Chapter 8 I crave you

~Sage~

As Matt took me away, I could hear wolves tearing into each other with savage intensity. I could hear groans and screams, and things crashing against the wall.

My hands wouldn't stop shaking. I was scared. I didn't understand why a fight would suddenly break out without warning.Two weeks. That's all I'd been in this palace, and already I was hiding from a rogue war like some character in the horror stories my mother used to tell.

We walked down through a part of the palace that I hadn't seen before. This one looked like it was a sort of hidden passage.

Soon, we got to this small, barely furnished room. Apart from an old settee and a few dusty crates, there wasn't really anything there. No windows except for one that had been boarded up long ago.

“Stay here. I'll be back to check on you when we're done dealing with the rogues,” Matt said.

I nodded, even though I was practically shaking with fear.

The air smelled musty. I pulled my knees to my chest on the settee, trying to block out the sounds of violence.

Every crash made me jump. Every howl sent a tremor through my veins.

The fighting seemed to go on forever, though it was probably only an hour or two. Eventually, I got really tired. My eyes began to grow heavy, and despite the shouts outside, I found myself dozing.

A touch on my cheek woke me. I screamed and grabbed the hand, biting down as hard as I could. The taste of blood filled my mouth immediately.

"Fuck!" The voice groaned. "Are you a cannibal?”

I released the hand instantly, scrambling backward. Keith stood there, cradling his bitten hand against his chest. But that wasn't what made me gasp. Long, ugly cuts ran up both his arms, some still bleeding freely. His shirt hung in tatters, and dirt mixed with dried blood across his skin.

"Keith," I breathed. "Oh god, I'm so sorry. I didn't know it was you."

"Clearly." He examined his hand with a wry expression. "You've got quite a sharp bite; just like your mouth."

Are you okay?" The question sounded stupid even as it left my mouth. Of course he wasn't okay. He looked like he'd fought through hell.

"I'll heal." He sank onto the floor across from me. "Werewolf perks."

"Those cuts need cleaning." I started to move toward him, but he held up his unbitten hand.

"Stay there. You're safer with distance between us right now."

"Why?"

“I'd rather not get bitten again.”

"Quit being silly." I moved toward him, taking in the full extent of his injuries. "Those cuts look deep."

He shifted, wincing as the movement pulled at his wounds. Fresh blood welled up from the deepest cut on his left arm.

I couldn't stand it anymore. Watching him bleed while maintaining this stupid distance wasn't working. I grabbed a cup of water from the corner and tore a strip from my dress.

"What are you doing?"

"Being useful." I knelt beside him before he could protest. "Stay still."

"Look..."

"Shut up, Keith."

His whole body went rigid when I pressed the wet cloth to his arm. Not from pain, I realized, but from my closeness. I could feel the heat radiating off his skin, see the way his pupils dilated when I leaned closer to examine a particularly nasty cut.

"This needs stitches," I said.

"It'll heal by morning."

"That doesn't mean you should suffer now." My fingers moved along the side of the wound. He sucked in a sharp breath. "Sorry. Did that hurt?"

"No,I've had worse." He said.

"The fighting," I said quietly, needing to fill the silence. "Is everyone okay?"

"We lost two guards. Several injured." His voice was shaking, but still in control. "But we stopped them."

"Matt said the rogues were already inside when it started."

"They were." His jaw clenched. "Someone opened the gates for them."

I halted my nurse duties. "Someone from inside?"

"Yes." His eyes met mine. "Someone who knew exactly when and where to strike."

The implications made me even more scared. "Why would anyone do that?"

"Plenty of people want my father dead." He studied my face. "I don't think you'd shed tears if he didn't survive."

"That's different from letting rogues slaughter innocent people."

"Is it? Where do you draw that line, Cinderella?"

I focused on cleaning a particularly nasty cut near his elbow. "I don't know. I just... I never wanted anyone to die because of me being here."

"This isn't because of you."

I worked in silence for a few minutes, cleaning blood and dirt from his skin. Every time my fingers brushed against him, I felt him tense. I could feel his hot gaze on my face and every time I looked up, our eyes met in the most electric way.

"Why did you come here?" I finally asked, wanting to break the silence. "Matt could have checked on me."

"Matt's dealing with the bodies."

"So you came because...?"

"I needed to know you were safe." His thumb brushed across my wrist, and I shivered.

"Matt could have—"

"I needed to see for myself." The intensity in his voice made the butterflies in my belly start dancing. "When I realized you were with the alpha king when the attack started, I..."

He trailed off, but his grip on my hand tightened.

My stance softened as I listened to him talk. From up close here, I could see how beautiful his eyes were. I could see the fleeks of.gold in them, rapidly changing colours depending on his emotions. They were the most beautiful eyes.

"I've never been that scared." The admission seemed to surprise him. "But knowing the kind of person my father is, and thinking that he might have done something to you against your will…"

"Knowing the kind of person he is?" I cocked my brows. "What kind of person is the alpha king? What are you hiding?"

He pulled me closer, close enough that I could feel his breath on my face. "You really want to know?"

My heart was racing so fast now I was sure he could hear it. "Yes."

His free hand came up to cup my face, thumb tracing my cheekbone. "I'm hiding how much I want to tear my father apart every time I think that he might touch you. How I've barely slept since you arrived because I keep thinking about you in his bed. How right now, even covered in blood and exhausted, all I want is to make a sanctuary from your fountain.”

"What does that mean?"

Instead of answering, he leaned closer. Close enough that I could feel his breath on my lips. "Do you trust me?"

"I barely even know you," I whispered.

"That's not what I asked."

Did I trust him? This man who looked like he was nothing like his father? The man who looked at me like I was something precious rather than something to own?

"Yes," I breathed. "God help me, but yes."

Neither of us moved at first. Then Keith's hand rose slowly, tracing the outline of my jaw and tilting my face toward his.

The air between us became so heavy that it felt so hard to breathe.

His gaze dropped to my lips, lingering there like a silent question he didn’t dare to ask aloud. I exhaled, my lips parting slightly, as if my body had already given the permission that my mind couldn’t yet voice.

He then leaned in slowly as his other hand cupped the back of my neck. My eyes closed without my permission, waiting for what was coming.

"Keith?" Matt's voice called. "You in there?"

The voice snapped me out of whatever hypnotic situation I was in. My cheeks were flaming red as I sprang away from Keith but he grabbed me before I could run away.

“Did you lose your glass shoe or is it almost midnight?”

This was madness…the way my whole being wanted to lean into him and go through with that kiss…the way my almost inexistent wolf howled in my head for his touch.

I must be crazy.

“T-this is inappropriate,” I stuttered, “I'm your father's bride; your stepmother.”

“Stepmother?” Keith mummured, amusement lining his tone, “Now I don't know about that anymore.”

He stood, pulling me up with him. Then he leaned down to whisper in my ear. "The only thing I know is that I crave you. Things are going to change very soon. And when they do,” he dropped a searing kiss on the hollow of my neck, “you need to be ready to take me."

His lips on my neck gave me shivers. I didn't even realize how much I'd leaned into him, or the tiniest whimper that left my lips.

"Take you where?" I almost moaned, but cleared my voice before trying again.

The door opened then and Matt appeared, looking battered but alive. "We need you upstairs. The alpha king has called a council meeting."

Keith turned back to me, and for just a moment, I saw something in his eyes that looked possessive.

“Ask me that question again when we finally go on that date. I'll show you what I mean then.”