Chapter 4: The Mercury Kiss
878 Words
The bedroom was massive, filled with heavy shadows and the smell of burning cedar. The only light came from the fireplace, casting orange glows across the stone walls. Kaelen had dismissed everyone else, leaving me standing like a statue at the foot of his bed.
He didn't say a word as he prepared for sleep. He simply tossed his black shirt onto a chair, leaving his back to me.
I froze. His back was a map of violence. There were long, jagged white lines from claws and deep, puckered marks from old burns. As I studied them, my heart skipped a beat. Those scars matched the timeline of the Great War—the war my father had started. Some of those wounds looked like they had been caused by my own pack’s signature weapons.
For a second, a strange, heavy feeling pulled at my chest. Had he suffered this much because of my family? Was he really the monster, or was he just a soldier who had survived my father’s cruelty?
I shook my head, clearing the thoughts. It doesn't matter, I told myself. He killed my father. He stole my life. He has to die.
Kaelen climbed into the bed and pulled the furs up to his waist. He closed his eyes, and after a long time, his breathing became slow and deep. He looked vulnerable. He looked like a man, not a god.
This was my chance.
I reached into the hidden sheath in my boot and pulled out my most dangerous weapon: a mercury-core silver dagger. It was a beautiful, deadly thing. The silver would burn his skin, and the mercury inside would poison his blood the moment it entered his vein. An Alpha couldn't survive a strike from this blade.
I moved with the silence of a ghost. Every step was careful, my boots making no sound on the rugs. I reached the side of the bed and hovered over him. My shadow fell across his face. He didn't move.
I raised the dagger high, my grip tightening on the hilt. I aimed it directly at the center of his chest. All I had to do was drop my hand, and my revenge would be complete.
For my father, I thought.
I lunged.
But the blade never hit his chest.
In a blur of movement too fast for human eyes to follow, Kaelen’s hand shot out from under the furs. His fingers clamped around my wrist like a band of hot iron.
I gasped, trying to pull away, but he was too strong. The silver of the dagger’s hilt pressed against his skin, and I heard the faint hiss of his flesh burning. Even though the silver was hurting him, he didn't let go. His grip only got tighter.
His eyes snapped open. They weren't the eyes of a sleeping man. They were bright, predatory gold, glowing with a terrifying intelligence. He had been waiting for me. He had been the hunter all along.
"I was wondering how long it would take you to try, Vespera," he said, his voice a low, dark rumble.
My blood turned to ice. He knew. He had known my real name this entire time.
I tried to twist the knife, to bring it down on him anyway, but suddenly, the air in the room seemed to explode.
As Kaelen’s skin remained locked against mine, a literal shockwave of golden light erupted from the point where we touched. It wasn't just a feeling; it was a physical force. The shockwave hit the bedside table, shattering the glass water carafes into a thousand pieces. The sound of breaking glass filled the room.
The force of the energy was so violent that it ripped the collar of my tunic, tearing the fabric away from my neck.
I cried out as a searing heat burned into my collarbone. I looked down, and my breath caught in my throat. My ancient, hidden "Crescent Mark"—the birthmark of my royal bloodline—was glowing with a brilliant, blinding silver light.
Kaelen let out a choked sound, his eyes dropping to the mark on my skin. He shifted his grip, pinning my arm to the bed as he surged upward. He ripped his own collar open, and there, on his chest, was a matching mark, burning a fiery gold.
The room felt like it was spinning. The "Mate Bond" had finally snapped into place, and it was more powerful than anything I had ever imagined. It felt like my soul was being tied to his with chains of fire.
Kaelen’s face was inches from mine. The anger in his eyes had turned into something much more dangerous: a raw, primal possessiveness. He looked at my glowing mark, then back into my eyes. His voice was a deep vibration that I felt in my very bones.
"You didn't come here to kill an Alpha, Vespera," he growled, his hand sliding from my wrist to the back of my neck, pulling me closer until our foreheads touched. "You came here to find your mate."
He leaned in, his scent of cedar and storm-clouds wrapping around me, making my head swim.
"And now that I have you," he whispered against my lips, "I’m never letting you go."
- Writer
