Seraphina
I should have run.
The moment he said I wasn't human. The moment he touched me and my skin crackled like lightning under his palm. The moment his lips stole the breath from my lungs and replaced it with something darker… something ancient.
But I didn't run.
I followed.
Kael—Alpha of a kingdom I didn't know existed, a man whose name carried the weight of blood and bone—led me through the woods like a predator who already knew I wouldn't escape. And gods help me, I didn't want to.
Because every step I took away from the forest edge, deeper into his domain, the hotter my blood burned.
It wasn't normal.
Nothing was normal anymore.
The air shimmered as we passed through an invisible barrier. Magic. I felt it slide across my skin like a second set of fingers, tasting me. Testing me.
"What was that?" I asked, breath catching.
"The ward line," Kael said without looking back. "No one crosses it unless I allow it."
"And you're just… letting me in?"
His gaze flicked toward me. "I'm not letting you in, little lamb. I'm claiming you."
I should have slapped him.
Instead, my legs trembled.
We emerged into the heart of his territory—and I froze.
A fortress loomed before us. Not just a home. A throne of shadows. Dark stone, high towers, spiked iron gates. Flames burned in massive braziers. Howls echoed in the distance, not all of them human.
"This isn't a home," I whispered. "It's a kingdom."
"It's mine."
He placed a hand on the small of my back. My entire body reacted, arching, begging—and I hated that I loved it.
As we entered the gate, dozens of wolves in human skin stopped and stared. Warriors. Women. Elders. All of them bowed their heads.
But their eyes… their eyes watched me like I didn't belong.
Because I didn't.
Kael's hand never left me as we passed through black marble halls, up stairs, and into a private chamber that overlooked the wild, moonlit forest. The room was massive—stone walls, velvet curtains, a roaring fire.
And a bed big enough for a monster.
He shut the door behind us. Locked it.
"You should rest," he said simply.
"I'm not tired."
He stepped toward me. "Then tell me the truth."
My breath hitched. "What truth?"
"Who sent you."
Panic shot through me. "No one sent me."
His silver eyes burned. "Don't lie to me."
"I'm not!" I snapped, fists clenched. "I came here because I don't know what the hell is happening to me! I'm scared, I'm confused, and then you show up with your stupid perfect face and your dangerous mouth and your—your wolf alpha energy or whatever the hell this is—"
He was in front of me in an instant.
"Dangerous mouth?" he murmured, voice low and sinful.
"I didn't mean—"
But I never finished.
Because Kael cupped the back of my neck and kissed me again—harder this time. Hungrier. And gods help me… I kissed him back.
His hands gripped my hips, pulling me flush against him. I gasped into his mouth, heat surging between my legs. He growled—low and guttural—and I felt it everywhere.
"Say it again," he rasped against my lips.
"Say what?"
"Dangerous."
I did.
And he lifted me like I weighed nothing, carried me across the room, and laid me on the bed like a sacrifice.
But he didn't undress me.
He didn't claim me.
Instead, he hovered over me, eyes glowing like firelight and ice.
"I want you," he growled. "Every inch of you. Every sound you make. Every secret you hide."
"Then take me," I whispered, chest heaving.
He clenched his jaw. "Not yet."
"Why not?"
His hand brushed down my throat, over my racing pulse.
"Because the moment I do… you're mine forever. And once I mark you, there's no going back."
My heart pounded.
Mark me.
Forever.
Was I ready for that?
Hell no.
Did I want it anyway?
Maybe.
"Goodnight, Seraphina," he said darkly, lips brushing my temple like a threat and a vow.
And then he was gone, leaving me breathless and burning in a bed made for gods and monsters.
And for the first time since I arrived, I realized something worse than fear had taken root in me.
Want.
Not just for his body.
But for his power.
His chaos.
His throne.
And I had a feeling… the kingdom wouldn't survive me either.