Betrayed by My Ex, Marked by His Alpha Emperor Brother novel Chapter 17

Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Kaelen’s POV

“Save me,” she whispered. “Please...”

Her fingers tightened in my cravat. Her dilated ice-blue eyes locked onto mine. Empty of everything except need. Raw, aching, unnatural need that turned her pupils into black moons.

“Elara.” I kept my voice level. Barely. “We’re going to the royal hospital. The physicians will—”

“No.” The word tore out of her throat. Ragged. Almost a sob. “No physicians. No hospital. Just you.” Her other hand found my chest, pressing flat against my bare skin. Her palm burned like a brand. “It hurts, Kaelen. Everything is burning. Please.”

Mark her, Alec snarled. He was clawing at the walls of my skull. She’s asking. She needs us. MARK HER.

I shoved him down. Hard.

“Elara, listen to me. You’ve been drugged. That bastard gave you something. You’re not thinking clearly—”

She pulled on my cravat again. Harder. Her knuckles were bone-white.

“I know what I feel.” Her voice cracked on every syllable. “I know it’s you. It’s always been you. The bond. I can feel it. It’s screaming.” Tears spilled over her lashes. “It hurts so much. Make it stop.”

The scent hit me then. Not the sickly sweetness of the potion. Something underneath it. Something that had been building since the moment I’d pulled her from that room.

Her arousal.

It rolled off her skin in waves. Winter roses drenched in honey. Warm. Thick. Intoxicating. The potion had done more than cloud her mind—it had triggered a false heat, forcing her body into a state of desperate, agonizing want.

My jaw clenched so hard I thought my teeth would crack.

“Driver.” My voice came out like gravel dragged over broken glass. “Change of route. The empty training grounds near the palace. Now.”

The carriage lurched. Wheels rattled over cobblestone. I kept my hand on the back of Elara’s head, my thumb brushing circles against her scalp. Trying to soothe her. Trying to soothe myself.

You know what she needs, Alec growled. Stop pretending you don’t.

“She needs a physician.”

She needs her mate.

I said nothing. Because he was right. And I hated him for it.

The training grounds materialized through the carriage window. A wide, empty parade field surrounded by dark warehouses. No torches. No guards. Nothing but frozen dirt and silence.

The carriage stopped.

I turned back to Elara. “I’m going to carry you—”

She moved.

Fast. Faster than someone pumped full of drugs should have been able to move. She swung one leg over the bench, then the other, and suddenly she was in my lap. Straddling me. Her knees pressed against my hips. Her torn gown slipped further, baring the curve of her collarbone. Beneath the ruined silk, black lace clung to her skin like shadow against ivory.

Her hands framed my face.

“Don’t take me to a hospital,” she breathed. “Don’t hand me off to strangers. I’m your mate. Help me.”

Every rational thought I’d ever had went up in flames.

MINE, Alec roared.

Her mouth found mine. Not gentle. Not tentative. She kissed me like she was drowning and I was the last breath of air above the waterline. Her fingers raked into my hair. Her hips ground down against me with a desperate, rolling pressure that made my vision blur.

I grabbed her waist. My hands nearly spanned it entirely. I meant to push her back. To create distance. To be the rational, controlled emperor that people expected.

Instead, my fingers dug into her skin and pulled her closer.

She gasped into my mouth. The sound shattered something inside my chest.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify