All Chapters of Claimed by the Alpha, Desired by His Blood: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The door clicked shut behind me, and I sagged against it like my legs had forgotten how to work. What the hell just happened? My fingers drifted to my lips—still tingling and burning from how close his mouth had been. Another second. Maybe less. That’s all it would have taken for Alpha Zane to kiss me. And I would have let him. Goddess, I would have let him. The realization made my stomach twist in shame. This man had forced me into a bond for a reason I never wanted. Marked me like property. Made it crystal clear that I was nothing more than a vessel for his heir. And yet the moment he’d pinned me against that wall, the moment his breath had ghosted across my lips, I’d melted like I was made of wax. Pathetic, I thought viciously. I am absolutely pathetic. What did that make me? Some desperate fool who’d accept scraps of attention from a man who could barely stand to look at her? Someone so starved for affection that even his cruelty felt like something worth clingin

“The tea you requested for, Ma’am.” Leila had placed the order and head servant Geraldine along with two other servants brought tea—fragrant and steaming in delicate porcelain. I should bask in the warmth of my new reality but sitting down there, watching the tea being laid out by the servants took me down memory lane. How it could have been someone else sitting with this family, and I could be arranging the tea for them. I know the moon goddess had bonded me and Zane in a mocking way. But I could not disregard the part where she had actually seen that I wanted to be Luna. Even as it was for a two year contract. I got to experience it at least. We moved to the sitting area adjacent to the dining hall, settling into the chairs arranged in a loose circle. Leila curled into hers like a cat, graceful and comfortable. Kaius sprawled with the easy confidence of someone who’d never had to worry about taking up space. And Zane… Zane sat rigid in his chair, one ankle c

Zane The bond between us was functional and necessary for my heir. But it would never be what Leila described. It won’t ever be soft or easy or full of the kind of comfortable affection that came from decades of partnership. Tiana would give me an heir, fulfilling her contract. And then she’d leave. That was the arrangement and we both agreed to it. So why did watching her expression shudder as Leila talked about her husband make my chest twist uncomfortably? “Well,” Leila said, standing and stretching. “I should probably sleep now so I can start preparing for my journey home early. The northern territories are beautiful this time of the year, and I’m eager to see them again.” She smiled at Tiana. “You’ll write to me, won’t you? Let me know how the ball goes?” “Of course,” Tiana said with a smile. Leila pulled her into another hug that made Tiana stiffen in surprise before slowly relaxing into it. Kaius stood as well. “I should turn in. Early training tomorrow.” He

The ceiling above my bed had forty-seven cracks in the plaster. I knew because I’d been staring at them for the past fifteen minutes, counting and recounting while my mind replayed the disaster in my chambers on an endless loop. You saw him touch me and now you’re here in my bed, finally willing to— I squeezed my eyes shut, but it didn’t help. The memory burned behind my eyelids anyway. Zane’s hands on my body. His mouth claiming mine with a desperation that had felt real. And then I’d ruined it. The worst part? I’d been right to ask. The timing had been too convenient. My wolf whined softly in the back of my mind, confused and restless. She didn’t understand why our mate had left, why the bond was stretched taut with tension instead of satisfied and complete. Neither did I, really. I rolled onto my side, pulling the covers up to my chin even though the room wasn’t cold. I tried closing my eyes but instead of sleeping, what filled my mind was the image of Zane

Tiana “Back exit,” Kaius mouthed, not looking at me. I grabbed the shawl I’d discarded earlier—when? How long ago? Everything felt both rushed and suspended in time. My hands shook as I wrapped the fabric around myself, trying to cover the evidence of what I had been feeling. My thighs were still trembling. My underwear embarrassingly, uncomfortably soaked. Behind me, I heard Zane’s voice through the door. “Kaius are you in? Open up.” I forced my feet to work, slipping through the door Kaius indicated with a sharp jerk of his head. The back corridor swallowed me immediately, my breathing sounding too loud in my ears. The main door unlocked. I heard the creak of hinges, Zane’s voice clearer now. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” I didn’t wait to hear more. My feet hit the ground in a rhythm I knew by heart. Seven staircases down, a left turn at the storage room then past the old laundry chute. Cold air hit my overheated skin, raising goosebumps that had not