Chapter 19

Kellan followed Nora to the greenhouse. He watched closely as she pulled out the key and unlocked the new door. She opened it and stepped inside.

The afternoon light was almost blinding through the glass panels on the wall and roof. Nora had to shield her eyes as she made her way to the middle of the room.

“Shut the door when you come in,” she said. Her speech was void of emotion. Nora felt numb.

Kellan closed the door and walked to where his wife was standing. He had often wondered what she did in here when she was alone. Perhaps practicing magic in secret?

Nora reached up to her shoulder, close to the seam. She clutched the material and pulled as hard as she could, ripping the sleeve. She threw the sleeve on the ground and inspected her arm.

Kellan saw small circles marring Nora’s perfect skin. Bruises were already forming where his fingertips had dug into her bicep. His wolf complained and Kellan silenced him. Kellan had never been more ashamed of himself as he was in this moment.

“I apologize, Nora,” he said quietly. “I’m upset, but that is no excuse.”

“I’m sure you’ll want to hold on to all that anger when you see this. Maybe you should back away so I don’t get mauled or dismembered?”

Kellan frowned. He deserved the harshness of her words. Yes, he’d overreacted—again. But surely Nora knew he was no threat to her life.

“I would never attack you like that. You have to know I would never harm you in that manner.”

Nora didn’t look at him. Her eyes were on her arm. “I know nothing about what you would or wouldn’t do to me. So back away.”

Kellan’s body tensed, fearing he had done some irreversible damage to their relationship, but he said nothing more. Instead, he took three steps backwards.

Nora laid down on her back with her arms out to each side. She closed her eyes and let the elements into her body. They wept for her. They promised to heal her, to give her life. Nora accepted their offering, as she’d done thousands of times before.

Kellan watched in disbelief as the greenery stretched and pulled towards Nora. A faint white light encapsulated her figure. As Nora’s body seemed to fill with life, the flowers and plants began to wilt.

Nora stopped the transfer, wanting to avoid killing any of the plants. She was always very careful not to take too much. She opened her eyes and sat up, waiting for Kellan to say something.

“The marks on your arm. They’re gone.”

“Yes.”

“So, you control earth?”

“No. Most elementals, they manipulate with their power. Like sending a gust of wind to push a ship forward. I cannot do that.”

“Then what did you do?”

“The earth does call to me. But not for me to control it or manipulate it. I cannot project out or tell it to do anything. Magic does not come out of me like it does my people. I don’t control elements. Instead, energy flows into me. The earth gives, and I receive.”

Kellan knelt in front of Nora, wanting to see her skin up close. He didn’t touch her, but he did bend forward to look.

She didn’t stop him, but she also didn’t look at him. Nora focused on the far wall.

“When my mother died, the magic was ripped out of her soul. It was so intense, it left behind a hole in mine. Theron thinks it is similar to a slow, steady leak and I must fill it continuously. It heals me from the inside, this energy. If I don’t accept what the earth offers …”

Nora closed her eyes. It was difficult to admit what she’d always been forced to keep secret.

“What happens?”

“I’ll die.”

Kellan’s nostrils flared. “Your father let you risk your life by coming to live in a sickly forest? If you pulled energy from it, not only would the forest be weaker, it probably wouldn’t have clean energies to heal you. True?”

She swallowed.

“True.”

Kellan stood and paced. His mate’s life was at risk, and not just from the Sephtis Kenelm. How could they have kept this from him?

He wrestled with the chaos mixing and roiling in his head. He was livid with Nora and her family. He was also frightened by this new quandary and what it meant for his wife.

Kellan released a deafening roar into the sky, not knowing what else to do with his frustration.

His mate was in danger. Sephtis Kenelm might only need the passage of time to succeed in killing her off. Every single day of her existence her life had been at risk, literally draining from her body. And Kellan had been purposefully left in the dark.

“How could he let me take you away? And without telling me?”

“Father didn’t think the Burghards would appreciate it if their queen could further harm their beloved forest. We decided not to say anything and risk someone challenging me. You know they would see me as weak or sickly. But, ultimately, he thought I would be safe here.”

Kellan spun towards Nora. “Why would he think you would be safe here, Nora?”

The tears returned to Nora’s eyes. “Because he thought that you would tie your life force to mine. He thought you would save me.”

Nora believed there was no chance of that now, not with how cross he had become after finding out her truth. He would probably send her back to her father.

It was just as well. They obviously were a poor match. For a few days, she had thought him perfect, thought she could truly be falling in love with him, and he with her. Now the illusion was shattered.

Kellan stood there, watching as his wife buried her face in her hands and wept. He thought about her words. Blood-mating would tie her life to his. Would it heal the hole in her soul? There was one way to find out.

Kellan bent down and scooped Nora up into his arms. She never pulled her hands away from her face, nor did her crying cease. Kellan wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what his mate thought of him, but if they needed to blood-mate to save her life, they would do it.

He quickened his strides, feeling an urgency to complete the bond.

As he approached the door to their rooms, he told the guards, “We are not to be disturbed unless there is an absolute emergency. And by emergency, I mean someone is dying.”

Kellan entered the room and kicked the door shut behind them. He walked to the bed and laid her down, not really wanting to let her out of his arms. He moved to the chair next to the bed and began taking off his boots and belt.

Nora heard the rustling of his clothing and rolled to looked at him. “Wh-what are you doing?” she sniffled.

“You said tying my life force to yours might heal you. We will blood-mate. Immediately.”

Nora jack-knifed off the bed, rubbing her eyes, untrusting her ears. “You cannot be serious.”

Kellan narrowed his gaze. “I’m quite serious. If you are unwell and I have it in my power to heal you, I will do it.” He stood and removed his shirt.

“What? No!” Was he so desperate for an heir that he would bind himself to someone he thought had betrayed his trust?

Kellan threw the shirt across the room, ignoring her protest.

“I said no, Kellan. We are not going to blood-mate.”

“I say we are.”

He unbuttoned his pants.

“You cannot force me.”

“Oh, I doubt I’ll have to do much forcing, Wife. You seem to like it very much when I’m inside you.”

Down went his zipper.

Nora slapped her hands on the bed in frustration at his pompousness. She looked around for something to throw. The only things within reach were the pillows.

Kellan ducked when the first fluffy pillow flew at his head. He advanced towards her, wondering the best way to relieve her of her clothing. His claws peeked out of his flexing knuckles and he decided shredding them would be the most efficient option.

“Kellan, stop! I do not want you!” she yelled as she scrambled for the other side of the bed.

“Your scent says otherwise, my love.”

Nora froze, outraged. “You are not allowed to say that to me.”

“But it’s true. I can smell it.”

“No, the other part. You are not allowed to use the word love when referring to me.”

Kellan stopped in his tracks, straightening his body, confused by Nora’s words.

“Why in the hell not?”

“Because you don’t mean it. How could you? You don’t even like me. You—you called me a witch! You bruised me. You hurt me more than I ever thought possible.”

“Nora—”

Someone pounded on the door and Nora jumped, startled at the interruption. But she welcomed it.

Without taking his eyes off his wife, Kellan yelled, “Someone had better be dying!”

“My lord! King Edward! Something has happened on his journey here. You must come.”

The vision from earlier came back to Nora, clear as day. Instead of sending word, Nora’s father must have decided to come to Castle Burghard.

How could she have let it go like that? She should never have allowed Kellan—or her own vexations—to distract her from what she saw. She was failing everyone at every turn. That stops now.

Nora ran for the door and Kellan caught her by the waist. “I don’t think so, love.”

She clawed and scratched at him, using her combat training to try and get free. Her father was in danger. He needed help.

Kellan was bemused by his wife’s strength. She managed to score her fingernails across the side of his face. She drew blood and Kellan was half-proud of her.

In his stupor over witnessing her abilities, he must have hesitated, because she landed a hard knee to his kidney. Kellan grunted, but did not let go. He was the strongest wolf in the pack. His little mate was no match for him.

He carried her to the bed and held her down with one hand. He reached for his belt on the floor and his kidney suffered another blow.

Despite his efforts to avoid it, his cock hardened. He made note to revisit this in the future. Battling with her in bed was something he wanted to explore.

A punch to his mouth was enough to dampen his lust. He growled, seizing her wrists and slamming them above her head.

Holding them with his left hand, he looped the belt around them with his right. Nora was bucking like a madwoman, so he flung one leg over to straddle her ribs as he tightened the restraints.

It took longer than it should have. Nora was a skilled fighter. Yet another secret withheld from him.

“There,” he proclaimed once she was secured to the bed. Her feet were still loose, but he didn’t think she could get her arms free.

“Please, don’t do this, Kellan. My father … please!”

“Nora, calm yourself. I will find him. Did you think I would ignore the vision? I may be furious with him, but I’ll not ignore my father-in-law’s need for help. Trust me to do what is necessary.”

“But I can track him. The earth, it will tell me where he is.”

“As will my nose. Do not worry. I will handle it.”

“Don’t you dare leave me like this, Kellan.”

He ignored Nora as he started to dress, then thought better of it. He would leave the castle in wolf form, so he could track Edward.

“I will return as soon as I can.”

Kellan bent to kiss Nora. Instead of allowing it, she tried to hit his forehead with her own.

“Woman, will you calm down?” Kellan did not want to get his nose broken.

“How could you? Are you trying to ensure you’ve earned my abhorrence? Because I can assure you it’s working,” she seethed.

Kellan recoiled at the vehemence in her words. “No. Do not say that.”

“How could I not? You do not listen to me. You have no regard for me. You think of me as a witch. Do not pretend that you’re not disappointed I’m not a she-wolf. I bet if I was wolf you would let me go to my father. Instead, you’ve tied me to your bed like a damned animal.”

“You are tied to our bed, so I can ensure your safety, Nora. I will be gone from the castle and you refuse to stay put. I cannot concentrate on whatever your father is facing if I am worried about you. You are my mate. Nothing is more important to me than you. Do you hear me? Nothing. I care not that you are an elemental. I shouldn’t have called you a witch. I am sorrier than you could possibly know. My anger got the best of me. It won’t happen again. Just as you will not lie to me again. Mates do not lie to one another. Ever. I am hurt that you could do it so easily. But we’ll discuss it later. I have to go.”

Kellan had his hand on the door handle when Nora landed her final blow.

“I may be your mate, but you are not mine. I am Gwydion. We don’t have mates.”

He bowed his head as his heart filled with more sorrow than he had ever known. He took a calming breath, wanting to ward off the reaction he was having to Nora’s harsh words, but the grief inside him was too big to hide.

Kellan turned his head towards his wife, eyes wet from the enormity of his heartache.

Nora was shocked to see tears forming in Kellan’s eyes. One spilled and mixed with the blood from the scratches on his face. The ones Nora had put there only a moment before.

“I may not have your heart, Nora. But you have mine. You can wound it easily. Yet, I give it to you, freely, with no expectation of anything in return. I’ll endure your hatred to ensure your safety. For this, I’ll not apologize.”

With that, Kellan exited the bed chamber, leaving behind the only thing he had ever truly held onto—hope that his mate loved him.