"What do you want?" I whispered, clutching the high collar of my nightgown against my throat.
Zephyr's heavy tread sounded in the hallway outside, punctuated by Mira's frantic pleading.
Kael did not flinch. He remained stretched across my pillows, crossing his arms behind his head.
"I tore through three territories looking for you," Kael said. The teasing smirk vanished, replaced by an unsettling darkness in his gray eyes. "I searched every riverbank, every ditch. I thought rogue hunters had slit your throat. I thought you died in the woods."
"Keep your voice down," I hissed, stepping toward the bed. "He's right outside that door!"
"And then you walked into the Blackthorn sanctuary," Kael continued, his voice dropping low and raspy. "Veiled in silver silk. Smelling like pine and Everhart blood. My brother's grand bride. You became Zephyr's mate."
Shame burned in my cheeks. "I didn't know who you were. If I had known—"
"Would you have stayed?"
"I had an alliance to seal!" I gripped the bedpost until my knuckles ached. "Kael, please. If Zephyr sees your mark on me, he will execute me. He will declare war on my father. You have to swear you'll keep quiet."
Kael studied me in the dim candlelight. He swung his long legs over the side of the mattress and rose. He stood over me, his broad frame blocking out the warmth of the hearth.
"I won't tell him," he said. He reached out, his thumb brushing against the high seam of my collar, grazing the tender, raised skin hidden beneath. "But Iris, you should know one thing."
"What?"
"I never regretted that night."
A jolt shot down my spine. The mark on my collarbone flared hot, radiating a feverish warmth that rushed straight to my belly. Standing this close to him scrambled my thoughts. My wolf clawed at my chest, begging me to throw my arms around his neck, to press my lips to his jaw, to beg him to sink his fangs into my flesh again.
I shoved his chest and stepped back. "Get out. Now."
Kael caught my gaze, a wicked gleam lingering in his eyes, before he vanished through the balcony curtains into the night fog.
A heavy fist pounded against the oak door.
"Iris!" Zephyr's voice rattled the iron hinges. "Open this door."
I swallowed the lump in my throat and moved to the heavy timber. "I have a violent fever, Zephyr! Stay back!"
Silence dragged on the other side of the oak.
"Tomorrow, then," Zephyr snapped. His heavy footsteps faded down the corridor.
Two nights passed in fragile silence.
Then, the venom returned.
It hit me during dinner. A searing heat ignited in my stomach, spreading through my veins like boiling oil. My skin flushed crimson. I dropped my water goblet, shattering the crystal across the stone floor, and collapsed onto the carpet beside my bed.
The balcony doors rattled open.
A shadow swept into the room.
"Iris?"
Kael was at my side in an instant, his heavy hands gripping my trembling shoulders.
"Someone... someone poisoned me," I gasped, tearing at the neckline of my nightdress. The fabric suffocated me. "The tea... it's the mating toxin again."
"Fuck," Kael growled. His hands moved down my trembling arms. "Who gave it to you?"
"I don't know," I sobbed, clutching his leather tunic, pulling him down until his face hovered inches from mine. "Kael, touch me. Fuck, it hurts. Put your hands on me."
"Look at me, Iris," he demanded, his gray eyes burning into mine. "Say my name."
"Kael," I whimpered. "Fuck me. Please."
He gripped the front of my gown and ripped it down the center. The silk split with a sharp tear, baring my breasts to the chill mountain air. His mouth clamped onto my collarbone, sucking the scar of his mark until I cried out.
He shoved his trousers down and kicked them aside. His cock sprang against my thigh, heavy, rock-hard, and slick with pre-cum against my skin.
He slid his broad hand between my legs, jamming two fingers straight into my cunt.
"You're soaked," Kael rasped, curling his fingers hard inside me. "Dripping all over your husband's sheets. Tell me who you want."
"You, Kael! Fuck, hurry!"
He pulled his fingers out, hooked my thighs over his hips, and drove the blunt head of his cock inside in one deep shove.
A scream ripped from my throat. He stretched me completely full, his thickness burying to the root against my cervix.
"Fuck, you feel so good," Kael grunted, his hips slamming into mine. "Mine. You belong to me, Iris."
"Harder," I begged, digging my fingernails into the thick muscle of his back. "Fuck me harder, Kael!"
He set a punishing rhythm, pulling nearly all the way out before driving back in with brutal force. The headboard hammered against the stone wall. My hips rocked with every thrust, wet sounds filling the quiet room as his balls slapped against my ass. He leaned down, pinning my wrists above my head, and rammed into me over and over until my vision blurred into white sparks.
"Kael—I'm coming—"
"Take it," he growled against my ear.
He drove inside me three more times, brutally hard, before his body stiffened. He buried his face into the curve of my neck, groaning as he spilled deep inside me, pulsing hot and heavy against my cervix. His hips bucked one last time, spending every drop while my walls clenched around him in helpless spasms.
When the fever finally broke, cold terror settled into my bones.
Dawn cracked through the terrace glass.
I sat upright in the shredded bedsheets, my hands shaking as I pulled a blanket over my naked chest.
"If someone finds out..." My voice broke. "Zephyr will skin me alive. And someone poisoned me, Kael. Someone inside this put that venom in my drink."
Kael stood by the bed, pulling his trousers up and fastening the heavy leather belt. His face was stone.
"No one is going to touch you," he said, turning toward me. "I'll be here every night. I'll watch your food, and I'll watch your door until I track down whoever gave you that poison."
"You can't just live in my bedchamber!"
"Try stopping me." He leaned down, resting his palms on the edge of the mattress. "Besides, do you really think Zephyr cares if you're sick?"
I frowned, brushing damp hair from my forehead. "What are you talking about?"
"Zephyr already had a mate," Kael said coldly. "Her name was Talia. A rogue wolf he fell for years ago. She went wild during a border raid and slaughtered three pack elders. The council forced Zephyr to exile her north."
I stared at him. "He loved her?"
"Obviously," Kael sneered. "He only agreed to marry you because your father controls the southern grain supply. You're a contract, Iris. Nothing more."
By midday, the packhouse was alive with activity. Mira entered my chambers carrying a tray of clear broth.
"Mira," I said quietly, sitting by the hearth. "Set the tray down."
She placed it on the oak table. "Are you feeling better, Luna Iris? Alpha Zephyr inquired about your health this morning."
"Who was Talia?"
Mira froze. The silver spoon in her fingers slipped, clattering against the china bowl. The color drained completely from her face.
"Where... where did you hear that name?" she whispered, darting an anxious look toward the hallway.
"Answer me."
"She was..." Mira clasped her trembling hands together. "She was Alpha Zephyr's chosen. Before the council banished her to the northern wastes. Please, Luna Iris, never say that name aloud. The Alpha ordered a warrior whipped half to death last winter just for speaking it."
"So it's true."
"Yes," Mira breathed. "It is."
After that, turning Zephyr away became effortless.
Whenever his summons arrived, I sent Mira with excuses. Whenever he demanded an audience, I claimed lingering weakness from the fever. My guilt evaporated.
Instead, I waited for nightfall.
Every midnight, the balcony doors clicked open. Kael slipped through the shadows into my bed. We tangled in the dark, whispering in hushed tones, trading secrets and sweat until the lines blurred completely.
With each passing week, I forgot the treaty. I forgot the Everhart royal blood in my veins. I forgot that I was the Luna of Blackthorn Pack—and that one day soon, Zephyr would break down the door himself.
One morning, Mira burst into my room without knocking, her face sheet-white.
"Luna," she gasped. "The Alpha is coming."
