Chapter Three

[Ezra's POV]

I couldn't resist the urge to tease her. 

I'd heard her enter my chambers, heard her footsteps pause, heard the soft clink of the tray being set down. And when I heard her moving toward the door—leaving—and I knew I had to so I walked out of the bathroom completely naked.

The look on her face was worth it.

Her eyes went wide, her lips parting in shock. Then her gaze dragged down—slowly, involuntarily—tracking the water droplets sliding down my chest, my stomach, lower still until she reached the already growing evidence of exactly what her presence did to me.

Her scent shifted immediately. Sharp and sweet and absolutely unmistakable.

Arousal.

My mate wanted me.

She caught herself a second later, her face flushing crimson as she spun around so fast she nearly tripped.

"I'm so sorry!" she signed her eyes wide, "I knocked, there was no answer, the door was unlocked—"

I bit back a smile and reached for my clothes, moving slowly. Making sure she heard every rustle of fabric so she'd know I was covering up.

I cleared my throat when I was decent and she turned around, keeping her eyes firmly fixed on the floor, and immediately started tidying the already-tidy room. Fluffing pillows that didn't need fluffing. Straightening books that were already straight.

Anything to avoid looking at me.

People always assumed mute meant deaf. Apparently, my very beautiful mate thought so too.

Because as she worked, she muttered. Constantly.

"This room is way too small," she mumbled, shoving my desk chair back into place with more force than necessary. "How can they treat a future Alpha like this? Just because he's mute doesn't mean he should live in a closet."

Something in my chest pulled tight.

No one had shown concern for my wellbeing in years. Not real concern, anyway. I'd gotten used to being dismissed. Overlooked. Treated like a piece of broken furniture no one quite knew what to do with.

But she cared.

"Maybe I could talk to the chef," she continued, moving to my bookshelf and adjusting volumes that were perfectly fine where they were. "But she's probably just following orders. The Alpha? No, that's asking to get fired. Princess Lyra would have me thrown out before I finished a sentence—gods, that woman is terrifying. Maybe I could—"

She paused, chewing her bottom lip in concentration, and I had to look away before I did something stupid like cross the room and kiss her.

"I'll figure something out," she decided firmly. "He deserves better than this. Everyone does, actually. Basic respect isn't conditional on whether someone can speak."

My chest felt too tight suddenly. Like my ribs couldn't quite contain whatever was building inside them.

She finished tidying—making my already-clean room somehow cleaner—and finally turned to face me.

Her cheeks were still beautifully flushed. Her eyes darted everywhere except my face.

She bowed. Quick and proper and entirely unnecessary.

"I'll bring dinner at six, Your Highness."

I watched her go, my body still hard, my wolf clawing at my control.

Gods, she was gorgeous.

The most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. That face that looked like the gods had spent days or weeeks carving it… Those curves—dangerous, distracting curves that made my hands itch to touch. The way her hips swayed when she walked, the thickness of her thighs, the soft—

Fuck.

I adjusted myself as images filled my mind immediately.

Of those legs wrapped around my waist, while i fuck ger against this very wall…and her bent over my desk hand braced against the wood and that thick ass jiggling while I….

Stop.

I adjusted myself again with a frustrated growl, trying to think about literally anything else.

It didn't work.

I wanted her. Badly. I'd never wanted anyone this desperately before, this consuming need that made everything else feel secondary.

The door opened without warning, and I didn't bother turning around.

"You know," Kai said, amusement thick in his voice, "I just saw your mate practically sprinting down the hallway. Face redder than a tomato. What did you do?"

I turned to look at him, letting a slow grin spread across my face.

He shook his head, dropping into my desk chair with zero ceremony. "You're absolutely shameless. Please tell me you didn't—"

"I walked out of the bathroom naked."

"Of course you did." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Are you trying to give the poor girl a heart attack on her first day?"

"She enjoyed the view."

"I'm sure she did. Half the palace would enjoy the view—that's not the point." He leaned back, his expression shifting from amused to serious. "What's your plan here? With the mate bond?"

I moved to the window, looking out over the training grounds below. "There is no plan. She's mine, my mate. There is nothing to do about it because I’m not letting her go.”

"Even though she could be a distraction? We're so close, Ez. One wrong move and everything we've built falls apart."

"She won't be a distraction."

"You sure about that? Because from where I'm standing, you can barely think straight when she's in the room."

He wasn't wrong.

"I'm not rushing this," I said, turning to face him. "She needs time to adjust, and I will give it to her…to some extent…sje news tike to accept this, to want this and trust me.”

Kai's eyebrow rose. "You think she'll fall in love with you when she probably thinks you're a weak, timid mute who can't defend himself?"

"I don't know." I thought about the way she'd muttered about my room, about the genuine concern in her voice. "But she seemed pretty worried about me earlier. That's something."

"It's something," he agreed. "Or she's just a decent person who doesn't like seeing people treated poorly."

Fair point.

"What's the update?" I asked, changing the subject before he could lecture me about the dangers of mixing business with pleasure.

Kai's expression sobered immediately. "The villagers at the mountain are running out of food. We need to hit the warehouse tonight, or kids start starving by the end of the week."

I nodded, my jaw tightening. "The Alpha's getting paranoid about the Rogue King. He's doubled security around the warehouse, so we need to be very smart about this.”

I clenched my fists, thinking about my father's face when he'd announced the new security measures this morning. Acting concerned about his people while simultaneously starving them. "That bastard won't see what's coming until it's too late."

"What if he figures it out?" Kai asked quietly. "What if he discovers you're the Rogue King?"

I laughed. "Not possible. The old man doesn't give me enough credit for tying my own shoes. To him, I'm just a useless mute idiot who needs handlers and guards because I'm too incompetent to survive on my own."

And that was just how I wanted it. 

It was the perfect cover that I’sd spent ten years building.

Ever since I'd watched him murder my mother in her sleep—smothering her with a pillow while she was too weak from poison to fight back—I'd known I needed to become invisible. Harmless. Beneath notice.

So I stopped talking. Stopped fighting. Became the broken, traumatized son everyone expected me to be.

And while they dismissed me, I built an army.

“We need to….”

A gasp cut through the room like a knife, interrupting me and I spun around.

Sera stood frozen in the doorway, one hand clamped over her mouth, her eyes wide with horror.

Her chest heaved with rapid, panicked breaths. She looked between me and Kai like she'd just witnessed a murder.

How much had she heard?

"I—" she stammered, backing toward the door. "I forgot—my—I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to—"

She turned to bolt.

I moved faster.

My hand shot out and closed around her wrist, yanking her back into the room with enough force to make her stumble. I kicked the door shut behind her, the lock clicking into place with a sound that echoed like a gunshot.

Then I crowded her against the wall, planting my hands on either side of her head, caging her in.

She stared up at me, breathing hard, her pupils blown wide.

I smiled at her, and pressed my hips forward…just enough to feel every inch of what her presence did to me.

And I groaned in satisfaction when her breath caught in response.

“Well, well,” I leaned in closer, until my lips nearely brushed against her ear lobes, “My beautiful mate just discovered two of my secrets…”

I pulled back just enough to meet her eyes, watching fear and confusion and something heated war across her features.

Gods, she was so magnificent and I am obsessed.

This is going to be so fun.

"So what should I do with you now?" I tilted my head, mock-thoughtful. "Can't exactly let you run off and tell everyone, can I? My father would be so disappointed. I am thinking killing you is the best option.”