Page 49 of Fated to the Wolf Prince

Something had to give, and Leigh’s rants weren’t accomplishing anything because Gael was too loyal to Kane.

No, a change had to come from the top, which meant I had to put my foot down. I’d given him time to process, but I was his mate. Hisfatedmate. Which meant he didn’t get to shut me away and take away my decisions. We were partners, and I’d had enough.

I crossed to the door and rapped twice.

Gael opened it, an eyebrow lifting when he saw it was me, not Leigh come to cuss him again.

“Yes, Brielle. What can I do for you?”

“Take me to Kane.”

He shook his head, about to argue, but I lifted one palm, cutting him off. “I need to see my mate,now.” Command I didn’t know I possessed laced the word, and he rocked back on his heels.

“Brielle, don’t do this. He wants you safe right now, and he’s barely holding on to his control.”

“That’s exactly why I need to see him. I’m the one who’s supposed to help him with his control.”

Gael sighed, scuffing his palm warily against the scruff on his jaw. “Fine. But you’ll have to wait until Reed gets here to stay with the others.”

I nodded, my heart starting to pound at the thought of seeing Kane again after so long. When had three days turned into eternity?

Reed arrived to take over guard duty quickly, but it felt like torture after waiting so long. Kane and I had been so close for a few sweet moments, and then he’d ripped us apart fordays.

We’d only known each other for a little while, but the pull I felt toward him was inescapable. I craved him, his warm smile and his spicy orange scent, like nothing else. And I was done being told I should sit off to the side in safety. That was not where I belonged, and I intended to show him that.

Gael’s knockon Kane’s door was met with a growl that sounded near feral and afuck off. My speeding pulse might have been mistaken for fear if my panties didn’t go damp at hearing his voice. Even if he was spitting mad, I still wanted him. I probably needed my head examined, but that could wait until after I’d had a taste of my alpha.

“Kane?” I called out, hoping my presence would change his response.

The sound of a chair scraping back roughly on the other side of the door was the only warning before he ripped the door open so hard, he nearly tore it from its hinges.

Gael stepped in front of me protectively with his hands raised, but not before I saw Kane’s red-rimmed eyes, and claw-tipped fingers. He was wearing nothing but thin sweatpants, and his chest gleamed from a fine layer of sweat.

Gael had been telling the truth. Kane was nearly feral, and if I was wrong about what he needed, I might tip him over the edge. And an alpha as powerful as Kane… he could kill us all if he lost to the urge.

Yet somehow, it wasn’t fear that guided my steps.

Lust, hot and searing, ripped through my belly at his proximity after so many days apart. Something primal in me recognized our mate and didn’t care that he was on a hair trigger.

She just wanted him, claws and all.

I sidestepped Gael and, for the second time in the same night, moved with speed I didn’t think I had, lunging for Kane’s broad chest.

Gael reached to stop me, but he was too late, his fingers brushing the back of my shirt as my chest crashed into Kane’s. He swiped Gael’s hand back with a snarl that made the hair stand up on my arms and the back of my neck. I ignored it, wrapping myself around his broad frame like a spider monkey, clinging tight. I buried my nose in his neck, dragging in a deep lungful of his delicious scent, but finding the cinnamon smelled burned instead of its usual tantalizing spice.

“Alpha, with respect, your mate is fragile. Don’t do anything you’ll regret.” Gael’s words were pleading, and I heard him take a step forward, but Kane didn’t respond. When I looked up, his eyes locked onto mine, pupils dilated nearly to blackness. He didn’t break the eye contact as he stepped back into his room, and slammed the door shut in Gael’s face.

His hands came down to grip my ass, clutching me tightly against his already impressive erection, but it seemed subconscious. His pupils were still blown, the wolf right there pressing against the man’s boundaries.

“You’re supposed to be in your room.” The words were raspy, like he was hoarse.

“I was tired of being in my room. I wanted to see you. I’ve missed you.” I opted for simple honesty, calmly staring back into his eyes, ignoring my pounding heart and the sweat slicking my palms where they were clasped behind his neck.

“You’resafein your room.” He growled again and began pacing back and forth, still clutching me tightly to his chest. His room was half-destroyed, shredded bedding and splintered furniture littering the floor, gathering in the doorway to the bathroom, decorating the largest four-poster bed I’d ever seen. Had he been staying locked in here too?

What would get through to him? His wolf?

“I’m safehere, in my alpha’s arms. This is where I belong, not locked away. No more, Kane. Promise me. Let me stay with you.”

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