Page 21 of Fated
“Ours,”Elara insisted, though her once-confident presence now prodded anxiously beneath Lena’s skin, claws catching on uncertainty with each circuit.
That earlier confidence wavered with each step, replaced by a sense of foreboding that made both Lena and her wolf uneasy.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
KAI
The private room was a stark contrast to the lively banquet hall. Lamplight cast long shadows across the polished table. The thick walls muted the distant festivities into something ghostly. The air felt dense with unspoken words as Darius closed the door with a decisive click, his earlier joviality hardening into calculated focus.
“Well.” Darius turned to Cian with a politician’s smile. “This means big things for our packs!”
Kai stood stiffly at his father’s side, limbs locked into place as he fought against the pull of his mate’s presence. Even without looking at her, he felt Lena there—her scent, her energy. The air between them pulsed with possibility.
“Acknowledge her,”Orion growled low in his mind. “She is ours. She ishome!”
Kai gritted his teeth, shoving Orion down. The effort made his jaw ache. Now wasn’t the time for weakness. Not with Ava’s scent still clinging to his skin. Not with years of plans hanging by such a delicate thread.
Cian returned Darius’s gaze with measured caution. “It does, but before we discuss alliances or politics, I should consult with my father, Alpha Raelen. And before that…” He turned, attention fixed on Kai with the precision of an alpha protecting his own. “I need to know where you stand in all of this.”
The challenge in Cian’s words unnerved Kai as all eyes landed on him. His throat tightened as the mate bond thrummed in the silence, demanding acknowledgment. Finally, he spoke.
“I didn’t ask for this.” His voice was steady despite the way Orion clawed at his control. “I... I don’t know her. I won’t make promises.”
“Coward... Weak... She’sours.”
Orion’s accusation seared through his consciousness like a branding iron.The truth of the wolf’s condemnation burned in Kai’s blood, but he forced the thoughts away. Instead, he focused on a spot just past his father’s shoulder, on anything but the pull ofherpresence.
Lena stepped forward, voice cutting through the tense air like a blade. “I didn’t ask for this either.” Her golden-brown eyes locked onto his with a mix of defiance and vulnerability that made Orion whine. “But we both have a duty—to our packs, to Selene. My wolf yearns for you. Can’t you feel it?”
Her quiet plea struck Kai like a physical blow. The bond flared between them—raw and primal—tugging at the edges of his soul with a rightness that terrified him. The scent of cranberries and rosemary wrapped around him again, threatening to drown outevery carefully constructed reason for resistance. He swallowed hard, forcing the wall between them back up.
Darius chuckled uncomfortably. “She’s not wrong, Kai. The bond is agift. One that will unlock your power and strengthen both packs beyond measure.”
Cian’s tone hardened, protective anger edging his words. “And what if your son doesn’t honor the bond? What then?”
Darius’s expression darkened, hand clamping down on Kai’s shoulder like a vise. “Kai understands his responsibilities.”
“Do I?” Kai snapped, voice rising as something in him finally broke. He turned to face his father, anger flashing in his eyes—anger at fate, at duty, at the way his body betrayed him with every breath of her scent. “You speak of duty and alliances as if that’s all that matters. What aboutchoice?What about…” He hesitated, tension cording his neck as he forced the words out, even as Orion howled in protest. “What about Ava?”
The room fell into a stunned silence.
Lena’s breath hitched, chest rising once before freezing mid-inhale. A low growl, primal and wounded, rumbled through the air—not from her throat but from somewhere deeper. The mate bond twisted painfully, like a wire pulled too tight.
Kai forced himself to look at her, guilt twisting in his chest as he saw the confusion and betrayal etched across her face. Even Orion yowled at the pain they’d caused.
Cian stepped closer to Lena, shoulder angling just slightly in front of hers. The temperature in the room dropped as the alpha-heir’s power expanded, creating an invisible barrier between his sister and the Bloodstones. “Lena will not be rushed or forced into anything. And she certainly will not fall second to whoever this Ava is.” The timbre of his voice deepened, resonating with the same unmistakable cadence Darius used when delivering commands to the pack. “If this bond is meant to be, it will be. Butmy sister will not be treated as a pawn in some political game, nor will she endure the pain of a wandering mate.”
Darius ground his teeth. His alpha aura rose to meet Cian’s challenge, filling the room until the air crackled with tension. “This is no game, Cian. This is about the future of our packs. And like it or not, your sister and my son are part of that future.”
“Enough.” Lena’s voice rang out, silencing both alpha males. Her shoulders were squared, chin lifted, but her eyes glistened with a sadness that made Orion howl in despair. “I understand the stakes, but it’s obvious Kai and I need time. Time to understand our bond and what it means—not just for our packs, forus.”
Kai’s groin tightened at her strength and resolve.
Orion roared with approval.“She is perfect. Proud. Strong. Our luna.”
The truth of it ached in his chest, making his resistance feel more like self-sabotage with each passing moment.
Kai pushed Orion further into the recesses of his mind, though the effort left him shaking. He focused instead on Lena’s words, on how they embodied everything he should want, everything he knew he should accept. But thoughts of Ava lingered like a shadow he couldn’t escape—a chain of his own making that now felt impossibly heavy.
