CHAPTER 4 A KING'S CLAIM
889 Words
Aria didn’t know how long she stared at him.
Kael Draven.
The Lycan King.
The man with the same silver eyes as the beast in the forest.
Her mind struggled to connect the two images, but her instincts already knew the truth. The power radiating from him was the same. Heavy. Commanding. Ancient.
He was the creature who had watched her instead of killing her.
The one who had covered her with his fur.
The one who had carried her here.
“Because you are mine,” he had said.
Aria’s fingers tightened around the fur blanket. “I… I don’t understand.”
Kael’s gaze softened, but only slightly. He looked like a man unused to explaining himself.
“You will,” he said calmly.
The silver-haired woman beside the bed bowed her head. “My King, she is still weak. The rejection wound is fresh.”
Rejection wound.
The words made Aria’s chest ache again.
Kael’s eyes flickered to her chest briefly, as if he could see the invisible tear inside her.
His jaw tightened.
“Leave us,” he ordered quietly.
The woman obeyed immediately, exiting the room and closing the door behind her.
Silence filled the space.
Aria suddenly became very aware that she was alone with a king.
A very powerful one.
Kael pulled a chair closer to the bed and sat down. Even seated, he seemed large, dominating the room without effort.
“Tell me what you remember,” he said.
Aria swallowed. “I ran into the forest. I heard a growl. I saw… you.”
He nodded once. “You fainted before you hit the ground.”
A faint blush warmed her cheeks. “Did you… carry me?”
“Yes.”
The way he said it was simple, factual. As if carrying unconscious girls out of forbidden forests was something he did often.
“Why?” she asked again, her voice barely above a whisper.
Kael leaned forward slightly, resting his forearms on his knees.
“The moment you crossed into my forest, I felt you.”
Aria frowned. “Felt me?”
“A pull,” he said. “A call I have waited centuries to feel.”
Her heart skipped.
“That’s not possible.”
“It is.”
His eyes never left hers. “You are not a werewolf, Aria Nightshade.”
She gave a weak, humorless laugh. “Trust me. I know. I’ve been reminded my whole life.”
“You misunderstand,” he said. “You are not wolfless.”
He paused.
“You are Lycan.”
The word hung in the air between them.
Aria stared at him.
“That’s a myth.”
Kael’s lips twitched slightly. “Do I look like a myth to you?”
She had no answer.
Her mind raced, trying to reject what he was saying, but pieces of her life began to rearrange themselves in a way that made terrifying sense.
She never shifted.
She never felt like the others.
She always felt… different.
“But Lycans are stronger than werewolves,” she whispered. “They’re royal. They’re… legends.”
“Yes.”
“And you’re saying I’m one of them?”
“I am saying,” Kael replied steadily, “that you are the last royal bloodline of the Lycans.”
Aria’s breath stopped.
The room felt too small.
“That’s impossible. I grew up in a pack. My parents were—”
“Dead before you were old enough to remember,” Kael finished.
Her eyes widened.
“How do you know that?”
“Because you were hidden there.”
A chill ran down her spine.
“Hidden?”
Kael stood and walked to the window, his broad back facing her. “Years ago, Lycans were hunted. Our royal line was nearly wiped out. One child survived.”
He turned back to her.
“You.”
Aria shook her head slowly. “No… no, this is crazy.”
“Is it?” he asked quietly. “Tell me, Aria. Have you ever felt like you belonged there?”
She thought of the laughter.
The whispers.
The way she was always treated like an outsider.
Tears filled her eyes.
“No…”
Kael’s voice softened. “Because you didn’t.”
He stepped closer to the bed.
“Your wolf never came because you do not have a wolf.”
He placed a hand over his chest.
“You have something far greater.”
Aria’s heart pounded painfully.
“If this is true,” she whispered, “then why didn’t I know? Why didn’t anyone come for me?”
Kael’s expression darkened.
“We have been searching for you for years.”
Her throat tightened. “And you just… found me?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
He held her gaze.
“The moment your mate rejected you, your true blood awakened.”
Aria flinched at the word mate.
Pain flashed across her face.
Kael noticed.
His eyes turned cold, dangerous.
“The Alpha who rejected you,” he said quietly, “has no idea what he has done.”
Something in his voice made her shiver.
Not fear for herself.
Fear for Damon.
Kael leaned closer.
“And now,” he said in a low voice, “he will learn exactly who he threw away.”
- Writer
