"Don't," he said softly, cutting through her panic.
With careful hands, he lifted the scarf and draped it around her shoulders, covering her without ever touching her skin.
The act itself was strange, a delicate care from the ruthless beast king.
He exhaled through his nose, trying but failing, to soften the hunger in his gaze.
"What is your name?"
He inhaled again, the scent nearly drove him mad.
"E...Eliora."
Zarek closed his eyes.
It hit him like a blow.
He repeated it back to her, barely above a breath, "Eliora."
The name sounded different from his lips. Better than anything she had ever heard.
For a long moment, he simply watched her, the beauty she was, how her lashes fluttered every time she blinked. It was bewitching.
Finally, he spoke, "Leave."
Eliora swallowed hard as she backed away, but the echo of his claim "Mine" still whispered in her mind.
.
.
Maelina entered the throne room without a sound, her robes brushed softly against the marble.
She bowed. "You called for me, Your Majesty."
Aldric was already standing beside the king, arms rigid at his sides.
The moment Maelina looked up, her lips curved into a knowing smile. "So," she said, "you've met her."
Zarek's gaze snapped to her. "You know."
Maelina didn't hesitate. "It appears the bond was what triggered your beast, even before the full moon."
Her voice held no surprise, only certainty. "Hm. It makes sense now."
Aldric blinked at her in disbelief. "Wait, so you knew?"
Maelina glanced at him, amused by his shock. "Of course."
Zarek stepped forward, voice dropping. "Then you also know she is human."
Aldric inhaled sharply, still reeling.
Maelina did not flinch, did not gasp, did not look the least bit surprised. "Yes," she said simply. "I knew."
Aldric stared at her. "You knew all this time?"
She nodded.
Zarek's expression darkened. "And you didn't think to mention it?"
"Because she wasn't born yet, Your Majesty."
She paused, then continued. "Your soul mate had not entered this world until now. The two centuries delay wasn't fate being cruel…"
Her eyes lifted to Zarek.
"…it was simply waiting for her to exist."
Zarek's control snapped.
His voice thundered through the room, raw and edged with a fury neither Maelina nor Aldric had heard from him in years.
"She is HUMAN!!!"
Aldric stiffened.
Zarek began pacing, each step was a vibration of barely restrained power. Glasses from the windows shattered.
"Fragile. Weak. How is she supposed to withstand my beast?" His hands clenched. "How is she to survive the mating? She would break."
His chest heaved, memories flashing behind his eyes. "Even the beast women, trained, strong, struggle to endure me."
He turned sharply toward Maelina, eyes blazing. "But a human? A human girl who trembles when I walk by, how is she to survive ME?"
Maelina didn't flinch.
She waited until he stopped pacing, then spoke with conviction. "Because she was made for you. Fate does not make mistakes with a fated bond. It chose her because she can handle you."
Aldric swallowed, listening.
Maelina continued. "She was shaped to withstand your beast, your strength, your darkness."
Her gaze rose to meet the king's furious, conflicted eyes. "She was made to survive you, King Zarek."
Only Maelina was brave enough to call the King by his name.
"She is the perfect match. The only one who ever could be." She continued.
Zarek's jaw flexed, the storm in his eyes refusing to calm. Maelina's reassurance only seemed to ignite something darker in him.
A defiant anger. A refusal to bend to fate.
He turned away from them, voice low and rough. "What if I reject it?"
Aldric's head snapped up.
Maelina's breath caught.
Zarek continued, fists clenched at his sides. "What happens if I refuse the bond?"
Maelina stared at him as if she hadn't heard correctly. "Your Majesty, you cannot mean..."
Zarek's voice was harsh. "Answer me."
Maelina stepped forward, urgency in every movement. "You must not reject it."
Her voice trembled, Maelina, the high seer who never wavered.
Aldric's eyes widened at seeing her fear.
Maelina continued, "If you reject the bond… your beast will die."
Aldric inhaled sharply.
But Maelina's next words were worse. "And you will follow."
Zarek stilled, his breath pausing for a heartbeat.
Maelina swallowed. "And her, your soulmate, she will not survive the separation. She is human and that makes her more sensitive to the bond's rupture."
Aldric turned to him, "Your Majesty, you can't possibly be thinking of rejecting her."
Maelina added, almost pleading, "You cannot resist what fate has woven. To reject her is to destroy all three of you."
Zarek's brows drew together, his defiance cracking under the weight of the truth.
Maelina continued, "If you do not complete the bond soon, your beast will grow restless… enraged. You already struggle with control, this delay will make it far worse."
Aldric shifted uneasily, because they all knew she was right.
The king's temper, his volatility, his rare but devastating outbursts, they would only intensify.
Zarek let out a slow breath and finally lowered himself onto a chair. The wood creaked under his weight.
His thumb ignited, just a flicker of blue flame dancing over the skin.
A habit.
A sign of his agitation.
He stared at the small flame, as if it could answer the war inside him.
Maelina stepped closer, "Your Majesty, listen well."
He looked up.
"If you reject the bond, all three of you will die. If you delay the bond, your beast's unrest will tear you apart and her with you."
Zarek swallowed hard.
Aldric watched him, silently urging him to accept what fate had written.
Maelina bowed her head lightly, "Acceptance is the only path that keeps you both alive."
She turned, her robes whispering against the stone floor as she headed for the door.
"Do not wait, Your Majesty," she said without looking back.
"Fate has already moved. You must move with it."
And with that, she left the chamber, leaving Zarek alone with Aldric.
The door had barely closed behind Maelina when Zarek spoke again, "Your wound," he muttered, still staring at the small flame twirling over his thumb. "How is it?"
Aldric blinked, caught off guard by the sudden shift.
His lips twitched, almost a smile, because only the Beast King could leap from life–altering destiny to casual inquiry in the same breath.
But he controlled his expression immediately. "Still healing, Your Majesty."
Zarek's eyes narrowed. "Still?"
Aldric nodded.
Beasts heal quickly, almost immediately, but wounds from the beast king take longer.
When the Beast King strucks, even unintentionally, even the strongest of his warriors heal slowly.
His power carved deeper, burned hotter, and lingered longer.
Zarek let out a low breath, extinguishing the flame between his fingers.
"Visit the healers," he ordered. "Today."
Aldric inclined his head. "Yes, my king."
Zarek leaned back, eyes shadowed.
"Leave me," he said. "I want to be alone."
Aldric hesitated only a second, long enough to show his concern, then bowed and exited.
The door shut softly.
And Zarek was alone with a bond he wasn't ready to accept; a human girl fate had already carved into his soul.