Page 27 of Her Fated Alpha Prince
Lit.
CHAPTER 10
_____
KAEL
The firelight flickered low in the hearth, casting long shadows across the stone walls of his chamber. Kael sat rigid on the edge of a worn leather chair, fingers tapping a restless rhythm on his knee. Outside, the wind whispered against the thick windowpanes, carrying with it the scent of rain and distant woodsmoke.
He had spent the better part of the evening replaying the meeting with Elder Varos in his mind—the cautious words, the barely veiled concern, the warning. Ariana. The name tasted like ash on his tongue. She was changing faster than anyone had predicted, and the consequences weren’t just unknown; they were dangerous.
His jaw clenched. She didn’t belong in this world—not like this. Not with the power stirring beneath her skin like a caged thing. Kael knew what that kind of power could do—how easily it could consume a person. And how many lives it could destroy along the way.
A sharp knock at the door broke his thoughts.
“Enter,” he said, voice low but steady.
The door creaked open, and a figure stepped inside—a man cloaked in midnight blue, face half-hidden beneath a hood. Kael’s eyes narrowed, muscles tightening.
“You’re late,” Kael said without looking up.
The man shrugged off his hood, revealing sharp features and eyes colder than the winter night outside. “I had to be careful. They’re watching more closely than we thought.”
Kael’s gaze snapped to him. “Who?”
“The outsiders. Those who want to control the balance.” The man’s voice dropped to a whisper. “They see what’s happening with her.”
Kael rose, pacing toward the window, hands clenched into fists. “Ariana is not a pawn.”
“Not yet,” the man said, stepping closer. “But if she awakens fully without guidance… chaos will follow. You know the stakes.”
Kael’s breath hitched. He did know. Too well. His past was littered with the ruins of those who underestimated forces far beyond their grasp.
“Why come to me now?” Kael asked, voice rough with tension.
“Because you’re her protector—for better or worse.” The man’s eyes held something unreadable. “And because they want to test your loyalty.”
Kael’s heart hammered. Loyalty was a fragile thing, easily broken. Especially when the lines between friend and enemy blurred like smoke in the dark.
He took a deep breath, forcing calm into his voice. “I will do what I must.”
The man inclined his head. “Good. Because the shadows are lengthening. And soon, you won’t have the luxury of hesitation.”
As the door shut behind the visitor, Kael returned to the hearth, the weight of his role pressing heavier on his shoulders. He looked toward the window once more, where the garden beyond lay shrouded in silver moonlight.
Ariana was out there somewhere—changing, growing, becoming something neither of them fully understood yet.
And Kael knew, with a certainty that made his blood run cold, that nothing would ever be the same again.
Kael’s eyes traced the silhouette of the garden beyond the window, where moonlight painted everything in ghostly hues. The flowers—those strange blooms Ariana had mentioned—were shadows now, but their memory clung to his thoughts like smoke. What was stirring in her? What power was she awakening, and what price would it demand?
His fingers drummed against the windowsill, impatience fraying his nerves. He should be out there, watching over her, guarding her from threats that slipped like serpents through the night. But every time he crossed that threshold, he risked more than his own safety. He risked exposing her secrets to enemies lurking in the dark.
The room seemed suddenly colder, the shadows deeper. Kael swallowed the tightening knot in his throat. He hated feeling powerless. Yet here he was—watching, waiting, caught in a web he barely understood.
A soft creak from the hall jolted him. His body tensed instinctively, muscles coiling like springs. The door eased open, revealing Liora, his closest confidante, and the only person he trusted with the truth of his burden.
Her eyes met his, steady and calm. “She’s restless tonight,” Liora said quietly, stepping inside. “The changes are accelerating.”
