Ariana’s POV
“From today onward… nobody touches you again.”
His voice vibrated through my entire body and before I could react, the Lycan King carried me deeper into the forest.
Rain kept falling heavily around us, I should be afraid, I was afraid.
But somehow, his arms felt safer than the entire Blackwood pack ever did.
My wolf slowly calmed inside me for the first time tonight.
I hated that, I hated how my body relaxed against him.
The Lycan King suddenly looked down at me.
“Stay awake.”
His voice sounded commanding and I swallowed nervously. “Where are you taking me?”
“My kingdom.”
Fear rushed through me instantly.
The Lycan Kingdom.
Nobody entered the Lycan Kingdom freely.
Stories said even Alphas fear that place.
I tried pushing against his chest weakly. “Put me down.”
His grip tightened immediately.
“No.”
“I need to go back.”
His eyes darkened dangerously.
“Back to the pack that rejected you?”
Pain flashed through my chest again and I looked away silently.
The rest of the journey felt unreal.
Hours later, massive black gates appeared before us and huge guards bowed immediately the moment they saw him.
“My King.”
King.
The word hit differently hearing it out loud, everyone feared this man, yet he carried me carefully like I mattered.
The gates opened slowly, and the mansion inside stole my breath immediately.
Everything looked powerful.
Dark walls, silver flames and massive windows.
This place felt dangerous.
The Lycan King walked straight inside while servants lowered their heads quickly and then suddenly a male servant steps forward.
“My King, should I carry her to the healers?”
The Lycan King growled instantly and the sound frozd everyone.
“I said nobody touches her.”
The servant immediately stepped back fearfully and my heart rang harder.
The Lycan King carried me upstairs himself, then gently placed me on a giant bed.
A woman entered the room nervously.
“The royal healer is here, Your Majesty.”
He nodded once.
An older woman walked inside carrying medicine.
The Lycan King stayed beside me the entire time,nwatching.
The healer touched my wrist carefully and then her expression changed.
She then looked toward the Lycan King.
“She is pregnant.”
The room went silent and I stopped breathing completely.
No.
Tears instantly rushed into my eyes and the healer continued carefully.
“The child is healthy.”
“Child.”
My hands shook as it touched my stomach slowly.
Damien’s child. My mate’s child.
A broken sound left my throat before I could stop it and then suddenly I started crying hard, everything hurt again.
The rejection, the divorce, the ceremony and Damien.
I covered my face with my hands as sobs left my chest painfully.
The healer quietly left the room.
Now it was only me and him.
The Lycan King stared at me silently for a long moment and then he suddenly knelt in front of the bed.
“You still want him after everything?”
I wiped my tears quickly.
“He’s my mate.”
His jaw tightened instantly and I looked down at my stomach again and cried harder.
“He rejected me but…” My voice broke badly. “I still love him.”
The room became tense and then suddenly the Lycan King stood up.
“Sleep.”
I blinked at him through tears. “What?”
“You’re exhausted.”
“I don’t even know your name.”
His eyes were locked onto mine.
“Kael.”
Kael.
The name somehow matched him perfectly.
Dangerous, powerful and terrifying.
Kael then walked toward the fireplace and removed his bloody shirt carelessly.
My breath caught instantly, scars covered his chest and arms, not normal scars but battle scars and he noticed me staring.
“So now you’re scared?”
I quickly looked away. “No.”
A deep sound left his chest, almost like amusement.
I did not understand this man at all.
That night became torture.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Damien rejecting me and I woke up gasping from another nightmare and my body shook badly.
Then suddenly strong arms pulled me against a warm chest and I froze immediately.
Kael.
Half asleep, I somehow crawled into his lap and my face burned with embarrassment.
“I’m sorry.”
But Kael did not move, not even a little.
His arms stayed around my waist tightly and my body pressed fully against his bare chest now and the tension between us became dangerous instantly.
I then tried moving away and his hand suddenly gripped my hip harder.
“Stop moving.”
My breath shook and his voice sounded rough now.
I could feel how tense his body became beneath me and heat crawled across my skin immediately.
Kael stared down at my face silently and then his hand slowly brushed against the marks on my shoulder and his expression changed instantly.
“Who did this?”
I quickly pulled away from him.
“It’s nothing.”
Kael suddenly grabbed my wrist and his eyes darkened after seeing more scars across my arm.
Whip scars, bite marks and old bruises.
Rage flashed across his face immediately.
“Who touched you?”
“It wasn’t Damien.”
The answer came too fast and too desperate and Kael’s expression somehow became worse.
“He allowed this?”
I looked away silently and Kael suddenly stood up and walked away from the bed.
His entire body looked dangerous now.
“If I find out somebody hurt you…”
His voice came out deadly and I quickly interrupted him. “Please don’t.”
“You still protect them?”
“They’re my pack.”
Kael laughed bitterly.
“That pack threw you into rogue land.”
Tears filled my eyes again.
“I still want to go back.”
The room went silent and then suddenly pain exploded through my chest violently and I gasped loudly.
Silver light suddenly burst from my body and the entire room shook.
Glass shattered everywhere and the bed trembled violently beneath me.
I then stared at my glowing hands in horror.
What is happening?
Kael grabbed me immediately.
“Ariana!”
The silver energy exploded again stronger and then suddenly everything stopped.
There was silence, and my breathing shook badly.
Kael then stared at me differently now, it was like he saw something dangerous, something impossible and fear moved through me instantly.
“What’s wrong with me?”
He said nothing and that scared me more and I quickly grabbed his arm desperately.
“Please let me go back to Damien.”
Kael’s face darkened immediately.
“He’s my mate.”
Before I could react, Kael suddenly trapped me against the wall and my breath caught hard.
His body pressed tightly against mine and his hand gripped my waist possessively.
“And what am I?” he growled and I couldn’t answer.
His face moved closer to mine slowly, too close and my heart rang wildly and then suddenly Kael growled furiously:
“If that pack touched you again… I will burn every last wolf in Blackwood territory.”