Bloodbound to the Beastly King

The forest was familiar; how could it not be when he patrolled the place every day?

Thorne walked the familiar path with hands shoved deep into his coat pockets, the early frost crunching beneath his boots. The air was cold, but it didn't bother him. Ahead, the crooked cabin came into view, curling smoke from its chimney.

Outside the cabin was Thessara, half-bent and tending to some of the plants she had planted. She sensed his presence immediately and smirked.

She had an inkling she would receive a guest soon, but who knew it would be the almighty King Thorne Rhukor.

"You're here. That's a first," she said as she straightened up.

"Don't get used to it," Thorne grunted.

Thessara turned to him, brows furrowing. "What's this? You look well-rested. Did the sun rise on the ground this time?"

Thorne ignored her, walking past her and into the warm cabin. His eyes flicked over the place. It had been his for the longest time, up until Roseanne's death. They used to come down here and cozy up together. A mental break. Roseanne used to call it.

But then, after her death, Thorne found no use for it. The place stayed closed for years until Thessara claimed it.

She burst into his office one day and claimed ownership of the cabin.

Now, he was back in the same cabin after all these years.

The door shut behind him, the cold air gone, and the warmth in the cabin wrapped around him.

His eyes flickered to the table, to the transparent glass covering a plant. It was blue, and on the edge was various colors like a rainbow. It had bloomed, bright and radiant.

Thorne paused for a second at the sight, his feet carrying him towards it. "Isn't this an Ambrosia? The plant that gives cures sickness and gives life?" he asked, eyes on the plant which looked like it was pulsing alive.

Thessara's eyes fell on the plant, and a soft smile made its way to her lips. "It is," she replied and looked away, dropping the basket she had brought in.

She shook her head softly as the memory once again flashed in her head. It was the very same day Adina had come for help. Thessara had left the next morning to speak to Thorne, but when she returned to the cabin, expecting to see Adina, the girl had gone.

Instead, in her foot was a tiny sprout of the ambrosia plant. A plant that hadn't been seen in the southern Realm for decades. Suddenly growing in the cabin? Right in the middle of the wooden floor?

How coincidental…

"How is this possible? An ambrosia growing here? This is insane. It would solve almost everything wrong in the realm. Thessara," Thorne rambled, turning to face the woman.

"Why didn't you tell me you could grow an Ambrosia?"

Thessara scoffed internally. "Who grows an ambrosia, my king? It chooses to grow when it wants to, and in this case. One can say it is its time," she replied calmly, walking over to the plant and covering the glass protecting it with a cloth.

Then she turned to face a speechless Thorne. "What brought you here?"

Thorne sighed, looking away. "You said I was well-rested, right?"

Thessara hummed. "I've become accustomed to the dark circles you carried, and now seeing them almost gone is weird."

"Well, that's why I am here," he replied. He had said he was not going to come to Thessara for anything after she barged into his office demanding things of him, but here he was…

Coming to her for answers.

"I can't place my finger on what it is, but something's wrong."

Thessara arched her brow. "Because you slept well?"

"I slept well, and it's the first time since Roseanne's death. I slept well the two times Adina has been with me. Is this the mating bond I share with her that's causing this? Or is it her?"

Thessara looked at him for a long moment. "What are you so confused about? Everything's perfectly clear to me. From where I stand, Adina's the one who makes you sleep," she replied casually.

Thorne looked at her with a deadpan expression. "Are you not getting what it is that I am saying?"

"No, but I am. You haven't been able to sleep for longer than an hour at most, but here you are having a full night's sleep. The two times it's happened are when you're with Adina. I think that's pretty explanatory. I don't see what you are confused about. All you need to do is open your eyes and see what's right in front of you. The gods wouldn't just give you a random woman as a mate after all that's happened. Adina is special, and she might just be the solution to your problems."

Thorne scoffed, "Except she's not a sage. How can she be the solution to my problems? She's not a sage. She can't lift my curse or give me an heir."

Thessara exhaled sharply, irritation dancing behind her eyes. "And there it is again—your obsession with sages. Do you hear yourself?"

"My obsession with sages? I wouldn't be this obsessed with finding a sage if the gods hadn't made it clear. Only a sage can channel the divine magic needed to break the curse and survive it." He shook his head, remembering how he had knelt before Roseanne's cold body. As their voice echoed through the walls for the first time. 'For as long as you live. You, Thorne Vargan Rhukor shan't bear forth any fruit to carry your name or legacy. You shall remain barren with an unending life. This curse laid on you shall only be lifted by a sage. The divine being who shall plead on your behalf and only the sage shall bear your fruit. Until then. You're cursed for eternity.'

He swallowed hard, blinking back to reality.

"So you would listen to the gods about a sage but not Adina?" Thessara asked.

"They aren't the same, Thessara!" Thorne snapped.

"Aren't they? The same gods who told you only a sage—A divine being who is the intermediary between realms and the goddess can lift your curse and bear your pups also gave you Adina. Adina might not be a sage, but she sure as well is special."

He turned away from her, dragging a hand down his face. "You want me to believe that after everything… Adina is the answer? That it's her?"

"I'm not asking you to believe anything," Thessara said softly. "I'm asking you to feel. You already know it's her. What you are so terrified of is what I don't understand."

He clenched his fists. "She has a past. A bloody one. I can't put that behind me."

Thessara huffed. "Not even you believe Adina's a murderer. You know the truth. You've known it since the moment she touched you and your wolf didn't rip her to shreds. She didn't murder anyone, but you chose to fixate on what you heard instead of what you know. What does that say about you?"

The silence was heavy…full.

"I can't bind her to me," Thorne said quietly. "Knowing she'll only be temporary. The gods—" he paused for a second. "The gods specified a sage, Thessara. What if I accept Adina and she suffers the same fate as Roseanne because I didn't listen to them?" He shook his head, and he ran his fingers through his hair. "I can't do that to her. I won't let her suffer Roseanne's fate."

Thessara's eyes softened. "Thorne."

"No. I can't do that to her. Right now, it's better she hates me and thinks I won't accept her because of it. I don't know what I'll do if because of me—my acceptance of our bond… she's cursed or worse—she dies."

Thessara didn't speak for a moment. Just watched him. Watched the king—the warrior, reduced to a man tangled in fear and grief.

"So you won't accept your mate bond with her to save her? Is that it?" she asked, and Thorne looked at her.

"I'm doing this so she doesn't meet a fate like Roseanne. All because she's my mate," he replied.

Thessara shook her head, "You want to save her, but you don't see she might be here to save you, too."

Thorne closed his eyes, jaw clenched.

"Roseanne's death wasn't your fault, Thorne."

Thorne scoffed, "Oh, but it is. If she were never mated to me, Khaos would've never killed her for vengeance, and if she wasn't my mate, the gods would've kept her alive regardless of the black magic used in saving her. She died because she was my mate. She died because of me. —Adina cannot go through the same thing."

"Adina isn't Roseanne. She won't suffer a fate like Roseanne's. Adina's special. She's not a burden or a test. She's a gift. The gods don't play fair; we both know that. But they do play with purpose."

"I don't want her to suffer, Thessara."

"She's already suffering. From what I've seen, that girl has only known suffering all her life."

A silence settled between them again, this time heavier, more bitter than before.

"I told you she came to me, you remember," Thessara said, walking back toward the hearth and placing a hand absently on the side of the Ambrosia glass. "To nullify the bond because she didn't want to be in pain anymore." Thessara looked up, catching the pained expression Thorne wore.

"I told her I'd look into it. I lied." Thessara smiled bitterly, "Because there's nothing to look into. There's no undoing something the gods have already written. Only delaying it. Or breaking hearts trying."

"Stop being so stubborn, Thorne, and embrace your bond. Your feelings. Adina."