Bloodbound to the Beastly King

Adina stood by the tall windows of the east wing, watching the moon shine its light over the garden. Something felt… off. But for the first time in weeks, it wasn't fear that made her chest tight. It was longing.

Adina knew what it was…the mood she spent time with Thorne, the more the bond between them grew stronger. And now, she'd feel the bond tug whenever she was away from him. Or maybe it was her heart?

She had no idea at this point. All she knew was that she missed him. She hadn't seen Thorne properly all day—not really. The last time she actually saw him was two days ago and it felt like it'd been way longer than that.

The king had been busy. Meetings. War councils. Whatever it was that kings did behind closed doors.

Adina sighed, pushing the clothes she had over her lap away, she shook her head and tried to focus on what she was sewing….

"What are you doing?" Thorne's voice suddenly rang through the air.

Adina snapped her head up only to find him at the door, staring at her. "M-my king." She stammered as she fumbled to stand up, only to have the needle she'd been using poke her finger deeply.

She hissed out in pain, as blood poured out of her finger.

"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 heart racing against time.

What was happening to her?

Was she imagining these things happening or was she just dreaming?

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."

He straightened up, eyes on her so intensely it sent a shiver down Adina's spine. He stared at her like he was trying to memorise every single detail on her face.

Thorne's gaze fell to the clothes she'd been sewing, brows furrowing. "Whose clothes are these?" He asked.

Adina glanced at the clothes, "They're—um—the guards."

Thorne looked at her, "Why are you fixing their clothes? Did Maya ask you to do this knowing fully well that you're only min—"

"I volunteered." Adina blurted out before she could stop her self. Perhaps, hearing him almost say she was his would've sent her into an another dimension….she wasn't sure she could hear that from his lips without going crazy.

"You volunteered to sow these many clothes?" He asked and she nodded.

Thorne huffed, clearly disapproving. "Well I don't like it. I don't want it. You don't sow other people's clothes. Just mine."

Adina stared at him, wondering how a whole king like him could manage so sound so….sound like a child who didn't learn to share. Wait, was she the one being shared because now that sounded weird. No—it was about her skills. That was what he didn't want being shared.

"What goes on in that head of yours?" Thorne asked and Adina blinked, jolting herself out of her thoughts. She flushed hard when she realized how close he was standing to her now….

Ever since that day in his bathroom…something had changed between them, or perhaps it was within him. Thorne was much more bolder….he touched her more, looked at her in a way that makes Adina want to submit to him...and that was weird for her..

Shed never felt the need to submit to anyone, not even Roman but somehow, her wolf was suddenly much aware and ready to submit. Like an omega to her alpha.

Adina wasn't an omega though.

She felt his fingers on her head before the pain registered. Thorne had flicked her forehead with his fingers.

"Ow, that hurts." She whined without realizing it. And when she did, she clasped her hand over her mouth. Embarrassed.

Thorne's lips twitched. "Good. That'll teach you not to space out when I'm talking to you."

Adina gave him a look, still covering her mouth. "You really just flicked me?"

"You really just whined," he teased, taking another step closer.

She immediately turned her face to the side, mortified. "You weren't supposed to hear that." Perhaps she was much bolder than she thought.

He leaned in, his breath ghosting over her ear. "I hear everything when it comes to you."

Adina stiffened slightly, her entire face going red instantly. "That's not fair." She whined again, this time not bothering with the shame.

"What isn't?" His voice was lower now, deep and velvety.

Adina glanced up at him. "You… you being like this. Coming in here, licking my blood and then, flicking my forehead, and then saying things like that."

Wa ssh even making sense? She had no idea now….not when her entire brain had been broken by him.

Thorne raised a brow, visibly amused. "Would you rather I be cold with you again?"

"No!" she blurted, then quickly softened her voice. "No. I just… I don't know what to do with you when you're like this."

Thorne's expression shifted then—less teasing, more serious. "You don't have to do anything," he said. "Just be here."

Adina's heart clenched. Gods, why was he saying things like that? And why did they always go straight to the softest, most vulnerable part of her?

When did he become like this? Was it the bond? Or was this just what he was on a normal day without the past hovering over him?

Adina looked away, biting her lips shyly. Tonight she was leaning more than she could have imagined.

"Thessara told me she asked you to come to her tomorrow. She thinks you have a great shot at becoming an healer."

At this Adina's ear perked up. The woman had asked her recently, when she came to the palace recently. She didn't outrightly say she could be a healer but instead she said, it was time Adina learnt about the soil and their energy.

Did that mean being an healer?

"Do you want to be an healer?" Thorne asked.

Adina blinked, did she want to be an healer? She didn't know. Shed never given it any thought.

"I don't know…I've never.." she trailed off, "I've never thought of being anything." She replied quietly. Her life had been thought out for her. 'You'll mate Roman. You'll bear him pups. You'll be a slave.'

She's never made a decision about herself by herself.

Thorne stared at her, like really stared at her and soon she began to feel awkward about it. Has she said too much? Should she have just said yes, she wants to be a healer?

Then his expression softened, "Think about it. If you want to be an healer like Thessara's or not."

"Will….If I wanted to be one, will that be okay?" She asked.

"Yes it will be. Thessara's a good healer and I trust her."

She shook her head, "No—that's not what I'm talking about. I- I'm a slave. Obsidian slave. I can't— I can't want to be something." She said.

Thorne didn't look surprised, perhaps this was something he had thought of….?

"That doesn't matter. Just think about if you want it. I'll make it happen." He said and she nodded, smiling.

He glanced at the clothes on the bed and back at her. "Go to sleep, Adina. They aren't yours to fix." He said.

"But they were—"

"Sleep." He said, voice firmer this time.

Adina couldn't help the smile on her face as she nodded. "Yes, your majesty."

Thorne stared at her for some seconds longer then stepped out of the room. The second he stepped out, his smile dropped.

He pushed the door to the office open only to find Caelum there, waiting for him.

"What's wrong?" The beta asked the second he laid eyes on him.

Thorne didn't respond, he walked towards the alcohol cabinet and took out a bottle, pouring the content into the cup and gulped it.

He then looked at Caelum. "Adina…is still a slave."

Caelum nodded, looking at him like he didn't understand what he was going for and maybe he didn't…. Only Thorne understood what was going through his mind.

He shook his head, drowning the thoughts from his mind. He can't remove Adina's status yet….not until he was done with the whole radek situation.

He looked at Caelum again, "Where are we with Lord Varrick?"