CHAPTER NINE: Under His Watch

“Finish the food.”

The order came without warning.

I looked up instinctively, fingers pausing mid-motion. For a split second, I wondered if I had misheard him.

Instead of another command. Another decision I would have to endure.

He told me to eat.

I hesitated, fingers hovering over the plate.

I could still feel the warmth on my wrist. Not pain. Not pressure. Just the faint echo of where his fingers had closed around it earlier, as if my body had not realized yet that he had let go.

Alpha Kael was seated nearby, one long arm resting loosely against the back of the chair. His posture was relaxed in a way that felt deliberate.

He was not looking at me.

That was the lie.

I could feel his attention the way I felt heat from a fire. Steady. Close. Impossible to ignore.

He looked unbothered.

Like a predator at rest… not because it was safe, but because nothing here could challenge him.

I lowered my gaze and did as I was told.

The first bite hurt.

My stomach clenched sharply, protesting the wait, hunger flaring hot and sudden before I could stop it. I swallowed carefully and forced myself to keep eating, slow and controlled, aware of every movement of my hands.

Alpha Kael’s gaze never left me.

He watched openly, without apology, like he was waiting for something to change.

My breathing stayed even.

That alone felt strange.

The tightness that had followed me since the market was quiet now. Not gone. Just… contained. My chest rose and fell without resistance.

I took another bite.

Then another.

The room remained quiet. No orders. No questions. Just the steady awareness of him sitting there, present in a way that pressed without touching.

Then Alpha Kael leaned forward.

He did not speak.

He did not look at me.

He simply reached across the table and took a grape from my plate.

I froze, spoon hovering near my lips.

He ate it slowly, still not looking at me, as if the food had always been his.

A moment later, he took another.

No comment. No hesitation.

Heat crept up my neck.

I did not stop eating.

‘So this is how it is.’

Footsteps echoed sharply in the corridor.

Fast. Irritated. Heavy.

Beta Nial entered with a stack of documents so high they nearly obscured his face. Dark shadows sat beneath his eyes, exhaustion etched deep into his features. He stopped the instant he took in the scene.

Me seated at the table.

Alpha Kael’s hand hovering far too close to my plate.

Nial’s jaw tightened.

“You canceled the eastern council,” he said flatly.

Alpha Kael took another grape.

“You postponed patrol review,” Nial continued. “And sent the border reports back unsigned.”

Alpha Kael leaned back slightly.

“I’m occupied.”

“With fruit?” Nial snapped.

Alpha Kael glanced at him, unimpressed.

“With something that requires my attention.”

Nial followed his gaze.

Straight to me.

I stiffened, spoon pausing mid-air.

“This?” Nial asked.

Alpha Kael did not answer him.

He reached for another grape instead.

Then, without looking at me, he said, “Eat properly.”

The words landed heavier than before.

Instruction.

Nial stared at him. “You are abandoning your duties.”

Alpha Kael rose.

The movement was unhurried, but the effect was immediate.

He was tall.

Taller than I had realized. Taller even than Nial, who straightened instinctively when Alpha Kael stood. When Kael faced him, Nial had to lift his chin slightly to meet his gaze.

I noticed the difference only because I stood between them.

My head barely reached Alpha Kael’s shoulder.

“It isn’t abandonment when my Beta is present to handle them,” Kael said calmly.

Irritation flickered across Nial’s face. “The elders are asking questions,” he said tightly. “This isn’t normal.”

Kael looked at him steadily.

“Then give them work,” he replied. “You’re too focused on doing everything yourself.”

Nial stiffened.

“You disappear all the time,” he said, lowering his voice. “But you don’t stay anchored. You don’t stop everything else.”

Kael’s gaze flicked briefly toward me, then returned to Nial.

“That,” he said evenly, “is new.”

Nial went still.

I took another bite. My breathing remained steady.

Nial glanced at me again, then back at Kael. “You’re hovering over her.”

“She’s little,” Kael said.

The word struck oddly.

Standing near him, I felt it clearly then. The difference. The scale.

Nial’s jaw tightened.

“You’re tying yourself to one variable.”

Kael did not deny it.

“You’re making the palace notice.”

“I’m aware.”

“This won’t end quietly.”

“It doesn’t need to.”

Nial dragged a hand down his face. “For how long?”

Kael did not answer immediately.

His gaze shifted to me again, slow and deliberate.

I swallowed.

“If she stays,” Nial said carefully, “this becomes your problem.”

Kael’s eyes never left mine.

“It already is.”

Silence stretched.

Nial set the papers down hard on the table. “Fine. But when this explodes, it’s on you.”

Kael’s gaze flicked once to the table.

Then back to Nial.

“If she explodes,” he said calmly, “that’s a problem.”

His eyes shifted to me.

“If she eats,” he added, “then she doesn’t.”

Nial’s mouth tightened. He looked resigned as he turned toward the door.

Then Kael spoke again.

“Bring more food.”

Nial stopped short.

“What?”

Kael did not look at him.

“More food.”

Nial stared at him.

Then at me.

Then back at Kael, before storming out of the room.

I froze.

Only then did I realize something strange.

My plate was empty.

Every bite gone.

My stomach felt warm. Full. Quiet.

Kael finally looked at me again.

His eyes were steady.

“Good,” he said.

“Eat more. I don’t intend to have you collapse in my bed again.”

Heat rushed to my face, sudden and helpless.