Auren didn't stop searching until dusk painted the halls in blood-orange light.
Every room she passed only stoked the fire in her chest. Servants avoided her, guards turned away. The whole damn place acted like speaking his name might summon the devil himself.
Fine. She was done waiting.
She pushed open the door to the last room at the end of the western wing—the war room.
There he fucking was.
Ronan stood near the fire, shirtless, half-shadowed in the flickering light. He didn't turn. Didn't move. Just stared into the flames like they could burn away the thing clawing inside him.
She stepped in and slammed the door behind her.
"Are you serious right now?"
Nothing.
Not even a blink.
"You lock me in your home like a fucking prisoner, disappear after last night, and now you're just—what? Staring at fire? Pretending I don't exist?"
Still nothing.
Her hands curled into fists. "I'm talking to you, Ronan!"
He didn't flinch.
Didn't even breathe differently.
That was it.
She crossed the room, chest heaving. "Say something. Growl. Glare. Snarl. Mark me again if that's all you're good at. But don't just stand there like I'm not the only one losing my damn mind!"
Silence.
Hot. Suffocating. Heavy.
"Gods, you are an arrogant, silent, brooding bastard!"
She shoved him.
Hard.
He didn't move.
She shoved him again, harder this time. Her hands hit his chest like a crack of thunder, and finally—
He looked at her.
Golden eyes. Wild. Glowing. Not human.
Her breath caught.
But she was too far gone to stop now. "You think just because we're bound, you get to own me? Lock me up? Fuck me and then vanish? You don't own me!"
His chest rose—slow, deliberate.
She shoved him again, tears stinging her eyes now. "Say something! Scream! Growl! Rip the damn walls down like you did in my head—do something!"
And then she heard it.. a quiet whimper… like his wolf was in pain…. And then, he moved.
Fast.
She barely registered the motion before her back hit the wall, his hand wrapped around her wrist—not bruising, but firm. Possessive.
His body caged hers in completely.
His hard length grinding into her.
His scent surrounded her.
His eyes burned through her.
And then—
Mine.
The word slammed into her mind like a brand.
Her knees almost buckled.
The bond flared, sharp and searing, crashing against her ribs and setting fire to her nerves.
She sucked in a breath, but her lungs barely worked. Her heart thundered in her ears, and the place between her thighs pulsed with sudden, maddening need.
He didn't speak out loud.
He didn't kiss her.
He didn't move closer.
But gods… she felt him.
All of him.
That low growl still echoed through the bond, wrapping around her spine like a leash, tugging on something primal.
Her pulse raced as she stared up into those gold-flame eyes, chest rising fast.
She didn't know whether to slap him or straddle him.
Maybe both.
But before she could choose?
He let go.
Turned.
And walked out the door.
Not a word. Not a sound. Just the haunting echo of "Mine" still throbbing in her skull.
Auren slid to the floor, breath shaking.
What the hell was happening to her and what the hell kind of life did she live previously to deserve this shit storm she had gotten her self into…?
On another note though, what the hell was wrong with HIM and why did she feel like her family had made a deal with the devil by sending her here.