Mated To Rival Kings

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

Darian's POV

My wolf, Sage, was pacing circles in the back of my mind, his claws almost digging into my consciousness. He was restless, his fur bristling with a tension I couldn’t explain.

Sage, what’s wrong? I asked, trying to maintain my own calm.

I don’t know, Sage growled back. I just feel strung tight. Like a bow ready to snap. We should go for a run. Now.

I looked out the window. The rain had let up, leaving the world in a grey, dripping gloom, but the air was still heavy. I agreed. Maybe a run through the damp forest would settle us both. The kiss with Raven earlier had left me wanting more than I should.

I made it as far as the courtyard when the craziest thing happened. Sage started howling and growling, trying to seize control of my human form. This had almost never happened. We had spent years perfecting our composure, building a wall of discipline that most Alphas couldn't dream of. But now, the wall was crumbling.

I grabbed my head, groaning as I fought for dominance. Then, it hit me.

The most delicious, mouthwatering scent I had ever encountered wafted through the air. It was jasmine, together with something sweet and musk-heavy that called to every primal instinct I possessed. My vision flickered, and I knew my eyes had turned a piercing, icy grey—the color of Sage’s eyes.

Mate, Sage roared, his voice drowning out my reason. I want mate now. She is calling. Mate wants to be taken.

It was a jumbled, violent mass of desire. The need to find her, to pin her down, and to mark her until she was entirely mine was overwhelming. My body reacted instantly; my pulse hammered in my ears, and my pants felt dangerously tight.

I heard a distant crash of the sound of a door being kicked open. I ran the rest of the way, moving with a speed that blurred the hallway around me. Sage was snarling in my head, sensing another presence near what belonged to us. Another male. Trying to take mate away. Kill him.

I burst into Raven’s room, and the scene made my blood boil. Valen had Raven pinned against the wall, his face buried deep in the crook of her neck, his hands roaming her body with a frantic desperation. The room was drenched in her mating scent. It was the thick, heavy aroma of a female in heat. Underneath it, I could smell her confusion and her own rising desire.

I slammed my head hard against the doorframe. The sharp, stinging pain brought a fleeting moment of clarity to my clouded mind. I used that second of focus to assess the situation.

Dammit. Raven had gone into heat.

Female wolves usually entered their first heat within a week of meeting their fated mate. It had been over a week, and between everything that happened, this fact had simply slipped our minds. Now, the debt was being paid in full.

I stalked over to them, my movements sort of sluggish. I reached out, grabbed Valen by the collar of his tunic, and ripped him away from her with every ounce of my Alpha strength. He flew backward, hitting the far wall with a sickening thud that echoed through the room.

That should have woken him up, but he just shook his head, his eyes glowing a bright, icy blue. "Darian," he rasped, his voice sounding more like a beast than a man. "Mate is in heat." Then he growled, a deep, vibrating sound of warning. "Why are you keeping her from me? She needs me."

I turned to Raven. She was slumped against the wall, her skin flushed and glistening with a fine sheen of sweat. I pulled her toward the bed, my hands trembling. Every fiber of my being wanted to lean down and lick the moisture from her neck, to sink my teeth into her skin and never let go.

She clung to my arms, whining softly. The sound was so sweet, so desperate, that it felt like a punch to my heart.

Valen growled again, charging at me from across the room. I dodged him, shoving him aside as I laid Raven down on the mattress. Sage reared up in my mind, his hackles raised. Another male is challenging us! He wants our mate! Fight him to the death!

"Raven, stay down," I managed to choke out.

She reached out, her fingers catching the fabric of my sweater. Her eyes were glazed, the pupils blown wide. "What is happening? Darian, please... touch me. I feel so empty."

The pain that shot through me was almost unbearable. I wanted to give her everything she was asking for, but I knew the reality. I couldn't touch her, and neither could Valen. Not like this. Our wolves had not accepted this three-way arrangement in any primal sense. If we both tried to claim her while she was in heat, we would end up tearing each other and likely her apart. It was a bloodbath waiting to happen.

I had to be the composed King. I had to be the one with the control.

I peeled her hand off my sleeve, the effort making my muscles ache. I turned toward Valen, who was scrambling to his feet, and I shoved him toward the door. I forced him out into the lounge and slammed the bedroom door shut, locking it with a shaking hand.

Valen snarled at me, his face twisted in rage, and I snarled back, my grey eyes meeting his blue ones. We grappled for a moment, knocking over a side table, two Alphas fighting for the right to return to that room.

Finally, Valen let out a frustrated yell and pushed back. "What do we do?" he panted. The effects of the heat were radiating through the door, exhausting us both, driving our instincts to the breaking point.

All I wanted was to sink into her. To be warm and one with my mate. I turned back toward the door, my hand reaching for the handle, but Valen lunged at me.

"You cannot go near my mate!" he roared.

"She is my mate, you bastard!" I shoved him off, pinning him against the wall.

We stared at each other, both of us heaving for breath. Then, I shook my head, trying to clear the fog. "Valen... stop. We can't hurt each other. If we lose control, Raven is the one who will be hurt the most. We can't be near her like this."

Valen’s jaw worked as he fought his own wolf. He looked at me, his eyes bloodshot. "Dungeons," he rasped.

I nodded. It was the only solution.

We descended the stairs together, our bodies tight and on edge. Every step away from her room felt like our hearts were being pulled out of our chests. We found the head guards in the lower hall and ordered them to lock us up in separate cells.

As we walked through the stone corridors, I noticed the guards were all holding cloths over their noses or had tied them around their faces. They weren't stupid. They knew the scent of a female in heat could drive any male wolf to madness, and they knew it was certain death to even look at the Kings' mate when we were in this state.

They led us to the deepest part of the mansion. Valen and I were placed in adjacent cells, separated by a thick wall of iron bars. The cells were reinforced with silver-flecked iron, a material that even the strongest Alpha King would find it difficult to break through.

The guards shackled our wrists to the walls for extra measure. They retreated quickly, leaving us in the dim torchlight. At least here, we could see each other, we could talk, but we couldn't kill each other.

There were more guards posted at the top of the stairs and outside Raven’s door. She would be safe, and we would be contained.

Across the bars, Valen threw his head back and let out a long, pained howl that echoed through the stone dungeons. It was a sound of pure agony, a plea for his mate.

It was strange. As Sage heard the cry, I felt a dual reaction. I wanted to reach through the bars and tear Valen’s head off for daring to want her, but at the same time, I felt a twisted sense of brotherhood. We were both suffering the same torment. We were both half of a whole that we couldn't reach.

I slumped against the cold stone wall, the shackles clinking. The scent of her was still faint on my skin, a cruel reminder of what I was missing.

Rest now, Sage, I whispered. But we both knew there would be no rest tonight.