Chapter 4: Him

LENA

I should have stopped talking because the moment the words left my mouth, the air in the hallway changed. Not dramatically, not loudly, but enough for my instincts to scream at me to back down while I still could.

Instead, I stood there with my chin lifted like I had any power in this house at all.

Alpha Kael watched me for a long second before he moved.

One moment there had been space between us, the next my back slammed into the wall hard enough to knock the breath from my lungs. A startled gasp escaped me as his hand wrapped around my waist, firm and unyielding, pinning me in place before I could even think about struggling.

My pulse lurched violently.

He leaned close enough that his scent surrounded me completely; cedar, smoke and the sharp metallic trace of blood that still clung to him despite the distance from earlier.

“I hate repeating myself,” he said quietly, his gaze locked on mine. His voice never rose, which somehow made it worse. “And I hate it when people don’t listen to me.”

Heat rushed through me, equal parts anger and humiliation. “Then maybe you should stop speaking like everyone belongs to you.”

His fingers tightened slightly against my waist.

“They do,” he replied without hesitation.

The answer stunned me enough that I forgot to breathe for a second.

His eyes dropped briefly to my mouth before returning to mine, unreadable and heavy. “Especially in this house.”

I shoved against his chest immediately. “You’re insane.”

Kael didn’t budge an inch.

“You’ll learn quickly, little wolf,” he murmured, “that fighting me only exhausts you.”

“I told you not to call me that.”

“And yet,” he drawled, “here we are.”

My glare deepened, but it only seemed to amuse him and that irritated me even more.

Then his attention shifted over my shoulder. “Maren.”

I stiffened as the woman appeared almost instantly, accompanied by three younger maids who kept their heads lowered.

“Take her upstairs,” Kael ordered calmly. “Bathe her and put her in proper clothes.”

My mouth fell open. “Excuse me?”

His gaze returned to me lazily. “You heard me.”

“I can dress myself.”

“You clearly can’t.”

The insult hit so fast my jaw dropped. “These are my clothes!”

“They’re rags.”

My face burned hot. “You don’t get to decide that!”

“I decide everything in this house.”

The certainty in his tone made fury claw up my throat. “I’m not one of your servants.”

“No,” he agreed smoothly, his hand finally sliding away from my waist, though warmth lingered where he touched me. “Servants usually listen the first time.”

I opened my mouth to argue again, but Maren stepped forward carefully. “This way, Miss Ashford.”

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Kael sighed softly like I was becoming tedious. Then his eyes met mine again, dark and terrifyingly calm. “Do you want me to carry you?”

Every maid in the hallway froze and my stomach twisted. The worst part was that I genuinely believed he would.

Hatred burned through me as I spun sharply and followed Maren upstairs before he could embarrass me further. I heard his low chuckle behind me the entire way.

~~~

The bathroom was larger than my entire room back at the Ashford estate.

I stood frozen near the doorway while the maids moved quietly around me, filling a massive stone tub with steaming water scented with oils I couldn’t even name.

“You can leave,” I muttered awkwardly.

None of them moved. One of the younger girls blinked nervously. “Alpha Kael instructed us to assist you.”

“I can bathe alone.”

Another uncomfortable silence.

Then Maren spoke carefully from behind me. “It would be best not to argue, Miss Ashford.”

I clenched my jaw hard enough to hurt. Even here, even now, he was controlling everything.

The thought should have terrified me more than it did. Instead, part of me hated how safe this house already felt compared to the one I came from.

That realization disgusted me enough that I stripped out of my clothes without another word and slid into the water.

The heat nearly made me moan.

I sank deeper before I could stop myself, exhaustion pulling heavily at my limbs as the maids washed my hair gently, careful around the uneven ends Cara had butchered.

Anger tightened my throat immediately at the memory and fingers curled beneath the water.

After the bath, they dressed me in soft black fabric that flowed against my skin like water. The dress hugged my waist before falling elegantly to my ankles, the sleeves sheer enough to reveal the faint silver remains of my rejected mate mark.

I stared at myself in the mirror for a long moment and I barely recognized the girl staring back, not because I looked beautiful, but because I looked cared for.

And by the time I reached the dining hall downstairs, my nerves had returned full force.

Kael sat at the far end of the table, now cleaned up and dressed entirely in black. His dark hair was still damp from a shower, pushed carelessly away from his forehead.

No blood.

Heat crawled up my neck immediately under the weight of his stare.

“Well,” he said after a long silence. “You clean up nicely.”

I frowned as I sat down across from him. “Do you insult everyone before feeding them?”

One corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “Only the difficult ones.”

A maid placed plates in front of us, the smell alone making my stomach twist painfully with hunger.

Kael noticed instantly. “Eat.”

“I know how food works.”

“Judging by your weight, I’m unconvinced.”

I glared at him before grabbing my fork aggressively. He watched me take the first bite with an expression far too satisfied for my liking.

“You’re enjoying this,” I accused.

“Yes.”

The food disappeared embarrassingly fast after that. I hadn’t realized how hungry I truly was until warmth spread through my stomach for the first time in days.

Kael leaned back slightly, watching me with open scrutiny.

“You were starving.”

“I was busy.”

His eyes narrowed. “Busy being neglected?”

I stiffened instantly.

“That’s none of your business.”

“You live in my house now. It became my business the moment you walked through my doors.”

“There you go again,” I snapped, dropping my fork. “Acting like you own every part of my life.”

“I do.”

The answer came so fast my breath caught.

Kael didn’t even blink.

“I decide what enters this house. What threatens it. What stays alive inside it.” His gaze swept over me slowly. “And currently, that includes you.”

My pulse stumbled painfully.

“You can’t control what I wear, what I eat, where I go—”

“I can.”

“You sound insane.”

“You sound surprised.”

Frustration boiled over inside me. “Why do you even care? You don’t know me.”

“No,” he agreed calmly. “But I know what they did to you.”

Silence fell heavily between us.

My throat tightened.

Kael’s gaze dropped briefly to my uneven hair before returning to my face. “You came into my house bruised, starving and terrified of loud noises.” His voice lowered slightly. “Should I pretend not to notice?”

The anger inside me faltered dangerously.

“I don’t need your pity.”

A cold look crossed his face instantly.

“Good,” he said. “Because pity is useless.”

Before I could respond, he rose from his chair slowly.

Every instinct inside me sharpened as he walked around the table toward me.

I stayed seated purely out of stubbornness even as my heartbeat climbed higher with every step he took.

Kael stopped directly beside my chair then he reached down and my breath caught sharply as his fingers tilted my chin upward.

“You confuse protection with control,” he said quietly.

I swallowed hard. “There’s a difference?”

“Yes.”

His thumb brushed lightly across my jaw, and the intimacy of it made my stomach twist violently.

“Control is forcing obedience,” he murmured.

“And protection?”

His eyes darkened as they held mine.

“Protection,” he said softly, “is what I'm doing with you.”

My breath hitched. Then his gaze flicked past me toward the doorway. “Finish up your food, we have experiments to try out in the bedroom.”