Page 18 of Fated (The Bonded Legacy #1)
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
KAI
K ai slammed the door to his hotel suite, the muffled noise of the reception fading into the distance.
The tense confrontation in the private room had been suffocating, and he’d fled to escape Darius’s gloating and machinations.
Politics, alliances, and Bloodstone’s future drove the alpha, never Kai’s feelings.
Now, alone in his suite—skin still burning where Lena had touched him, her scent hovering like a stubborn echo—the party’s vibrant energy might as well have been on another planet.
He wouldn’t risk returning. He didn’t trust himself to maintain control around Lena, and he didn’t want to endure another of his father’s self-indulgent monologues about destiny and divine matches.
He’d been avoiding Ava’s calls as well. What was he supposed to say to her? How could he possibly explain what had happened without lying—without admitting that Orion howled for their mate?
Instead, Kai drowned his turmoil in whiskey, the half-empty bottle dangling from his fingers.
The smoky flavor scorched a familiar path down his throat, its warmth spreading through his chest. He leaned his head back, staring at the ceiling.
While the alcohol dulled the edges, it couldn’t silence the whirlwind in his head.
The evening had been chaotic—worse than that, it had been an absolute disaster.
He’d come to the summit expecting negotiations, politics, and his father’s smug commentary. Not her .
Lena.
His fated mate.
The thought of her alone made his pulse race.
Heat pooled low in his belly even as his stomach twisted with guilt.
His muscles coiled with restless energy, caught between the desire to reach for Lena or punch a wall.
Every moment spent with her replayed in vivid detail, each memory sharpening Orion’s focus.
Her cranberry and rosemary scent had engulfed him, sweet and intoxicating enough to make his wolf howl. It clung to his senses, binding Lena to nearly every thought.
Her golden-brown eyes locking onto his, wide with wonder…
The perfect fit of her body against his…
Her fire, her strength, her affection—even as he’d dismissed her…
Kai huffed a frustrated breath. He refused to be forced, but Orion fought back against each denial.
Ava’s face flashed in his mind, reminding him of his promises, but the bond’s relentless pull chipped away at his resolve with every breath.
His phone buzzed on the coffee table, Ava’s name lighting up the screen for the eighth time tonight. He stared at it as it rang, the sound grating against his frayed nerves.
She’d texted, too. The messages piled up, one after the other.
AVA
Did you get to the summit ok?
AVA
I miss you.
AVA
How’s it going with your dad?
AVA
Where are you?
AVA
Why aren’t you answering?
AVA
Magnus said your dad pulled you into a room with another alpha and some she-wolf. What’s going on?
AVA
Kai, we need to talk.
AVA
STOP IGNORING ME!
Kai rubbed a hand over his face, shoulders sagging under crushing guilt. He hesitated to answer Ava, but ignoring her felt just as wrong.
He typed out a short reply, fingers heavy and dragging across the screen.
KAI
It’s been a long day. My social battery is shot. I’ll call you tomorrow after everything settles down.
He hit send and watched as the message status changed from “Sent” to “Read.”
No response. Her silence was a condemnation.
Kai tossed the phone aside and poured himself another glass. The guilt twisted like a knife in his chest, carving deeper with each shallow breath.
And it wasn’t just Ava.
Lena’s crumpling expression when he mentioned Ava’s name gnawed at him. The look of betrayal had branded itself into his brain, burning deeper with every second he’d stood there, frozen and unsure.
“Coward,” Orion growled.
Kai flinched, gripping the glass tighter. “I’m not a coward. I’m trying to do the right thing.”
“You hurt mate.” Orion’s voice pulsed with anger and anguish. “She needs us. Go. Apologize. Claim her.”
Kai shook his head, temples throbbing, breath coming in short bursts as he pounded his fist against the table. “It’s not that simple!” he argued slamming the glass down, the sound echoing in the silence. The walls pressed inward, the air thick with Orion’s suffocating fury.
Grabbing the bottle, he left the room and wandered aimlessly through the dimly lit halls of the lodge. The whiskey burned with every swig, but the warmth never came. Orion’s awareness sharpened with each step, as if he knew something Kai couldn’t sense.
His feet carried him to the opposite wing without thought, the now empty bottle dangling loosely at his side. He jerked to a stop, breath catching as he found himself outside a door.
Lena’s door.
Even if her scent hadn’t been unmistakable, he would have known. There was something magnetic about the space. As if the bond itself was pulling him closer, demanding he acknowledge what he was trying so hard to deny.
“Knock.” Orion surged, his presence a fiery, insistent force. “Take what’s ours. Give what’s hers.”
Kai clenched his fists. He pressed his forehead against the doorframe as he fought for control. Alpha instincts roared in his blood, urging him to break it down, complete the bond, to claim what was his by divine decree.
Then he heard it—a soft, breathy moan filtering through the door.
He froze, pulse spiking.
The sound was unmistakable. Another followed it, even sweeter.
The scent of her arousal hit him like a punch to the gut, intoxicating and irresistible. Jealousy clawed at him, thoughts careening into chaos.
Is she with someone? The idea sent a wave of rage surging through him. Is there another male in there, touching her, making her moan like that?
He knew of the parties thrown by the Night Walker wolves.
Ten years of attending the summit had made him familiar with the hedonism that fueled them—the hormonal urges, the thrill of hooking up with wolves from other packs.
Stunning didn’t even begin to describe Lena.
He’d be an idiot to assume there wasn’t a line of males desperate to fuck her, to break her in during her first summit.
His teeth clenched as Orion howled in his mind, the wolf’s fury and possessiveness threatening to overwhelm him.
Kai’s hand reached for the doorknob, trembling with the effort it took to hold himself back. The image tormented him—another male pressing Lena into the mattress, hands roaming over her body, mouth tasting what should have only been his.
But then, her voice broke through the haze, soft and pleading.
“Kai…”
His name. She moaned his name.
The jealousy ebbed. Heat rushed through his veins as his breath quickened, something far more dangerous taking its place. Desire.
He pictured her on the other side of the door, body writhing in pleasure as she thought of him, her hands exploring where his should be.
Kai’s cock hardened. He closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath, relishing in the way Lena’s arousal thickened her already delectable scent.
Does she taste just as sweet? he thought, mouth watering with unrestrained hunger. Would she be ready to be claimed? Ready for my knot?
“Yes!” Orion’s voice a guttural demand. “Go. Now.”
“No, ” Kai refused, forcing himself to step back.
The thought of barging in, of taking her like this, revolted against the part of him still clinging to loyalty. It wouldn’t be fair—to Ava, to Lena, or to himself.
He tore himself away, the sound of her pleasure echoing in his ears as he raced back down the corridor.
His hands were shaking by the time he reached his room, body burning with unspent need. He stepped into the shower, letting the icy water pound against his skin.
Afterward, he grabbed his phone and sent another message to Ava.
KAI
Good night. I miss you. I love you.
Again, there was no response.
Kai lay back on the bed, staring at the ceiling. The whiskey created a haze over his thoughts, but didn’t erase them entirely.
He closed his eyes, willing sleep to come, but the image of Lena—her scent, her voice, her moaning his name—haunted him.
And somewhere, deep in the recesses of his mind, Orion growled relentlessly. “No more running. She’s ours.”