Chapter 121: "Don’t You Dare Lie"

Adeline’s POV~

I whipped my head around to look at Raven. He didn’t even look at me, he simply gave a small, subtle gesture to his grandmother, towards the door.

And to my utter disbelief, Dowager Luna Gwen didn’t argue. She didn’t scold him. She simply gave a slow nod, turning on her heel alongside the ancient witch.

They walked right out of the luxurious suite without a single word of protest, acting completely unfazed by the fact that they were leaving me trapped behind closed doors with four starving beasts.

None of this makes any sense! my mind screamed in pure panic. How can she just leave them here with me? How can she walk out like I’m not about to be devoured alive?!

The doors clicked shut, locking the rest of the world out.

Suddenly, the air in the room grew ten degrees hotter, thick with the overwhelming, earthy scent of four dominant Lycan wolves closing in.

Their gazes scanned me slowly, deliberately, sweeping from the top of my head down to my shoulders, and lingering heavily over the thick blanket covering my body. It felt so intensely invasive, as if their sharp eyes could physically burn straight through the fabric to see my skin beneath it.

Keiran stepped forward. Without a word of warning, he reached out and yanked the blanket completely off me in one sharp pull.

I gasped, left lying exposed against the plush mattress in just my jeans and oversized hoodie.

"What are you doing?!" I snapped defensively, panic and embarrassment flashing hot across my cheeks. "Let me rest for a while... I need some time alone, just give me—!"

I kept my eyes stubbornly fixed on the edge of the mattress, refusing to meet a single one of their devastating, predatory glances.

I knew the terrifying truth deep down. If I looked into their eyes even for a single second, my willpower would crumble.

The adrenaline rush would take over, the betraying heat of a blush would creep up my neck, and my body, my traitorous, weak body, would surrender to the pull before my mind even had a chance to fight back.

A heavy, dark shadow loomed over the side of the bed as Zyran stepped closer. His voice dropped into a low, rumble.

"You heard what the witch said, didn’t you?" Zyran murmured, his tone laced with a dangerous, possessive edge. "And even if you tried to block it out or act like you didn’t hear anything... we heard every single word crystal clear, sweetheart."

My gaze locked onto him, my breath catching in my throat at the raw, untamed intensity in his eyes.

I whipped my head back to face Raven, my eyes wide.

"Why," Raven whispered, taking a slow, predatory step closer until the mattress dipped beneath his weight, "did you lie about not throwing up my blood?"

What?

The question hit me like a physical blow, knocking the wind straight out of my lungs. Why, out of everything we could possibly be discussing right now, was he bringing that up? How on earth did he even find out?

Then, a sudden realisation washed over me.

Wait...

I had completely forgotten. Zyran knows. Zyran knows that my body rejected Raven’s blood, he said that he overheard when I was talking with Sierra.

Could it have been Zyran who told him?

"You all are insane," I managed to finally gasp out, my voice trembling violently as I kept my gaze stubbornly fixed on the edge of the mattress.

"There is not a single, logical possibility in this entire world that I am mated to any one of you, let alone all four of them at the same time. If this is some sick, twisted game you’re playing with a rogue, I want you to stop it right now."

Keiran didn’t flinch. Instead, a dark, suffocating weight settled over his features as he took a slow, deliberate step closer.

"A game?" Keiran repeated, his voice dropping into a low. ℯℯ𝑙.

"No, Adeline. This is no game. Your body violently rejected my blood and Raven’s right after attempting to heal you. According to the ancient Lycan ledgers passed down through our royal bloodline, there is only one absolute reason for a mate’s body to reject royal blood like that..."

I couldn’t stand to hear him finish. Panic clawed at my chest, and I cut him off abruptly, my voice pitching in desperate, frantic denial.

"I still don’t know why my body rejected your blood!" I shot back, my hands trembling where I gripped my hoodie.

"It could be for any rational reason, I am just a lowborn rogue whose wolf was supposedly locked away from birth, and you... your veins carry ancient, volatile royal blood. That must be why my system treated it like poison!"

Blake stepped forward, his voice cutting cleanly through my panicked excuses.

"You can deny it until your lungs give out, Adeline, but the truth remains," Blake countered, his tone eerily calm, absolute, and utterly inescapable.

"The bond doesn’t want foreign blood to anchor it. The bond demands physical intimacy and raw, skin-to-skin closeness to heal and stabilize you. That is precisely why your body violently threw up their blood, because the magic within you rejected a cheap substitute when it was already starving for the real thing."

Before I could process the terrifying implication of his words, all four of them closed in, coordinating their movements with the terrifying precision of apex predators cornering their prey.

The suffocating, primal heat rolling off their bodies was overwhelming. Panic spiked through my veins, and before my brain could calculate the consequences, I scrambled backward, shoved my feet over the side of the mattress, and tried to stand.

"Stop right there!"

A deep, visceral growl ripped straight from Raven’s chest, a sound so ancient, dark, and absolute that it hit my nervous system like a physical shockwave, freezing me dead in my tracks. The pure, dominant Lycan pressure radiating from him pinned my feet to the floor.

Before I could draw another breath, Keiran closed the remaining distance. He stepped right up to my side, his hand darting out with lightning-fast Lycan speed to grab me firmly by the nape of my neck.

He leaned down, his face inches from mine, and my body instantly betrayed me, locking up like ice under his touch as his scorching aura wrapped around me like a second skin.

"Stop fighting it, Adeline," Keiran murmured against my skin, a dark, rich promise vibrating in his tone. "You can run from your own mind, but you can’t run from the blood or the bond that is flowing inside your veins."

Without waiting for permission, he pressed his lips softly against my jawline, trailing a slow, agonizingly hot line of kisses upward toward my ear.

At the exact same second, another heavy presence shifted behind me. Blake. His arms wrapped securely around my waist, pulling me backward until my spine pressed flush against his broad chest, his palm resting heavy and possessive on my hip.

Blake dipped his head, burying his face into the hollow of my neck on the opposite side, planting soft, deliberate kisses that sent a violent, electric shiver racing down my spine.

"Just let go," Blake whispered, his breath hot against my sensitive skin, the warmth of his embrace melting the last fragile defenses I had left.

Then, Keiran’s teeth grazed softly over my earlobe, a gentle, intoxicating nip that made my knees turn instantly to liquid.

My eyelids grew heavy, fluttering shut despite my frantic internal screaming telling me to stay awake, to fight back, to run. Their shared scent, pure, dominant Lycan musk, completely overwhelmed my senses, clouding my mind in a thick, dizzying haze.

I can’t breathe... my body is betraying me...

Amidst the swirling storm of heat and touch, another figure stepped directly into my line of sight. Through my half-lidded, heavy eyes, I saw Raven.

He didn’t touch me roughly. Instead, he reached out with slow, steady fingers, gripped my chin, and gently tucked his thumb under it, forcing my face upward until I had no choice but to meet his dark, burning gaze.

"Does your body still hurt?" Raven asked, his voice dropping into a low.

I clamped my mouth shut, refusing to give him the satisfaction of an answer.

"Look at me," Raven demanded softly, his thumb tracing my lower lip with unsettling, tender possession. "Answer me, Adeline. Is the pain still there?"

My throat felt like it was coated in ash. I tried to swallow, but my body was too weak, too utterly consumed by the twin anchors holding me from behind and the side.

"No—" I started, my voice cracking miserably.

"Don’t you dare lie to us," Blake warned from behind my neck, his lips brushing my skin as he spoke.

"Tell us the truth," Keiran added, his breath fanning my cheek.

I squeezed my eyes shut for a brief, desperate second, hating how weak I felt, hating how my own flesh and soul were conspiring against my mind. When I opened my eyes again, meeting Raven’s intense, demanding stare, I forced the words past my trembling lips, barely above a ragged whisper.

"Yes..."

The second that single word left my mouth, Raven’s expression softened into something fierce and fiercely protective. He didn’t hesitate. He leaned in closer, pressing his warm lips directly against my forehead in a lingering, reverent gesture.

"Shh," Raven whispered, his voice dropping into a low, soothing purr that completely shattered my remaining defenses. "It’s going to be okay... just relax."