Chapter Seven
Kyle's POV
By the time we reached the packhouse, my patience was already thin.
"Dave, get the healer. Now."
He took off immediately. I didn't wait for anyone else. I carried her through the entrance myself. Conversations died the moment we stepped inside. I could feel the eyes on us, the questions forming, but I didn't stop to answer them. I went straight upstairs and into my room.
Our room, Kael corrected.
I ignored him.
I laid her down carefully on my bed. She looked small against the dark sheets, pale from whatever she had endured. Without thinking, I kept hold of her hand, my thumb brushing lightly over her skin as if checking she was real.
The healer arrived quickly and began his examination. I stood close, watching every movement.
"She's extremely malnourished," he finally said. "Her body shut down from hunger. I'll give her something to stabilize her, but she needs proper meals."
Hunger.
The word echoed in my mind long after he injected something into her arm and stepped back.
Hungry enough to faint.
Anger rose in me without warning. Not mild irritation. Not royal indignation. Something darker. Personal.
Who allowed this?
Where was her family? Her Alpha? Her pack? How did no one notice?
My jaw tightened. A thought slipped in before I could stop it.
Why wasn't I there?
Why wasn't I the one making sure she was fed, protected, cared for?
I stilled.
I looked down and realized I was still holding her hand, rubbing warmth back into her fingers like she belonged to me.
I dropped it instantly.
What was I doing?
That surge of protectiveness, that instinct to shield and provide, felt dangerously close to something else. Something I had sworn never to allow.
My father once looked at my mother the way I had just looked at this girl. Soft. Devoted. Certain. Until my mother learned everything about him, his weaknesses, his love, his trust and destroyed him with it. I watched him crumble under the weight of betrayal disguised as affection.
Love was leverage.
A mate bond was the ultimate vulnerability.
Kael growled low in protest, pushing images of her smiling, of her standing beside us.
She is ours.
I shut him out.
Completely.
Just then, she stirred faintly. The bond tugged at me, warm and insistent, urging me to stay. I stepped away instead.
Outside the door, Tess was approaching with a tray filled with food.
"Good," I said, my voice returning to its usual edge. "Feed her. When she's done, move her to another room."
Tess blinked. "Another room?"
"Yes."
She hesitated before speaking again. "The Luna room is ready. It's next to yours. Should I prepare that for her?"
I wanted to refuse. The title sat heavily on my mind. But if I denied her that space, the elders would question me before nightfall.
"Fine," I muttered. "The Luna room."
Tess searched my face carefully. "Do you want to wait until she wakes?"
"I have work."
She nodded, though I saw the disappointment she tried to hide.
I walked to my secondary lounge and sat down, running a hand through my hair. This changed nothing. I was not accepting a mate simply because fate decided to be inconvenient. The elders wanted a Luna. The kingdom needed stability. That was all this would be.
I stood and unlocked the cabinet near the wall. Inside was a document I had drafted years ago in preparation for this exact scenario.
A contract.
Clear boundaries. No emotional expectations. No interference in my private affairs. Public unity. Private separation. Protection for both sides.
I placed it on the table and read through it again, satisfaction settling in my chest.
Forty minutes would be enough time for her to finish eating.
Then I would present it, and everything would remain under control.
Louise's POV
My body felt heavy when I woke. The ceiling above me was unfamiliar, the scent in the room stronger than anything I had ever known.
"Hello… mate," I murmured softly.
A gentle shake pulled me fully awake.
"It's Tess," the woman beside me said kindly. "You fainted."
My vision cleared, and embarrassment flooded me. "Oh. I thought…"
She smiled knowingly. "You thought I was him."
I nodded slowly. "Where is he?"
"He had something important to take care of," she replied.
Her voice was steady, but her eyes gave her away.
He left.
I didn't react immediately. Instead, I pushed myself up slightly and looked around the room. "This is his, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"He brought me here?"
"He carried you all the way from the car," Tess said gently. "Wouldn't let anyone else touch you."
That surprised me more than it should have.
"Is he… always like that?" I asked carefully.
"Like what?"
"Cold."
Tess hesitated. "He is careful."
"That's not what I asked."
She studied me for a moment, then sighed softly. "He hasn't allowed himself to care about anyone in a very long time."
Something tightened in my chest.
"I didn't mean to cause trouble," I said quietly.
"You didn't," Tess replied immediately. "You have no idea what today means."
I gave a faint smile. "I do, actually."
She raised a brow at that.
"I just didn't expect my mate to be the Werewolf King."
At that, Tess laughed softly. "None of us did."
She pushed the tray closer to me. "Eat first. Questions later."
The smell of the food nearly made me dizzy. I hadn't realized how empty I truly was until now. I began eating, trying to maintain some dignity at first.
That lasted about two minutes.
After that, hunger took over. I devoured everything in front of me. By the time I finished, every plate was empty.
Tess stared. "You really were starving."
"I didn't get much chance to eat," I admitted.
She didn't press, but I felt her concern.
When she stepped out briefly, I allowed my senses to stretch. Reading people had always been easy for me. A gift from my grandmother, though no one here would ever guess it. My wolf side was dominant enough that no one questioned my bloodline.
Kyle's mind, however, was silent to me.
The mate bond blocked it completely.
That annoyed me more than I expected.
If he left because he was angry, I wanted to know why.
A maid entered and took the dishes before I could protest. Once alone, I lay back against the pillows, letting the food settle.
His scent was everywhere in the room. Strong. Grounding. Distracting.
And despite everything, my heart betrayed me by reacting to it.
Footsteps echoed in the hallway outside.
Slow. Controlled.
I didn't need my abilities to know it was him.
The air shifted before the door even opened.
And for some reason, my pulse quickened in anticipation.