The Jealousy

The kiss followed me to bed.

Not Kael. Just the memory. Just the way his mouth felt against mine. Just the sound he made when I didn't push him away.

I lay on the left side of his bed. The same spot as last night. The same clothes. The same bite mark throbbing on my neck.

Kael wasn't here.

He'd disappeared after the truck stopped. Told Elias to take me upstairs. Said he had work to do. Didn't look at me when he said it.

I touched my lips.

"Stop it," I whispered to myself.

My wolf didn't listen.

The door opened.

Not Kael.

Vera.

The blonde from the dining hall. She stood in the doorway with her arms crossed and her eyes burning.

"You're in his bed," she said.

"Apparently."

"You don't belong here."

"Tell that to the man who bought me."

Vera walked inside. Didn't ask permission. Didn't care. She stopped at the foot of the bed and looked down at me like I was something she'd scraped off her shoe.

"I've been waiting for Kael for three years," she said. "Three years of being patient. Three years of watching other women come and go. Three years of proving I was worthy."

"That sounds exhausting."

"Don't mock me."

"Then don't threaten me in my room."

Vera laughed. It was sharp. Bitter.

"Your room? This is Kael's room. This is Kael's bed. This is Kael's pack. You're nothing here. Less than nothing. You're a purchased womb for a man who will never love you."

"I don't want his love."

"Then what do you want?"

I sat up. Looked her in the eye.

"To survive."

Vera's face shifted. Something flickered behind her anger. Fear. Not of me. Of what I represented.

"He's never marked anyone before," she said. "Not once. Not in all the years I've known him. And then you show up. And he bites you on the first night."

"Maybe he was hungry."

"This isn't funny."

"I'm not laughing."

Vera stepped closer. Her voice dropped.

"If you hurt him, I will kill you. I don't care what it costs me. I don't care what he does to me after. I will end you."

"I'm not going to hurt him."

"You already are. Just by being here. Just by making him feel things he doesn't want to feel."

Vera turned. Walked to the door. Stopped.

"He was different before his father died," she said. "Softer. Kinder. He used to laugh. Really laugh. Not the fake thing he does now."

"What happened?"

"Your father happened. And Marcus. And everyone who wanted a piece of the Bloodmoon throne."

She left.

The door didn't close all the way.

I sat in the dark with her words spinning in my head.

Kael was soft once.

Not anymore.

---

I didn't sleep.

At 3 AM, I gave up. Put on my shoes. Walked downstairs.

The house was silent. No wolves in the halls. No fire in the hearth. Just shadows and cold floors and the sound of my own breathing.

The kitchen was empty.

I found bread. Cheese. An apple. Sat at the small table near the cold fire and ate in the dark.

"You should be sleeping."

I jumped.

Kael stood in the doorway. His shirt was untucked. His hair was messy. His eyes were red-rimmed.

"You should be sleeping too," I said.

"I don't sleep much."

"Neither do I."

He walked to the table. Sat across from me. Stole a piece of my bread.

"Vera came to see you," he said.

"You knew?"

"Elias told me."

"Are you going to punish her?"

"For what? Telling you I used to be soft?"

"For threatening to kill me."

Kael chewed his bread. Swallowed. Took a breath.

"Vera won't hurt you," he said.

"She seemed pretty determined."

"Vera is all talk. She's been in love with me since we were children. I've never encouraged it. I've never discouraged it. She just... exists. Like furniture."

"Furniture that wants me dead."

"Furniture that's scared."

"Of what?"

Kael looked at me. His black eyes were tired. Heavy.

"Of being replaced," he said.

"By me?"

"By anyone. Vera's been waiting for a miracle. And then I bought you. And marked you. And brought you to the border. And kissed you."

My face got hot.

"You kissed me."

"You kissed me back."

"I didn't say I didn't."

Kael's eyes flickered. Something passed between us. Something warm in the cold kitchen.

"Why did you buy me?" I asked.

"Because Marcus offered."

"That's not an answer."

Kael leaned back. Ran his hands through his hair. Sighed.

"I bought you because I wanted to hurt Marcus. I bought you because I wanted to take something from him. I bought you because I was angry and stupid and tired of waiting."

"And now?"

"Now I don't know what I want."

"Liar."

Kael's head snapped up.

"What did you say?"

"I said you're lying. You know what you want. You just don't want to say it out loud."

"Enlighten me."

I stood up. Walked around the table. Stopped in front of him.

"You want me," I said.

"Yes."

"Not as a trophy. Not as revenge. Not as a purchased womb."

"What then?"

I didn't have an answer.

So I kissed him instead.

Not like the truck. Not hard. Not demanding. Soft. Slow. Questioning.

Kael froze.

Then his hands found my waist. Pulled me onto his lap. His mouth opened under mine. His fingers pressed into my hips.

I gasped.

He swallowed the sound.

"You're playing with fire," he whispered against my lips.

"Then burn me."

Kael pulled back. Looked at my face. His eyes were wild. Hungry.

"You don't know what you're asking for."

"Then show me."

He stood up. Lifted me like I weighed nothing. Set me on the edge of the table.

His body pressed between my legs. His hands bracketed my thighs. His mouth hovered over my throat — over the bite mark.

"This is going to hurt," he said.

"I don't care."

He bit me again.

Right over the mark. Same spot. Same teeth. Deeper this time.

Pain exploded through my neck. White hot. Electric. I cried out. Grabbed his shoulders. Held on.

Then the pain faded.

And something else took its place.

Warmth. Spreading through my chest. Through my stomach. Through my legs. Making me ache in places I'd never ached before.

Kael pulled back. His lips were red. His eyes were blacker than I'd ever seen.

"Feel that?" he said.

"Yes."

"That's the bond. Growing. Every time I touch you. Every time I bite you. Every time I'm near you."

"What happens when it's finished?"

Kael's hand slid up my thigh. Stopped at my hip.

"You belong to me," he said. "Completely. Irrevocably. Forever."

"And you?"

"What about me?"

"Do you belong to me?"

Kael was silent.

The fire crackled. The house groaned. Somewhere upstairs, a floorboard creaked.

"No," he said finally. "I belong to this pack. To my people. To the memory of my father."

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one I have."

He stepped back.

The cold rushed in between us.

I sat on the table with my legs dangling and my neck burning and my heart breaking.

"Go to bed, Aria."

"Come with me."

"I can't."

"Can't or won't?"

Kael walked to the door. Stopped. Didn't turn around.

"Both," he said.

He left.

I sat alone in the dark kitchen with his taste on my tongue and his warmth fading from my skin.

My wolf howled.

I howled with her.

---

The next morning, Kael was gone.

Elias found me in the kitchen. I was still sitting on the table. Still wearing the same clothes. Still touching the fresh bite mark on my neck.

"He left at dawn," Elias said.

"Where?"

"North border. There's been sightings of rogues."

"He didn't tell me."

"He doesn't tell anyone. That's who he is."

I looked at Elias. His grey eyes were soft. Understanding.

"He kissed me," I said.

"I know."

"He kissed me and then he left."

"That's also who he is."

"Why do you stay?"

Elias sat down across from me. Folded his hands on the table.

"Because I've known him since he was a boy. Because I watched his father die. Because I held him while he cried. Because he's broken in ways that can't be fixed. And because someone needs to be here when he comes back."

"Does he always come back?"

"Always."

Elias stood up. Poured me a cup of tea. Set it in front of me.

"Be patient with him," Elias said. "He's never loved anyone before. He doesn't know how."

"Who said anything about love?"

Elias smiled. Sad. Knowing.

"No one," he said. "But everyone sees it."

He walked away.

I drank my tea. Cold. Bitter. Perfect.