Chapter 154: ¹⁵⁴: strange feelings

Chapter 154: 1??: strange feelings

I was shuddering just looking at the dark expression in his eyes. What even was this?! I had only intended this to be a playful warning.

I had wanted to make Kael understand that he couldn’t keep behaving like the cold, calculating man he had been acting like for the past few days. I wanted to remind him that I wasn’t someone he could simply look down upon and that, if he wanted this arrangement between us to work, he needed to return to the cordial side of himself that I had seen in the beginning.

That was all I had intended. But this? This was completely out of order. I couldn’t understand why he was getting so angry over something so insignificant. I couldn’t even figure out what exactly I had said that had pushed him this far.

Where had I gone wrong? I had merely mentioned that Rose and I had discussed handsome men at the academy. I had exaggerated the story a little, sure, but I hadn’t actually done anything.

Yet Kael was looking at me as though I had crossed some invisible line I hadn’t even known existed. And now I was almost certain; This was his wolf, it had to be.

There was no other explanation for this sudden change. Kael’s usual cold and controlled demeanor had vanished completely, replaced by an instinctive reaction that seemed to have taken control of him before he had even had the chance to think.

But that only made me more confused. I had only a superficial agreement with Kael. His wolf should know that too. So why was he behaving like this? It wasn’t as though we were mates.

There was no mate bond between us that could explain this sudden possessiveness. Kael wasn’t supposed to have any reason to react this strongly just because I had talked about being with someone else.

I winced as I felt Kael’s nails pressing into my arms. His eyes never left my confusion-stricken face. The pressure wasn’t intentional, I realized.

His expression was still frighteningly intense, but there was something else hidden beneath all that anger now. Something that looked almost conflicted.

Could it be...? A thought suddenly crossed my mind. Could Kael’s wolf actually feel something close to a mate bond with me? Was that why he had become so worked up when I talked about being with someone else?

For a brief second, the possibility seemed almost convincing. Then I immediately shook the thought away. No, that was impossible. Just like me, Kael was carrying the curse of not knowing who his mate was. Neither of us knew the identity of our destined mate.

So how could his wolf possibly feel anything resembling a mate bond with me? There was no way. How could I even think something like that? It was utterly ridiculous.

I forced myself to remember the reality of our situation. Kael was with me because he wanted an heir. That was it. He had made that clear again and again over the past several days. There was no hidden meaning behind our arrangement. No reason for his wolf to suddenly recognize me as something more.

As far as Kael was concerned, I was simply a random she-wolf who had been crazy enough to agree to his demands and othing more. Ihad to remember that.

"Kael, you are hurting me." My voice came out strained as I winced again. His nails had pressed harder into my arms, no longer restrained by the fabric of the shirt I was wearing.

The moment my words registered, something shifted in his expression. His grip immediately loosened. "Sorry!" The strange, raspy voice reached my ears again.

"I...I didn’t mean to hurt you!" That voice. It was unmistakably different from Kael’s. There was a roughness to it that made the words sound unfamiliar, almost as though they were coming from someone else entirely.

My eyes widened slightly. So I had been right. It really was his wolf. The realization sent another shiver through me, but this time it wasn’t because of the anger in his eyes.

It was because of how quickly that anger had disappeared the moment he realized he had hurt me. His expression still held traces of that wild intensity, but the moment he noticed the pain his actions had caused, guilt had replaced the anger.

It was almost as if his instinct had acted before he could stop it, and now he was genuinely upset with himself for letting that instinct hurt me.

I stared at him in confusion. Just moments ago, he had been furious. Now he sounded almost apologetic. And somehow, that only made the whole situation even harder for me to understand.

His grip on my arms loosened within seconds, and I felt an immediate wave of relief as the sharp pressure against my skin disappeared.

I slowly looked into his eyes again. The darkness that had filled them moments ago was fading, replaced by something I hadn’t expected to see there.

Guilt, and something painfully close to regret. The sight sent an unexpected pang through my heart.

For some reason, seeing him like that made me want to reassure him immediately. I wanted to tell him that I was fine, that he didn’t need to blame himself, that I wasn’t angry with him.

It was strange, I felt as though I wasn’t looking at the powerful Alpha King at all. Instead, I was looking at a hurt child who didn’t know what to do with the fact that he had caused someone pain and was silently waiting for reassurance.

And my heart, acting completely on its own, wanted nothing more than to reach out and comfort him. I wanted to embrace him and tell him that everything was fine.

The feeling was so sudden and so potent that even I couldn’t understand where it had come from. Why did seeing that expression on his face affect me so much?

Why did I suddenly feel this desperate need to make sure that he wasn’t hurting because of what had happened?

I just didn’t have an answer.

Before I could act on the strange impulse, however, something caught my attention. Kael’s eyes were changing.

I watched in silence as the dark shade gradually disappeared from them, replaced by the lighter color I had become accustomed to seeing.

My breath caught, his wolf was gone. Kael was looking at me again. My eyes widened slightly as an inexplicable feeling passed through me. It almost felt as though I had lost something that had been close to me.

Something that had been mine to speak to, even if only for those few moments. The thought made no sense. I had barely interacted with his wolf, yet the moment it disappeared, I felt an odd emptiness.

I had wanted to talk to him. I had wanted to understand why he had reacted that way. But now he was no longer the one looking at me.

"I am fine," I said anyway. My voice was quieter this time, almost hesitant. Some part of me still hoped that his wolf was somehow listening from within him, even though I knew Kael was the one standing in front of me now.

"You don’t have to feel guilty," I added softly. I wasn’t even sure whether he would understand what I meant. Perhaps I was saying it more for myself than for him, simply because I couldn’t shake the strange feeling his wolf had left behind.

"Who told you I was guilty?" Kael’s sudden response pulled me straight out of my thoughts.

I blinked instinctively. The softness I had seen in his expression moments ago seemed to disappear. I looked at his face again, but this time, I saw him differently.

The strange warmth that had filled my chest when I thought I was speaking to his wolf began fading almost immediately. It was replaced by confusion. And then by a growing sense of unease.

"You dare to talk about someone other than me, Athena?" Kael’s voice was cold again. His hands moved to my shoulders, his grip tightening as he continued. "You know you have written your life for me only, so how could you talk like that, huh?"

I stared at him, the words left me speechless for a moment. Written my life for him? What was he even saying? The man in front of me felt completely different from the one who had apologized just moments ago.

That brief glimpse of guilt had vanished, replaced once again by the possessive anger that had frightened me in the first place.

"Kael, you are hurting me!" My voice trembled as another sharp sensation spread through my shoulders. A stray tear slipped from the corner of my eye before I could stop it.

But somehow, the pain wasn’t the only thing bothering me. There was something else. Something I couldn’t explain. It felt as though something that had been close to me had suddenly been pulled away.

The feeling was strange, almost absurd, but it was there. And the more Kael’s grip tightened around my shoulders, the stronger that emptiness became.

It was as though something was squeezing my heart dry from the inside. I didn’t understand why. I didn’t understand what had changed. I only knew that moments ago, I had felt an inexplicable urge to comfort the person looking at me.

And now, with Kael staring down at me again, that feeling was slipping further and further away.

I could only stare at him through the tears gathering in my eyes, trying to understand what had just happened between us. I didn’t even know why that was.

Kael behaving badly with me should never have affected me this much. I should have been angry. I should have simply pushed his words aside and reminded myself that his behavior had nothing to do with my worth.

Then why was I feeling like this? Why did his words hurt so much? I couldn’t understand the strange agony that had suddenly settled inside my chest. It was different from the physical pain in my shoulders. That pain was sharp and obvious, something I could point to and understand.

This was different, it felt deeper. As though something inside me had been wounded without me even knowing where the wound was.

And as if that wasn’t enough, Kael continued speaking, each word making it harder for me to hold myself together.

"I have told you multiple times now, Athena." He took a slow breath, his expression remaining cold as he leaned closer. "You are here because of our agreement. You are meant to fulfill your part of it and give me an heir."