Page 10

Draven

I ’m flat on my back in the West Forest clearing, staring at the sky.

Kassira lies beside me, close enough that I can feel her warmth, her breath. We’ve been doing this routine for the last three days — drag Draxis out each morning, try to keep him calm, try to learn something. Rinse. Repeat.

Sin helps.

Unfortunately.

The only reason he’s still breathing is because Draxis listens to Kass. If he didn’t, Sin would’ve been carved into tiny pieces of steak by now.

Still no progress. I can’t reach my lycan.

Can’t feel him. Can’t control him. I’m just…

locked out. And every night, I end up camped in front of Kassira’s door praying the magic doesn’t get even stronger somehow and I end up forgetting her forever.

If we weren’t shifters — if people didn’t understand what a mate bond means — it would probably look weird. Hell, it probably does anyway.

Speaking of things that are weird…

That strange bruise in the center of my chest?

Still there. A dark blotch of pain that never fades.

It should’ve healed in seconds. Instead, it’s spreading.

Deepening. The High Priestess gets here in a few days.

She better have answers, because I’m not in the mood to guess whether it’s a magical infection, a curse, or a countdown to my fucking death.

I’ve been watching everyone. Every movement. Every word. Nothing suspicious yet — no tells, no magic scents, no misplaced glances.

In the meantime, I help Kass with her research in the library. Scrolls, grimoires, ancient tomes. Anything we can get our hands on. I try to stay near her as much as possible.

Seven hours.

That’s the longest I can be apart from her before the leash starts rotting my brain again. Before I start forgetting that I have a mate.

That panic? It never leaves me.

So I stay close. As close as I can.

And I feed her, too. Constantly. You’d think it’s the mate bond making me do it — instinct, hormones, obsession — but it’s not.

She loves food. Good food makes her happy.

And I like watching her be happy. So now, when she’s deep in study mode, the cook is under strict orders to go crazy with the most delicious recipes he has. And I bring each one of them to her.

Even Draxis is playing his part — or so she tells me. Apparently, he’s taken to hunting for her.

And for Neris, of course.

Yesterday, he dropped three dead deer at her feet in a matter of minutes after shifting. Neris was thrilled. Kass was… not. She’s banned her wolf from shifting around Draxis now, ever since that idiot tried to mark her — and Neris nearly let him.

So now they're grounded. No contact. Until Kass says otherwise.

The pain of the broken bond follows me around every second. Twisted and deep, settled in every fiber of my being. I can’t help but feel frustrated. Pissed off. Not with Kass, but with the whole situation. Why the fuck did this have to happen to me?

When I find that witch who put the collar on me — who forced me to betray my mate, to hurt her — I’ll tear them apart. Slowly.

And then I’ll do it again.

A sudden stab of pain slams through my chest. Sharp. Blinding. All my muscles seize.

I grit my teeth and dig my fingers into the dirt.

“Did you accept it immediately?” Kassira asks suddenly. Her voice is quiet, but sharp. Like she’s been holding the question in for a long time. “No questions asked?”

I turn my head to look at her. “Accept what?”

She meets my gaze, eyes steady. “What the High Priestess told you. That you had no Mate Spark. That there was no one meant for you.”

I exhale slowly, the memory wrapping cold fingers around my heart. “No,” I whisper. “I didn’t.”

My eyes drift back to the sky, the clouds unmoving.

“I still had hope. Even after she told me I was mateless, I held on. Told myself maybe she was wrong. Even if no other Priestess before got it wrong, maybe she was the first one.” My voice drops lower.

“But then I didn’t shift. And that… that broke something in me.

Sent me into a spiral. Ate away at my confidence, my pride. ”

I pause, remembering the way the loneliness used to scream in my ears with every birthday that came and went.

“But I still hoped,” I murmur. “Twenty came and went. By then, most shifters already know. Already meet. Already bond. But I still waited. Then twenty-one. Twenty-two. Twenty-four. At twenty-six. That’s when I stopped hoping.

That’s when I agreed to the arranged mating.

Told myself it was my duty. Told myself I just had to accept that there really was no mate for me. ”

I glance at her again. “What about you? You’re twenty-six now. What did you think when twenty hit and you still hadn’t met your mate?”

She gives a small shrug, but her shoulders are tense.

“That I was just… unlucky.” Her voice is steady, but I can hear the weight behind it.

“Part of me wondered if my mate was dead. That would explain the silence. I kept going to the pack’s Priestess, begging her to check my Mate Spark.

Make sure that it didn’t dull, that it still shone. ”

She looks down at her hands. “It always did. Bright, she said. Brighter than most. I just had to be patient. She told me my case was rare. But my mate was out there.”

Her voice tightens. “I waited for you for so long. And then you rejected me. Sent me into exile. Alone with the pain. Neris, too. We were devastated. Then bitter. And then angry.” She sighs. “I understand it now — the collar, the spell, all of it. But the memory is still there.”

“I know,” I say, voice low. Then I shift, push up on one elbow, eyes fixed on her. “But that doesn’t mean I’m giving up. I won’t. You’re mine, Kassira. And I’ll do whatever it takes to earn you back.”

She chuckles — soft, almost disbelieving. Like she doesn’t want to smile but can’t help it. “We have bigger problems to deal with right now.”

Her smile fades, and she looks at me again. This time, there’s no teasing in her eyes.

“I don’t feel the bond anymore, Draven. It’s gone. There’s no bringing it back. Not ever.”

I nod, slowly. “That doesn’t matter.”

She blinks.

“The bond only tells us who we belong to,” I say quietly. “It doesn’t make us fall in love. It doesn’t choose our happiness. I don’t need the bond to know you’re it for me. I don’t need magic to love you.”

Her eyes soften. She stares at me a moment longer, then shakes her head and laughs. “You didn’t actually lose that hope, did you?”

She stands and brushes herself off. “Come on. I have a mountain of dusty manuscripts calling my name. Will you help me again today, or do you have kingly duties to pretend to care about?”

I push up to my feet, brushing dirt off my palms. “All royal business is on hold until we cut this damn leash off me.”

We’re halfway back to the palace when I hear it.

Angry shouting. Flesh meeting flesh. Fangs breaking skin. Blood hitting the dirt.

The training field.

“Wait here,” I tell Kassira, already breaking into a run before she can object.

I sprint toward the noise, following the scent of adrenaline and blood. Two warriors are locked in the center of the field, fists flying, claws out. No one else in sight. Just them. No trainer. No witnesses. No control.

Ervin and Levi.

I know them both. Ervin — cocky, skilled, but too arrogant to ever be trusted with a command. And Levi… Amira’s younger brother.

“Stop!” I shout, layering my voice with Alpha command.

They freeze mid-blow. Bloodied. Panting. Eyes wide.

“What the hell is going on?” I demand, stalking toward them.

They both bow their heads in submission, shoulders rigid.

Levi speaks first. “I apologize, Alpha. He insulted my family. I lost control.”

I shift my attention to Ervin and lace my next words with more power. “What did you say?”

Ervin flinches. The truth tumbles out, clenched between his teeth. “I asked him if he slept his way to the top, just like his sister. I’m sorry, Alpha.”

My jaw locks. Fury burns through me like wildfire.

“You’re doing two hundred perimeter laps. Starting now. And you’re on cleaning duty for the next month. You keep running your mouth like that, and I’ll cut you from the warrior program myself. I need soldiers, not gossiping, arrogant brats. Move.”

Ervin takes off without another word, boots thudding against the ground.

I turn to Levi. “Are you alright?”

“Yes, Alpha,” he says, still not meeting my eyes.

“You can go,” I tell him. “If anyone else gives you trouble, come straight to me.”

He nods and takes a small step forward. “I can handle myself.” Then, voice lower, almost hesitant: “I’m glad you found your true mate, Alpha.”

There’s something about the way he says it. Not just the words — the weight behind them. No bitterness. No resentment. Just... relief.

Then he turns and walks away.

Strange.

I watch him go, jaw tight, thoughts turning. Why would he sound relieved Amira won’t be Luna?

“Did you hear that?” I ask, not bothering to turn around. Because of course she didn’t listen and stay put.

“No, what’d he say?” Kassira asks, coming to stand beside me.

“It was the way he said it,” I mutter. “Like he was… grateful. Like he didn’t want his sister to be Luna.”

She shrugs. “Could be sibling rivalry.”

“Maybe,” I say, frowning as I stare after him. I’ll keep an eye on Levi.

Suddenly, a jolt of warmth and sparks shoots up my arm.

I look down to find Kassira’s hand in mine.

She tugs. “Come on, Your Majesty. We’ve got work to do. And I’m starving.”

I blink. She's touching me. Willingly.

And just like that, a ridiculous smile breaks all over my face.