Claimed by My Beastly Husband

Chapter 7 – Clash of Wills

The mansion was unnervingly quiet that evening—too quiet. Even the servants seemed to have disappeared into the walls, sensing the storm brewing between husband and wife.

Seraphina sat by the window of the west parlor, her fingers tight around the porcelain cup of untouched tea. Her gaze followed the dusky horizon, the world beyond the estate gates glowing in the last light of sunset. Freedom. So close, yet impossibly out of reach.

The heavy doors opened behind her. She didn’t need to turn to know who it was. The air itself seemed to thicken with his presence.

“Running away again, wife?” Kael’s voice was low, steady—too steady. It was the calm before the roar.

“I wasn’t aware I had anywhere left to run,” she replied, still staring out the window.

He stepped closer, the echo of his boots sharp against the marble floor. “Then why did you send the messenger to your father this morning?”

Her fingers froze. So he knew.

“I wanted answers,” she said finally. “Answers you refuse to give.”

“Answers,” he repeated, as though tasting the word. “Or permission?”

That made her turn. Her eyes flared, meeting the beast’s unflinching gaze. “Permission? For what—breathing? Thinking? You’ve locked me in a gilded cage and expect me to stay silent?”

Kael’s jaw tightened. “You are my wife. My name shields you, my power feeds you. You owe me respect.”

“Respect?” she shot back, rising from her chair. “Respect is earned, not demanded. You think fear is the same thing?”

The silence that followed was razor-sharp. Kael’s eyes darkened, that dangerous storm she had glimpsed before beginning to rise.

“You are brave tonight,” he murmured, stepping closer. “Tell me, Seraphina—do you test me because you wish to see the beast everyone warned you about?”

Her pulse jumped, but she held her ground. “Maybe I just want to see the man beneath him.”

For a moment, something flickered in his expression—surprise, perhaps even admiration—but it was gone before she could be sure.

Kael closed the distance between them until she could feel the heat of him, his shadow swallowing hers. “Careful,” he warned softly. “Your defiance tempts the very thing you claim to fear.”

“I don’t fear you,” she lied, her voice trembling only slightly.

His lips curved into something between a smirk and a snarl. “Then you are either foolish… or lying.”

He reached out, brushing his fingers beneath her chin, tilting her face upward. The touch was deceptively gentle, but his eyes burned with the same intensity that always unsettled her.

“Tell me,” he whispered. “What do you see when you look at me? The beast your mother warned you about? The monster your father sold you to?”

Her breath caught. “I see a man so terrified of being human that he hides behind his own legend.”

That struck him. She saw it—a flicker of pain, buried beneath layers of pride and armor. But instead of retreating, Kael laughed softly, darkly.

“You think you know me?” he said, voice low. “You’ve seen nothing, wife.”

He turned as if to leave, but Seraphina wasn’t done.

“No,” she said sharply. “You keep saying I’m yours, Kael. But you’re just as bound to me. You can command me, cage me—but you can’t make me surrender my will. Not to you, not to anyone.”

Kael froze mid-step. His shoulders tensed, his fists curling at his sides. When he turned back, the fire in his eyes was almost unbearable.

“You forget yourself.”

“No,” she said, standing taller. “For once, I remember who I am.”

The air between them crackled with fury and something more dangerous—something that neither wanted to name.

Kael closed the distance in a heartbeat, his hand slamming against the wall beside her head. She didn’t flinch. Her defiance only seemed to fuel him further.

“Do you think this is a game?” he demanded, his breath hot against her skin.

“No,” she whispered. “But maybe you do. You play with control because you’re afraid of losing it.”

Kael’s eyes narrowed. “And you, my little flame, play with fire because you secretly crave to be burned.”

The words hit her like a strike to the heart. Her breath came unevenly, and though she wanted to turn away, she couldn’t. His nearness pulled at her like gravity—dangerous, consuming.

He stepped closer still, until there was no space left between them. “Say it,” he murmured. “Say you hate me.”

Her throat tightened. “You want me to hate you so you don’t have to feel anything.”

Kael’s hand dropped from the wall, curling into a fist at his side. His control wavered—just a fraction—but enough for her to see the truth in his eyes: anger, yes, but also desire.

“Enough,” he said hoarsely. “You will not speak to me this way.”

“Then stop giving me reasons to.”

The words hung in the air, sharp as glass.

And then, without warning, Kael seized her wrist—not cruelly, but firmly—and drew her closer. Their faces were inches apart, breaths tangling. His grip was a contradiction: strong enough to remind her of his power, gentle enough to make her heart ache.

“You drive me mad,” he growled softly. “No one dares speak to me like this, yet you—” He broke off, voice thick with frustration. “You test me in ways no enemy ever has.”

Seraphina’s voice trembled, but her eyes didn’t waver. “Maybe because I’m not your enemy.”

Kael’s breath hitched. For a long, silent moment, they stood locked together—rage melting into something hotter, deeper, far more dangerous.

Finally, he released her hand, stepping back as if the distance might save them both.

“You think you’ve won,” he said quietly. “But every challenge you throw, every line you cross—it only binds you deeper to me.”

Seraphina’s pulse still raced, but she lifted her chin. “Then perhaps I’ll drag you down with me.”

Kael’s lips twitched—not quite a smile, but close. “Careful what you wish for.”

He turned and left the room, the echo of his boots fading into silence.

Seraphina stood alone, her heart pounding in her chest. The confrontation had left her shaken, breathless, and yet… alive. For the first time, she had stood her ground against him—and something inside her thrilled at the victory.

But even as she exhaled, she knew this was only the beginning. Kael Darvesh was not a man to be challenged without consequence.

And when the beast struck back, it would not be with anger alone.