Bella's POV

Bella's POV 

I forced my legs up the stairs of the council house. It was the only place I could think of coming to, in order to unwind. In order to breathe without feeling like my chest was collapsing in on itself.

I collided into someone, almost losing my balance, but a hand brushed over my back instantly, holding me still and preventing me from falling.

“Are you alright?” A voice asked me softly. It was the stranger who had just caught me. His lips were almost against my ears, his breath warm enough to send an unfamiliar shiver through me.

I didn't force myself away from his body, nor did I break our contact.

The voice was hot against my ears.

The question. The curiosity. The care.

How many times, I thought inwardly, since being married to Ronan had he ever asked after me like this?

He never cared. To him, I was simply the Luna, and that meant I was required to assume Luna responsibilities. And even his.

While he lazed in the pack house with excuses of sicknesses that never existed, I went out in his stead. Fighting off his enemies. Facing his foes alike. Standing exposed before their schemes while he hid behind the title of Alpha.

And yet, despite everything I had sacrificed for him, he still betrayed me.

“Ma’am…?” the voice came again, softer this time, almost cautious.

I forced myself to nod before turning away, intending to leave before whatever little control I had left shattered completely.

What could I possibly say?

Perhaps if he had asked me this question earlier, before I discovered my mate’s infidelity, then maybe I might have answered him properly.

But right now, I wasn't in the mood of meeting anyone, let alone speaking to them.

“Is anything the matter? I might be able to help,” his voice came again.

He looked genuinely worried about me, and somehow that only made my chest ache more painfully.

But I wondered how long that concern would last.

That had been how it was with Ronan after all.

At first, he had looked at me like I mattered too.

“It doesn't concern you,” I muttered rudely, turning to leave again.

But he obstructed my path with his body, his gaze lingering on me far longer than it should have.

I forced myself to swallow as I stared back at him.

He looked handsome.

No... very handsome even.

Being mated and in love with Ronan had made me believe he was the most handsome man alive.

That had clearly been a lie.

Because my head was clearer now.

And standing this close to this stranger made me realize how blind love had truly made me.

An idea suddenly formed in my head.

But perhaps exactly what I needed.

“I want you. Would you be able to help with that then?” I muttered lowly, staring at the man carefully to see his reaction.

For a brief second, surprise flickered across his face.

Then he smiled.

A slow smile.

The kind that made my stomach tighten unexpectedly.

He leaned closer towards my ear again, his voice dropping lower.

“Are you sure about that?”

I swallowed hard, my fingers curling slightly by my side.

Thinking about it.

Since Ronan wasn't planning on accepting my rejection, and instead wanted to force me to accept him and his mistress, then perhaps this was for the better.

Perhaps I was tired of being the only loyal one.

Perhaps I wanted someone else to touch me for once and make me feel wanted instead of used.

I leaned forward first and kissed the man.

A total stranger.

Someone I knew nothing about.

He returned the kiss instantly, not even pulling back for a single moment.

His hand tightened around my waist possessively, drawing me flush against him as though he had every right to hold me that way.

His lips moved against mine hungrily, deeply, like there was something hidden on my tongue he was desperately trying to taste.

My breath caught in my throat.

It had been so long since a kiss felt like this.

So long since I had been kissed like I was desired instead of merely claimed.

“You're quite fiercer than I thought,” he muttered in between the kisses, his voice rougher now.

I said nothing.

I simply kept kissing him still.

Pulling him closer to me.

Holding tighter onto his neck.

Deepening the kiss like I was trying to drown every memory of Ronan inside this stranger’s embrace.

I wanted Ronan to feel an ounce of it.

To burn with pain from the mate bond he had refused to sever.

To feel even a fragment of the betrayal and humiliation he had forced me to endure while shamelessly parading another woman before me.

And more than that…

I wanted this man to have me.

To soothe the ache I had carried for so long because of Ronan’s constant rejections. The loneliness. The emptiness. The feeling of never being enough for the man who was supposed to be mine.

His hand trailed slowly along my neck as he nibbled gently on my ears, sending heat rushing down my spine.

“You have quite a remarkable neck,” he whispered softly.

His fingers brushed over the scar on my neck carefully, almost reverently.

I stiffened instinctively.

I already anticipated what would come next.

He would stare at the scar and then send me away with excuses about how hideous it looked. How unpleasant it was to even glance at.

I had heard those words so many times that they were already engraved deeply into me.

“ You must have been a strong woman all your life,” he whispered instead, his fingers tracing the scar again with surprising gentleness.

“It looks like a victor’s sash.”

My eyes flew open instantly.

I couldn't believe it.

Was he appreciating my scar instead of condemning it?

The man I had gotten this injury for had never once looked at it without disgust clouding his face.

But this stranger touched it like it was something precious.

My chest tightened painfully at the realization.

His hand slowly trailed down my legs before he felt my wetness through the fabric, and a faint smile appeared on his lips as he looked up at me.

Then his fingers dipped deeper against my thighs deliberately, making my breath hitch.

I feared someone finding us in that position.

And as though he had somehow read my mind, he suddenly lifted me effortlessly into his arms and carried me away towards a room I couldn't identify.

My heart pounded harder against my chest.

His lips never left my neck.

Especially the scarred part.

He kept sucking softly against it as though fascinated by it, and every touch unraveled another piece of restraint left inside me.

Who he was.

If I was truly ready to do this.

How long this would last.

What would happen after tonight.

Every single thought disappeared the next second, and somehow I found that I no longer cared enough to hold onto them.

“King Thor—” an urgent voice suddenly came from outside the door.

I noticed the stranger’s eyes flash briefly before it disappeared just as quickly.

The voice outside stopped abruptly afterwards, alongside the subtle shake of the doorknob I had noticed earlier.

My brows furrowed slightly.

Who was he?

And why had he been referred to as a king?

Confusion swirled inside me briefly as I stared at him.

But then I noticed the way his gaze darkened while looking at me.

The way his hands remained firm around my waist.

The way he still looked utterly focused on fulfilling the request I had made earlier.

And just like that, every question flew out of my mind once more.

Whoever he was could wait.

Right now, none of that mattered.

I leaned closer towards him again, tilting my neck willingly for him as he slowly began undressing me.

For now, this was what mattered.