Chapter 7

Zoran froze the moment her fingertip touched his lips. For a heartbeat, he looked like he forgot how to breathe.

Naelis could clearly see his struggle as he tries to find a suitable response to her question or an excuse not to answer.

He gently pulled her hand away and tightened his jaw. “Miss Haldrith… this is not the moment for such discussions.”

Of course he changed the topic.. Classic Zoran.

Before she could argue, he adjusted her in his arms, tightening his hold as he descended the last steps. The main hallway came into view, Silas rushing toward them with his shirt half-buttoned and panic in his eyes.

“What happened? I smelled blood, Naelis, are you hurt?” Silas reached to take her, and Zoran instantly handed her over like she was a burning coal.

Zoran didn’t even spare her a full glance. “Her injury is minor, tend to it. I must return to the front and join your father in controlling the situation”

He looked like one more whiff of her would make him combust.

Without another word, Zoran spun on his heel and stormed down the hallway. Naelis watched him go, her lips curling into a slow, wicked smile.

Silas followed her gaze and groaned. “Naelis… stop smiling like that, It scares me.”

“Oh please,” she muttered, flipping her hair back. “If he wants to keep running, let him. It only makes the chase sweeter.”

“Chase?” Silas sputtered. “Naelis, he’s a primordial wolf. He took a vow. A vow-vow, not the casual ‘I’m taking a break from dating’ vow. This is a centuries-old, ancient text carved-in-stone type of vow.”

“I know,” she said, swinging her legs down from his arms despite the lingering pain in her stomach. “And I want to see how far that vow bends before it snaps.”

Silas stared at her like she was about to summon a demon in the middle of the hallway. “Please Naelis, I’m begging you. Do not go anywhere near the citadel.”

She raised a brow. “Who said anything about the citadel?”

“You just did.”

She scoffed, “Nope, you are just assuming things.”

“You were smiling.”

“And?”

“That smile,” he said with despair, “means you’re about to ruin someone’s life.”

“His life?” Naelis laughed softly. “Silas, honey, I’m just trying to unwrap a very old present.”

Silas buried his face in his palms. “If my father finds out about this, I am dead”

She patted his shoulder. “Relax, I just need a few books.”

“A few books?”

“Yes, traditional texts. So I can walk into the citadel with a totally innocent reason.”

Silas’s head snapped up. “Naelis! You… ”

But she was already turning away, waving him off like he was a mosquito buzzing too close to her ear. The ache in her abdomen hadn't subsided but it wasn't as unbearable as earlier.

She was determined to make Zoran willingly submit to her.

—--

An hour later, the rogue attack has been taken care of and everything has returned to calm.

Naelis walked across the courtyard wearing full traditional Frostpine attire.. A deep forest-green gown with embroidered gold runes, her red hair braided into two, and a thin veil draped over her head like the model devotees that frequent the citadel.

She carried three thick books in her arms, all borrowed from the library.

Well, borrowed without permission but still the same thing.

Every elder and guard she passed stared at her like she had grown a second head.

Seeing their reactions, she smirked and headed in the direction of the citadel.

The citadel loomed ahead, towering and solemn. Ancient stone pillars spiraled upward, their surfaces etched with prayers and warnings.

Naelis stepped in anyway.

Because why the hell not?

Her boots tapped softly against the polished stone. She peeked around corners, skirt brushing against her legs as she navigated the dim corridors. Incense drifted from the meditation quarters, warm and irritatingly calming.

She wrinkled her nose.

“Ughh. . It smells like enlightenment.” she murmured with an irritated expression.

Finally, she reached the large wooden doors that separated the main hall from the meditation wing.

Silas told her that Zoran usually meditates at this specific time. She pushed the door open, at first it seemed empty but when she looked at the center of the room, she smiled triumphantly.

Zoran sat in the center of the room, cross-legged, eyes shut, back straight as a spear, shirt discarded on the floor beside him. Only loose ceremonial pants hung on his hips, exposing the carved map of muscles across his chest. His skin had faint silver markings that were glowing softly.

He looked… otherworldly and perfect.

Naelis grinned.

“Challenge accepted” she murmured before silently slipping inside and closed the door behind her.

Her foot caught deliberately on the edge of her gown. She gasped and let herself fall directly onto him.

Her body landed on his lap, knocking him slightly off balance. His eyes flew open, the red ring in them looked like it was burning.

Both of them froze.

Zoran’s hands hovered around her waist, not touching but dangerously close. His breath hitched quietly.

“Miss Haldrith,” he murmured, voice hoarse, like he was holding something back, “why… are you in the meditation chamber?”

She winced dramatically. “My leg twisted and I slipped.”

He gave her a hard deadpan expression and she almost broke into laughter.

He gently lifted her off his lap, but the contact alone sent a jolt through him, she saw it in the way his jaw clenched, and his nostrils flared.

“You should not be here,” he said, his voice low. “This is a consecrated place.”

“I came for guidance,” she lied sweetly, waving the book in her hand. “Religious guidance.”

He blinked at the titles.

Ancient Binding Rituals.

The Wolf and His Chosen.

Celibacy: A Guide.

Zoran inhaled sharply, looking like he wanted to throw her out the door.

“That last title,” he said stiffly, “is not for public reading.”

“And yet,” she countered, “here I am, public and reading.”

He exhaled slowly, as if controlling a beast.

She leaned closer, her shoulder brushing his bare arm. “You didn’t answer my question earlier,” she whispered. “What exactly did you run from?”

“Naelis,” he warned.

“Come on,” she teased. “Are you scared of me?”

His gaze snapped to hers, blazing like molten gold. “I fear what my wolf wishes to do around you.”

That caught her off guard and heat rippled down her spine.

“Oh?” she whispered.

Zoran rose to his full height, towering over her. The soft glow of the chamber lights caught the silver strands in his hair and the ancient markings on his chest.

“I must maintain the vow,” he said, voice thick but strained. “I must keep my distance.”

“And how’s that working out?” she asked, stepping closer to him.

His fingers twitched.

“Poorly,” he admitted.

Naelis’s smile grew slow and knowing. “Good.”

She moved to walk around him, pretending to browse the scroll shelves. “Honestly, Zoran… if you’re going to keep avoiding me, you should at least be better at it.”

“I am not avoiding,” he said stiffly.

She snorted. “You literally handed me to Silas and sprinted.”

Zoran’s face flushed.. barely, but enough to see. “Proximity to you is… difficult.”

“Why?”

He hesitated.

She turned, leaning back against a pillar, letting the fabric of her gown cling to her curves as she raised a brow. “Zoran. Why?”

He swallowed and it felt like his years of built up restraint was a joke.

“My wolf reacts to you,” he murmured. “Too strongly. It is… unsafe.”

“For me or for you?” she pressed.

“Yes,” he said.

She laughed softly. “You really are an ancient relic.”

Zoran bristled. “I am disciplined.”

“You’re repressed.”

Their eyes locked.

A spark lit between them, sharp and undeniable.

Naelis stepped closer. “Tell me, Zoran… does your vow forbid you from looking?”

Silence at first then he gave her a hard look.

Her throat, her lips, the exposed slip of thigh where her gown had parted.

He snapped his gaze away like it burned him. “Miss Haldrith, I will escort you out… ”

“No.”

She placed her hand on his chest. It felt warm and she could feel his rapid heartbeats.

His breath stopped altogether.

“Miss Haldrith,” he whispered, voice dangerously low like he was about to snap, “remove your hand.”

“Why?” she asked softly.

“Because my… .”

She leaned up on her toes and nudged his neck with her nose.

His eyes flashed, wolf surging for a split-second.

Zoran stumbled back like he needed distance to breathe. “Leave the citadel.”

“No.”

“Miss Haldrith… ”

“No,” she repeated, smiling and giving him a seductive wink. “You keep running away and I keep chasing… I’m enjoying myself.”

He stared at her, chest rising and falling too fast for someone supposedly calm.

“And you know what, Zoran?” she added, tilting her head, voice dropping to a seductive whisper. “I’m not stopping until you break that vow.”

Zoran shut his eyes like her words physically hit him. He turned away, one hand gripping the edge of the altar as if anchoring himself to something real.

“You should not tempt me,” he said, his voice shaking slightly.

She walked past him, trailing her fingers across his shoulder. “I plan to do much worse.”

He shuddered but it was barely noticeable.

Naelis strode to the door, pausing only once to glance back. Zoran stood frozen in the center of the chamber, fists clenched, and chest heaving while murmuring some kind of cleansing chant.

She smiled wickedly and triumphantly.

“See you tomorrow, Monk ”