Chapter 44
Kael’s POV.
I hadn’t slept all night, my eyes heavy, my body aching, the gradually healing wound on my side throbbing under the bandage.
Dawn broke slowly, the sky turning gray, then pink, the packhouse quiet except for the faint chirping of birds outside.
I stood by the room’s window, my hands pressed against the cold glass, staring at the courtyard below, my mind on Aria.
She was my Luna, my mate, but she was pretending to be Celeste, hiding her true name, and I was waiting for her to trust me enough to tell me.
My heart pounded, heavy with worry, her scared eyes from the charity event last night burned in my mind.
She’d rushed off the dance floor, ignored me, and even in our room, she’d pretended to sleep, avoiding me.
My chest tightened, guilt and confusion mixing, my wolf Zeus whining, his protectiveness urging me to find her, to fix this.
The seer’s warning, "Don’t fall deeply in love with her. You’ll be hurting her" still echoed, the visions of Aria screaming, blood-soaked, her wolf dying, haunting me.
Was I the danger again? Or was it Seraphina, with her sly smirk, her quick denial?
I was so lost in thought, my hands clenching, my wound burning, that I didn’t hear Aria wake up, didn’t hear the soft creak of the bed, the splash of water as she bathed.
Her voice snapped me back, soft but distant. "Good morning," she said, her tone brief, her blue dress simple, her silver hair tied back.