Chapter 24
985 Words
By nightfall, Midnight could barely stand.
Every muscle in her body burned from hours of training with Kael. Her control had improved—but only barely. The demon inside her still pushed against every boundary she tried to build around it.
And the mate bond?
That had somehow become worse.
Much worse.
Midnight leaned against one of the stone pillars bordering the training grounds, chest heaving while cold rain soaked through her black tank top.
Kael stood across from her in the snow.
Watching.
Always watching.
“You’re distracted,” he said.
Midnight glared. “I’m exhausted.”
“You’re avoiding the real issue.”
Her stomach tightened instantly.
Unfortunately, she knew exactly what he meant.
The bond.
The closer they became emotionally, the stronger everything inside her grew:
the wolf
the shadows
the demon
the hunger
And lately, every accidental touch between them felt like gasoline on fire.
Midnight pushed wet hair out of her face. “Maybe I’m distracted because my soul apparently catches on fire every time you get too close to me.”
Kael’s silver eyes darkened immediately.
Dangerous thing to say.
The alpha stepped closer slowly.
Snow crunched beneath heavy boots while rain slid down his throat and dark shirt. Midnight hated how much she noticed things like that now.
“You think I don’t feel it too?”
The low roughness in his voice sent heat through her stomach instantly.
The mate bond pulsed hard.
The demon purred.
Midnight cursed internally.
Kael stopped directly in front of her.
Too close.
Everything about him felt unfair tonight:
the smell of smoke and pine
the heat rolling off his skin
the raw intensity in his silver eyes
Midnight’s pulse betrayed her instantly.
Kael noticed.
Of course he did.
“You’re doing it again.”
“Doing what?”
“Looking at me like you’re trying to decide whether to kiss me or stab me.”
Her mouth fell open slightly.
Kael’s expression remained perfectly calm.
Which somehow made it worse.
Midnight crossed her arms tightly. “You’re impossible.”
“And you’re avoiding the problem.”
“The problem is that my demon gets stronger every time I—”
The words died instantly.
Because Kael stepped closer again.
Now there was barely any space between them.
The mate bond snapped violently tight.
Midnight sucked in a sharp breath.
Kael’s voice dropped lower.
“Every time you what?”
Her heartbeat thundered.
The wolf inside her surged toward him instinctively while the demon coiled beneath her skin like smoke and flame.
Everything in her wanted him closer.
That terrified her.
Midnight looked away first.
“Makes no difference.”
Kael’s hand suddenly braced against the stone pillar beside her head.
Trapping her.
Not aggressively.
Possessively.
The alpha leaned down slightly until his face hovered inches from hers.
“It does to me.”
Her breath caught.
God.
This male was dangerous in ways completely unrelated to claws.
The rain softened around them.
Neither moved.
The tension between them became unbearable.
Midnight could feel every pulse of the bond now:
his restraint
his possessiveness
his control barely hanging by threads
And beneath all of it—
want.
Raw. Terrifying. Mutual.
Kael’s gaze dropped briefly to her mouth.
The demon inside her immediately reacted.
Power surged beneath her skin.
The shadows around the clearing stirred violently.
Kael noticed instantly.
His jaw tightened.
“There it is.”
Midnight forced herself backward away from him immediately.
The second distance formed—
the shadows calmed slightly.
Her chest rose sharply.
“That’s the problem.”
Kael stared at her carefully.
“You think wanting me makes you weaker.”
“No,” Midnight whispered.
“I think wanting you makes me dangerous.”
Silence hit hard.
Because they both knew she was right.
The mate bond itself was affecting her power.
Every emotional connection between them amplified the abyss inside her.
Kael looked furious about that fact.
Not at her.
At the world.
At fate.
At anything daring to make her afraid of him.
Before either could speak again—
a sharp pain suddenly tore through Midnight’s chest.
She gasped violently.
Kael caught her instantly.
“Midnight.”
Her eyes widened.
The pain wasn’t physical.
It felt like…
Pulling.
Something calling to her again.
Deep beneath the mountain.
The Hollow King.
Midnight grabbed Kael’s shirt tightly as another pulse hit her.
This one stronger.
“Something’s wrong.”
Kael’s expression darkened immediately.
The ground beneath them trembled faintly.
Not an earthquake.
A heartbeat.
The mountain itself was responding to her.
Then Midnight heard it.
Not whispers this time.
Words.
Clear.
Ancient.
Come below.
Her eyes snapped toward the estate.
The underground tunnels beneath Draven Ridge.
The Hollow King was calling her directly now.
Kael saw the realization on her face instantly.
“No.”
Midnight looked at him sharply.
“You don’t even know what it said.”
“I know that look.”
Another pulse hit her.
Harder.
The shadows across the training grounds suddenly bent toward the mountain like living things trying to crawl home.
Kael’s silver eyes flashed dangerously.
“It’s trying to lure you.”
Midnight swallowed hard.
The terrifying part?
Part of her wanted to go.
Not because she trusted the Hollow King.
Because something inside her believed she belonged there.
Kael grabbed her face firmly.
“Listen to me.”
His voice cut through the pull instantly.
“You do not belong to the abyss.”
The mate bond surged warm through her chest.
Grounding her.
Fighting the call.
Midnight stared up at him.
“What if part of me does?”
Kael’s expression turned deadly serious.
“Then I’ll drag you back myself.”
The promise in his voice shook her more than the Hollow King’s call ever could.
And somewhere beneath the mountain—
something ancient became very interested in the alpha who kept interfering with fate.
- Writer
