Chapter Four: A Lie Between Our Lips
971 Words
Kael didn’t take his eyes off me once Liora left the room.
Even when she kissed his temple and whispered, “I’ll give you two some space,” he barely blinked, just kept watching me like he couldn’t quite believe I was real. Like I was something he’d dreamt into existence.
And I let him believe it.
I let him believe I was her.
The lie sat heavy on my chest, like a second skin I couldn’t peel off. Every time he called me “Celine,” it felt like a needle threading through my ribs.
Still, I smiled.
Still, I stayed.
Because for the first time, I wasn’t the invisible orphan. I was someone he wanted.
Later that evening, Liora found me alone in the moon garden, where I’d escaped the weight of Kael’s gaze.
The moonstone paths glittered beneath our feet as she approached, her arms crossed over her chest, her expression unreadable.
“You’re not Celine,” she said softly.
I flinched. “I—I never meant to lie. I—”
“I know,” she cut in. “I saw it in your face the moment you said the name. And I saw Celine for years. You’re nothing like her.”
I looked down, twisting Luna’s ring on my finger. “They forced me. My aunt and uncle. She ran, and they made me take her place. I didn’t even know I was marrying a man in a coma until the night before.”
Liora stepped closer. “And now?”
“Now he’s awake,” I whispered. “And I don’t know how to tell him. He looks at me like I’m his salvation.”
She sighed. “You woke him, Arya. Not Celine. You touched his soul. That means something.”
“Will it still mean something when he finds out the truth?”
Liora was quiet for a moment. Then, gently, she said, “He deserves the truth. But maybe not all at once. When you’re ready, tell him. Before someone else does.”
I nodded, guilt burning through my skin.
She touched my shoulder before walking away. “Don’t wait too long, Arya. Some truths are easier heard from the lips that kissed you.”
Kael found me in the west tower library just before the sky turned violet.
I’d gone there to hide. Instead, I found a fire roaring in the hearth, soft wolf-fur throws on the floor, and a man who somehow looked more alive every time I saw him.
He leaned against the doorway, arms folded, shirt slightly unbuttoned.
“You’re avoiding me,” he said.
My pulse stuttered. “I wasn’t.”
He walked in slowly, every step liquid power. “You were.”
I glanced at the books, pretending interest in a dusty spine. “You’ve just woken up. I figured you’d want time to… adjust.”
“I’ve had ten years to adjust to silence.” His voice dropped, rougher now. “I want to hear you.”
I turned to face him fully and nearly lost my breath.
The firelight kissed his skin, casting his sharp features in gold. His hair, slightly tousled, framed his intense eyes like shadows framing the moon. He was a man reborn, and he was looking at me like I was the reason he came back.
He stepped closer. “I don’t remember much. But when I woke, your face was the first thing I saw.”
I swallowed. “It was a mistake. I didn’t mean to”
“You saved me.”
His words cut through me. I felt like I was shattering under his warmth.
He stopped inches away, gaze dropping to my lips. “Can I touch you?”
I nodded because I couldn’t find the strength to say no.
His hand brushed my cheek, tracing the curve of my jaw, then the column of my throat. I shivered beneath his touch.
“Your scent,” he murmured. “It calms the beast in me.”
I closed my eyes as his forehead touched mine.
“I feel like I’ve known you forever,” he whispered. “But I don’t know anything about you.”
That was my chance to tell him.
I almost did.
But then he leaned in and kissed me, and the truth crumbled behind my teeth.
It was soft at first. Barely there. Just lips pressing to lips, tentative and slow.
Then his hand slid into my hair, and he deepened the kiss, mouth hungry, as if he were drinking in life itself.
I melted into him.
His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling me into his chest. I felt the strength in his body, the heat of his skin, and the way his lips moved over mine like he’d kissed me in a thousand dreams.
When he finally pulled back, we were both breathless.
“Celine,” he whispered.
I flinched.
He didn’t notice.
He rested his forehead against mine, eyes closed. “Don’t leave me again.”
My heart broke a little more.
Because I wasn’t the woman he loved.
But gods help me… I wanted to be.
He held me like I was his destiny.
But he didn’t know my name.
And when the truth came out…
He might never say it again.
Elsewhere in the Northern Territory…
A howl pierced the night as a silver wolf crossed the borderlands, her heels clicking against cold stone when she shifted into her human form.
Celine Blackthorn, no longer mated, chosen, tossed her coat at a servant and barked, “Bring wine.”
She had just sunk into the velvet chair when a whisper reached her ear.
“Alpha Kael… has awakened.”
The glass shattered in her hand.
Her eyes burned.
“What do you mean, he’s awake?”
- Writer
