Adrian's quarters were nothing like Elara imagined.
No gold. No lavish velvet. Just dark stone walls, heavy black drapes, and the faint scent of cedar and smoke. The bed was a massive, imposing thing—carved from dark wood, draped in black sheets that seemed to drink in the candlelight.
He shut the door behind them with a quiet click. It felt final.
"You're staying here tonight," he said, his tone leaving no room for debate.
Elara crossed her arms. "I'm not a child you can just lock away."
"No," he replied, his golden eyes locking on hers, "you're my mate. Which means your life is my responsibility—whether you like it or not."
The way he said mate made her pulse stumble. She opened her mouth to argue, but he closed the distance between them in two long strides. His scent—rich, dangerous, and intoxicating—wrapped around her, dragging her heart into a quicker rhythm.
"You heard what that rogue said," Adrian continued, voice low but sharp. "Someone is selling information. Someone close to me. Until I find them, you are not to leave this room without me."
She hated that her body reacted before her mind could keep up—the shiver that crept down her spine, the warmth that pooled low in her stomach. "You can't keep me here forever."
"Try me." His gaze dropped briefly to her lips before snapping back to her eyes. "If you think I care about what's reasonable, you haven't been paying attention."
Silence stretched between them, thick and heavy. Elara's breath caught as he reached past her, placing one large hand on the doorframe beside her head. The move boxed her in without touching her—yet the heat from him was enough to burn.
"You think you can protect yourself?" His voice had softened, but it was no less dangerous. "You don't even know what you are yet."
Her heartbeat thudded in her ears. "What I am?"
His jaw flexed. "Not now."
Frustration flared in her chest. "You keep saying things like that. Half-answers. Secrets. You expect me to trust you when you won't tell me anything?"
Adrian's expression hardened. "I'm keeping you alive, Elara. That's all that matters right now."
Something in her snapped. "And what about me keeping you alive? Or do you think the big bad Alpha can't be touched?"
The faintest flicker of surprise crossed his face—and then he stepped back, just far enough to give her space. But his voice came like a promise wrapped in threat.
"Stay here. Don't test me."
He moved toward the far side of the room, shrugging off his leather jacket, the muscles in his back shifting under his shirt. She knew she should be angry—furious even—but her eyes betrayed her, tracing the lines of his shoulders, the way power seemed to live in every inch of him.
When he glanced back, those golden eyes burned hotter than candlelight.
"Lock the door when I leave," he said. "And Elara…" His mouth curved into something dark, almost sinful. "If you even think about running, I will find you."
The door closed behind him, but the air in the room still thrummed with his presence.
And for the first time, Elara wondered if being trapped here with him was more dangerous than anything outside.