that had long since seeped through the thin fabric of my nightgown, a chill that was a permanent resident in my bones. The raw, burning ache in my shoulders, pulled taut by the iron cuffs su
I clenched my teeth, the muscles in my jaw aching. The word felt like shards of glass in my throat. “Aria.”A pause. I could feel him drinking in the sound, tasting it.“Louuder.”I swallowed hard, my throat dry as dust. He wanted it to be real. He wanted to hear me claim this humiliation.“Aria,”
I hit the floor hard, knees scraping against unforgiving stone, the impact sending shockwaves through my bones."Stop!" I snapped, trying to summon some authority, some remnant of the dignity I'd been born to. "I didn't do anything—"But the words died in my throat as I saw what the second guard wa
Kael gripped my hair, turned my face to the side — not hard, but firmly.Forcing me to see our audience. Forcing me to acknowledge what this moment really was."Let them see," he said, "because she felt the same when your dad made everyone see the show of her getting ruined."The words were like a







