Chapter 82: _ I Will Claim My Mate

I dragged a hand down my face, letting out an exhale that sounded more like a groan. My usual composure... the charming, untouchable prince routine was completely shattered. I couldn’t pretend anymore. Not with Raice staring at me with those cold violet eyes.

"I don’t know what the hell to do," I confessed as I collapsed onto an overturned wooden crate opposite him.

If someone had told me half a fortnight ago that I would be sitting in Raice’s cavern and confessing my deepest secrets to him, I would have called them delusional.

Yet, here I was, spilling my woes to my foe and not even feeling bad about it. Deep inside of me, I was only glad about letting some of the weight off my chest. I hadn’t thought I’d be able to discuss it with anyone since telling Zev, who was supposed to be my closest friend, was out of the question.

Raice tilted his head, watching me without judgment for once.

"It’s a nightmare, Raice," I spat, staring at my own boots. "A complete, ruined nightmare. If my father finds out my fated mate is an unmarked commoner from the trenches, he’ll strip my title before the weekend. Erik will claim the Wolf Throne without lifting a finger. Zev will mock me for the rest of my life. My reputation... my entire future... destroyed. Over a girl who doesn’t even have a spark of magic to her name."

’She isn’t a nightmare!’ Riven whimpered in my head, though his voice lacked its usual roar. Even my wolf knew the brutal political reality of our realm.

"She is ruining me," I added, my chest aching with a bitter, knotting heat. "Every time I breathe, the bond pulls at my ribs. I can’t sleep, I can’t focus on extraction, and I ended up breaking six bones crashing on a training field because I panicked like a green initiate over her."

I looked up at Raice, expecting him to snicker. I expected a sarcastic comment about my pathetic weakness, or perhaps another insane theory about dark magic.

Instead, the Mad Fae Prince sat in total silence. His expression was serene, his violet pupils clear and grounded in a way I had almost never seen in the three years I had known him.

"You should talk to her," Raice finally pointed out.

I blinked. "What?"

"Talk to her," he repeated, his tone so calm and straightforward it threw me off far more than his madness ever could. "Before you make any decision regarding your crown, your reputation, or your bond... speak to the girl."

I stared at him as if he had just suggested I go swim in a pit of acid. "Are you out of your mind?! Talk to her?! Raice, she publicly pointed a finger at my face eight hours ago and demanded the wardens execute me! She thinks I’m a stalker! She thinks I’m the one who tried to assault her in the sewers!"

"Because you compelled her mind and ran away like a coward. You manipulated her memory to protect yourself, Wulfram. You left her in the dark with half-formed memories and expected her not to fight back." Raice countered.

My tongue locked up. My mouth opened, then closed.

"She is your mate," Raice continued, standing up from the sofa and looking down at me with an unreadable look. "A divine bond is not a mistake of the Moon. If she is meant for you, then her mind deserves the truth. Go to her, Ivar. Talk to Elira before you let your fear ruin both of your lives."

I sat frozen on the wooden crate, staring at the white-haired prince in speechless shock.

The Mad Fae Prince—the man everyone believed was an unhinged, violent sociopath—had just given me the most sane, logical, and terrifying piece of advice I had ever received in my life.

Slowly, an incredulous chuckle forced its way past my lips.

"You know..." I said, shaking my head as I looked around the disaster of his cavern, "the two of us sitting here, sharing tea-party advice and working through my personal life... this is an anomaly. A complete, world-shattering anomaly."

"We are dealing with a girl who is the literal embodiment of anomalies, Wulfram. It is only to be expected."

My jaw nearly unhinged.

What the...

I laughed hard.

Raice Ignis-Dominus had just made a joke. The sadist of the Fae Realm, the man who usually expressed himself through silent death-glares and executing innocent threats had actually made a sarcastic quip.

’He isn’t completely horrible,’ Riven admitted, tilting his head inside my skull. ’Still white-haired and creepy, but slightly less insufferable.’

I caught myself, pulling my shoulders back as the brief moment of warmth faded. I wasn’t here to make friends with a Fae Prince. I was a Wolf, a strategist, and a man fighting to keep his crown from slipping through his fingers.

It’s best I did what I came here to do and got out of here.

"Alright. Speaking of the girl... are you saying you’re actually going to stay away from her now?"

Instantly, Raice’s guard came back up and the blissful look we’d both worn a few moments ago vanished.

"I had no intentions for her in the first place. My heart remains in the Fae Realm. My first love is waiting for me back home." Raice said, standing up.

He looked toward the high cliffside window, his violet eyes darkening.

"I have two years left before I graduate from this hellhole and return to her," Raice added quietly. "I made a mistake two nights ago under the influence of my own chaotic mind. I will not cheat on her again."

I didn’t realize the jealousy and insecurity held such a huge weight until they lifted straight off my chest.

He was done. Raice had zero romantic interest in Elira. He wasn’t going to hunt her down, he wasn’t going to execute her as a Borrowed, and he certainly wasn’t going to touch her again.

"Well," I purred, smirking as I stood up from the wooden crate. "That settles it then."

I stepped up beside the Fae Prince, extending a hand and clapping him firmly on the shoulder.

"Watch closely, sweet prince," I grinned, my emerald eyes flashing as Riven let out a triumphant growl in my chest. "Watch as I step out these doors and ruin my own glorious life by claiming my mate."