Chapter 7: The First Strike
957 Words
The palace corridors were too quiet.
Not the peaceful kind of quiet.
The kind that made your skin crawl.
The kind that felt like something was watching you… waiting.
---
Alina walked beside Mira, the faint glow of a lantern cutting through the darkness.
The council meeting still echoed in her mind.
Bond.
Prophecy.
War.
Each word pressed heavier than the last.
Her fingers brushed against her neck again.
The mark was still there.
Warm.
Alive.
A constant reminder that nothing about her life belonged to her anymore.
---
“What exactly did your king do to me?” Alina muttered.
Mira glanced around nervously before answering.
“His Majesty marked you… which means you are now connected to him.”
“Connected how?”
Mira hesitated.
Then lowered her voice.
“Most believe it’s the beginning of a mate bond.”
Alina stopped walking.
“A what?”
The word felt foreign.
Dangerous.
But before Mira could explain—
A sound echoed through the corridor.
---
Footsteps.
---
Slow.
Heavy.
Not hurried.
Not careless.
Deliberate.
---
Alina’s stomach tightened.
“Did you hear that?” she whispered.
Mira’s face went pale.
“Yes…”
The lantern flickered violently as a cold gust of wind rushed through the hall.
The shadows shifted.
Twisted.
Then—
A voice emerged from the darkness.
“So… it’s true.”
---
A figure stepped forward.
Tall.
Broad.
A Lycan.
His golden eyes glowed with something dark.
Something hateful.
---
Alina instinctively stepped back.
“Who are you?”
The man smiled.
Cold.
Cruel.
“Someone who refuses to let a human destroy our kingdom.”
---
Everything happened too fast.
---
He lunged.
Claws flashing.
Aimed straight for her throat.
---
Mira screamed.
Alina froze.
For a split second—
fear locked her in place.
---
Then—
Impact.
---
A powerful force slammed into the attacker mid-air.
The sound echoed like thunder.
The Lycan was thrown violently across the corridor—
crashing into the stone wall hard enough to crack it.
---
The air trembled.
Heavy.
Dangerous.
Familiar.
---
Alina didn’t need to turn to know who stood behind her.
She felt it.
That presence.
Cold.
Dominant.
Unforgiving.
---
Kael.
---
He stepped forward slowly.
His golden eyes burned with fury.
Not controlled.
Not hidden.
Raw.
Deadly.
---
Guards rushed in from both ends of the corridor, surrounding the fallen attacker instantly.
But Kael didn’t even glance at them.
His gaze remained locked on the man who had just tried to kill her.
---
“Who sent you?” Kael asked.
His voice was quiet.
Too quiet.
The kind of quiet that came before something terrible.
---
The attacker coughed, blood spilling from his lips.
And then—
he laughed.
“You already know.”
---
Kael’s eyes darkened.
“Magnus.”
The name fell like a shadow.
---
The Lycan grinned despite the blood.
“The northern packs will never bow to a king who chooses a human over his own kind.”
---
Alina felt something shift beside her.
Kael moved closer.
Too close.
His hand wrapped around her wrist suddenly.
Firm.
Possessive.
---
A pulse shot through her body.
Hot.
Sharp.
Alive.
---
Her breath caught.
“What—”
But the words died in her throat.
Because she felt it.
The connection.
The bond.
Responding.
---
“Take him,” Kael ordered coldly.
The guards moved instantly, dragging the attacker away.
“Interrogate him.”
The man didn’t struggle.
He just laughed again as he was pulled down the corridor.
“You can’t protect her forever!”
His voice echoed long after he was gone.
---
Silence returned.
But it wasn’t the same.
It felt heavier.
Closer.
More dangerous.
---
Alina pulled her hand away from Kael.
Her heart still racing.
“You almost got me killed,” she snapped.
---
The words hung in the air.
Sharp.
Accusing.
---
Kael didn’t respond immediately.
He just looked at her.
Really looked.
Then—
“No.”
His voice was calm.
Certain.
“They came because of you.”
---
Alina froze.
“What do you mean?”
---
Kael stepped closer again.
Slow.
Controlled.
Terrifying.
---
“The rebellion has already begun,” he said.
His gaze dropped—
to the mark on her neck.
It pulsed faintly.
Responding.
---
“And now…” he continued quietly,
“…you are the center of it.”
---
Her chest tightened.
The weight of his words sinking in.
---
“Then let me go,” she said.
The words came out softer than she expected.
But they were real.
Honest.
“If I’m the reason this is happening…”
Her voice wavered.
“Then maybe I shouldn’t be here.”
---
For a moment—
Kael said nothing.
---
Then—
he laughed.
---
Low.
Dark.
Dangerous.
---
“Let you go?”
He stepped closer.
Closing the distance completely.
His presence overwhelming.
His voice dropping to a near whisper.
---
“Little human…”
His fingers lifted slowly.
Brushing lightly against the mark on her neck.
---
The reaction was instant.
Heat surged through her body.
Her breath caught sharply.
---
“If my enemies want you dead…”
His golden eyes locked onto hers.
Dark.
Intense.
Unyielding.
---
“…then that means you are far more valuable than you realize.”
---
A chill ran down her spine.
Because this time—
She believed him.
---
Deep down…
She was starting to understand.
---
This wasn’t just about survival anymore.
This wasn’t just about being sold.
Or being marked.
Or even being his mate.
---
This was something bigger.
Something dangerous.
Something that could change everything.
---
And she was right in the middle of it.
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