CHAPTER 40: HIS DESIRE

Andria’s POV

"You could kill that shape-shifting demon," he murmured, his eyes locked on mine. "Effortlessly. But only if you stop fighting yourself, if you let your vampire side unite with your wolf."

How did he know these things?, Who was watching us, unless....and then it hit me, he could have been watching us, considering that I also encountered him in the woods that night I shifted."

He leaned in slowly, gaze dipping toward my neck. I held my breath, the tension so thick I could almost hear it.

His lips hovered just above my skin, not quite touching, but close enough that the ghost of his breath made my pulse stumble.

My hand twitched at my side, ready to shove him back, but I didn’t, because some part of me needed to know what he would do next.

My body swelled with a rush of excitement from the proximity of his mouth to my neck.

Kaelric’s eyes flicked up, and for a fraction of a second, I thought I saw something there.

"Why are you holding back?... You are scared your little other mate will reject you if they found out that you are an abominable creature."

He let out a dry and deep laugh, causing his breath to fan aggressively across my neck. I shivered beneath him as I tried to wriggle out of the position that I had been cornered into.

"It’s none of your business, besides, you are also a threat to the she-wolves here,...you are a Dravari," I watched his face turn from cocky to sullen "Who knows if you are out to hunt us."

Pure rage filled his eyes, he balled his hands into a fist and jammed them against the wall, causing me to flinch.

Kaelric didn’t touch me, at least not yet, but his lips still hovered at the side of my throat, just shy of skin, like a silent promise to mark me.

The heat of his breath prickled every hair along my neck. His heartbeat was slow, deliberate, unhurried, as though he were the one in control of time itself.

"You think you hate me," he murmured. "And maybe you do. But hate is just hunger in disguise," he said as he raised an eyebrow and curled his lips into a one-sided smirk.

I found my voice, though it came out tighter than I wanted. "Step back, Kaelric."

He chuckled, a low, dangerous sound that made my stomach twist. "You’re trembling."

"I’m not.." Although I knew my body was threatening to explode, my knees were almost giving in.

"You are." His voice cut through mine, leaving no room for denial. "But it’s not fear. At least, not entirely, it’s desire, I can feel you."

Athena’s pulse flared, and for the first time, she was alarmed and was the one warning me to break away, yet her pulse and heat still betrayed her.

I shoved my palms against his chest, not hard enough to show panic, but firm enough to demand space. "I’m not your prey."

Kaelric’s eyes darkened, shifting almost imperceptibly, the gold in them catching the chandelier’s light. "You think wolves hunt only prey?"

I forced myself to look him dead in the eye. "I’m not yours."

That earned me a slow, wolfish smile, the kind that said he disagreed but wasn’t going to argue. Not yet.

He stepped back, but not in defeat, more like a predator choosing to stalk rather than pounce. "You should be careful about saying that, Aria. In this Academy, words have weight. The wrong one could chain you, or free you," he said as he moved to a position near his desk.

I breathed a sigh of relief but not in a way he could notice, and swallowed hard, masking it with a scoff. "Is this what you called me here for? To play intimidation games?"

"Not games," he said, sitting on his desk again. "I called you here to make sure you understand something. We may be in the middle of a war you didn’t start, with enemies you can’t see yet. And you don’t want to see yourself."

"That’s your big revelation?" I asked, folding my arms, forcing a sarcastic tilt to my voice. "You brought me here to tell me that I can’t see myself for the monster I am.... Great, Kaelric?" I scoffed.

His smirk didn’t falter. "Now you will call me Sir or Alpha Kaelric. Even if I’m your mate, I’m still your instructor."

His face turned serious almost immediately. "And no. I brought you here to tell you that sooner or later, you will have to pick a side. And when that day comes, you’ll remember that I offered you a place at mine first."

My jaw clenched. "And if I say no?"

His eyes sharpened, and for the first time, the warmth in his tone cooled to steel. "Then you’d better pray the other side protects you as well as I can."

Athena growled softly in my head, the sound vibrating through my bones.

I moved toward the door. "You’re wasting your breath; besides, I don’t think I need protection from any sides."

"Am I?" he scoffed, "Says the most hunted wolf soon, who has currently moved in to stay with the three successors," he let out a loud, mocking laugh, as his chest rumbled almost like a growl.

I didn’t turn, but I felt his gaze follow me as I left the office. The air outside the room felt lighter, like I’d just stepped out of deep water.

My pulse still thundered in my ears, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the memory of the heat in his voice when he said he wanted to mark me.

I moved straight to the cafeteria to join Becca and Arlo, and to my greatest surprise, they were catching up with the princess. I couldn’t help smiling at the scene before me.

"You are bonding without me", I said as I got close to them.

"Would you mind getting your food from the serving counter first?" Arlo snapped his fingers while gesturing towards the counter.

"Bunch of betrayers," I howled at them, as I moved to the counter to get my food.

"We weren’t doing anything without you", Becca shouted in her defense.

I grabbed a tray and piled it with pasta, vegetables, and a piece of meat I didn’t bother identifying. After the mess in Kaelric’s office, my body demanded food.

When I turned back, the princess was laughing at something Becca said. Not the polite royal cautious kind, the laughter was genuine.

Sliding in beside Arlo, I eyed them. "Alright, spill. How did she end up here with you two?"

Becca grinned. "She said she wanted to try the ’commoner experience."

The princess met my gaze. "If I wanted to be tucked away in a royal cafeteria, I wouldn’t have come here. I’m already the only heir to the Alpha king. I’m here to be with people, not watch them from a glass tower."

I gave her a nod. "Fair enough, not that you are stalking us now."

She let out a hearty laugh that warmed my heart.

Arlo smirked. "She walked into the hall like she owned it. Everyone stared like she was carved out of moonlight," he spoke in his usual exaggerated manner.

"They’ll get used to me," she said with a small smile.

We talked about classes, combat training, supernatural law, and myths. Becca groaned about the reading load, Arlo bragged about drills, and the princess admitted combat wasn’t her strength, although she never lost to anyone, judging her unique gifts as the alpha princess.

For a while, it almost felt normal, until I felt Zade’s presence.