Chapter Seven: The Fortress
1417 Words
Morning came slowly through the narrow window.
Seraphina had not slept at all. She stayed beside Kael throughout the night, her palm pressed against his chest. His heartbeat slowed from a frantic drum to something steady. The chains held. The beast finally slept.
Now the sun rose over the northern mountains, and Kael Draven was waking up.
His eyes opened. Silver this time, not black. Not an animal. Just silver and confused and staring directly at her face.
"You remained here," he said.
"Where would I go?"
"Every other woman ran from this room."
Seraphina pulled her hand back from his chest. His skin felt cooler now. Almost normal temperature. "I am not every other woman."
Kael sat up slowly. The chains rattled. He looked at his wrists, raw and bleeding from where he had pulled against the iron. Then he looked at her again.
No blood on her hands. No scratches on her arms. No bruises forming on her throat.
He had not harmed her.
"I did not hurt you," he said. Not a question. Wonder and disbelief mixed together.
"No. You did not."
Kael stared at her for a long moment. His silver eyes searched her face for deception. For fear. For the lies he expected to find. He discovered nothing.
"What are you?" he asked.
"I already told you. My name is Seraphina."
"That is not what I asked."
She stood up. Her legs felt stiff from sitting on the cold stone floor all night. Her back ached. Her side still hurt where Ronan's dagger had pierced her flesh. She refused to show any of it.
"I am hungry," she said. "And cold. And I have not bathed properly in weeks. Can we discuss what I am after I eat something?"
Kael blinked. The great Alpha Kael Draven, terror of the northern kingdoms, looked at her like she had just sprouted wings from her shoulders.
"You are giving me orders?"
"I am making requests. There is a difference."
---
The door opened an hour later.
Drystan stood in the doorway, his scarred face carefully blank. He looked at Kael, still chained to the wall. Then at Seraphina, sitting on the floor with her knees pulled to her chest.
"You are alive," Drystan said.
"Obviously."
"The last woman did not survive the night."
Seraphina stood up. Her legs held steady. "The last woman was not me."
Drystan looked at Kael. The Alpha had not spoken since she asked for food. He watched her with those silver eyes, tracking her every movement like she was prey.
"Alpha," Drystan said. "Do you want me to remove the chains?"
Kael did not look away from Seraphina. "No."
"Then what do you want me to do?"
"I want you to investigate her. Find out where she came from. Discover who sold her. Learn why the wolfsbane did not kill her." His voice stayed low and careful. "I want answers by nightfall."
Drystan nodded. He looked at Seraphina one more time. Something passed between them. Acknowledgment. She had survived what no one else could.
"Yes, Alpha."
Drystan left. The door closed behind him.
Seraphina and Kael remained alone together.
---
The food arrived an hour after that.
A servant girl carried a tray loaded with bread, cheese, meat, and hot tea. She kept her eyes on the floor. Her hands trembled as she set the tray down.
"Thank you," Seraphina said.
The servant girl looked up. Surprise flickered across her young face. No one had ever thanked her before.
"You are welcome, my lady."
She left quickly. The door closed.
Seraphina sat on the floor and ate. The bread tasted fresh. The cheese was soft and creamy. The meat was warm and seasoned. She had forgotten what real food tasted like after weeks of dungeon bread and stale water.
Kael watched her eat. He remained silent.
"Are you not hungry?" she asked.
"I do not eat during ruts."
"Why not?"
"Because food makes the wolf hungrier." His voice stayed flat. "And the wolf is already hungry enough."
Seraphina tore a piece of bread and held it out to him. "Eat."
"I said no."
"Your body needs strength. The rut is not finished. It will return." She shook the bread at him. "Eat, Alpha. Or I will force it down your throat myself."
Kael stared at her. Then he laughed. The sound came out rusty, like a noise he had not made in years. But it was real.
"You would actually try," he said.
"I will succeed."
He took the bread. He ate it slowly, watching her the whole time. When he finished, he reached for the cheese. Then the meat. Then the tea.
"Happy?" he asked.
"Ecstatic."
---
The day passed without incident.
Servants came and went. Guards stood outside the door. No one entered except Drystan, who returned twice with questions for Kael and curious looks for Seraphina.
By evening, the chains came off.
Kael stood. His legs shook beneath him. His arms were covered in purple bruises from fighting the iron restraints. But he stood on his own.
"The rut will return tonight," he said. "It always follows the same pattern. Three nights. Three waves of hunger. Then it passes."
"And the women who came before me?"
"They died on the second night." He looked at her directly. "The wolf grows more desperate the second night. More hungry. Less human."
"Then I will remain here with you."
"No."
"I am not asking for permission."
Kael's jaw tightened. His hands curled into fists. "You do not understand what you are offering. I nearly killed you last night. Tonight will be worse than that."
"Then chain me to the wall as well."
"What?"
"Chain me to the wall. If I am beside you, you will not have to reach for me. I will already be there."
Kael stared at her. His silver eyes flickered with something that looked almost like fear.
"You are insane," he said.
"Perhaps." Seraphina touched her belly. The warmth remained steady and strong. "But I am still alive. And so are you. That must count for something."
---
The second night came faster than expected.
Kael's eyes turned black first. Then his hands started shaking. Then the growling began, deep in his chest. Animals. Hungry. Desperate.
"Chain me," Seraphina said.
"No."
"Kael—"
"If I hurt you, I will never forgive myself." His voice cracked. "I have killed before. I remember their faces. Every single one of them. I do not want to remember yours."
She stepped toward him. He stepped back.
"Do not come closer."
"I am not afraid of you."
"You should be."
She reached out and took his hand. His fingers burned with heat. His palm felt slick with sweat. He tried to pull away. She held tighter.
"I told you before," she said. "I am not every other woman."
The black in his eyes spread wider. The growling grew louder. His body shook with the effort of holding back.
"Please," he whispered. "Run away from me."
"No."
She pulled him down to the floor. He landed on his knees. She sat beside him, her back against the cold stone wall, her hand still wrapped around his.
"Stay with me," she said. "You do not have to fight. You do not have to be strong. Just stay where you are."
"I do not know how to do this."
"Then let me teach you."
---
The night passed slowly.
Seraphina did not sleep. She stayed awake, her hand in Kael's, her shoulder supporting his head. The rut came in waves. He would shake. He would growl. His eyes would go black.
Then he would breathe.
The black would fade.
He would whisper her name like a prayer.
By morning, the chains remained on the floor where Drystan had left them. Kael had not attacked. He had not been killed. He had simply held on.
When the sun rose through the narrow window, Kael lifted his head from her shoulder. His eyes were silver again. Human again.
"You remained with me," he said.
"I remained."
"Why would you do that?"
Seraphina looked at him. At the monster everyone feared. No one had ever tried to save.
"Because someone should have stayed a long time ago," she said. "I am sorry that no one did."
Kael's face crumpled. He turned away quickly, but she saw it. The c***k in his armor. The wound beneath the monster.
No one had ever apologized to him before.
—
- Writer
