Chapter Five

Kaiden

“How dare you run away from the pack that has been merciful to you despite what you’ve done?” I growled, my head roaring with anger, as I glared at the pair in front of me. How dare she run away? How dare he, a guard, help her escape? This infuriated me to no end as I watched them nervously shift under my gaze as they realized that they had been caught.

“Kai- your highness…” Celine whispered, her gaze falling to the floor. “It’s not what you think-“

The guard pulled her behind him in a protective stance, and my gaze followed their enclosed hands. This caused my wolf to jump around in anger, begging for control so he could tear the little guard apart.

“If you want to punish anyone, punish me. I am not sorry for doing this. She deserves so much better treatment than the treatment everyone in this kingdom has been giving her, especially your niece.” The guard all but spat in my face.

A monstrous growl that would wake the whole kingdom tore through my lips. “How dare you talk to me in that manner, mutt?” I stormed towards him with my claws extended, body shaking with fury. “I should rip you apart for attempting to break out a prisoner from my kingdom!”

“No!” Celine cried as she flung her little body in front of the guard. “Please don’t hurt him! Deal with me, I forced him to do this. Face me, not him.”

I watched as tears flowed from her eyes as she tried to protect the guard from my wrath and jealousy spiked within me. She was willing to face my wrath instead of him? Was this little mutt dating my mate?

I gave him a glare so sharp, making him bow in fear. Good.

“Please, your highness.” Celine whispered in a voice that made me sigh as I drew back my claws and run my hand through my hair in agitation.

“Fine. And don’t think im going to take it easy on him because you begged. Ill issue out punishments first thing in the morning.” I saw her visibly relax, making me grit my teeth in annoyance as I glared at the guard.

“Now leave us.” I gritted out.

He hesitated, and I rose a brow in amusement. Was this mutt, who I could break in half, daring me?

“Did I stutter, mutt?”

Celine gave him a reassuring nod, and then he left, not without giving me another look, his wolf radiating arrogance and courage that was going to get him killed.

Silence descended as I turned to look at Celine who dropped her gaze to her feet where her luggage was, the sight twisting my guts into a pretzel. My mate was going to run away?

“Thank you.” She breathed out.

I stared at her, my chest tightening with every word she spoke. Thank you? My mind was spinning, confusion mixing with a dull ache in my chest. She wasn’t scared. She wasn’t begging me for mercy. She was thanking me?

After she left my room earlier, I had asked my beta to run a background check on her. I needed to understand why someone who, gave such a calm aura could also be a thief. He told me about her being the adopted daughter of Alpha Richard of The Darkbloom pack, an Alpha everyone respected.

Why would his daughter all of a sudden steal? She confused me and angered me all the same.

But I was willing to make her into a better person, fit to rule.

But while I thought that, she had the nerve to attempt an escape.

“Thank you?” I repeated, my voice hoarse. The anger inside me roared back to life, but it was directed at her.

Celine’s gaze remained fixed on the floor, her fingers clenching and unclenching around the hem of her dress. “For sparing him.” She murmured, her words barely above a whisper.

I could feel the ache of frustration building inside me again. Sparing him? I had the power to crush him without lifting a finger. And yet, she was thanking me for sparing him?

“Why would you protect him like that?” I asked, my voice rough as I took a step closer to her. I wasn’t sure what I was expecting... an apology? An explanation? Something to make sense of her actions.

Celine looked up then, her eyes filled with sadness. She was beautiful, too beautiful for her own good—and it made my anger flare even brighter.

“Because he’s the only one who’s been kind to me. He’s the only one who’s treated me like a person, not just a prisoner,” she said quietly, her voice shaking. “I owe him that much.”

I clenched and unclenched my jaw, unsure of what to make of her sentence, only the anger of her almost leaving roaring in my mind.

“Well he’s dead if he ever tries to break you out again, got it?”

She gasped in shock as her eyes met mine, and I almost felt bad for saying those words but watching him break her out was enough to wipe the sympathy away.

“Got it, little mate?”

She nodded softy, tears dropping from her face. I clenched my jaw, looking away.

“Do you love him?” I asked, the words feeling like acid on my tongue.

“What?”

“I said, do you love the guard? Is that why you wanted to leave with him?”

Celine’s gaze flickered back to the floor, and her lips parted as if to say something, but no words came out. She was silent, eyes wide in shock as if the question had left her speechless. I wasn’t done, seein her with him made me act in thus manner that I couldn’t explain and I needed an answer.

“Answer me, Celine,” I growled, my words sharp and demanding, my hands balling into fists at my sides. I was desperate for an answer. Why had she tried to escape? Why did she care so much for that mutt?

Celine took a deep breath, her body shaking slightly and slowly, she lifted her gaze, her tears making her eyes glisten under the moonlight.

“I don’t love him,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “He’s just... kind to me. And that’s something I haven’t had in a long time.”

She didn’t love that guard. I tried to be happy with that.

But the jealousy that had taken root refused to let go. The thought of her in another man’s arms, even if it was just for a moment, dug deep in my heart.

I stepped closer to her, my breath ragged as I reached for her chin, tilting her face up to meet my gaze.

The tension between us roared as I held her gaze, unable to fight the mate bond and the need to claim her as mine and make her never forget it.

“I’m the one who decides who stays and who goes,” I said, my voice thick with authority and possessiveness. “Seeing you with that boy, drove me crazy.”

My hand slid to her neck, fingers grazing the soft skin there. I could feel the rapid beat of her pulse beneath my touch, and it only made the fire within me roar. “And you belong to me, Celine. No one else.”

Celine trembled under my touch, her lips parting in a breathless sigh. She looked as if she might argue, but I wasn’t in the mood for her protests. Not now. Not when everything in me screamed to claim her, to make her mine in a way that was undeniable.

Without warning, I pulled her soft body to mine, my lips crashing down on hers in a fierce, possessive kiss. It wasn’t gentle. It wasn’t soft. It was demanding, showing how much I was trying to imprint myself onto her very being. Celine gasped, her body stiffening at first, but then she melted into the kiss, her hands instinctively wrapping around my neck as she responded.

I broke away briefly, my hand softly wrapping around her throat, feeling her pulse as she gasped for air. “You think I’ll just let you walk away from me?” I whispered against her earlobe. “You think I’ll let you love someone else?”

Her breath hitched, but before she could speak, I pressed her back against the wall, I wouldn’t be able to hold my wolf back. I would mark her as mine. I couldn’t let her go. Not now.

Without another word, I took control, my sharp claws pricking her skin as I positioned her just the way I wanted. Her eyes widened in confusion, and for a moment, there was resistance in her gaze. But the need in me, the overwhelming jealousy and possessiveness, I couldn't resist anymore. I didn’t care anymore. I couldn’t. And I saw she wanted it too.

In one swift motion, I marked her, my teeth sinking into her delicate skin, claiming her in the only way my wolf knew how. She gasped, her body tensing, but as the mark formed, I felt the bond strengthen, a deep connection that no one could sever.

“Mine,” I breathed, my voice thick with satisfaction as I pulled back to look at the mark I had left on her.

“You belong to me, Celine,” I said again, my voice softening. “And I will make you the person you were always meant to be. You will learn what it means to be my queen.”