Chapter 4

"Shh," Silas whispered. His eyes gleamed with a sick kind of pride. "Don't wake the beast. He’s just using you as a leash, Elara. A little organic sedative to keep the voices quiet. You're not a guest. You're a drug."

I clawed at his wrist, nails digging into skin. I thrashed, trying to scream for Kane, but Silas just pressed harder, pinning me flat. He leaned in, breath hot against my cheek.

"But here's the fun part," he chuckled. A low, vibrating sound. "I didn't just give you to him. I left a little gift in your veins. A slow-burn surprise."

I froze.

"By the next full moon, that blood he loves so much? It's gonna turn into poison. When he tries to feed on your calm, he’s gonna find out exactly how much I hate you both."

He let go abruptly. I slumped to the floor, gasping. I looked at my trembling hands.

Poison. In my blood.

I was a walking time bomb, and the only man who could protect me was the one I was destined to kill.

"Get out," I spat. My voice sounded wrecked. "Get out before he finds you."

"Oh, he’ll find me," Silas smirked, glancing at the door. "But not until the fireworks start."

He vanished into the shadows just as the heavy oak door groaned open.

Kane didn't walk in. He invaded.

The air shifted instantly, turning heavy and charged. He saw me—disheveled, shaking, pressed against the wall—and his eyes flashed a dangerous, molten gold.

"Who was here?"

It wasn't a question. It was a demand.

He was across the room in a heartbeat. His hand gripped my chin, forcing me up. His touch was searing, heat radiating through my skin.

"Nobody," I lied. My heart hammered against my ribs. "I just... I tripped."

Kane’s grip tightened. Not enough to bruise, but enough to let me know he didn't believe a word. He leaned closer. Smoke and winter air filled my senses. He could smell the fear. He could probably smell Silas.

"You're a terrible liar, Elara," he murmured. His thumb brushed my lower lip.

A jolt shot through me. That strange, addictive calm only he triggered. "Your pulse is racing. Your scent is sour. Who touched you?"

"It doesn't matter," I whispered, trying to pull away.

He didn't let go. He hauled me up by the waist, dragging me flush against his chest. The height difference was brutal. I felt swallowed by him. The blood-bond handcuffs clinked, metal cold against my wrist, while his body burned through my thin dress.

"Everything about you matters to me right now," he growled, his voice dropping an octave. "Because you're the only thing keeping the roar in my head from tearing this palace apart. If someone's trying to take my sedative away, I'll rip their throat out."

I looked into those savage, hungry eyes. For a second, I didn't see a monster. I saw a man drowning, clinging to me like I was the only piece of driftwood in a storm.

"I'm not a drug, Kane," I snapped. I pushed against his chest. It was like trying to move a mountain. "I'm a person. Stop talking about me like I'm a bottle of pills."

He paused. A slow, dark smirk curled his lips. He liked the fight.

"A person who belongs to me," he corrected.

His hand slid from my waist to the back of my neck, pulling me a fraction closer. Our foreheads touched. I could feel his breath on my lips.

"Tell me who it was," he whispered, "and maybe I'll let you eat something other than stale bread tonight."

"I can't," I breathed.

If I told him about the poison, he’d either kill Silas immediately or lock me in a cage to 'protect' the asset. Neither sounded like freedom.

"Can't, or won't?"

Suddenly, a crash echoed from the hallway. Shouting. Steel clashing against steel.

Kane’s posture changed. Predatory stillness. Muscles coiling like a spring.

"Stay behind me," he commanded.

He didn't let go of my hand. He dragged me toward the door, the chain rattling. The hall was chaos. Three armored guards were pinned to the walls by jagged shards of stone. In the center stood a man with a blackened axe, eyes glowing with synthetic rage.

"The King!" the axe-wielder roared, spitting blood. "The Council wants the girl! Hand her over and we might let you live through the night!"

Kane didn't flinch. He stepped forward, pulling me along. He didn't look at the enemy; he looked at me.

"Do you see this, Elara?" his voice was eerily calm. "This is what happens when people think they can take what's mine."

"Kane, just... don't kill them all," I pleaded.

"I make no promises."

Blur of motion. Kane launched himself. No weapon. He didn't need one. He was a whirlwind of violence, tearing through armor like wet paper. He slammed into the axe-man with the sound of a car crash.

I watched, breath catching. Every strike sent a surge of adrenaline through the bond. His rage was a physical heat.

I didn't think. I just reacted.

I grabbed the chain connecting us and yanked. Hard. I pulled him back just as he was about to rip the guard's throat open.

"Stop!"

Kane froze. Claws inches from the jugular. He turned slowly, eyes completely gold, pupils slit like a cat's.

Feral. Dangerous.

But as he looked at me, the gold receded. The murderous aura evaporated, replaced by a heavy, suffocating silence.

He stared at me, chest heaving. The guard scrambled away, terrified, but Kane didn't notice. He only noticed me.

"You stopped me," he whispered. His voice sounded strained. Pained.

"You were going to kill him for nothing," I said, trembling but firm.

He stepped back toward me, movements slow. He stopped so close I could feel the heat radiating off his skin. His fingers traced my jaw, almost reverent.

"Nobody has ever told me to stop," he murmured. "Not once in a hundred years."

I didn't pull away. I couldn't. The pull of the bond was magnetic, making my skin itch for his touch.

"Maybe that's why you need me," I whispered.

Kane’s expression darkened. Arrogance returned. He leaned down, lips brushing my ear.

"You're not just a sedative, are you?" he breathed. "You're a leash. And I think I'm starting to like the feel of it."

He pulled back, smirking, but the doors at the end of the hall swung open. A herald stepped forward, pale, clutching a scroll with the Council's seal.

"My King," the herald stammered. "A message from the High Lord. He demands the girl be produced for inspection immediately, or the treaty is void."

Kane didn't even look at him. He kept his eyes locked on mine, hand tightening on the chain.

"Inspection?" Kane laughed. A dry, dangerous sound. "He thinks he can inspect my property?"

He turned to the herald, voice booming. "Tell your Lord that Elara is no longer a sacrifice. She is mine. And if he wants to inspect her, he can come and try to take her from my cold, dead hands."

As the herald hurried away, Kane turned back to me. The possessiveness in his gaze was suffocating. He leaned in, forehead resting against mine.

"You're not going anywhere," he whispered. "Ever."

I wanted to tell him. I wanted to say that Silas had already won.

But as I looked at him, I realized something terrifying. I didn't want to leave.

I opened my mouth to speak, and then—

A sharp, searing pain shot through my veins. Right where Silas had whispered about the 'gift.'

I gasped, my knees buckling.

Kane caught me instantly, arms wrapping around me like iron bands.

"Elara? What is it?"

I looked up at him, vision blurring. For the first time, I saw genuine panic in the Savage King's eyes.

"Kane..." I whispered, "I think something's wrong with my blood."