Bloodbound to the Beastly King

Councilman Carter sat in his study, fingers steepled under his chin, eyes fixed on the letter lying open before him. His beta in front of the desk, silent, watching and waiting.

"You're sure of this?" He asked, glancing at the beta who nodded.

"Absolutely. Lord Varrick visited the palace yesterday. Alone. No council escort. He spoke with the king for nearly an hour, and according to the guards, left… smiling."

Carter glanced at the letter again, humming, stroking his chin. "I see. He sees the king right after our meeting and leaves there smiling."

That old snake.

He knew the man was the weak link among them all, after all, he seemed to hold a grudge against Carter from all those years ago, but the council made a decision already, and no member could disobey it. Varrick, of course, didn't care.

He was such a fool.

"Anything else?" He asked.

"None apart from what is written in there," the beta replied, watching as Carter slipped the letter into the container where he kept the other letters he's received.

He cleared his throat. "So what are your plans with the general?" He asked. It hadn't been that long since Elara left. "Were you taking on her proposition?" He asked.

Carter didn't speak right away. He stood, moving toward the window. The days were slipping by so quickly, and the more they did, the more Carter worried about Radek.

He hadn't gotten his fill yet… and his return back home looked like it would take a while longer than he anticipated. Radek didn't have that much time. He had to do something quick.

"Send a message to Elara," he finally said, his voice low.

The beta blinked, surprised. "Are you sure about this, My Lord? Elara is…"

"Elara is a fool to aim that high. She wants to be Queen of the realm and rule as the king's mate. It's impossible, but why would I tell her that. All she's asking of me is my power outside of Obsidian. I can help her with that much while she helps me in return."

He looked at the beta again, "Send a message to her… tell her, I'm in."

The beta's brows furrowed. "And Radek?"

"Elara will take care of Radek."

The beta nodded, turning to leave, only to pause, Elara's words ringing in his ears again. He looked at Carter. "And the slave girl? The one who is now the king's supposed mate?" He asked.

At this, Carter smirked. "Not for long. Everything will be taken care of in due time."

The palace was quiet when Elara stepped out of the carriage. Her gaze flickered around. It looked like it's been ages since she was here, but in reality, it was just three weeks. Still, it was foreign, maybe because this was her first time leaving the palace. Her cloak fluttered behind her as she walked through the palace gates with her head held high, her heels clicking with every step.

She heard the sharp gasps of guards and servants as she walked into the palace, all of them looking at her with shock as if she had just come back from the dead.

But then again, Elara didn't blame them. After all, the news after her leaving was that the king exiled her. Even she had heard it in the motel she had stayed during her time out. The people's interest in the palace was high due to the concubines who were given to the king.

Elara shook her head slightly. She wasn't going to dwell on the past anymore. No—now she was much better. Initially, she had thought that her leaving the palace was a punishment. One she couldn't bear, but now… she knew it wasn't a punishment but instead a blessing in disguise. She had gotten all she could ever need and more from this little trip out of the palace, and now… she was back, better than before.

Elara stopped outside of Thorne's office. She took a deep breath, feeling nervous. This was one thing about her. No matter how confident she was outside, every time she faced Thorne, she'd always melt into someone she couldn't recognize.

She lifted her hand to knock but paused. What was the fun in that? It was morning, and Thorne would be working. She could feel his presence behind the door.

Without knocking, Elara pushed the door open, peeking inside with a small smile on her face.

Right inside was Thorne, sitting, but he wasn't working like she expected him to be. Instead, he was smiling softly, an expression Elara had never seen before.

One that had her smile dropping instantly. Before him was Adina, who wasn't even looking at him. She was stirring a mug filled with tea. And yet… Thorne looked at her like she hung the stars.

Suddenly, his gaze flickered to the door. "Elara," he called.

Elara plastered the smile back on her face. "Your Majesty," she said, stepping into the room.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Adina stiffen slightly. She straightened from where she stood, tea still in hand.

"You're back? You didn't send word that you were returning," Thorne said.

"Forgive me, my king. I didn't think it was necessary. After all, I didn't get a word letting me know that the concubines have been sent back to their homes," she said, unable to keep out the slight jab.

Thorne's face dawned in realization. He should've sent word to Elara after the concubines left. He had forgotten about her.

"You weren't at the home provided for you. How was I supposed to do that?" he asked instead.

Elara's brows furrowed. "You knew about that?" she asked, her heart racing slightly.

"Of course I did. I sent word to the inn," he replied.

Elara's smile widened. He didn't forget about her. She was the one who moved locations without telling him. Of course, he couldn't get to her when he had no idea where she was.

She looked away shyly. "Forgive me. I just…" she trailed off.

"It's alright. You're back now."

Elara nodded, still smiling sweetly. She glanced at Adina, whose gaze was locked on the floor.

"I…" she paused, "I want to apologize for my outburst that day. I didn't uphold myself as the general of the kingdom, and I let myself be carried away. I didn't portray a good image of myself and thus… embarrassed you. Forgive me, my king."

"Of course," Thorne replied, not saying anything else.

Elara's gaze fell on the mug of tea Adina was just preparing and smiled, stepping forward. "May I? It's been a while since I've helped you with anything," she said, hands out and dismissing Adina already.

"Actually, no. You don't have to. Adina takes care of everything that concerns me," he said, and Elara paused, a brow quirked up. The smile she wore was shaky.

"Everything?" she echoed.

"Meet with Caelum. He'll fill you in on all you've missed and what's next," he ordered, his voice firm. It was almost like he didn't want to extend the same sense of familiarity as he did before.

Perhaps, this break she took was more impactful than she thought.

Elara forced the smile on her face as she stepped back. "Of course, please excuse me," she said, bowing, then walked out of the place, her smile dropping the instant she stepped out.

________

Later that night.

"What are you doing?"

Adina yelped in fright, jumping forward, the needle she was holding pricked her finger and she winced.

She turned around to see Thorne behind her, he stood by the door, watching what she'd been doing.

Adina straightened up as she rubbed her finger that was now drawing out blood. "You majesty, I didn't know you were there." She mumbled, bending to pick the clothes she'd been sewing.

"You injured yourself?" Thorne asked, brows furrowed as he stepped forward, eyes fixed on her bloody finger.

Adina instinctively tried to curl her hand away, but he was quicker. He caught her wrist gently but firmly, raising her hand between them.

"It's nothing," she murmured, heart thudding as he examined the small prick on her fingertip.

To her shock, he didn't reach for a handkerchief….instead, he brought her hand to his mouth and licked the blood from her finger.

Adina froze.

Her breath hitched, eyes going wide as her entire body jolted at the feel of his tongue grazing her finger. Her cheeks flared instantly with heat, every nerve in her body hyper-aware of how close he was now. What he was doing….how he was staring at her.

Oh gods….what was this man doing to her?

"W–what are you doing?" she whispered, barely managing the words.

Thorne looked up through his lashes, his mouth still near her hand. "You're bleeding," he said simply, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Adina's lips parted in stunned silence. No word was coming to her head.

Thorne let her hand go slowly, his fingers lingering a second too long. "You should be more careful," he added, his voice lower now, almost amused.

She nodded stiffly, clutching her hand to her chest. "Y–yes, I… I will."

She should be more careful? She'd only gotten hurt because he startled her but she'd somehow thanking him? And what was worse was the fact that it made so much sense.

Adina looked away, face redder than ever.. she licked her lips awkwardly, she hadn't seen the king ever since the morning and she'd taken up other works until now…

He tilted his head, watching her with that unreadable expression of his. Then, after a second, he said, "You're not supposed to be sewing."

Adina blinked, still trying to recover her ability to think. "I— I wanted to mend a tear in your coat. From the training grounds. I noticed it yesterday."

Thorne's eyes softened, "You don't need to do that," he said gently.

"I know," she replied. "But I wanted to."

Thorne stepped closer again, slowly, this time. Until there was hardly any space between them.

"You keep doing that," he murmured, voice low enough to send her shuddering internally.

"Doing what?" She breathed out.

"Making it impossible not to touch you."

Why then? Why won't you touch me? Adina wanted to say but couldn't…. Thorne was still keeping her at arms length even after everything and even though she didn't know why, she didn't want to ruin what they'd already built.

Thorne stared at her for what seemed like hours and eventually he stepped back. "Sleep well, Adina." He said, turning to leave.

"Wait…" Adina called after him, making him pause in his steps. He turned to look at her.

"Thessara asked me to come to her tomorrow, I wanted to know if it'll be okay with you if I did."

Thorne turned to her, brows raising slightly, a flicker of surprise crossing his face. "Thessara did?"

Adina nodded, she had seen the woman earlier when she came to the palace and she had asked her to come.

Adina nodded, fiddling with the hem of her dress. "She said she had some things she wanted to show me. About herbs and wounds and… well, I thought it might be useful. If I'm going to be around you." Her voice faltered at the end, her gaze dropping.

There was a beat of silence. Then—

"You want to learn how to heal?" Thorne asked,

"I want to be useful," she said softly. "I don't want to just stand around while things happen. I want to help."

Thorne stared at her again like he had earlier, his eyes were unreadable, and eventually he nodded. "If that's what you want and if Thessara's willing to teach you, then I trust her judgment."

Adina's face lit up, but Thorne was already backing away again, his eyes lingering on her just a moment longer before he turned fully.

"Good night, Adina."