Althea held her breath as she met Gavriel’s intense gaze. His expression was too dark, dangerously unreadable. The fury in his eyes told her everything. He wasn’t convinced. He didn’t care what she was willing to offer.
He was reeling with killing intent.
“Kill them-”
Without thinking, Althea grabbed the blade of his sword, now pointing at Kael, with her bare hands, yanking it toward herself. In one swift movement, she pressed her chest against the tip, just enough to pierce her skin.
Blood spilled from her palms and trickled down her chest.
“Thea! Stop!!!” Kael cried out, horrified.
Her lips trembled as she looked at Gavriel, voice barely above a whisper. “Please... just kill me instead.”
Gavriel’s jaw clenched, his muscles rigid as he growled, “Remove your hands. Now. I will spare their lives.”
Althea turned sharply.
“Kael!” she shouted. “Take your men and leave! Now!”
“No-” Kael’s voice broke, breathless.
She looked at him then, her eyes suddenly cold and sharp like glass. “Leave... or do you want to stand there and watch me die?” Her words cut deeper than any blade.
“And from now on,” she added with a voice like steel, “don’t ever involve yourself in anything that risks your life or your men’s lives because of me. If you do... I’ll end it myself before the Alpha King ever lifts a sword.”
Then she gave him a small, sad smile, full of pain and quiet strength. “Don’t worry about me. The Alpha King wants my father. He won’t kill me... not until he gets what he wants.”
“Now! Go!” Althea screamed, pressing herself harder against the sword’s tip, her eyes locked with Gavriel’s eyes that hadn’t left hers for even a second.
“My Lady, please release the blade!” Melva cried beside her. “They’ve gone! Lord Kael already left... please, stop!”
Only then did Althea finally release the sword, unbothered by the deep sting of the blade that had sliced her palms and punctured her chest.
“Get the healer, now! Treat her wounds immediately!” Gavriel roared before turning his back on her.
It had been a desperate move. But it worked. She wouldn’t have been able to live with herself if Kael had died because of her.
The healer arrived quickly. Melva helped Althea back into the carriage, where her wounds were carefully tended to. The cuts were painful, but she made no sound, her thoughts still with Kael and the cold fury she had seen in Gavriel’s eyes.
Once the healer was gone, Melva turned to her, voice shaking with emotion. “What you did was dangerous. Even now, I can’t look the Alpha King in the eye. No one dares get close to him out of fear of being killed. But you... You’re too reckless, my lady. How could you be so sure he wouldn’t kill you? Yes, you’re his mate... but with how ruthless he is, I had a feeling he could’ve ignored the pain of losing you.”
Before Althea could answer, the carriage door suddenly burst open. “Leave.” Gavriel’s voice was low, but deadly.
Melva froze, then darted out like a startled deer.
Without a word, Gavriel stepped forward and gripped Althea’s throat. Althea clawed at his wrist, choking, gasping, her heart pounding wildly against her ribs. His gray eyes turned like fire into hers with pure, livid fury.
“How dare you?!” he snarled. “You risk your life to save him? Your life, that doesn’t even belong to you anymore?”
Althea’s lips parted, her breath ragged, but she couldn’t get a single word out. Then suddenly, violently, he yanked her forward and slammed his mouth against hers.
It wasn’t a kiss. It was punishment. Possession. An explosion of rage wrapped in skin and fire. His lips crashed into hers with brutal force, his teeth biting down on her lower lip so hard it tore skin. She tasted blood, her blood, but before she could even react, he was already deepening the kiss, devouring her as if he wanted to consume every breath from her lungs.
She whimpered into his mouth, her hands pressed against his chest to push him away but he wouldn’t let her. His hand tangled into her hair, yanking her head back at an angle that gave him full access to ravage her. The other wrapped tightly around her waist, hauling her flush against him.
His body was hot, his anger radiating off him like fire. His mouth moved over hers with harsh, reckless need. His tongue demanded entrance, and when she didn’t yield fast enough, he took it anyway, forcing her to feel everything he was, everything he refused to say.
Pain. Betrayal. Obsession.
She gasped when he sucked hard on her lip again, and the mix of pleasure and pain twisted violently in her gut.
Her mind screamed at her to fight but her body froze. And then... it yielded.
She hated herself for it. Hated how the moment his tongue tangled with hers, her knees weakened. How despite everything... the blood, the suffocation, the cruel grip... her lips moved back against his. Answering him. Needing him.
And that terrified her more than anything...
By the time he ripped his mouth away, her lips were bruised, swollen, and slick with both spit and blood. Her lungs burned as she gasped for air. Her eyes were glassy with shock, her entire body trembling.
But he didn’t let go. His grip on her waist was still tight, possessive, and his voice came low, dangerously low, as he leaned in and growled against her cheek.
“You’re mine!” he firmly growled, voice like thunder in her ear. “And if you ever try to throw yourself away like that again... I’ll chain you to my bed and remind you every damn day who you belong to.”
His forehead pressed against hers for a heartbeat, and she felt it, that shaking restraint barely holding him back. Then, as if realizing how hard he was holding her, he suddenly released her and turned away, fists clenched, chest heaving.
Althea took a step back, struggling to gather herself. Her lips pulsed with pain, her chest hurt, and her fingers trembled from the sting of her torn palms. Yet, most overwhelming was her heart pounding for a man who terrified her. Amidst these feelings, a warm, unexplainable sensation suddenly flared inside her.