Chapter 30: Alkan - Fated to the Night King

Excusing myself from the healer's room seemed to be the only fair thing to do. The distress Sena was feeling was easily communicated to me across our still incomplete bond, and it had been difficult to fight down the urge to pull Danvers away from her. He'd felt the tension, too, giving me more and more aggrieved looks the longer I was there.

"Perhaps there is work you need to do elsewhere?" My friend made the suggestion like it was nothing unusual, but I knew he was worried about how my roiling emotions might affect his patient. And no one gets between him and his patient once they're in his care. That much I knew. "I will ensure that Miss Sena will be escorted back to your quarters when we're done here. No harm will befall her."

I gave them both a curt nod and stood, choosing to leave without offering her a friendly goodbye. It would be even harder to resist the temptation to pull her into my arms, to soothe her pain, to ignore the call of her blood.

The scent of it had perfumed the workroom and my fangs had descended instantly. Tasting her was divine. But I wouldn't make my need for her something she should fear. It was an intimate act that solidified the bond between fated souls. I wouldn't sully it with a lack of control. She deserved better than that.

Gil and Chancel appeared at the end of the corridor, proof that they'd been tailing us as I'd ordered.

"Stay and bring her to my quarters when Danvers releases her. She'll need rest."

The men promised they would do as I asked, then positioned themselves outside Danvers’s work room to wait. I felt certain that she would be safe with them close by and allowed my mind to consider other problems I needed a solution for.

The first being the identification of the person amongst my court who was revealing my plans for the shifters to the Alpha? Because there was no other reason I could think of for why Thalon had placed Sena in my territory. It was unlikely he knew exactly what he'd done.

For an Istakarran, finding their Fated Soul, that match that would make them complete, wasn't just a story about true love.

It was much more powerful than that.

A completed bond provided a boost that made both parties able to access higher magic than they ever had before. I'd be a fool to pretend I didn't want that increased ability. What I would be able to accomplish for my court was unparalleled. But I'd also be an idiot to suggest that was the only thing I wanted.

Sena had already worked her own kind of magic on me. The protectiveness I'd experienced was part of the connection we shared, no doubt. But in addition to that, I felt this growing need to be with her, to care for her, and make sure she was happy. Truly happy.

I spared a thought for what life would look like for her if she chose to stay here. I had a distinct sense that the other shifters, the Stricken as they were called, looked to her for guidance. The uncertainty I'd seen as she struggled with the idea of whether to stay here or whether to return home spoke to her commitment to them. And she'd spoken fondly of those she was close to. If she agreed to stay here with me, I felt sure it would mean welcoming more of the Stricken into the court.

I expected that would be her negotiating point. Her happiness would hinge on the care and wellbeing of her own people.

Little did she know that I already had my own plans for the Stricken.

And my little spy would play her own part in that without even realizing it.