Chapter 6

Chapter

Six

KILLIAN

T urns out, fate can fuck you up when you least expect it.

My mission had been clear from the start. Bring the girl into Blight, then do whatever the hell it takes, including sacrificing her to the enemy King, to reclaim what's rightfully ours.

The Silvercrest Kingdom.

Yet I'm foolishly grinding my teeth at the thought of doing that. Since collecting her from the village, her scent has been heavy in my nostrils—raspberries, cedar, and the delicious perfume that is all her. Her touch has brought out the beast inside me, roaring for escape to do more than destroy those fucking Tidecreepers.

When I revealed to her that she was to be my bride, it was supposed to be a strategy to gain her trust until we revealed her true reason for being here and the role she'd play.

Except a savage hunger now grows within me that perhaps this girl is not just our key but something so much more.

That she's my real true mate.

I take in a heavy breath, fighting the urge to drag her back into the cave, to fuck her until she's out of my mind. Maybe that's what I'm feeling—a pent-up absence of sex.

Yet, a flicker of doubt crosses my mind. My attraction to her is undeniable, the connection intense. But I've been down this path before, years ago, and it nearly fucking destroyed me. The scars remain, a reminder of what I lost, so am I prepared to let myself believe again? To risk everything on the chance that this time, it might be real?

Clenching my hand at my side, I glance down at the girl.

The same girl who should mean nothing to me.

She's standing so close that her breasts are pushed up against my arm. She stares up at me with innocence in her icy eyes, and even the way she tugs on her lower lip between her teeth isn't helping me.

It's impossible to look away with the twin beasts of lust and fury battling in my chest for control.

My gaze raked down her body as she slept in the cave, and the temptation to strip her, taste her, inhale her scent drove me mad. The savage hunger to bite into her skin, to spread her legs, to fuck her, left me pacing like a beast. I always get what I want. And if I didn't want her scared out of her mind, needing her sane for what's coming, I would have claimed her in that cave.

That's how things work in Blight.

Hunt down your mate.

Bite her.

Fuck her brains out.

Then she's yours for life.

There's something troubling about how I react to her. I'm fucked because I shouldn't be drawn this much to her, especially since she's only a half-Shadowfen. She doesn't even know she's not fully human, yet I'm consumed with thoughts of claiming her.

True mates are real, rare as they are. They bind for life, and as her protector, I'd be committed to keeping her safe, breeding her, and responding to her every need.

She can't be my true mate…

It sure as fuck also isn't my intention to be distracted by thoughts of her full breasts, picturing them free of her clothes and licking them.

"Are you okay?" Her voice pulls me from my thoughts, her eyebrows knitting together in concern. "You're staring at me strangely and haven't said a word."

A spark of anger flares within me at how quickly I've lost control. Fuck . I've let her distract me.

Here I am, imagining all the things I want to do to her, desiring her in ways I hadn't anticipated. Her gaze holds mine, and I feel exposed, unnerved by how quickly I've become entangled.

"I'm fine," I manage to say gruffly. "Just keep your attention on the water. There are more Tidecreepers that might come for us." I step away, trying to put some distance between us, but her hand clings to mine, held by her fear.

I lift my gaze to the Howler gliding over the rough sea toward us, not arriving quickly enough. The fresh air helps clear the fog in my head, and I regain some composure. Straightening my shoulders, I refocus on the mission, pushing aside any feelings that have no place in me right now.

Taking a deep breath, I watch the vessel pause about twenty feet from the shore, which is as close as it can get without risking the rocks.

A horizontal protruding platform juts out from the bottom half of the vessel, directly in front of us. It's as wide as my shoulder and immediately shoots out, powered by enchanted technology, its surface gleaming under the stormy skies.

Sage flinches beside me, her eyes wide at the sight. The Howler is unique and engineered by a master of magic and mechanics.

I squeeze her hand, saying, "We need to move fast now."

"All right." She sounds hesitant, but as I charge forward, taking her with me toward the rocky shore, she keeps pace.

We're feet from the water.

The bridge has barely made landfall near us when one of the Tidecreepers lunges out of the water on all six legs, barely ten feet from us on the left. It hisses viciously, its companions mirroring its aggression as they rush at us, venomous drool dripping from their serrated, snapping teeth.

Sage cries out, backing up instinctively, but I tighten my grip on her arm.

"No running away," I instruct. With strength fueled by adrenaline, I snatch her around the waist and, in one fluid motion, hoist her onto the bridge that reaches up to my hips. Without hesitating, I vault over onto the railing, landing solidly in front of her so I can hold her close and force her to run.

The creatures hiss and gnash their teeth, hurling themselves toward the bridge, their claws scraping against the metal as they attempt to climb. Sage screams, and I twist my attention to her as she teeters dangerously close to the edge, flinching each time the bridge shudders.

Fuck me!

In a heartbeat, I grab her hand, pulling her forward. "Run!" I command, and to my surprise, she quickly falls in step behind me, navigating the narrow, swaying platform.

"This is insane," she replies, her grasp squeezing my hand, yet she surprises me by keeping up.

Suddenly, the platform sways violently under us, and Sage's weight shifts perilously to one side. She cries out, her hand slipping from mine.

Darkest hells.

I spin on my heels, maintaining my balance with practiced ease, only to see one of the creatures has climbed onto the platform, its weight causing the structure to tilt dangerously.

Bastard Tidecreeper.

Acting on instinct, I scoop Sage into my arms, her body pressed tightly against mine. Her eyes are wide with terror, fixed on the monstrous figures swarming in the water directly beneath us. I don't let her see the danger for long. In one swift motion, I throw her over my shoulder like she weighs nothing.

She releases an oomph and clings to me.

"I knew I shouldn't have eaten that lizard in the cave. I think these ones know and are coming for revenge."

Somehow, I manage to laugh at the situation.

"These beasts' brains are as small as pebbles. I doubt they have the capacity to think beyond attack and eat." With her secured, I sprint the remaining distance to the vessel.

"Shut it fast!" I yell as I lunge across the threshold.

"On it," replies Howler, the vessel, almost robotic in nature, distinctly male. The door closes behind us with a swish, sealing us in the Arrival Pod, shutting out the rain and creatures. I hit a palm against the button in front of the glass doors, and they slide open with a swift, seamless motion. Carrying Sage, I step into the Transition Chamber.

Gently, I set a shaking Sage down on her feet. She's trembling, her eyes bouncing around the room. Like before, she has a doe-eyed, terrified look, as if she might pass out once more.

"What is this place?" She hugs herself, glancing around, turning on the spot.

"This is where we manage everything from gear to preliminary decontamination—kind of a buffer zone before you enter the main areas of the vessel, especially for when we go deep sea diving." I half grin, but she doesn't notice.

She's too busy scanning the stark, utilitarian room, offering a station equipped with the removal and storage of gear and anything we bring back with us from hunts from deep sea dives.

"And… are we safe here?"

"Safe as you can be on a vessel that's home to creatures like me," I explain, trying to offer her a reassuring smile.

"I saw your transformation back in the cave into your monster form, which was pretty terrifying." She glances down at my shredded clothes.

I shrug, not giving it much thought because when we go hunting here, we do so in the nude. Nothing gets in the way.

"Clothes are easily replaced." I pluck a blade of grass from her wet hair. "Now, you need rest first. There's a room prepared for you where you can relax without fearing for your life. It's where you'll be staying. Later, you can ask me all the questions you desire."

Sage moves about hesitantly, her body still shaky. She tilts her head back, meeting my gaze with that vulnerable look.

"This morning, I was at home, and my mother was making me porridge. Now, I don't even know how to take all of this in. It's like nothing I've ever experienced or imagined in my life."

I walk over to the shelving unit, grab a towel, and hand it to her. She dries her face and hair.

"The place will grow on you. You'll see. Now, come, let me take you to your room. You'll want to get out of those wet clothes," I say, trying to make my tone as gentle as possible. "Later tonight, you'll join us for a welcoming dinner to meet the pack."

She blinks, and I can't tell if she might cry, yet her brow furrows. "And then what? I become your bride?" She holds my stare, the shy girl revealing her brazen side. Then she dumps the towel on a shelf.

"First," I start, placing a hand on her lower back, directing her to the sliding doors that lead into the main hall of the vessel. "There's a ritual you will need to undergo."

She scrunches up her face. "What ritual? Why?"

"More on that later. You've already experienced enough surprises today."

"I really hate your surprises."

"Are they meant to be pleasant things?"

She cuts me a scowl.

Nudging her forward, I feel the tension in her back, and with another look at Sage, the girl who was meant to be just a key to our kingdom, now I fear she might just end up being my undoing—instead of the savior I hoped for.