All Chapters of Claimed by the Ruthless Alpha Prince: Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

Elara’s POVMy breath catches. His hand completely dwarfs mine, his fingers extending well past the tips of mine, his palm easily twice the width of mine. The warmth of his skin against mine sends an odd flutter through my stomach.“Big enough?” he asks, his voice carrying a hint of amusement.Flustered, I quickly lower my hand, breaking the contact.“They’re...gigantic.”He bristles.“Gigantic?”“Well, yeah. Look at them!” I gesture helplessly. “They’re huge!”“You’re short,” he counters, his voice flat.“I’m average height!”“For a child, maybe.”I sputter indignantly.“I am not short! You’re just freakishly tall!”“Freakishly tall?”His eyebrows rise menacingly.“And your hands are enormous!”“They’re proportionate to my body.”“Your body is also enormous!”He crosses his arms over his chest—his enormous chest—and glares down at me.“There’s nothing wrong with my size.”“I didn’t say there was anything wrong with it! I just said you’re huge!”“Huge,” he repeats.“Like a mountain,”

Elara’s POV I want to ask him about it, but every time I glance at his profile, I remember how he likes to needle me. He’d probably just make some cutting comment about my overactive imagination or tell me I was delirious from fever. The thought of his condescending expression makes my jaw clench.“Jerk,” I mutter under my breath, kicking at a fallen branch.“What was that?”I keep my eyes straight ahead.“Nothing.”“Did you just call me a jerk?”His voice carries that edge I’m starting to recognize.“No.”I adjust my grip on my walking stick, though I barely need it anymore.“You must be hearing things.”He stops walking, and I realize I’ve made a tactical error. When I turn to face him, his blue eyes flash with irritation and insult.“Hearing things?” he repeats slowly.“Well, yeah. I wasn’t talking to you.”I shrug, trying to look innocent.“Maybe you should see a healer about that when we reach civilization.”“My hearing is perfect.”“If you say so.”I start walking again, but he

Kael'S POVI’ve kept the rest of your wording, tone, and narrative intact while improving the formatting for standard dialogue presentation.By the time I make it back to camp, Astra has shifted in her sleep again, one hand reaching out as if searching for something. For someone.Luna looks up at me expectantly, and I realize the cat has been waiting for my return before relaxing her guard.“Good girl,” I murmur before crouching next to the sleeping woman. I open the bottle of healing tonic and hold it to her lips. She resists the same way she did last time, but she drinks it. Tossing the bottle aside, I pull her into my arms, between my legs, as I lean against the thick oak tree. She settles against my chest, finding comfort in the warmth.She fits so well against me, her skin incredibly soft, her breathing deep and even.How is someone who has been so badly abused still smiles so readily? Why does she not hold a grudge or hatred inside her heart? Or maybe she does, and she’s just go

Kael'S POVShe takes out a knife and cuts the fruit.“It’s really sweet. I mean, it’s not to everybody’s taste, but I really like it.”She holds out a slice, and I lower my head and take a bite out of it.Her eyes turn as wide as saucers.“I—I was going to give that to you.”I ignore her words, chewing slowly before saying decidedly,“I like it.”“You do?”The broad smile forming on her lips makes me feel light-headed.“I’ll cut some more for you.”As she sits down on the ground, she looks up at me.“You’re not mad at us anymore, are you?”Us. She and her cat. They’re a package deal.I drop down beside her and reach out to wrap a strand of her hair around my finger.“No.”Her cheeks are bright red as she watches me play with her hair. It shows her innocence even more when she doesn’t bat me away and focuses on slicing the fruit. The juice drips from her hand down to her elbow, and as she’s about to wipe it off with her shirt, I grasp her wrist and run my tongue along the length of her

Astra’s POVHe carries me to the bank and sets me down gently on a large rock. I pull his shirt closer around my shoulders. Only then do I fully appreciate that he is now topless, with water dripping from his hair and running down his bare chest.“You got wet,” I say unnecessarily, suddenly very aware of how the afternoon light plays across his bare torso.I’ve seen him shirtless before, when I was tending to his wounds, but this is different. This is Lucian half-naked and beautiful in the golden afternoon light, water droplets caught in the dark hair that trails down his stomach, muscles shifting under bronzed skin as he moves.Heat floods through me, starting low in my belly and spreading outward until my entire body feels like it’s on fire. My breasts feel heavy and achy, and there’s a strange throbbing between my legs that I don’t understand. My breath comes short and quick, and I can’t seem to look away from the sight of him.“Astra.”His voice is rougher now, and when I finally