Aggressive

~Kael~

The morning came quieter than the night before, but the silence did nothing to settle what lingered beneath my skin. It only made it easier to notice, easier to feel the absence of control where there should have been none lost in the first place.

I stood by the tall window of my chamber, my hands resting behind my back as my gaze stretched over the kingdom below, the people moving as they always did.

It had been hours since the report, hours since the disturbance, and yet the irritation had not faded. The bond had been silent since the night of the ball, weak enough to dismiss. I had allowed myself to believe that it would die out on its own, that whatever remained would eventually fade into nothing as it should have the moment I rejected her.

But it hadn’t. And that alone was unacceptable.

The sound of footsteps reached me before the knock came. I did not turn immediately, my gaze remaining fixed ahead as the door opened without waiting for permission.

Drex stepped in, his presence controlled as always, but there was something in the way he carried himself that suggested restraint and careful calculation. That alone was enough to draw my attention.

“What is it?” I asked without turning, my voice calm.

There was a brief pause before he spoke, and that hesitation did not go unnoticed.

“My King,” he began, his tone measured, “we have searched within the kingdom and along the outer borders…” he paused again, choosing his next words carefully, “there has been no trace of her.”

My expression did not change.

“Expand the search,” I said simply.

Drex exhaled lightly before continuing, “That may not be as simple as it sounds,” he said, and now I turned slightly, just enough to look at him properly, my gaze sharp.

“She was not taken randomly,” he added, “the way the guards were handled… it suggests intention, precision… whoever took her knew what they were doing, and it is highly unlikely they are still within our territory.”

Silence followed, but it was not empty. It was filled with the quiet tension of something building beneath the surface.

“You’re suggesting she has been taken into another territory,” I said, my tone still calm.

“Yes,” Drex replied, holding my gaze “and if that is the case, proceeding further without caution could be interpreted as an act of war.”

‘War.’ The word lingered for a moment, not as a warning, not as a concern, but as something far less significant than he intended it to be.

I turned fully then, facing him as a faint smile touched my lips, not one of amusement, but of something colder.

“War is not something I fear,” I said slowly “it is something I end.” Drex remained silent, but I could see it, the subtle shift in his posture.

“Send spies,” I continued without breaking eye contact, my tone leaving no room for argument, “into every bordering territory, every pack, every kingdom that thinks itself strong enough to hide what belongs to me.”

A faint tension settled in the room, but I ignored it.

“If they want war,” I added, my voice dropping just slightly, “then they will have it.”

Drex nodded once, “It will be done, My King.” He turned to leave, but I spoke again before he reached the door.

“Drex.”

He stopped immediately.

“Send a princess to my chamber,” I said, my tone casual, almost dismissive, “I have not felt the bond since the night of the ball… it should no longer be a problem.”

There was a pause, brief but present, before he responded.

“As you wish.” He left without another word.

The door closed, and silence returned.

*

She arrived not long after.

Another princess, another face I had no interest in remembering, adorned in silk and perfume. Her presence was practiced and her smile rehearsed as she stepped into the room with the kind of confidence that came from believing she had already been chosen.

The door shut behind her.

“Your Majesty,” she said softly, her voice smooth, inviting, and entirely irrelevant.

I did not move from where I stood, my gaze fixed on her as I studied her for a moment, not with interest, but with the simple intent of proving something to myself.

“Strip,” I said, my voice flat.

She did not hesitate.

The fabric fell away easily and slowly. Her movements were meant to entice, meant to draw my attention. I watched without reacting, without feeling anything beyond the quiet certainty that this would work, that whatever had lingered before had already passed.

She stepped closer.

I moved forward to meet her, my hand lifting slightly as I reached toward her, ready to reclaim control and remind myself that nothing had changed, that nothing had been taken from me.

And then… It hit.

It wasn’t faint or weak this time, it was violent.

My body jerked back as if struck, the force of it slamming into my chest. It was sharp and sudden as something tore through me from the inside, not pain alone but something invasive that did not belong to me yet forced itself into my senses without permission.

“Fuck!”

The word tore from my throat as I staggered back, my hand clutching at my chest as the sensation twisted, pulling, dragging something raw and unfamiliar through me with a force.

It wasn’t just the bond. It was her.

It was fear. Not mine, but hers.

A fleeting echo, a memory that wasn’t mine to feel was suddenly followed by something else. This time quieter and calm that made my jaw tighten as the contradiction settled in.

My breathing turned uneven for a brief second as the sensation flickered, unstable, inconsistent, and entirely unacceptable.

‘Where are you…?’

The thought came uninvited and I pushed it back immediately, my expression hardening as the pull lingered, refusing to fade the way it should have.

‘This is wrong. She is nothing! She is a insignificant! A slave!’

And yet…

The force of it surged again, stronger this time, more aggressive, as though resisting that very truth. My control snapped.

My fist drove into the wall without restraint, the impact cracking through the stone as it gave way beneath the force, leaving a deep hole where my hand had struck.

The princess stood frozen, her earlier confidence gone, replaced by fear as she stared at me.

“Get out,” I said, my voice low, dangerous and final.

She didn’t need to be told twice.

The door opened and shut quickly behind her, leaving the room empty once more. The feeling remained, faint now, but present, lingering beneath my skin like something that refused to die.

My hand remained clenched at my side as I stared at the broken wall, my breathing steadying slowly. This was no longer a nuisance.

This was a problem.

And I do not tolerate problems.