Sera's POV
Kade's quarters are nothing like my tiny servant room.
They're massive. A bedroom larger than the entire servants' wing, a private bathroom, a sitting area with a fireplace. Everything screams power and control.
I stand in the middle of it all, feeling completely out of place.
Kade locks the door behind us. The click echoes.
We're alone. Truly alone for the first time since the mating ceremony.
Through the bond, I feel his emotions churning anger, fear, protectiveness, and something else I can't name.
He runs a hand through his hair, a gesture I'm learning means he's stressed. We need to talk about what happens at dawn.
You mean when Marcus comes to kill me? I try to keep my voice steady.
He won't get the chance. Kade's voice is steel. I've tripled security. No one gets near you.
He's a Councilman. He has authority
I don't care. Kade steps closer. He's not touching you. Not while I'm alive.
The words hit me hard. A week ago, he wanted nothing to do with me. Now he's ready to defy the Council for me?
Why? The question slips out. Why do you suddenly care?
His jaw clenches. Because you're my mate. Whether I wanted this bond or not, it exists. And I protect what's mine.
What's yours. Like a possession. Not a person.
The words sting more than they should.
That's not what I meant. He closes his eyes. I'm doing this wrong.
Doing what wrong?
Caring. He opens his eyes, and the vulnerability there shocks me. I spent thirteen years building walls. Not letting anyone close. Not letting anyone matter. And then the Council forced this bond, and you
He stops.
And I what?
You got under my skin anyway. He looks at me like he's trying to figure out a puzzle. Every time I try to hate you, the bond shows me something else. Your strength. Your refusal to break even when everyone treats you like garbage. The way you fought those rogues tonight even though you were terrified.
My breath catches. He felt that? Through the bond?
I feel everything you feel. His voice is rough. Your pain. Your fear. Your loneliness. It's killing me.
Then let me go, I whisper. Break the bond. Free yourself.
I can't. Mate bonds can't be broken. Not without killing us both. He steps closer still. And even if I could... I don't think I would.
The air between us feels electric.
Why not?
Because He stops. Shakes his head. This isn't the time. Marcus will be here in hours. We need to prepare.
He's deflecting. Pulling back behind his walls.
But I saw the truth in his eyes for just a second. He doesn't want to break the bond.
He wants me.
The realization sends heat through my body.
What do we tell Marcus? I ask, forcing my mind back to the immediate danger. When he asks about the rogue attack?
The truth. That rogues tried to kill you and failed. Let him sweat wondering if his hired assassins talked before they died.
And my power? The markings?
We hide it. Kade pulls a small box from his desk. This belonged to my mother. A silver bracelet with strange symbols etched into it. It's spelled to suppress magical auras. Put it on.
I slide the bracelet onto my wrist. The moment it clicks closed, I feel something shift. The constant hum of power under my skin goes quiet.
It's still there, Kade says. Just hidden. If you need the power, break the bracelet. But as long as you wear it, Marcus won't sense what you are.
A knock on the door makes us both jump.
Kade opens it to find Ash holding a stack of papers. His face is grim.
You need to see this. Ash hands him the papers. We searched the rogues' belongings. Found this.
Kade reads, and I watch his expression darken with each line.
What is it?
A contract. Signed by Marcus Grey himself. He holds it up. Payment for eliminating a threat to the Council. The threat being a quote: omega female with silver hair and gray eyes, currently residing at Ironpeak Stronghold.
My blood runs cold. That's me.
It's proof, Ash says. Proof that Marcus ordered the hit. We can take this to the other Council members
No. Kade's voice is flat. Marcus controls the Council. They'll bury this evidence and us with it.
So what do we do? I ask.
We play his game. Kade looks at me. Tomorrow, when he arrives, we act like nothing happened. Like the rogues were random. Like you're still just a powerless omega.
And then?
Then we gather enough evidence to destroy him. Before he destroys you.
Ash leaves. Kade closes the door again.
The silence stretches between us.
You should sleep, Kade finally says. Take the bed. I'll sleep on the couch.
You don't have to
Yes, I do. His voice is tight. If I share a bed with you right now, with the bond pulling this hard... I won't be able to control myself.
Oh.
Heat floods my cheeks. The mate bond isn't just emotional. It's physical too. And we've been fighting it for weeks.
I don't want to control it, I say quietly.
Kade goes very still. What?
The bond. I don't want to fight it anymore. I'm tired of pretending I don't feel it pulling me toward you.
Sera. His voice is strained. Don't say things like that.
Why not? It's true.
Because tomorrow you might die. He faces me fully. Marcus is coming to kill you, and I don't know if I can stop him. So don't His voice cracks. Don't make me care more than I already do.
Too late. I step closer. I already care. About you. About this bond. About whatever this is between us.
The distance between us shrinks to nothing.
If I die tomorrow, I say, looking up at him, I don't want to die wondering what this could have been.
His control snaps.
He kisses me.
Not like the forced mating ceremony. This is different. This is choice.
His hands cup my face gently, like I'm something precious. The bond explodes with warmth, with connection, with something that feels dangerously close to
A sharp pain lances through my head.
I gasp and pull back. My vision blurs.
Sera? Kade's voice sounds far away. What's wrong?
Images flood my mind. Not mine. Memories that aren't mine.
A woman with silver hair singing. A palace burning. A man in Council robes Marcus, younger but unmistakable giving orders to soldiers. Find the child. Kill her.
And then another memory. Recent. Marcus talking to someone in shadows. The omega at Ironpeak is awakening. We need to move now, before she remembers everything.
The vision shatters.
I collapse. Kade catches me before I hit the floor.
What happened? Talk to me!
I saw it, I gasp. The massacre. Marcus ordering my family killed. And something else he knows. He knows I'm starting to remember.
Kade's face goes pale. You're having visions?
Memories. Blocked memories breaking through.
When?
Just now. When we I stop, realizing. When you kissed me. The bond. It's breaking the seal on my memories.
His expression shifts to horror. Which means Marcus is right. You are remembering. And when you remember everything
I'll know who I really am.
We stare at each other.
A sound outside the window makes us both freeze.
A howl. Long, mournful, and close.
Then another. And another.
Kade moves to the window. His face goes hard.
What is it?
Wolves. Surrounding the fortress. He turns to me. It's not even dawn yet.
My heart stops. Marcus?
No. These aren't Council wolves. They're His eyes widen. They're wild pack. The ones who refused to join territories after the royal family fell.
Why are they here?
Kade looks at me with something like awe. Because they can sense you. The royal blood. They're coming for their lost queen.