6

DON’T TOUCH THE KING.

Seraphina tried to stop herself from falling but her foot slipped again.

“Ah!”

Her body moved backwards and she quickly reached for the first thing her hand could find. A hand. A strong hand caught hers before she could hit the floor. For a second Seraphina felt relieved, Then she noticed the silence. Everything had suddenly become quiet, too quiet. She slowly looked down. Her eyes widened. As she saw that her hand was holding Kael’s hand  but not his gloved hand.

His bare hand.

Seraphina froze, She didn’t understand why everyone around them had suddenly stopped moving. Kael was staring down at their joined hands. His expression had completely changed. He looked shocked, No, not just shocked. He looked like he had seen something that shouldn’t be possible. Someone gasped loudly from behind them.

“Let go of the King!”

Seraphina looked around in confusion. Why were they shouting? She quickly tried to pull her hand away but Kael released her first. She stumbled backwards, almost falling again. A guard immediately moved forward but stopped himself before coming too close. Seraphina looked at him strangely.

“What is wrong with everyone?” Nobody answered her. Her eyes moved back to Kael but He wasn’t looking at her. Instead his eyes were fixed on his own hand. He slowly lifted it and looked at his fingers, He turned his hand over then back again.

Seraphina frowned. What was he looking for? She looked down at her own hand, nothing was happening. She didn’t feel pain, she didn’t feel cold, her skin looked normal. She moved her fingers slowly, Still nothing.

“Are you alright?” Kael’s voice suddenly made her look up.

She nodded. “Yes.”

His eyes moved across her face. “Do you feel anything?”

Seraphina frowned, suddenly feeling annoyed. “What do you mean?”

“Your hand.” He looked down at the hand she had used to touch him.

“Does it hurt?”

She looked at her palm again.

“No.”

Kael’s expression changed. “No?”

Seraphina shook her head. “No, am fine.”

He didn’t look convinced. His eyes moved over her arms, then her face before moving back to her hand. “Are you sure?”

Seraphina was beginning to become more irritated. “Yes, I’m sure.”

She looked around them and saw that the people standing nearby looked terrified. One of the guards had moved several steps away and another was whispering something to the person beside him. The nobles were staring at her as if she had suddenly become something dangerous. Seraphina didn’t understand.

“What is going on?”

Lucian stepped forward carefully.

“Your Majesty…” Kael didn’t answer him as his eyes were still on his hand. Lucian looked at Seraphina then at Kael’s bare hand, His expression became strange.

“What happened?” Seraphina asked. Lucian didn’t answer then she looked at Kael.

“Why is everyone acting like that?” Kael finally looked at her. For a moment he said nothing then his eyes moved towards the floor, Seraphina followed his gaze. Her heart skipped when she saw the black leather glove lying on the floor. She looked back at Kael, his other hand was still covered by the other glove. She slowly realized what had happened. His glove must have come off during the disturbance and she had grabbed his bare hand. Seraphina’s stomach tightened. She remembered the stories, everyone in the kingdom knew them.

Never touch the King.

She remembered the way the servants moved away whenever Kael passed them. The way the guards made space for him. And the way everyone seemed afraid of getting too close. She remembered hearing that his touch could kill. Her eyes moved slowly to her hand again.

Still nothing.

No cold. No pain. No strange mark. Nothing. She looked at Kael.

“Is it because I touched your hand?”

Kael’s jaw tightened. “Yes.”

Seraphina swallowed. “But nothing happened.”

“I know.”

His answer was quiet. That somehow made the situation even more frightening. Kael looked at his hand again. For twenty-five years, he had lived with the knowledge that his bare touch could hurt people. Twenty-five years of wearing gloves. Twenty-five years of keeping people away. Twenty-five years of watching fear enter people’s eyes whenever he came near them and now this woman had touched him. Nothing happened.

Kael slowly closed his fingers, He waited yet nothing. He opened them again, Still nothing. His breathing became slower as he tried to understand what was happening. Then Lucian stepped closer.

“Your Majesty, perhaps we should—”

“No.” Kael stopped him. His eyes didn’t leave Seraphina. Lucian looked at him carefully. Then Kael looked back at Seraphina.

“You should have felt something.”

Seraphina frowned. “I don’t.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes”. She looked at her hand again.

“Nothing happened.” Kael stared at her, She stared back.

There was something strange about the way he was looking at her, Like he was trying to find an answer on her face. Seraphina suddenly felt uncomfortable.

“You are staring at me.” Kael didn’t look away.

“I need to know if you’re alright.”

“I already told you am fine.” But his eyes remained on her.

Seraphina sighed. “I don’t know what you expect me to say.”

Kael looked down at his hand again. “I don’t know either.” For some reason, that answer surprised her. The Untouchable King didn’t seem like someone who didn’t know what to do. He looked like a man who always had control, but right now, he looked confused almost as confused as she was. A guard suddenly spoke.

“Your Majesty, you should move away from her.” Kael’s eyes moved towards him. The guard immediately lowered his head.

“Forgive me.” Kael didn’t answer. Instead he looked back at Seraphina.

“You should be afraid.” Seraphina frowned.

“Why?”

“Because you touched me.”

“I know that.”

“No.” His voice became quieter.

“You don’t understand what that means.”

Seraphina looked around the room. Everyone was still watching them, She could feel the tension in the air. “What am I supposed to understand?”

Kael didn’t answer immediately, his eyes dropped to his bare hand again. Then to hers. He remembered every person who had ever suffered because of him. Every time he had been forced to step away from someone. Every time he had watched people become afraid just because he moved too close. He had learned from childhood that his hands were dangerous.

He had learned not to trust them Yet she had touched him and she was fine. Kael slowly reached towards his own wrist with his gloved hand, almost as if he wanted to make sure he was still awake. Nothing changed. He looked at Seraphina again, She was still standing there.

Still breathing, Still looking at him.

“How is this possible?” Lucian whispered. Kael looked at him.

“I don’t know.” Lucian’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked at Seraphina, Kael noticed. Something about the way Lucian was looking at her made him uncomfortable.

“Enough.”

Lucian immediately looked away.

Seraphina folded her arms. “I really don’t understand what is happening.”

Kael looked at her. “Neither do I.”

For the first time since she had met him, Seraphina saw something different in his eyes. Fear, Not fear of her but fear of what she meant. Before she could ask anything else, Kael suddenly became still.

                        .           .           .           .           .

His eyes changed, Something moved inside him.

His wolf.

Kael felt the familiar presence stir inside his chest. At first he thought it was simply reacting to everything that had happened But the feeling became stronger, Much stronger. His wolf pushed against him. Kael clenched his jaw, Not now. He tried to force it back But his wolf refused, It had never reacted like this before. Kael’s eyes slowly moved towards Seraphina as she was still standing in front of him.

The same woman who had touched his bare hand. The same woman who had survived, Something about her suddenly felt different. Then his wolf growled deep inside him.

Mate.

Kael froze; his heart seemed to stop.

No.

His eyes widened as he stared at her, His wolf growled again.

Mate.

Kael couldn’t breathe properly, for twenty-five years, he had believed his curse had taken away every normal part of his life. Touch, Affection, A relationship and a mate. He had never expected any of it. He had accepted that perhaps he would remain alone for the rest of his life But now his wolf was telling him something he wasn’t ready to hear. The woman standing in front of him wasn’t just someone who could touch him. She was his mate.

Kael stared at Seraphina, unable to say a word. She had no idea what had just happened inside him, She only looked at him with confusion but Kael knew. His wolf had already made the choice.

She was his mate.