CHAPTER 7 - ONLY A BREEDER

His body moved over mine in slow, punishing stroke, every thrust deep, measured, filled with a heat that both ignited and humiliated. Keal's grip on my hip was iron, anchoring me to him like he needed to brand my skin, to remind me that this body was his now.

But this time, something was different, he wasn't just talking me in, he was claiming. Each movement wasn't careless or angry, it was focused and hungry. Possessive in a way that made my breath catch and my traitorous body tighten beneath him. I hated it. Hated how he filled me, how my body burned for him and how I responded despite everything he'd done.

I didn't want this. And yet, I arched into him.

His breath was hot against my throat, and my fingers curled into the sheets as he dragged me higher with every motion. My heart pounded. I clenched my jaw, trying to resist the tide, but it crashed over me anyway.

I shattered with a gasp, my body convulsing, heat unraveling in waves.

And that’s when it happened.

A growl from me, ripped low in my throat. It was faint, unintentional, but real. A vibration from deep within. My eyes snapped open, and for a fleeting second, the room flickered in shades of silver.

My wolf stirred. Fully. Visibly.

She hadn’t moved in weeks, buried deep beneath pain, silence, and fear. But now… now she surged forward, brushing against the surface like she was waking from a long, dark sleep.

Kael froze.

Still buried deep inside me, he pulled back just enough to stare down. His eyes were wide, stormy, and confused. He didn’t speak, didn’t breathe. I watched as something rippled through him, something raw. A flicker of fear… or recognition.

He flinched like something inside him snarled. For the first time since I’d returned, I saw him rattled.

Then he jerked away, pulling out of me like I’d burned him. I winced at the loss, breath still catching as I lay there stunned and bare.

He stood by the edge of the bed, his chest rising and falling with heavy breaths. His gaze swept over me, wild and uncertain. One hand went to his temple, as though something clawed behind his eyes. His knuckles turned white.

His wolf. He was feeling it. Finally.

And it scared him.

I pushed myself up on trembling arms. “Why are you doing this to me?” I whispered, voice raw and shaking.

He didn’t answer or look at me again. 

He grabbed his discarded shirt and turned away, walking out without a word. The door slammed behind him, echoing in the vast silence like a slap.

I sat there, heart thudding, shame pressing down like a second skin.

What had just happened?

My wolf… she responded to him. My body had wanted him. Welcomed him. I hated it. Hated how real that had been. Hated how he touched me like I was his, only to leave like I meant nothing.

I curled my knees to my chest and stared at the wall.

What scared me most wasn’t Kael walking away, It was that part of me wanted him to come back.

*

The knock came just as I finished dressing. Leah stepped inside, holding a soft grsy dress folded over arms. Her face looked tired, not nervous, not terrified either. She just looked guarded, like she was really trying not to get involved anything happening.

“You’re being summoned,” she said, laying the dress on the bed. “There’s a meeting. The Alpha wants you there.”

I turned to her slowly. “Why?”

She shrugged lightly, offering me a small, tired glance. “I wasn’t told. But the council’s meeting today. Elders, advisors. It’s official business.”

I frowned. “And he wants me in the room for that?”

Leah hesitated. “Maybe he wants to show you off. Or maybe…” She trailed off, then shook her head. “Just… wear this. Be calm. It’s better if you’re not noticed.”

Her voice wasn’t harsh or afraid, just matter-of-fact. She didn’t look away. She even helped me fasten the back of the dress, her fingers gentle. There was no pity in her, only quiet resignation.

I followed the guards down the hallway, trying to keep my head up. The corridors near the council wing were colder than the rest of the house. Echoes bouched off the stone floors. I didn't belong here and sadly, I knew that. Not among high-ranking wolves and political decisions. I was just a breeder, no one is ever going to recognise.

The council chamber was a circle of old men. Twelve elders sat in tall chairs carved with runes, a silver crest of the moon etched into the floor at their feet.

Keal stood in the center, dressed in black, his posture stiff. He didn't even acknowledge my presence when I walked in.

But someone else did.

My heart stopped.

Seated near the far side of the table, half-recclined in a guest chair, was Torran, my stepfather.

I froze, cold rushing up my spine. He looked different, cleaner and smug. He wore fine clothes, the kind he used to steal from richer wolves, and a thin smile curved his lips as his eyes locked onto mine.

“Well, well,” he drawled. “Didn’t think I’d see you again, little fox.”

The room shifted. Murmurs spread between the council members, but Kael didn’t speak. He didn’t even flinch.

“Torran Vale is here as a guest of the Nightshade delegation,” one of the elders announced. “He holds connections to the lower pack alliances. The Alpha granted him an audience.”

He what?

I turned to Kael, stunned, waiting,  hoping for him to say something. To explain. To tell them who Torran really was. That he’d sold me. That he’d handed me over like livestock.

But Kael remained still. Arms crossed. Expression blank.

Then he spoke flatly. “She's not to speak here unless addressed. She's only a breeder.”

The words punched the breath from my chest.

Only a breeder.

Laughter rumbled low from Torran’s side of the table. “She always had a smart mouth. Still does, I bet.”

I looked at Kael again, searching his face for something, anger, guilt, anything. But hid face was just… expressionless.

So I swallowed it all down and said nothing, but inside, my heart was broken into a million pieces.

Whatever thread of hope had flickered inside me since last night, that maybe he was more than cold hands and commands, died right there in that room.