Chapter 14

LUCIEN’S POV

I should have known she would refuse.

Saphra stands in the centre of her chamber, chin lifted, eyes burning with a defiance that has become far too familiar. The morning light cuts across her face, catching the hard set of her mouth.

“No,” she says. “I won’t go.”

The word hits me harder than it should.

“This is not a request,” I reply, keeping my voice even controlled. “There is a territorial dispute. You will attend.”

She laughs. “You drag me out of my cell when it suits you, scream at me when you’re angry, and now you want me paraded in front of rival Alphas like some trophy? Absolutely not.”

Something ugly coils in my chest.

“You will stand where I tell you,” I snap.

She turns away, arms folding over her chest, shoulders rigid. “Then kill me now and be done with it.”

The bond flares.

Something sharp and possessive and furious that is not entirely my own.

Before I can stop myself, I cross the room in two strides and grab her arm.

She gasps, spinning back toward me. “Don’t touch me!”

I don’t release her.

My fingers close around her forearm, not gentle and not cruel. The instant contact sends a jolt through me, like striking flint. Her pulse skitters beneath my grip.

“You are coming,” I growl and drag her toward the door.

She fights me every step, heels digging into stone, nails scraping uselessly against my wrist. Servants scatter as we pass, eyes averted, terror and curiosity hanging thick in the air.

“Let me go!” she shouts. “Lucien, let me go!”

Hearing my name on her lips like that does something dangerous to my restraint.

I don’t answer.

The throne room doors boom open.

The space inside is already tense. Advisors line the sides. Guards stand at full alert. And at the far end, just stepping through the opposite entrance is the rival Alpha.

Kael of the Ashridge territory.

He arrives flanked by armed warriors, their armour dark, their expressions hostile. The room hums with restrained aggression, the kind that precedes bloodshed.

I haul Saphra forward and force her to stand beside my throne.

Her eyes widen as she realizes what I’m doing. “No,” she whispers urgently. “Lucien—”

I ignore her and sit.

She remains standing at my right hand, exposed, visible to everyone in the room.

Kael’s gaze snaps to her immediately.

I see it happen, the moment interest sparks in his eyes, the way his attention lingers too long...too boldly. His mouth curves into a slow, mocking smile.

“Well,” he drawls, stepping forward. “This is new.”

His eyes rake over her without shame. Saphra stiffens, every muscle tight with discomfort.

“I wasn’t aware you had acquired a pet,” Kael continues. “A pretty one, I’ll give you that.”

The room goes deadly quiet.

My hands curl around the arms of the throne.

“She is not a pet,” I say.

Kael chuckles. “Then what is she? She doesn’t look like an advisor. Doesn’t smell like a warrior.” His gaze flicks back to me, sharp and taunting. “Or is she something you keep for… personal reasons?”

Saphra’s breath hitches beside me. I feel it like a knife between my ribs.

“Careful,” I warn.

Kael’s smile only widens. “Relax. I’m only asking because negotiations can be… flexible.” He tilts his head, studying her again. “Would you be willing to share?”

The word detonates.

Heat drains from the room as if winter itself has drawn breath. The torches gutter. A low, instinctive growl ripples through my chest before I can suppress it.

I rise from the throne.

The sound of it echoes like a judgment.

“No,” I say, my voice dropping into something cold and lethal. “You will not look at her. You will not speak of her. And you will never—ever suggest such a trade.”

Kael’s smile falters.

I step down from the dais, power rolling off me in suffocating waves. “She is mine,” I continue. “Exclusively.”

The word rings through the hall.

Shock slams into the room like a physical force.

Advisors stiffen. Guards exchange startled glances. Even Saphra freezes, staring at me as if I’ve struck her.

I don’t look at her.

My gaze is locked on Kael.

“You will conduct yourself with respect,” I say softly. “Or you will leave this palace in pieces.”

For a moment, I think Kael might challenge me.

Then he steps back.

Just one step but it is enough.

“Understood,” he says tightly.

The meeting ends quickly after that. The territorial dispute is resolved with hurried concessions and stiff formalities.

As soon as Kael and his warriors are gone, I turn on my heel and stalk from the throne room.

I don’t look back to see if she follows.

I know she does.

I don’t stop until we reach an empty corridor far from prying eyes. The moment the last echo fades, I spin and block her path.

“What did you do?” I demand.

She recoils slightly, pressing back against the stone wall. “What are you talking about?”

My hands lift, framing her face without quite touching her. The air between us feels charged, dangerous.

“What did you do to me?” I repeat, my voice cracking despite my effort to keep it steady.

Her eyes search mine, wide and confused. “I didn’t do anything.”

“That’s a lie,” I snap and then falter because the truth is I don’t know that it is.

Anger and confusion war inside me, tearing at the edges of my control. “I don’t say things like that,” I continue hoarsely. “I don’t feel...this.”

Her breath trembles. “Neither do I.”

My thumb lifts of its own accord, brushing her cheekbone.

She flinches but she doesn’t pull away.

The restraint it takes not to touch her fully is agonizing.

I search her face desperately, as if the answer might be written there. Something softer beneath it all that twists my chest painfully.

“I felt it,” I say quietly. “When he looked at you. It was like… like something was being ripped out of me.”

Her throat works as she swallows. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“No,” I agree. “It doesn’t.”

I lean closer without meaning to, my forehead nearly touching hers. I can feel her breath, quick and uneven. Mine stutters in response.

For one terrible moment, I think she might understand. Might feel it, too.

Then sense slams back into place.

I drop my hands.

The sudden absence of her heat feels like a wound.

“This changes nothing,” I say harshly. “You will return to your chambers.”

She doesn’t argue. She doesn’t speak at all.

I turn and leave her there, trembling against the wall, before I do something I truly can not undo.

I don’t stop walking until the palace swallows me whole.​