Betrayed by My Ex, Marked by His Alpha Emperor Brother novel Chapter 36

Chapter 36: Chapter 36

Kaelen’s POV

Kill them.

Alexei’s voice was a low, grinding snarl reverberating through every nerve in my body. Find whoever did this. Rip them apart. Scatter the pieces.

I agreed with every savage syllable.

But I couldn’t move. My hand hovered over the torn lace of her bodice, fingers trembling with a volatile cocktail of fury and something else—something primal and possessive that the mate bond kept feeding directly into my bloodstream.

Her skin was exposed. Pale. Bruised along the collarbone where fingers had clearly gripped and dragged. The torn fabric told a story I didn’t need words to understand. Someone had tried to—

Don’t think it. Alexei’s growl dropped lower, vibrating against my skull. Just find them. Kill them slowly.

My jaw clenched so tight I tasted copper.

I forced myself to breathe. Once. Twice. Drew my gaze away from her bare skin with the discipline of a man disarming a weapon pointed at his own chest.

She needs care, not your rage. Focus.

I moved to the narrow wardrobe against the far wall. Opened it. Found a worn cotton sleeping robe—soft, modest, smelling faintly of her. Of winter frost and wildflowers. The mate bond pulsed hot beneath my sternum, and I shoved it down with brute force.

Returning to the bed, I sat on the edge. Carefully. Like approaching a wounded animal. I eased what remained of her shredded shirt away from her shoulders, keeping my eyes fixed on the task. Clinical. Controlled.

My knuckles brushed the curve of her waist.

Every muscle in my body locked.

Our mate, Alexei murmured, his tone shifting from murderous to something reverent and aching. She’s ours. Protect her. Hold her. Claim—

Enough. I shut him down hard.

I slipped her arms through the sleeping robe. Tied it at the waist. Pulled the blanket up over her chest.

Then I fetched warm water from the kitchen and a clean cloth.

Sitting beside her again, I pressed the damp cloth gently against her swollen cheek. The bruise was deep—someone had hit her with their full strength. A grown adult. Against this woman who weighed less than half of me.

I wiped the dried blood from the corner of her mouth. Her lips were cracked. Pale.

Names, Alexei demanded. I want names.

So did I.

I wrung the cloth out. Pressed it against her temple. Her fever burned against my fingers through the fabric, radiating heat that had nothing to do with the mate bond.

She stirred.

A soft sound—half whimper, half groan. Her brow furrowed. Her cracked lips parted.

“What are you doing?” Her voice came out hoarse and thin, scraped raw. “Playing Sleeping Beauty?”

Her ice-blue eyes opened. Glassy with fever but still sharp. Still defiant.

Even beaten half to death, she had the audacity to mock me.

“You’re awake,” I said.

“Obviously.” She tried to push herself upright and gasped. Her hand flew to her ribs. Color drained from her already pale face. “Where—”

Then her eyes went wide. Wild. The fever haze burned away in an instant, replaced by naked terror.

“Valerius.” She grabbed the front of my shirt with surprising strength, her fingers twisting the fabric. “Where is my son? Is he—did they—”

“He’s safe.” I caught her wrist. Gently. Her pulse hammered against my thumb like a trapped bird. “He’s in his room. Asleep.”

She didn’t believe me. I could see it—the desperate calculation behind those blue eyes, weighing my words against every terrible possibility.

“I found him in the border forest,” I continued. Kept my voice even. Steady. The voice I used for skittish war horses and frightened soldiers. “Fed him dinner. He told me about dinosaurs. In great detail.”

Something flickered in her expression. A crack in the panic.

“How many?”

“Fifteen different species. I now know more about the feeding habits of ancient lizards than I ever needed to.”

The faintest tremor crossed her lips. Not quite a smile. But close.

Her grip on my shirt loosened. She sank back against the pillow, eyes squeezing shut. A single tear slipped down her bruised cheek and disappeared into her silver hair. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

“He’s okay,” she whispered. Not to me. To herself. Confirming it. Needing the words to exist in the air.

“He’s okay,” I repeated.

Silence settled between us. The lamp on the bedside table guttered, casting restless shadows across the walls of the tiny bedroom.

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