CHAPTER 4.

Kael Blackthorne.

I was the last to leave the meeting hall.

I stepped out after the last elder and looked into the sky. I was surprised to see that it was already close to dawn.

Amara won’t be very happy about this.

I had told Amara that I would be staying late for work but I never expected it to take this long. It was the first time we had been apart through the night for months.

I smiled lightly to myself. I would have to make it up to her.

I let out a sigh as I headed straight for my room. No one followed me per my instructions. I didn’t need anyone guarding me at every corner.

The cool night air helped me clear my head.

“Sir.” Cole greeted me with a bow as I reached my door.

I nodded to him and his partner.

“Did Amara come by?”

“No, Sir.” Cole replied.

Hmm, she must have overslept.

It didn’t matter because I would see her soon enough. Our mate-bond ceremony was just in a few hours. She would finally be my Luna.

Cole opened my room door.

It felt odd to walk into my room knowing that Amara wasn’t waiting for me inside. The room would be too lifeless without her.

I walked into my room and Cole closed the door behind me.

What?

I noticed it immediately. My room smelt odd.

My eyes quickly found the shadowy figure on my bed.

Amara?

“Not Isa” Ares reared his head. He confirmed what I already knew.

“Identify yourself.” I commanded.

There was no reply.

I moved to the left. The light switch was there.

Even as I kept my eyes on the figure it didn’t move an inch. But I felt its eyes following me. Those were the eyes of a predator.

Ares scoffed as he bared his fangs. “We are predators.”

I kept my eyes on the figure as I moved to turn on the lights.

The lights revealed a woman.

Her confident smile was the first thing to catch my eye.

She shifted under the light, as if to reveal more of herself. Her beautiful figure was revealed under the black lingerie she wore.

She moved again and I saw even more of her, her full breasts and slim waist.

Her dark eyes never left mine. She smiled alluringly, when my eyes traced her body.

Ares growled in my mind.

“Who are you?” I asked in a domineering voice.

I had never seen her before. Was she an assassin?

My door was completely soundproof. But I wouldn’t need anyone’s help to handle this.

I swung my left arm out as my right pulled open my tie. I would handle it quickly.

“Alpha Kael.” The stranger said in a sing-song voice.

Her words gave me a slight pause. She stepped out of my bed in a single smooth motion.

Her hips swayed as she walked towards me in bold black lingerie. Now her full body was in show and my eyes were drawn to her fair skin.

She smiled again.

As soon as she got within arm’s reach, I shot out my right arm and grabbed her neck.

I tightened my grip and lifted her an inch off the floor. Her hands shot out reflexively and grabbed my hands. Her fingers were accentuated by long black nails.

“I won’t ask a third time.” I growled.

She gasped as her feet wiggled in the air.

I loosened my grip and lowered her to the ground.

She kept her hands on mine and I noticed the scratch marks from her struggles. They were already healing.

“I am Lyra Ashveil.”

Never heard of it.

I was about to tighten my grip again and knock her against the wall. Then the guards could easily clean up after me.

“I’m your mate.” Lyra added.

“What?” My grip reflexively tightened again and I pushed her against the wall.

“Stop, you’re hurting me!” Lyra said in a desperate voice.

I felt my anger drain. My grip relaxed. Lyra caressed my forearm with her palm.

“Explain yourself.” I released her neck and dropped my arm. “You have thirty seconds.”

Why did I do that?

Lyra smiled. Her hand moved to her neck and caressed the imprint of my fingers.

“Amara Silverstone is not your true mate. You have been tricked.”

“What are you saying? That’s impossible.”

Lyra smiled again.

How can she be so unfazed?

“How did you meet this girl exactly?”

I didn’t even need to rack my memory.

“I was going on an evening stroll when I saw her.” I replied. “Now make your point quickly because I won’t entertain…”

Lyra took a step towards me and closed all the space between us.

“Was there anything unusual about her?”

My breath hitched but I refused to back down.

“Her scent is the scent of strawberries.” I recalled the unique thing about Amara that I had noticed first.

Lyra’s hands landed on my chest. “And how do I smell?” She asked.

I grabbed her hand and took a step forward, pressing her against the wall. She gasped as she looked up to me.

“Flowers. Moon flower.”

“You’ve been bewitched.”

I tilted my head.

“It’s a spell that works based on a scent.” Lyra said.

“Explain.” I tightened my grip on her hand. “Unless it breaks.”

Lyra’s eyes darted to her hand and back to my face. Her black shaded lips were barely parted, revealing perfect teeth and a lush tongue.

“It’s a spell. It is cued by a particular scent. Why else would she smell like that even though she never has strawberries around?”

How did she know? Amara really always scented like strawberries even though she barely ate them.

“And what about your scent?”

Lyra moved her free hand to her back. I tightened my grip on her hands as my eyes followed her motion.

But instead of a knife, she pulled out a white flower.

Moon flower?

“Why is that on you?”

Lyra smiled. “I want you to smell it.” She didn’t seem to notice my grip on her hand as she raised the flower to my face.

It smelled exactly like her.

Suddenly, the moonflower bloomed as if under the light of the full moon.

A white light shone from its core and blinded my eyes.

As the light faded, only Lyra’s smile remained.

“Kiss me.” Lyra commanded.

I moved in and parted her lips with mine.