Chapter 3

A suffocating silence fell over the entire hall.

Beneath my lips, Kael’s huge body was rigid. I could feel the violent tremor in his muscles, like a caged beast suddenly awakened. I caught a flash of dangerous, fleeting pure gold in his dark eyes.

Across the table, a sharp crash cut through the silence. The silver wine glass in Vivian’s hand smashed to the stone floor, deep red wine splattering around her spotless white shoes like blood.

I didn’t stay to watch the mess that followed. I turned and walked straight out of the hall.

Late that night, I was led to Kael’s private stone hut. The room was thick with his strong scent.

I didn’t care. I just wanted to yank off my clothes and sleep away the exhaustion of the past few days.

I threw my faded leather jacket on a chair, and had just unbuttoned my shirt halfway when the heavy wooden door creaked open.

Kael walked in, the chill of the night air clinging to his broad shoulders. He froze the second he saw me, his chest rising and falling noticeably faster than usual.

My face turned cold in an instant. “If you’re mad about what I did back there, I can sleep somewhere else.”

“Just point me to a guest bed.”

He didn’t move. He just stared at me, his jaw clenched so tight I was afraid he’d break his own teeth.

I crossed my arms over my chest, suddenly acutely aware of the tense energy in the room.

“Look, I don’t have patience for indecisive men,” I cut to the chase, “if you’re gonna let some woman hang all over you playing the poor victim all the time, we might as well end this farce now. I’m not gonna be a third wheel in my own marriage.”

Kael’s thick eyebrows furrowed. He took a slow, controlled step toward me.

“The betrothal was set by the Wolf Clan elders long ago. I married you, and I will take responsibility for you.”

I let out a harsh, bitter laugh, the sound catching in my throat.

“Take responsibility? Spare me. There’s no hidden clause in that crumpled piece of paper that says I’m stuck with you forever.”

A low growl rumbled in his chest.

Before I could blink, he’d crossed half the room, his tall frame backing me up against the edge of the bed.

The air around him was scorching hot, his strong, aggressive scent pressing down on me, making my heart pound. I’d completely underestimated what my move in the hall had awakened in a werewolf.

“If that’s the case,” his voice was rough, a beastly snarl, “then why did you mark me in front of everyone?”

I opened my mouth, but no words came out.

He sat down heavily on the edge of the bed, reached out, and wrapped his calloused big hand around mine. I tried to yank it away on instinct, but his grip was like a steel vice—firm, burning hot, yet surprisingly gentle.

“Vivian and I grew up together. She’s like a sister to me,” he said. His golden eyes locked onto mine. “I… I’m not good with words. If I do something you don’t like, tell me.”

“Listen to me. My fuse is short, and I blow up fast. If you don’t run scared when I lose my temper, maybe this damn marriage contract of ours can work.”

I stared at him dumbfounded. In the dim, flickering firelight of the fireplace, his sharp, angular face looked incredibly serious, incredibly sincere. For some reason, my face burned for no reason at all.

Werewolves were creatures with an intense sense of territory. A bite in full view of everyone was more than just physical possession—it was a public claim. And in their culture, a mate only truly accepted that claim when they bit back—sinking their fangs into the carotid artery, merging their pheromones forever, completing the permanent mark.

The air between us shifted, thick and heavy with physical longing.

Kael leaned in, his gaze fixed on my bare neck. The heat rolling off his body was dizzying.

“May I?” he whispered, his voice deadly hoarse.

That he would ask me at a time like this, when the fire was practically at our throats, made me so furious I dug my nails hard into his rock-hard bicep.

Who the hell stops to ask for permission when the whole forest is on fire?

My pulse thundered in my throat. I let down my guard, tilted my head back slightly, and exposed my vulnerable jugular to him. I braced myself for the sharp sting of his fangs sinking in.

Just as his canines grazed my skin—

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Sharp, frantic knocks hammered on the wooden door.

“Alpha!” the voice of a territory guard shouted from outside. “It’s Vivian! She ran into the heart of the Fallen Lands alone! It’s pouring rain out there!”

The thick, suffocating atmosphere of desire shattered in an instant.

We’d been a breath away. One more second and he would have marked me—would have bound us together for life.

Kael clenched his jaw, let out a suppressed snarl, pulled away from me in a flash, and grabbed his coat off the chair.

“I have to go. Wait for me here.”

“Wait?” I let out a short, cutting laugh.