Chapter Two: The Kiss That Woke the Beast
955 Words
His finger moved.
Just a twitch, barely there. But I saw it.
The air in the Alpha’s chamber suddenly felt too thick, like the room itself had been holding its breath for years and had just exhaled.
I blinked. “Kael?”
No response. No sound. Just stillness again.
Maybe I imagined it. My mind was fraying, spinning from everything: the dress, the blood ceremony, the cold slap on my cheek, and the vows I never wanted to make. I took a shaky step back, my fingers gripping the carved bedpost.
Then the door opened.
I turned sharply, heart pounding, expecting another servant or, worse, Uncle Hadrian, ready to drag me back to the lie.
Instead, a woman walked in, tall, graceful, and cloaked in navy. Her long black braid fell over one shoulder, and her golden eyes locked on mine like fire through fog.
She wasn’t a servant. She was a Blackthorn.
“You must be Arya,” she said softly. “I’m Liora. Kael’s sister.”
I dropped into a shaky curtsy. “Luna Liora I mean Lady Liora”
“Just Liora,” she interrupted with a faint smile. “No one’s been Luna in this house for a long time.”
I swallowed hard. “I.....I didn’t know anyone else would visit tonight.”
“I wouldn’t have, but I thought you should have this.” She stepped closer and held out a small velvet box.
I stared at it, unsure whether to reach for it or run. “What is it?”
“The Blackthorn ring. The symbol of the Luna. It belongs to you now.”
I took a half-step back. “No. I don’t want”
“It’s not about what you want,” she said gently, not cruelly. “It’s your duty now. And Kael… he would’ve wanted his mate to wear it.”
I hesitated. Her eyes didn’t hold scorn, just something softer. Sadder. Like she, too, had lost pieces of herself in this cursed story.
Slowly, I took the box and opened it.
The ring was forged from obsidian and moonstone, with the crest of the Blackthorn Pack carved into its center. It shimmered faintly under the candlelight.
“Why me?” I whispered.
Liora’s gaze flicked to her brother’s unmoving form. “Because he needs someone. And so do you.”
I looked at Kael, then looked. Not as the legend, the sleeping Alpha cloaked in mystery, but as the man beneath it all.
Even after ten years in a coma, he was beautiful. Devastatingly so.
His jawline was sharp and proud. His lips were full, almost too perfect to belong to someone cursed. Long dark lashes fanned across his cheeks, and his skin, though pale, was unblemished like time itself refused to touch him.
How could someone look alive and yet be so completely unreachable?
Liora gave me a small nod. “I’ll leave you. He’s yours now.”
She turned and slipped out the door, her scent trailing like fading smoke.
Silence settled again.
I stared down at the ring in my palm. It felt too heavy for such a small thing. Not just in weight, but in meaning. I hadn’t earned it. I hadn’t wanted it.
My chest ached. I couldn’t stay here all night, pretending this was a love story. It was a prison. A golden cage.
I turned back to Kael, drawing in a shaky breath. “You don’t even know who I am.”
I stepped closer to the bed, drawn in by something I couldn’t name. Maybe guilt. Maybe it was the way his features looked almost peaceful, like he’d found a place even this cruel world couldn’t reach.
“I’m not your real bride,” I whispered. “She ran. And they threw me into your bed like I was nothing.”
My throat tightened. I looked down at the ring again.
“I didn’t want this.”
My eyes burned.
I moved to place the ring on the nightstand, but as I leaned forward, my foot caught the edge of the fur throw.
I stumbled forward toward him.
Time slowed.
One hand shot out to catch myself on the mattress. The other clutched the edge of his robe. My body fell, my face brushing his chest, then.........
My lips grazed his.
Just a brush. An accident.
But the instant contact sent something electric through my spine.
His body jerked.
I froze.
A sound left his throat. Low. Guttural. Alive.
My heart slammed against my ribs.
I staggered backward, hand flying to my mouth.
He gasped again, and this time, his eyes opened.
Dark. Wild. Piercing.
Eyes that hadn’t seen light in a decade locked onto me.
He breathed in sharply, chest rising under the silks. Muscles tensed. Veins pulsed along his arms.
I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t breathe.
His eyes darted around the room, then back to me. “Where am I?” His voice was deep and raw like gravel soaked in honey.
“You’re… You’re awake,” I whispered.
He blinked slowly, as if the words took a moment to make sense. “Who are you?”
I should’ve told him the truth. That I wasn’t his bride. That everything he knew was a lie.
But I panicked.
“I’m… I’m your wife,” I said.
His gaze narrowed. “My… wife?”
My lungs screamed for air.
The room tilted. The world twisted.
I had just kissed the sleeping alpha. And now he was awake, with no idea that I wasn’t the woman he was supposed to love.
Kael Blackthorn had risen.
But I had kissed him under someone else’s name.
And lies, no matter how softly spoken, never stay sleeping for long.
- Writer
