Page 42 of Lord of the Lone Wolf (Bonded Hearts #3)
“Forgive me. My dragon has become unruly, and the stress of warfare has weakened my control.” He ran a trembling hand through his hair, unable to meet Maseo’s gaze. The unmistakable scent of arousal hung heavy in the air between them. “That never should have happened.”
Trinity bond . The term echoed in Maseo’s mind, leaving him more confused than ever. It was something he had only heard in fairy tales. But hope burned in his chest like wildfire, consuming all caution and reason.
Maseo struggled to compose himself as his body thrummed with unfulfilled need.
His heat demanded completion that would not come, leaving him aching and hollow.
While he felt relieved they hadn’t crossed a line that couldn’t be uncrossed, he suffered from a desperate need for the touch he had been denied.
He forced himself to suppress his wolf shifter instincts that urged him to present, to submit, to be claimed.
“I understand the strain you’re under.” Maseo hesitated, shame coloring his cheeks. “I also responded in ways I shouldn’t have. Your dragon isn’t to blame.”
“No, you do not understand,” Kitsuki said with self-recrimination coloring his tone. “There is no excuse for such behavior. I am a mated king. I should have better control, especially when you are in heat.”
“The last thing I want to do is give Auslin or you another reason to hate me.”
Kitsuki’s head snapped up, genuine surprise crossing his features. “Maseo, neither of us hates you.”
Maseo’s voice cracked with emotion. “How can you not? If Auslin knew what just happened, he would think I’m trying to ruin your mating bond as I did with his relationship with Kio.
” His hands trembled at his sides. “First, I came between him and Kio, and now this? He would never forgive me, nor should he.”
“This is different.”
“What’s wrong with me?” Maseo continued, anguish overtaking his features. “I finally found a place where I might belong, with people who see me as something more than Nasume’s half-breed disappointment, and I’m risking ruining it all because I can’t control myself around you.”
“It was not you, Maseo. That was your heat.”
Maseo ran his hands through his hair, desperation clear in every line of his body. “I don’t want to destroy the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Kitsuki hesitated for a moment before stepping forward and grasping Maseo’s shoulders to ground him. “Stop. This is not your fault. There are things happening here that we do not yet understand.”
Maseo looked up, his eyes bright with unshed tears. “The trinity bond?”
Kitsuki’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t look away. “Yes,” he acknowledged after a long pause. “That, and whatever fate Sophina has in store for us. None of this is happening by accident. It was your shifter instincts reacting to your heat.”
Maseo appreciated Kitsuki’s efforts to comfort him, but he still felt a deep sense of shame. “All I want to do is prove I deserve the chance you’ve given me.”
Kitsuki squeezed his shoulders in a brief, reassuring gesture before letting his hands fall away. “Your desire to help is admirable. But I cannot risk you, Maseo. Not with Nasume.”
Hearing his name sent a warmth through Maseo that he tried to ignore. He couldn’t dwell on the way his body tingled where Kitsuki’s dragon had touched him or the persistent ache of unfulfilled need that his heat continued to stoke.
“Then what can I do? I can’t stand aside while others risk their lives based on my information.”
“You will continue to fight alongside me,” Kitsuki replied. “Your knowledge of Kunushi tactics and terrain has already proven invaluable. And when the time comes for you to confront your father, as Kizoshi foretold, I will be with you. I refuse to send you alone into danger.”
The protectiveness in those words stirred a longing in Maseo so profound it hurt. To be valued by Kitsuki was an honor he felt he didn’t deserve.
“Why?” Maseo asked again, needing to hear the answer. “Why would you take such a risk for me? I’m the son of your greatest enemy.”
Kitsuki was silent for a long moment, his gaze searching Maseo’s face as if looking for something hidden there. “Because everything within me demands that I must.”
It was not a declaration of affection, nor the impossible confession that a small, foolish part of Maseo had dared to hope for. Yet, from a dragon king to a half-wolf shifter with no pack or magic, it was extraordinary.
“I am honored by your concern,” Maseo said, the formal words at odds with the tumult of emotions within him.
“Which is why I ask you to trust me in return. Understand that I have your best interests at heart when I refuse to let you undertake this deadly mission.”
Maseo wanted to argue further, to insist that he could help, that he should risk himself the same as any other soldier. “I trust you and your mate with my life. Although I wish I could do more to repay you for saving mine.”
“You have already done more than you know,” Kitsuki replied. “The information you provided about the sewers may well save countless lives. Our elite forces will make good use of it.”
Maseo nodded, accepting the compromise even as disappointment lingered. “Is there anything else I can tell you about Norello that might help?”
“Yes,” Kitsuki said, seizing on the change of subject with palpable relief. “Tell me about the guard rotations and the areas your father considers most important to protect.”
For the next hour, Maseo detailed everything he could remember about the castle’s defenses, from the locations of guard posts, the timing of patrol changes, and the secret passages his father believed no one knew about.
As they worked, both men clung to the pretense of normalcy with desperate determination. They spoke of tactics and strategies, as if the charged encounter between them had never occurred.
Yet beneath the surface of their professional collaboration, tension hummed like a plucked bowstring. Each time their hands brushed while pointing to the same location on the map, Maseo felt a jolt of awareness that made his breath catch.
When they had exhausted Maseo’s knowledge, Kitsuki straightened, rolling up the castle blueprint. “Thank you. This information will prove invaluable.”
“I’m glad to be of service.”
A silence fell between them again, less tense than before but still full of unspoken sentiments.
“You should go,” Kitsuki said, his tone kinder than his words. “We have many preparations to make before tomorrow’s march.”
The dismissal stung, but Maseo recognized the finality in Kitsuki’s tone. Whatever had happened between them, the king had no intention of discussing it further. With a respectful bow that concealed the confusion in his eyes, Maseo turned and left the tent.
The night air felt cool against his flushed skin as he made his way back through the camp.
Soldiers nodded to him as he passed. But his mind kept replaying the dragon’s touch, his words, and the press of his body against Maseo’s.
He still suffered from an unfulfilled need, his heat intensified by the brief contact that had inflamed his desires without satisfying them.
You are ours to protect.
The possessiveness in that statement seemed to transcend the duty of a king.
But that was impossible. Kitsuki was mated to Auslin, bound by a connection that transcended ordinary relationships. Whatever his dragon might feel or the fleeting concern the king himself might harbor, it could never fulfill what Maseo’s treacherous heart longed for.
And yet, he couldn’t forget how Kitsuki’s eyes had burned with silver fire, the fierce protectiveness in his voice when he spoke of keeping Maseo safe, nor could he dismiss the mention of the fabled trinity bond.
He could still feel the heat of Kitsuki’s body against his own, the unmistakable evidence of desire that shocked and thrilled him.
Most of all, he couldn’t forget how he had responded with instincts to submit he didn’t understand.
Maseo stopped walking before he reached his tent, staring up at the stars that glittered above the forest. His heart felt turned into a battlefield where hope warred with doubt, longing with resignation. He had no right to want more from Kitsuki than the king had already given him.
It was difficult not to get his hopes up when Kitsuki’s dragon had spoken. He couldn’t comprehend that the king might see him as someone worth protecting, not out of duty, but for something more personal.
It was a dangerous thought that could only lead to disappointment. Whatever Kitsuki’s dragon had meant, the king himself had made his position clear. Maseo needed to focus on the war ahead, the coming confrontation with his father, and surviving long enough to see what might come after.
But as he continued toward his tent, the memory of silver eyes burning with protective fire followed him, a warmth against the growing chill of the night. Deep within, a foolish hope refused to die, whispering that perhaps he meant more to Kitsuki than either of them could admit yet.