All Chapters of Betrayed Werewolf Princess: The Demon Prince's Pet: Chapter 21 - Chapter 29

“Yes,” I said, never looking away from Lyric. Revka began chanting. The other witches joined her, one after the other. The air thickened, growing darker with the gathering of shadow magic. “That song…” Lyric whispered. “I know it.” “You heard it from Tai,” I said, shrugging off my shirt and tossing it aside. “It’s the mating song.” Her eyes trailed over my runes, as they did on both occasions she saw me topless. Every one of those runes was earned over decades of bloodshed, pain, power. She always looked at them like she was reading a secret language only she could decode. When I dropped my pants, her gaze dropped too. And stayed there. Her lips parted, and I knew—if I didn’t start controlling myself, I’d shift before I got inside her. Tai’s voice was already echoing in my head. ‘I’ve waited too long for this. I’ll put a baby in her.’ ‘Tai,’ I warned. ‘Do your thing, Calix. Leave me be.’ “Prince Calix,” Revka said firmly. “Right now.” Lyric was on her back, knees raised,

*** ~~CALIX MALZARETH~~ *** I watched Revka’s apprentices clean Lyric up in a makeshift tub. She didn’t speak. Didn’t move. Her eyes were closed, her breathing shallow. The bruises and bite marks covering her neck and chest were already fading, but the toll it took on her body wasn’t. I should’ve been weak, too. But instead, I felt... more alive than I had in decades. Magic surged in my blood, stretching through every vessel. Tai was purring somewhere in my mind, basking in the aftermath like a cat stretched in sunlight. So this was it. The mating high. The euphoria all the old ballads sang about. When poets wrote that no being could make a better choice than the gods themselves—this was what they meant. I never believed in it. Not really. Fated mates were rare. So rare that most thought it a myth. My father and my mother were fated and had been hopelessly in love with themselves—more than they ever loved their children, in my opinion. And somehow I understood it now. The pull

“They weren't supposed to be here until tomorrow,” Lyta said. “What changed?” Snaky, who was now sitting on a tree root, replied, “Because the king tricked the prince. He knew he’d try to hide her.” At least two dozen royal guards descended in a tight formation, their faces masked. Tundra leaned close to Lyta. “How the hell did they find us anyway?” “Think they followed us,” Lyta replied through gritted teeth. “They knew we’d lead them to Lyric.” The wind rustled across my bare skin. I was still naked from my shift. The ground was cold. My limbs ached. And yet, I stood tall, letting the guards currently landing on their feet take in the sight of me. One of them—older, broader, meaner—the one who landed first, was eyeing me curiously. His armor shimmered with rank. Captain, maybe. His eyes swept over me, pausing right below my bellybutton. I saw it in his jaw. The twitch. The hunger. The hate. I walked toward him slowly. “Are you the prince’s mate?” he asked. I cocked my head.

*** ~~CALIX MALZARETH~~ *** I wasn’t sure what my father’s plan entailed, but it definitely didn't involve keeping me away from Lyric. From the moment I stepped into the palace, the guards had been oddly compliant—open with their words, clear in their directions. They told me exactly where she was. No stalling. No resistance. Just a quick escort to the room right beside the king’s. That alone made me suspicious. My father never gave anything away so easily. And when things were too easy, it usually meant something was deeply, violently wrong. I had braced myself for a fight. Had imagined breaking down doors, threatening whoever I had to in order to get her back. Lyta, Snaky, and Tundra had flown into my quarters breathless and wild-eyed, yelling about how the guards had taken Lyric. That was all I needed to hear. I didn’t trust my father. Not with her. Not with anything. The guards opened the door to the room beside the king’s chambers, and there she was—sitting on a low bed