KAINE'S POV
I can still feel the tremors from the fight pulsing through me. The adrenaline that ran through my veins refused to die down. If I had hesitated even a second longer... just a heartbeat more... I don't know what I would have walked in on. The thought sent a hot feeling of rage through me. It makes my wolf want to snap out of his cage.
My wolf snarls, feeling her pain as if it's its own. The mate bond vibrates inside me, making me more protective that I thought. It amplifies everything I've been trying to ignore since the moment I realized she was my mate.
Carissa. A lowly omega. Yet I can't shake the memory of her heartbeat pounding in my ears as I raced through the palace corridors. The scent of fear was thick in the air, warning me she was in danger. I didn't believe it at first. I thought the bond might be overreacting. But the closer I got, the louder her heart sounded, frantic, terrified. My wolf's instincts sharpened, tearing through my chest, fighting to be let out.
When I finally reached her, she was backed into the corner with a man's hands gripping her too tightly as he taunted her.
My control slipped as I tore him away from her. My fist connected with his face, then his ribs, again and again, until the dull sound of bone breaking echoed around us. The only thing that stopped me from killing him was the sound of the guards that arrived I let them drag him off and that was me being merciful. I could have killed him with my bare hands.
He dared to lay a hand on my mate? I should have killed him right there and then.
But even now, as I sit in the palace infirmary watching Carissa's pale, still form, the anger refuses to fade.
The feeling around my chest, making it hard for me to breathe. The mate bond taunts me with every shallow breath she takes and I can't help but feel.... Worried? I'm not familiar with these kind of feelings.
I don't know why I'm still here. I shouldn't even care. She's fine, or so the royal doctor says. No real injuries, nothing that won't heal. It's just exhaustion and fear that made her collapse.
I shouldn't care. She's nothing to me. She was nothing to me even when I found out she was my mate and I planned on making her nothing to me tomorrow. But here I am, sitting at her bedside, fighting every instinct that tells me to leave and never look back.
I don't want her to die. Not yet. That would be an easy exit for her. I want to make her suffer. I want her to beg us to reject her again. I want to make her so miserable that her wolf has no choice but to willingly let the bond go.
Why am I still here?
My jaw clenches, and I force myself to stand. This isn't what I want. This isn't who I am. I'm a damn Alpha. I lead. I don't let bonds or feelings rule me, especially not with an omega who should be beneath my notice.
The Moon Goddess must be laughing, binding me to her. This is probably a joke. The moon goddess was obviously bored when she mated us to each other.
Carissa has no qualities I want in a woman. She's weak, fragile, has a low social status, and somehow, she feels like a threat to every shred of control I have. No. This is wrong.
I turn away from the room, forcing myself to look away from her. I head toward the main hall, pushing away the thousand thoughts in my head.
The palace's grand piano sits alone near the far wall. The piano has always been an escape for me. It's an outlet that's always managed to ease my frustrations in the past. I need that now more than ever. I sit down, fingers hovering over the keys, and the tension fades awa a little as I begin to play.
Each note fills the empty space around me, and slowly, I lose myself in the rhythm. The song is rough, unfinished, but it's a work in progress. I've been working on it for a while now. It's one that feels more honest than anything I've said or done in weeks. The keys play according to the anger, frustration, and confusion coursing through me.
But then it hits me, something enters the room with a sweetness that's both inviting and sickening.
Her scent.
My fingers freeze, and my wolf stirs again. I recognize the scent instantly and I hate that I do.
It's her. Carissa.
Even without looking up, I know she's standing there. She's standing by the doorway and her scent fills the air, weakening the walls I've put up against her. My hand tightens into a fist, and I slam it against the piano.
Why is she here?
I grit my teeth, feeling my pulse spike. Rage and something else twists inside me. She shouldn't be here. She shouldn't even be conscious, let alone standing in the doorway, watching me like she's got every right to. I turn slowly and immediately, my gaze locking onto hers. As soon as we make eye contact, the bond is filled with intensity. I feel alive in a way I never have in years. She has an effect on me and I fucking hate it.
I shouldn't be feeling like this. She's a servant - nothing more than the dirt under my feet.
Yet there she is—small, fragile and totally breathtaking. She shouldn't be able to hold my stare, shouldn't be able to look at me as if she isn't afraid. I can feel my wolf pacing, urging me to do something, to say something, but the words stick in my throat,
Why, after everything, does she still have the strength to stand here?
And why, after everything, can't I look away?