My Fated Mate Can Have Her Chapter 318: Kael

Violet

Kael and Rowan had been away from the castle for several days, and aside from my grief, their absence had been a relief I felt guilty for appreciating.

But now Kael was back.

I didn’t turn around imdiately.

I kept my eyes on the children, on Zephyr, on the small girl who had successfully mounted my wolf’s back and was now sitting there with her arms raised in triumph while the others cheered.

His footsteps were quiet until he stopped beside and then sat down.

My heart jumped, not expecting him to have seated so close.

For a long mont, neither of us spoke.

We just sat there, side by side, watching the children play with my wolf.

"She’s patient with them," Kael said eventually. His voice was quieter than I rembered. Rougher around the edges, like it hadn’t been used much.

"She is," I said.

Another silence. The little girl on Zephyr’s back was now being gently lowered by one of the older children, her face split in a grin so wide it seed to consu her entire head.

"How... are you feeling?" he asked.

I looked down at my hands. "Better... the toxins are almost fully out. My syzygy is returning."

He nodded slowly. His eyes were still on the children, but I could feel the weight of his attention on .

"I’m glad," he said simply.

The wind picked up slightly, sending a flurry of frost crystals dancing across the courtyard. So of the children shrieked and chased after them, their boots crunching through the thin ice.

I looked at him.

He looked tired. He had a fresh stubble all over his jaw, and for the first ti, he seed nearly dwarfed out by what he was wearing. Though the coats he had on also made him appear larger.

My fingers twitched. I wanted to touch him, but I was also scared to at the sa ti.

"You should rest more," I heard myself say.

His eyes found mine, and the flash of surprise that crossed his face made my chest tighten.

"I’m sorry," he said. "For what happened in the desert. The fight. It was inexcusable."

It imdiately ca to mind. I wanted to be angry, but I was just tired.

"It was stupid," I corrected flatly.

A breath of sothing that might have been a laugh escaped him. "Yes. It was stupid."

"Bei was lying right there."

The words ca out harder than I intended, and I saw them land. His jaw tightened, and sothing raw flickered through his eyes before he controlled it.

"I know," he said quietly. "I have no excuse for it. I saw him and I just..." He stopped himself, his hand curling into a fist at his side before slowly relaxing. "I’m sorry. It made so angry. He had gone after you and... I was uncomfortable, only for this to have happened to you. I don’t know, I just... I hoped he would have at least kept you safe and not..."

He sighed, a heavy plu of frost seeping out of his mouth.

"I—" I started but paused. I looked away. "I left him to go on my own, it wasn’t his fault."

He didn’t say anything for a while until I glanced at him again.

He was staring at Zephyr, his face softening. There was a hint of sadness in his eyes.

"I am not even one to talk. I let you go out there with barely enough support..."

My back straightened. "You gave what was necessary—"

He shook his head. "I should have considered a supre alpha or two coming for you, not just other wolves."

I clasped my hand, not knowing what to even say to that.

The children’s laughter drifted across the courtyard, bright and careless. The little spherical girl was back, this ti trying to feed Zephyr sothing from her mittened hand. Zephyr sniffed it delicately, then turned her head away, and the girl stomped her foot in frustration.

I smiled faintly at the sight.

"I missed you."

The words ca from him so quietly that the wind almost stole them.

I turned to look at him.

His eyes were already on and the look in them was so unguarded it made my breath catch.

"Every single day," he continued, his voice rough. "Every day you were gone, it hurt to not know if you were safe or not. I kept rethinking my decision, and with every mont I..."

My throat tightened.

"I missed you too," I whispered.

The admission slipped out before I could decide if it was safe to say. It was just the truth, and saying it out loud made my chest ache in a way that was both painful and relieving.

His whole body went still.

Then the careful restraint he had been wearing since he sat down cracked, and beneath it was a raw, desperate relief that he couldn’t hide.

His hand moved and found mine where they rested on my knee. He wrapped his hand around them.

His palm was warm. So warm against the chill of the air, and his grip was firm but gentle, his thumb pressing against my knuckles like he was reassuring himself that I was solid and real and actually there.

I didn’t pull away.

My fingers curled around his, and I felt his breath shudder out of him.

We sat like that for a while. The children shrieked and played while Zephyr lay in the frost like she had been born there.

His thumb traced a slow circle against my knuckles. The touch was small, almost nothing, but it sent warmth spreading up my arm and into my chest.

’How would I tell him about Rowan...?’

"Rowan and I..." He paused, and I stilled at the sudden ntion of Rowan. "We’ve been civil. Since arriving here."

That wasn’t what exactly I wanted to discuss, but—

"He has especially been helpful here. I... I know he is also your mate and I am not going to pretend I like the situation." Kael’s gaze fixed sowhere in the distance. "Or that I am comfortable with it. But he..." Another pause, longer this ti. "He cares about you. I can see that. And during those days on the road, when you were barely breathing and we didn’t know if you would wake up, we realised we were just two wolves trying to keep the sa person alive."

"Yes. Very touching."

My eyes widened as Rowan suddenly appeared beside us, the bond flaring up.