Chapter 9

BENEATH THE SKIN

Kael was unraveling.

It began with the dreams.

Blood and fire. Teeth and moonlight. A scream—hers. A growl—his. He woke drenched in sweat, claws half-shifted, eyes glowing silver in the dark.

Each night, it grew worse.

The bond pulled tighter.

Each minute he spent apart from Liana gnawed at his sanity. He could smell her on the sheets, in the halls, in his skin. The scent of her had burned itself into his lungs. He breathed her. Craved her.

He resisted.

But his resistance had teeth now, and they were biting into him.

The Alpha within snarled constantly, pacing, furious that his mate—his marked, claimed, chosen mate—was so close and yet so far.

Kael couldn’t think. Couldn’t eat. Couldn’t breathe without wanting her.

She was poison and balm.

And she was avoiding him.

—

Liana didn’t trust the quiet.

It had been two days since the Seer’s warning and the presence in the house. Two days since Kael had kissed her like he was drowning, and she had kissed him back like she wanted to drown with him.

She hadn’t seen him since.

But she felt him.

Every breath.

Every tortured groan through the walls when he thought she couldn’t hear.

The bond whispered his pain like a secret melody. And it was getting louder.

Liana tried to focus on the books Sierra had left her.

Histories of the Luna Line. Old texts about Alpha curses and forbidden bonds.

Nothing helped.

The only thing clear was that incomplete bonds could destroy the mind. Kael’s mind.

The longer they went unconsummated, the more unstable the Alpha would become. His wolf would begin to take over. He could go feral.

She told herself she didn’t care.

But at night, when she clutched her pillow and felt his agony curling through her belly like smoke… she knew she was lying.

—

Kael punched a hole through the wall.

The guards outside his chamber flinched. No one spoke.

He’d barely slept. The bond was fire now. A wildfire. Every moment without her was pain. Every second he denied the pull, his skin crawled with it.

He couldn’t shift properly anymore.

His wolf wanted to claim.

His mind wanted to protect.

But his instincts—those ancient, buried instincts—wanted to possess.

And that terrified him.

He couldn’t let her see it. Couldn’t let her see what he was becoming.

So he stayed away.

Until he couldn’t anymore.

—

She was in the moon garden.

Reading again. Barefoot. Hair wild in the wind.

Liana heard him before she saw him.

Heavy footsteps. A low growl of breath.

She turned.

He looked… feral.

His eyes glowed brighter than the moonlight. His chest was bare, skin glistening with sweat, veins dark under his skin. He was vibrating with restraint.

“Kael,” she said cautiously.

He didn’t speak.

“Are you okay?”

Still nothing.

Then, he moved.

One step. Two. Three.

Until he was in front of her.

His voice was hoarse. “Don’t run.”

“I wasn’t going to.”

His hands twitched at his sides. He was fighting the bond with every breath.

“I’m losing control.”

Her heart cracked. “I know.”

“I dream of you. I can’t stop. I can’t breathe.”

Liana swallowed. “What happens if we… don’t?”

His laugh was bitter. “I go mad. Or worse.”

She stepped closer. Slowly. “What happens if we do?”

He looked at her then. Really looked.

“It’s not about sex. It’s about surrender. If I claim you fully, there’s no turning back. You’ll be bound to me in every way.”

“And if I’m not ready?”

He flinched. “Then I’ll wait. Even if it kills me.”

Her heart fluttered.

The monster was a man. And the man was breaking.

She reached out. Touched his chest.

He trembled.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” she said.

“You won’t.”

“I don’t trust this bond.”

“Neither do I. But I trust you.”

Something broke in her.

She leaned forward. Pressed her lips softly to his.

It wasn’t like last time.

There was no violence.

Only ache.

Only truth.

When she pulled back, his eyes were wide with wonder.

She whispered, “We’ll figure it out.”

He nodded.

And for the first time in days, the bond quieted.

Not gone.

Not healed.

But calmed.

For now.

—

Later that night, Kael lay on the floor of his chamber, staring at the ceiling, her kiss still burning on his lips.

He didn’t trust himself to sleep.

Didn’t trust the wolf inside him to keep its distance.

But a knock sounded.

Soft. Tentative.

“Kael?”

Her voice.

He opened the door.

She stood there in a nightshirt, arms crossed, eyes uncertain.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she said.

He stepped aside.

She came in.

They didn’t touch.

They didn’t speak.

She just sat beside him on the floor.

And for the first time since the bond, Kael breathed.