Chapter 22
Chapter
Twenty-Two
KAEL
T he door closes behind Torin, his infuriating grin still lingering in my mind like a taunt. I stare at it for a moment, my fists clenched at my sides, willing myself to calm the hell down. My breathing is sharp, controlled, but only barely. I shouldn’t care. I don’t care.
But I do.
Through the binding, I felt it. Her pleasure. It hit me like a jolt of lightning, unexpected and raw, crackling through my veins until I couldn’t ignore it. I knew Torin had gone to her room—of course I did. I could sense his presence, the pull of his proximity to her. But I didn’t know it would lead to... that.
Jealousy isn’t something I’m familiar with. I’ve never needed to be. Everything I have, I share with my brothers. It’s how we’ve always been—food, power, territory, women. There are no boundaries between us, no lines we won’t cross. And yet here I am, gripped by something I can’t name, something dark and ugly that churns in my chest as I look back at her.
Sable.
She’s sprawled across the bed, naked, her skin flushed and glowing from the aftermath of whatever Torin pulled her into. The sight of her sends a fresh surge of heat through me, settling low in my gut. I grit my teeth, my body betraying me, and with a thought, I materialize clothing onto her—soft fabric draping over her curves, hiding the temptation she doesn’t even realize she’s wielding.
The moment I do, I feel her frustration spike through the binding, sharp and accusing. Of course she’s annoyed. Of course she resents me for taking control. I’m trying to take care of her, trying to salvage some scrap of sanity, and all it does is piss her off. It shouldn’t matter. I shouldn’t care.
But I do. And that only makes it worse.
Her gaze snaps to mine, fire sparking in her eyes, and I know she felt the shift in me. “What the hell is your problem?” she snaps, pushing herself up onto her elbows.
“My problem?” I repeat, my voice low and cold. I take a step toward her, trying to keep my composure, but it’s a losing battle. “You’re my problem.”
She huffs, rolling her eyes in a way that makes my blood simmer hotter. “If I’m such a problem, then why not just let me go?”
The question cuts through the air like a blade, and for a moment, all I can do is stare at her. “That’s not happening,” I say firmly, my voice like stone.
She tilts her head, challenging me with those fiery eyes. “Why not? What’s the point of keeping me here? You’ve already bound me. Isn’t that enough? Or do you just like having me locked up like some kind of prize?”
The accusation sparks something raw inside me, and I take another step forward, towering over her now. “You think this is about control?” I growl. “You think we’re keeping you here for fun?”
“Then what is it?” she snaps back, rising to her feet to face me. “What am I to you? A weapon? A pawn in whatever game you and your brothers are playing? Or am I just your latest pet project?”
My hands curl into fists at my sides, and I have to fight the urge to grab her, to make her stop talking before she says something I can’t forgive. “You’re more than that,” I say, my voice tight. “Whether you believe it or not, you’re important. You’re?—”
“Important,” she interrupts, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “Right. That’s why I’ve been dragged into your Trials and bound to a warlock who barely knows me. Sounds like I’m real important.”
“You don’t understand what’s at stake,” I growl, the words slipping out harsher than I intend. “This isn’t just about you, Sable. It’s about all of us. Rothgar isn’t some ordinary enemy. If we don’t win, everything we’ve built—everything we’ve fought for—will burn.”
“And that’s supposed to be my problem why?” she fires back, stepping closer, her chin tilted defiantly. “I didn’t ask to be part of this, Kael. I didn’t ask to be bound to you or your brothers. I didn’t ask for any of it.”
“And yet here you are,” I snap, the tension between us crackling like lightning. “Whether you like it or not, you’re part of this now. And if you think I’m going to let you go after everything we’ve done to keep you safe, you’re delusional.”
Her laugh is sharp and bitter. “Safe? You call this safe? Being locked up, bound to a warlock who can’t even look at me without glaring? Forced into some death match against a monster I’ve never met? Yeah, Kael, I feel so safe.”
My jaw tightens, my patience fraying at the edges. “You don’t know what Rothgar is capable of. You don’t know the danger you’d be in if we let you go.”
“Then tell me!” she yells, her voice cracking slightly. “Stop keeping me in the dark, stop treating me like I’m some stupid human who can’t handle the truth. Why am I here, Kael? Why won’t you let me go?”
“Because you’re mine,” I growl, the words slipping out before I can stop them. “You’re bound to me now. And whether you like it or not, that makes you part of this.”
Her breath catches, and I see the flicker of something in her eyes—anger, confusion, maybe even fear. But she doesn’t back down. “I didn’t choose this,” she says quietly, but there’s a steel edge to her voice. “You did.”
The truth of her words cuts deeper than I want to admit, and for a moment, all I can do is stare at her, the fire in her eyes meeting the storm in mine. Then she lifts her wrist again, the binding mark shimmering faintly. “You can feel everything I do, right? Through this... whatever it is?”
Her tone is sharp, biting, but there’s something else beneath it—something raw and vulnerable that twists inside me. She doesn’t wait for me to answer. “So, you already know I don’t regret what we did.”
My jaw tightens, my control fraying. “Stay away from Torin,” I say sharply, my voice like a whip cracking through the room.
Her eyebrows lift, and then she smirks, her lips curving into something infuriatingly smug. “Why? Are you jealous, Alpha ?”
I glare at her, stepping closer. “Don’t push me, little huntress.”
She shrugs, her tone light and mocking. “I can’t feel much through this binding, but I can feel that . You’re jealous.”
The word slams into me like a punch to the gut, and I feel my restraint unraveling. I close the distance between us in three strides, my hands braced on the bed as I cage her beneath me. My breathing is heavy, ragged, as I stare down at her, and she doesn’t know it, but she’s arching into me, her body betraying her just as much as mine is betraying me.
“You have no idea what you’re playing with,” I growl, my voice low and dangerous.
Her chest rises and falls quickly, her breath hitching, and I feel it—the pull of her desire through the binding, just as potent as my own. It fans the fire inside me until I can’t think straight, can’t focus on anything but her.
The clothing I created for her dissolves in an instant, melting away like it was never there. She gasps, her eyes wide, and I let my hands trail down her sides, slow and deliberate, caressing the bare skin I’ve been trying so hard to ignore.
“Where did he touch you?” I murmur, my voice dark and possessive. My fingers trace patterns over her hips, her thighs, her stomach. “Tell me, little huntress. Because I’m going to make damn sure I’m the last one to touch you there.”
Her breath shudders, but she glares up at me, defiant even now. “Torin touched all of me,” she says, her voice a challenge. “And I touched all of him.”
My vision tunnels, my focus narrowing to nothing but her and the words she’s just spoken. My grip tightens on her hips, my body pressing hers into the mattress as I lower my face to hers. “Is that right?” I growl, my tone rough and edged with something feral.
Her breathing quickens, her pulse fluttering against my skin. I lean in closer, my lips brushing her ear as I speak, each word deliberate and heavy .
“Then let me make one thing clear,” I say, my voice a dark promise. “Whatever he did to you, whatever you let him have, it’s nothing compared to what’s mine. And you, little huntress, are mine. ”