Chapter 4: The Morning After

I woke up shivering, despite the heavy animal furs piled on top of me.

I stretched my hand across the massive mattress, my fingers brushing against the cold, damp silk sheets. The space beside me was empty. The fire in the hearth had burned down to nothing but grey ashes, plunging the grand bedroom into a chilling stillness.

I sat up slowly, a sharp wince escaping my lips. My entire body felt like it had been crushed. A deep, heavy soreness throbbed between my thighs, a glaring physical reminder of the brutal, passionate claiming from the night before. I pulled the furs up to my chin, my breathing shaky as the memories flooded my mind.

The terrifying realization of the mate bond. Kael’s pitch-black eyes. The furious, punishing way he had taken me, driven insane by a destiny he absolutely despised.

I raised a trembling hand to my neck. My skin was highly sensitive and bruised from his rough grip, but it was entirely smooth. There was no broken skin. No permanent bite mark.

My inner wolf let out a pathetic, wounded whimper. We had given ourselves to our fated mate, we held his royal seed inside us, but he had refused to mark us. To the rest of the world, I was just a dirty secret.

The heavy oak door suddenly clicked unlocked.

I jumped, pulling the furs tighter around myself as a stern, older woman marched into the room. She wore a pristine white clinical coat and carried a dark leather medical bag.

The moment she stepped inside, she stopped dead in her tracks. Her nose flared as the heavy, suffocating scent of Kael’s dark pine mixed with my sweet vanilla hit her.

"I am Doctor Hallow," she stated, recovering her clinical composure quickly. She walked briskly to the window and threw it open, letting the freezing winter air rush in to clear the room. "The King sent me. He ordered an immediate evaluation of your vitals."

"Where is he?" I asked, my voice hoarse. I looked past her shoulder into the empty stone hallway, hoping for a glimpse of my mate. The bond was aching like an open wound, making my body crave his proximity.

"The King is training in the lower courtyard," she replied flatly. "He has been out there since before dawn."

He was burning off the feral energy. He was running from me.

Doctor Hallow walked to the edge of the bed and pulled a series of glass vials from her bag. She also pulled out a small, dark glass bottle filled with a thick liquid.

"The King requires verification of your genetics to monitor for conception," she noted, tying a leather band around my arm and drawing a vial of my blood. Her touch was completely devoid of warmth. When she finished, she handed me the dark bottle. "Drink this. All of it."

I looked at the murky liquid. "What is it?"

"A military-grade scent suppressant," she stated. "The King’s orders. He said your natural carrier scent is far too potent and will cause a distraction to the castle guards. You are to drink it every morning to completely mask your pheromones."

My heart shattered into a thousand tiny pieces.

He didn't want to protect the guards from me. He wanted to hide the intoxicating scent of his fated mate. He was erasing the evidence of the bond.

I took the bottle with trembling hands and swallowed the bitter liquid. It tasted like ash.

"You will remain in these quarters. You are not to leave," Doctor Hallow ordered, packing her bag. "

She left the room, locking the heavy door behind her.

I climbed out of bed, my legs shaking beneath me. I bathed quickly in the attached washroom, watching the hot water swirl down the drain, desperately trying to scrub the lingering scent of Kael off my skin. It was impossible. He felt like he was embedded in my very bones.

I dressed in the fine clothes provided—a soft, dark velvet tunic and fitted black trousers.

Needing fresh air, I walked over to the large, arched window that Doctor Hallow had opened. It overlooked the massive lower courtyard of the castle.

My breath caught in my throat.

Down below, King Kael was sparring with three massive Lycan generals at once. He was shirtless, his heavily scarred chest gleaming with sweat in the freezing winter air. He moved with terrifying, lethal speed, completely dominating the warriors. But his fighting was completely erratic. He wasn't practicing; he was punishing himself. His inner beast was enraged, lashing out at everything around him because it was being denied its mate.

Just as Kael threw the last general to the dirt, the sound of heavy iron gates opening echoed across the courtyard.

A massive, incredibly ornate carriage pulled into the castle grounds, bearing the dark red banners of the Northern Line. The royal guards immediately snapped to attention, bowing their heads in deep respect.

The carriage door opened, and a stunning she-wolf stepped out.

She was breathtakingly beautiful, wearing a crimson winter cloak over a tailored dress. Her long blonde hair cascaded down her back like spun gold. She moved with the arrogant grace of high nobility.

Down in the courtyard, Kael stopped moving. He tossed his training sword to a guard, grabbed a towel, and walked over to greet the woman.

When he reached her, the beautiful blonde smiled warmly and placed a delicate hand directly on Kael’s bare chest.

A violent, agonizing spike of jealousy ripped through my heart. The mate bond screamed in my blood, demanding I jump out the window and tear the woman away from my Alpha. I gripped the stone windowsill so hard my knuckles turned white, forcing myself to look away.

That had to be her. The woman Kael was expected to marry. The future Queen.

I stumbled backward, falling onto the edge of the mattress. The reality of my situation crashed down on me. I was locked in a bedroom, forced to suppress my scent, serving as nothing more than a secret incubator, while the man who owned my soul was outside welcoming his bride.

The day dragged on in agonizing silence. I didn't eat the food the servants slipped through a slot in the door. I just sat by the dying fire, staring into the embers.

Hours after the sun had gone down, the heavy lock clicked.

The door opened, and Kael stepped into the dark room.

He was dressed in fresh, dark clothes. The moment the door shut, the air in the room grew suffocatingly heavy. My inner wolf whimpered, overjoyed that our mate had returned, but terrified of his cold demeanor.

He didn't move toward the bed. He just stood by the door, his jaw clenched tight. He took a breath, his nose flaring.

"You drank the suppressant," Kael said, his voice a low, rough rumble. He sounded almost disappointed, even though he was the one who ordered it.

"Yes, Your Majesty," I whispered, keeping my eyes on the floor. "I am following your orders."

In a blur of terrifying Lycan speed, Kael crossed the room.

He grabbed my shoulders and pushed me back against the mattress. His golden eyes were burning with a dark, conflicted fury. He pressed his face into my neck, right over the spot he had refused to bite. He inhaled deeply, but the bitter potion was doing its job. I smelled like nothing.

Kael let out a frustrated, feral growl. His large hands gripped my waist, pulling my hips flush against his. He was completely, fully aroused.

"I spent the entire day trying to wash your taste out of my mouth," Kael hissed, his voice raw and shaking with anger as he hovered over me. "I stood next to Lady Selene, the most beautiful she-wolf in the kingdom, the woman who will secure my throne... and all my beast could think about was the pathetic male runt locked in my bedroom."

He grabbed my chin, forcing me to look into his glowing eyes.

"I hate what you do to me, Elian," he whispered brutally.

"Then let me go," I choked out, a tear spilling down my cheek. "If I am a curse, let me leave."

"I can't," Kael snarled, his black beast rushing to the surface of his eyes once again. He tore my tunic open, his hot mouth crashing violently down onto mine. "Because until you give me my heir, your body is completely mine."