Chapter 7

The guard captain bows his head to Prince Kaine, not daring to speak back, but the look in his eye betrays his continued skepticism. He is clearly unhappy at the prospect of taking orders from me. I hesitate for a moment before coming to a decision.

I will challenge him to a duel. I am confident in my abilities as a warrior, and if I win he will have no choice but to let this go. I take a deep breath, before squaring my shoulders and facing the captain.

My words come out in a rush before I lose my nerve,” Captain, we should settle this with a duel. The winner earns the right to head the security for the banquet.”

The captain smirks as he considers my words. “You can’t be serious? Do you really want to get your ass kicked in front of everyone?”

I lift my head, refusing to let him intimidate me, “Do you accept or not?”

The captain smirks again, “Alright. I’ll try to end this quickly. I wouldn’t want to waste too much of everyone’s time.”

I look at Prince Kaine, and he nods signaling his consent to the duel. I nod back and turn to face the captain as the rest of the guard spreads out to give us room. I take a deep breath and allow Nara to come to the surface, letting her power surge through me.

I take a deep breath as Prince Kaine counts to three, and then we’re moving. The Captain is coming at me fast, but I quickly doge out of the way and land a sharp jab to his back. I can’t help the smirk that comes to my lips at the sound of his grunt.

The captain pivots to face me and I dodge another attack; this time aimed toward my left shoulder. I feint right and kick up, managing to land a kick on the captain’s side. As I go to replant my feet the captain sweeps my legs out from underneath me and I land with a thud on my back.

I quickly kick up, not willing to let the captain get the best of me. I manage to get behind him and land another blows between his shoulders, this time a kick that makes him lose his balance.

As the Captain regains his footing, malice flares in his eyes as he realizes that I am getting the better of him. He may be the Captain of the Guard, but his responsibilities have been largely behind the scenes for years now. Pride surges within me as I realize that I really might win this thing, and I can’t help but sneak a glance at Prince Kaine.

The captain uses my momentary distraction in order to knock me off my feet again, and I land on the ground with a thud as the wind is knocked out of me. As my breath returns, and I prepare to kick up I notice that the captain is not where I expect him to be. Instead of standing to face me he is by my head, as if planning to knock me out with a kick.

Before I can say anything or regain my feet, Prince Kaine is already standing between us. “What the fuck do you think you are doing?” He snarls at the captain, and I feel a wave of Alpha Dominance roll off of him, s he glares at the captain.

The captain’s voice shakes as he replies. “I wasn’t trying to do anything! That positioning was an accident I had no intentions of… anything.”

Prince Kaine growls, his Alpha power continuing to flow, forcing the captain to show his neck in submission “This matter is finished, Ember is in charge of security for the banquet.”

I rise to my feet, avoiding Prince Kaine’s eye as I do so, and after a moment, he strides away to discuss something with Jake. I turn to look at the captain and the hatred in his eyes sends a shiver down my spine.

I take a deep breath and look down, assessing the state of myself. I have a few injuries from the fight, and my clothes are torn from my fall. I need to get myself together. I grab my bag from the side and walk off the field, and toward what I am pretty sure is a changing area.

When I arrive, I am upset, but unsurprised to find that there is only an area for the men to get ready. I had assumed as much and always made sure to change into my uniform at home, but that wouldn’t be possible in my current predicament. As I continue to look around, I find a small door off to one side, and peek inside.

“Anyone here?” I call out before slipping inside and shutting the door behind me. I pause for a moment, letting myself decompress from the weight of the day for the first time.

After a few minutes, I begin to carefully undress, assessing my injuries as I go. The damage isn’t too bad, but a few of my scratches need dressing. I quickly set about this work, hoping to avoid infection.

As I am finishing bandaging a cut on my right arm, I hear footsteps approach the door. “Shit!” I scramble for clothes but can’t do much but hold them around myself as the door opens and Alpha Kaine walks inside.

My heart leaps into my throat at his approach and my mouth opens of its own accord. “What are you doing here?” I blurt out as heat rises to my face.

Prince Kaine raises an eyebrow, taking in the scene around him. “Shouldn’t I be asking you that? This is my usual changing room.”

I blink at Prince Kaine, “There is no place for female guards to change, since this room was outside of the main changing area I thought it was my best option.”

Prince Kaine pauses for a second, frowning, and I brace myself for a reprimand. Instead, he simply sighs and says, “Get changed and leave quickly. Don’t let anyone else see you.”

I nod and wait for Prince Kaine to leave so that I can resume changing, but he doesn’t move. I open my mouth to say something about it, when he suddenly steps into my space.

The effect is immediate. His mate aura washes over me, and all rational thought leaves my mind. I study his face, and see his eyes half-lowered examining me as he begins to reach for my shoulder to the spot, he marked me. My good sense comes flooding back at his motion and I shove him back.

Has he seen my Mark? He reaches for the same shoulder he had marked not twenty-four hours earlier. Was it possible that I hadn’t pulled my clothes tight enough and the sleeve slipped?

Prince Kaine looks at me for a moment before pointing to the spot on my shoulder, “You missed a spot. You didn’t put any medicine there.”

I let out a breath. He hadn’t seen. My secret was still safe.

Prince Kaine smirks at me, eyeing me up and down, “What did you think I was going to do?”

I feel my cheeks warm as I realize the implication, “I-” I begin when I am startled by two quick raps on the door.

Before I can react, Prince Kaine has pulls me into his arms, and places one hand over my mouth.