Chapter 317
Chapter 317:
I stared at him, my expression like ice. “For which lie p>
“My father, Almon Blackwell, tried to force me into a political union with another ancient Lycan heiress to secure our bloodline,” Kain explained, his gaze locking onto mine with an intensity that made it hard to breathe. “But I already knew my Fated Mate was out there. I could feel the pull of the bond, even before I knew who you were or where you lived. To stop the marriage—to wait for you—I had to make myself politically unmarriable. I orchestrated the rumors. I ruined my own reputation just to keep the space beside me empty p>
My breath hitched. He had destroyed his own legacy to wait for a mate he hadn’t even met? As a wolfless woman, I couldn’t feel the bond the way he did. I couldn’t hear an Inner Wolf confirming his words. Was this the ultimate romantic sacrifice, or just another brilliant, manipulative lie spun by a king who wanted total control?
I needed my shield. I needed the boundaries that kept me sane.
“We have a Mating Contract, Kain,” I stammered, my voice trembling as I gripped the edge of the marble counter. “Clause four. Mutual non-interference. We need to go back to that p>
A dark, mocking chuckle vibrated deep in his chest. In a blur of Lycan speed, he closed the distance, caging me between his massive frame and the cold stone.
“The contract is ash, Adelina,” he murmured, his breath ghosting over my skin. “There is only the bond p>
He didn’t claim my lips. Instead, he dipped his head, his nose brushing the sensitive crook of my neck—the exact spot meant for a mate’s Marking. He pressed a restrained, searing kiss against my pulse point. A violent jolt of electricity shot straight to my core, making my knees buckle.
Before I could completely melt against him, he stepped back with predatory elegance. “Have a good day at work, my Queen p>
𝘑𝘰𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗵𝖾 𝗰𝗈𝗆𝗆uni𝗍𝘆 𝗮t
I practically fled the apartment. The doors of the private biometric elevator slid shut, and I collapsed against the mirrored steel wall, my chest heaving as the blue numbers ticked down.
Jase POV
Monday morning rain lashed the floor-to-ceiling windows of my Alpha Office at Davenport Tech, turning Manhattan into a gray smear. I sat motionless behind the desk, the sour metallic tang of shame thick in the air. My Inner Wolf paced restlessly in my skull, howling over the vault’s truth — Adelina’s screams, not Kira’s. I’d married a monster. Lost everything. And Adelina? She’d chosen the Lycan King.
The door burst open. Kira stormed in, her cloying jasmine scent soured by rotting fear. She slapped a Blackstone-crested restraining order onto my desk.
I met her wild eyes with silence.
“Security,” I said into the intercom, my voice laced with Alpha’s Command. “Remove the intruder p>
Her face twisted. “Jase p>
I tossed the annulment agreement folder at her feet, papers scattering across the floor. “Sign it. Or Kain’s not the only one you’ll beg p>