CHAPTER 5 -The Velvet Trap

Maya’s POV

The gates of the Silver Peak Pack were usually a symbol of safety, but tonight they felt like a cage. As I ran toward them, the cold air bit at my skin. I could see the glow of vampire torches in the distance, casting long, dancing shadows on the snow.

There stood Prince Victor. He looked perfect and calm, his white hair shining under the moon. Beside him, two vampire guards held Sela by her arms. She wasn't crying, but her face was pale, and her eyes were wide with fear.

"Maya! Don't come any closer!" Sela screamed.

"Quiet, little wolf," Victor said, his voice smooth and cold. He looked at me and smiled, his fangs peeking over his lip. "Ah, the Runt. Or should I say... the Princess?"

"Let her go, Victor!" I shouted. I felt a heat in my chest I had never felt before. My vampire side was waking up, angry that he was touching my sister. "Your fight is with me, not her."

Kael was right behind me. He wasn't in his wolf form, but his eyes were glowing gold, and his muscles were bulging. He looked like he was ready to tear the world apart.

"Valerius," Kael growled. "Release the healer. Now. Or I will ignore every treaty ever written and paint these mountains with your blood."

Victor laughed. It was a light, musical sound that made my skin crawl. "Such drama. I don't want the girl. She smells like wet fur and herbs. I was simply bored waiting for my bride to show herself."

Victor waved a hand, and the guards shoved Sela forward. She stumbled, and I caught her, pulling her behind me. She was shaking, but she was alive. She wasn't hurt.

"There," Victor said, wiping his hands as if he had touched something dirty. "She is safe. For now. But remember, Maya... the Blood Moon doesn't care about your feelings. It only cares about what you are. And what you are... belongs to the Kingdom."

Victor turned around, his red silk cape swirling in the wind. "Enjoy your little dog, Maya. While he still has a mind to love you."

In a flash of black smoke, the vampires were gone. The forest was silent again, except for the heavy breathing of the wolves behind us.

The rest of the night was a blur. The pack was in an uproar, but Kael silenced them with a single roar. He ordered Sela to the omega quarters to rest and dragged me back to his obsidian study.

I spent the next hour cleaning the mess from his earlier fit. I picked up the broken glass and straightened the books. I didn't say a word. I could feel Kael watching me from his chair. He was too quiet. The madness was gone, but the hunger was back.

"I'm finished, Alpha," I whispered, keeping my head down. I gripped the tray in my hands. "I should go back to the omega quarters. Sela needs me."

I turned to walk toward the door, but before I could take two steps, Kael was there. He moved with the speed of a predator.

He grabbed the tray from my hands and tossed it onto the sofa. Then, he grabbed my waist and pulled me flush against his hard chest.

"You aren't going anywhere," he rasped. His voice was thick and heavy.

"Kael, please... I’m tired," I said, but my body was betraying me. The cold in my veins was turning into a wildfire where his skin touched mine.

"I can still smell him on you," Kael whispered, his face dipping into the crook of my neck. "The Prince. He touched your hair. He looked at your skin. It’s making the beast inside me want to scream."

"He didn't do anything," I breathed.

Kael ignored me. He tilted my head back, his gold eyes boring into mine. "I told you, Maya. You are my quiet place. But right now... I don't want quiet."

He crashed his lips onto mine.

It wasn't a gentle kiss. It was hot, desperate, and full of a deep, aching need. He tasted like the tea and the wild forest. I moaned into his mouth, my fingers tangling in his dark hair. I knew I should pull away. I knew what my mother had said… that he only loved the drug.

But as he pressed me harder against the wall, I felt him. He was fully erected against my thigh, his body hard and demanding.

He pulled back just an inch, his breath ghosting over my lips. His gold eyes were dark with a different kind of fever… one that had nothing to do with a curse.

"Tell me to stop, Maya," he growled, his hand sliding up my thigh under my skirt. "Tell me to stop, or I’m going to make you moan hard right here."

I looked at him, and for the first time, I didn't see an Alpha or a monster. I saw a man who was drowning. And I didn't know if I wanted to save him... or sink with him.