Chapter#29
Varain’s POV
“Nice shot, Liam!” Rowan’s voice rang out as I passed the archery range.
“Thanks,” Liam said as he notched another arrow. “You’re not bad yourself, Rowan. Caden, you joining in, or you just here to watch?”
Caden laughed as he leaned against a post, “I’ll join when you two stop showing off. I’d rather not embarrass myself today.”
I kept walking. My face was a mask of stone as I moved past them. The sound of their laughter gnawed at something in my chest, a hollow ache I didn’t recognize. I’d never cared for warmth, for connection, not in all my years of solitude, surviving on the fringes of packs that never wanted me.
But seeing them together, it stirred something I didn’t want to feel. I clenched my jaw, my boots crunching on the gravel, “Fools.”
It wasn’t just their bond that unsettled me. It was her. I wasn’t blind to the way she moved among them, her gray eyes carrying a fatigue she tried to hide, her slight limp after a grueling day of training, the way her shoulders slumped when she thought no one was looking. I noticed it all, every detail etched into my mind like a map I couldn’t stop studying.
“Varian, you joining us for dinner?” Liam called out.
“No,” my voice clipped. My eyes met his for a brief moment before I turned away, “I’ve got rounds to make.”
“Suit yourself,” Rowan said, “Don’t work too hard. You’re already topping the ranks.”
Something had shifted, and it was her, a truth I guarded like a blade at my side.
Since our return from the battle, a silence had settled between us whenever our paths crossed; in the hallways, on the training fields, in the mess tent. We passed like shadows, no words, no eye contact, just two souls orbiting, aware of each other, yet too careful to close the distance.
I’d seen the gratitude in her eyes that night on the battlefield. But now, she tensed around me.
I felt it. The hesitation in her, when I lingered too long. I wasn’t oblivious. With every passing day, I realized something dangerous: I didn’t want to be just another soldier in her story. I wanted to matter.
That night, like every night since we’d returned from the battle, I slipped into the barracks and I placed a bottle of nutrient supplement by her bed to ease her exhaustion. I never waited to be seen, never stayed to bask in her gratitude.
It wasn’t about that. It was… something else, something I couldn’t name, a pull I didn’t understand. She must have known it was me. She wasn’t stupid, but she never mentioned it, never confronted me, and I preferred it that way.
“Varian,” her voice cut through my ears. It was low, almost a purr, as she stepped closer, “Did you need anything?”
I turned to face her, “I ummm…”
She smiled as she stepped closer, picking up the bottle from the table, “Liam is so considerate.”
Liam… that name made my blood boil. She’d been thinking he was the one leaving her the nutrient supplements. Her eyes lit up with gratitude that should’ve been mine. Why did I care about whatever she thought? I didn’t need her approval, didn’t need anyone’s. But the thought of her soft smile directed at him twisted something deep inside me.
I took a step to leave, but before I could escape, her hand grabbed my arm. “Did you…need anything?”
I turned. My voice was a seductive growl as I leaned in close, my lips brushing her ear. “Or maybe you just want an excuse to watch me, Kaelen. I’ve felt your eyes on me on the training grounds.”
She gasped as she stepped back, her hands trembling. “You’re imagining things, Varian. I’m just… surprised to see you here. That’s all.”
My voice dropped to a low, rumbling purr as I closed the gap, my body inches from hers, “Am I? Then why does your breath catch when I’m this close, huh? Why do your cheeks flush red when my eyes trace your curves?”
I let my gaze slide down, lingering on the swell of her tits under her tight tunic, the damp fabric clinging to her, showing every curve, a temptation I couldn’t fight. “I see you… every tremble, every hot glance. You want this as bad as I do.”
Her eyes narrowed as her hands pressed hard against my chest, “No, Varian. This is wrong… I can’t.”
I growled low, my hands sliding to her waist, fingers digging into her hips, yanking her against me, her soft curves pressing into my hard frame. “Wrong? Your body screams otherwise. Feel how you melt into me, how your pulse pounds under my fingers.” I traced a finger slowly along her jaw, dipping to her neck, feeling her rapid heartbeat.
She moaned softly, her voice shaking as she pushed at me, “Varian, stop… I don’t want this. I can’t want this. Please.”
I chuckled as I pressed my lips to her neck, my tongue flicking her skin, tasting her salt. “Don’t lie to me, Kaelen. Your scent’s dripping with want. You crave this, don’t you? The way my hands grip your ass, the way my lips tease your pulse.” I nipped harder, my fangs drawing a shiver from her.
Her voice broke into shaky gasps as she clutched my tunic, her body trembling, “Varian… we can’t. I’m not… I’m not who you think. You don’t know me. Please, let me go.”
My voice was a rough growl as I pulled back, my hands still gripping her hips, “I might not know who you are. But this… this raging need for you…it’s ripping me apart. Stop pushing me, or I’ll snap and take you right here.”
She nodded, her hands dropping, “You scare me, Varian. I… I know things…”
I found her desperate eyes, “Things?”
“I heard what you said to that woman in the city…” Her voice trembled.
I let out a soft chuckle. My hands itched to pull her back, to strip that tunic off and taste every inch of her, to fuck her until she screamed my name. “You should be scared of me,” I mumbled, stepping away, my cock straining against my pants, “Stay away, or I’ll make you wish you never met me.”