Kael
I woke to sunlight slicing through the curtains, and no mory of falling asleep.
My body felt heavy, sluggish, as if I’d run for days without rest. I pushed myself upright, wincing at the stiffness in my shoulders, and tried to piece together when exactly I’d collapsed into bed.
After leaving her room.
After kissing her.
After nearly—
I pressed the heels of my palms against my eyes, trying to banish the images that imdiately flooded my mind.
Her taste. The soft sound she’d made when my tongue swept against hers. The way her body had lted into mine, all that rigid control finally breaking apart in my hands.
And the way she’d pressed against . Every curve, every tremble, every—
’Stop.’
"Hell..."
I forced myself out of bed and moved to the window, pushing it open to let the cold morning air clear my head.
It didn’t help.
All I could think about was how close I’d co to tearing those clothes off her body. How my hands had ached to explore every inch of skin I’d only felt through the fabric. How I wanted to back her against that wall and—
My jaw clenched and a strange dread washed over .
I gripped the window sill.
Another mont and I would not have been able to stop. I wouldn’t even have wanted to.
Sha crawled through my gut. What had even consud to do that?
Of all monts to even lose control...
I had touched her like I had every right when she had been trying to tell sothing important. When she had been hurting.
’"You don’t actually care about ."’
And what had I done? Kissed her into silence instead of proving her wrong with words.
Like so beast who couldn’t control his own instincts.
Pathetic...
"Enough with the self-loathing," my wolf chuckled. "You liked what you did."
I frowned. "You—"
I paused, imdiately sensing Astrid within my quarters. Within seconds, she was outside my doors, waiting. I tugged on the bed cover, pulling it to wrap it around my waist.
"Enter."
I did not bother to hide my annoyance the mont Astrid ca in. Her hair was perfectly coiffed as usual and her sleeveless blue robe rippled as she folded her arms across her chest.
A pensive frown ford on her face. "You won’t let hear the end of it, will you?"
I mirrored her stance, leaning back against the wall beside the window, and trying to stifle my rising anger.
"I hope you are not going to defend that girl. She was insolent. And in public, no less—"
"Violet," I corrected, my voice sharper than intended. "Her na is Violet."
Her jaw tightened, a muscle jumping beneath her skin. "That isn’t important. You made quite the spectacle last night, carrying that Oga through the district like so prize you’d won. The whole pack is talking. Do you have any idea what you’ve done?"
She paused, and when I didn’t imdiately respond, her expression twisted into sothing uglier.
"Are you fucking her?" Her words ca out crude, and deliberately provocative. "Is that why she has the audacity to—"
"Astrid," I hissed, heat gathering in my eyes as I called out her na in a warning tone.
She raised her chin in return, her eyes glowing with a stubborn gleam. "You may be the Supre Alpha, but I am your older sister. Don’t—"
"Enough. Shut it," a discordant echo resonated in my voice as I used my command voice. It reverberated through the room like a physical force. Absolute.
Astrid’s mouth snapped shut mid-sentence.
Her whole body went rigid with shock and her eyes went wide. For a mont, she just stood there, frozen, her expression rapidly switching between disbelief and horror. Then, betrayal flashed through her eyes with an intensified glow.
We may have had our physical fights when we were younger, but I had never used the command voice on her before.
"How dare you?" her voice exploded into my mind through the pack link, raw with fury and hurt. "How dare you use that on ?!"
Her reaction caused my chest to sting. but I tamped it down.
"Did you really think I would bring in an Oga, house her in my estate, all without reason?" I hissed. "That woman is my mate."
Her eyes widened even more and her arms loosened, dropping to her sides. She staggered back.
I watched as she fought it, and noticed the mont she made the decision to break free from my command as she channeled her considerable power against mine.
"Astrid, don’t—" I started, already moving toward her.
Too late.
She shattered the command and the backlash hit her imdiately.
Blood erupted from her nose.
"Mate?" She let out a sharp laugh, and then she scread, her voice hysteric. "Mate! Kael... why would you choose an Oga to be your mate?!" she roared, her fingers digging into her hair as if she was trying to hold her composure together.
More blood trickled into her mouth and down her chin.
"Why would you do this?!" I lunged towards her. "Astrid, sit!"
She wobbled on her feet, but managed to still stand upright. "You chose an Oga who cannot shift. Weak. Powerless. Are you daft?!"
I cursed under my breath and caught her hand before she could fall.
She wrenched away from with surprising strength, stumbling back another few steps. "You have lost your mind!"
Her knees buckled.
"Don’t be stubborn," I hissed and moved quickly, catching her before she could hit the floor. She tried to fling my hand away, but I lightly pushed her towards the bed. Without further resistance, she collapsed onto the cushioned surface.
For a mont she just lay there, chest heaving, blood still seeping from her nose and now definitely from her ear as well.
I stared down at her, a painful mixture of anger and worry fighting with each other within . I should be furious at my sister. And I was. For what she’d done to Violet, for forcing to use command voice, for making worry about her now after making the stupid decision break out of the command when it could harm her.
This would have ended badly if she was weaker.
She pushed herself up, a determined look in her eyes. "Co to your senses you dimwitted idiot. You are spitting on our bloodline."
Sothing cold and dangerous settled in my chest.
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