CHAPTER FOURTEEN: Little Cat

I did not know where he was taking me.

Alpha Kael walked as if the palace rearranged itself around him. Servants flattened themselves against the walls. Doors opened before he reached them. No one spoke. No one tried.

He did not loosen his hold.

One arm stayed firm beneath my knees. Solid. Unyielding.

The other stayed secure at my back, his palm spread wide enough that I felt the heat of it through the thin fabric of my clothes. Each step was smooth. Measured. Effortless. Like my weight did not register at all.

My body registered everything else.

I felt the steady rise of his chest beneath my cheek.

The strength in his shoulder where my fingers curled without thinking.

I felt the warmth along my spine where I was pressed against him.

So close.

Close enough that there was no empty space left to fill.

My heart beat fast.

But the pressure inside my chest did not spike.

It stayed calm.

Flowing.

We passed through doors I had never seen before.

This was not the council office.

The space felt different. Quieter. Softer, but not gentle. Controlled. Shelves lined the walls, filled with books and scattered papers. A low table bore signs of use, not display. Lamps burned low even though daylight pressed against the windows.

This was his private workroom.

The place where he existed when the world was not watching.

Servants froze when they saw me in his arms.

One inhaled sharply. Another nearly dropped what they were carrying.

Alpha Kael did not slow.

He crossed the room and sat down, still holding me, lowering himself into the chair without jostling me once. I expected to be set aside.

I was not.

Instead, he shifted slightly and settled me against him again. My side rested fully against his chest. My legs stayed supported by his arm. His thigh pressed firm beneath mine, anchoring me in place without effort.

Like this was natural.

Like this was temporary only because everything else was.

Beta Nial followed us in.

He stopped short.

His gaze flicked from my position to Kael’s arm, to the way Kael did not move to correct anything.

His mouth opened.

Closed.

His jaw tightened.

Alpha Kael reached for a document with his free hand.

“Continue,” he said calmly.

Nial stared at him, then dragged a hand down his face and stepped forward, dropping the stack of papers onto the table harder than necessary.

“You missed three briefings,” Nial said tightly. “The elders are irritated.”

“I know.”

“And patrol rotations are delayed.”

“I know.”

“And the eastern border report was returned unsigned.”

“I know.”

Nial exhaled sharply.

I stayed very still.

I felt every point of contact between us. The curve of Kael’s forearm around my waist without tightening. The steady heat where his chest met my shoulder. The quiet press of his fingers at my side, not gripping, just there. Like he was reminding my body where to stay.

The warmth inside me responded.

It moved more smoothly now. No longer burning in place. Each breath felt easier than the last, my ribs no longer aching as they expanded.

My eyelids grew heavy.

At some point, Alpha Kael stopped turning pages.

I noticed only when his breathing changed.

It deepened.

Slowed.

His body did not slump, but the tension bled out of him in small, quiet ways. His shoulder relaxed beneath my cheek. His hold adjusted without tightening, settling more securely around me like instinct had taken over.

I tilted my head without thinking.

Just enough to see his face.

Up close.

Alpha Kael asleep looked nothing like Alpha Kael awake.

His brow was smooth. The sharp planes of his face softened. His eyes were closed, lashes dark against his skin. His mouth, usually set in command, rested at ease.

He looked younger.

And impossibly powerful.

Like a lion at rest.

I felt his breathing brush faintly against my temple. Warm. Slow. Real. Each breath grounded me further into his space.

The energy inside me flowed faster.

Gentler.

Like sleep had removed the last resistance between us.

My chest loosened again.

I felt lighter.

Safer.

The realization startled me.

Nial noticed.

He stopped speaking. His gaze moved from Kael’s face to my breathing, to the way Alpha Kael’s arm remained firm and unbroken. Then he stepped back and waved the servants away.

No one argued.

Time passed.

Alpha Kael did not stir.

His head tipped slightly, close enough that I could see where a strand of hair had fallen loose against his temple. His scent surrounded me, warm and clean and steady, making my thoughts blur.

I should have looked away.

I did not.

I felt the rise and fall of his chest beneath my cheek. I did not realize it at first, but my fingers had curled into his shoulder without thinking. I felt the warmth along my back where I was pressed close.

Closed.

With no space left between us.

A small shift.

A deeper inhale.

His arm tightened by a fraction, drawing me closer until there was no space left at all. My side fit flush against him, my weight fully supported. My balance was no longer my own.

The warmth inside me surged.

Then steadied.

I felt better with each passing minute. Slowly, my eyes grew heavy.

Pressed against Alpha Kael’s arms, my body drifted.

Deep.

Unaware.

I did not know how much time passed.

Until I startled awake.

Panic rushed in the moment I realized where I was. My breath caught. My body tensed.

My movement must have reached him.

Alpha Kael stirred.

Slowly.

A deeper breath.

A slight roll of his shoulder.

Then his eyes opened.

Gold met mine.

I froze.

He was close. So close that I could see the faint darker ring around his pupils.

For a moment, he only looked at me.

No surprise.

No confusion.

As if I was exactly where he wanted me to be.

“Be still,” he murmured.

His voice was lower than before. Quieter. More magnetic.

“…yes,” I breathed.

A soft hum left his chest. Satisfied.

He adjusted the chair, lowering it until we were almost lying down.

Then he guided my head until it rested against his chest. His arm came firm around my shoulder. His hand settled at my side, fingers spread wide, claiming space rather than skin.

I stiffened.

“Relax,” he said quietly.

…I did.

His chin dipped slightly.

His voice followed, low and calm, meant only for me.

“Sleep with me.”

A pause.

Then, softer—

“Little cat.”