A Monster's Bed

Kaelen

I leaned down, pressing my forehead directly against hers. It was a gesture of deep, rare comfort, an intimacy I had never shared with anyone, not even my closest family members. I felt some of her sheer, radiating terror begin to subside, though her small frame still shook beneath my hands.

She seemed taken aback by the closeness, her breath hitching as she stared at me with wide, timid eyes.

"I cannot ever get mad at you," I spoke softly, my voice low and thick with the heavy pull of the mating bond. "You are the reason I feel whole. I was staring at you because, for the first time in my life, I have someone who has the capacity to complete me, if she chooses. I will be back soon, my Luna."

I gave her a reassuring kiss on her forehead, and she let out a small, quiet whimper. I knew she was terrified of me, and I couldn't blame her. Her parents worked as janitors on the high-security block of the Zenith prison. They had undoubtedly seen the bloody, sadistic streaks I had left behind during my interrogations and executions of rogue wolves. In their eyes, and likely in hers, I was nothing but a brutal executioner. They had spent years scrubbing the silver chains and concrete floors of my cells, washing away the evidence of my rage. To them, I was the monster in the dark, and now that monster had claimed their daughter.

I needed a cold shower. Immediately.

"Get comfortable," I tried to reassure her, but I knew my presence only brought her fear. I had terrified her from the moment I found her in the woods.

I hurried down the hall to the guest room and stepped into the shower, turning the faucet to the coldest setting. The freezing water hit my skin, but it did very little to calm my wolf's raging desire. Varkos was practically clawing at my chest, demanding we return to the bedroom and claim our mate. He wanted to feel her skin, to mark her fully, and to make her ours in every way possible.

*Quiet,* I snapped at him. *She's out of sync with her wolf because of how badly we scared her. We have to earn her trust.*

Varkos growled, but he quieted down. It was rare to see a wolf so disconnected from her human half, but rest and patience would fix it. Still, I couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt. I had spent years killing rogues, sometimes leaving mates behind to grieve. Perhaps the Moon Goddess was punishing me for my past cruelty by giving me a mate so sweet, so fragile, that I felt like a monster just looking at her. My ill temper had cursed me, yet here she was—a pure, innocent soul who deserved far better than a blood-stained Alpha. I had waited far too long for a true mate to ruin this beautiful bond now.

I wrapped a towel around my waist and walked into my private office.

Sitting at my desk, I opened her official pack file on the computer. I changed her last name to mine in the system, officially marking her as my mate. Then I looked over her history. She was born in the FrostMoon pack, which was once a thriving territory known for its peaceful, quiet lifestyle. But fifteen years ago, a massive rogue army tore through their borders, leaving almost nothing but ash. Her parents were two of only ten known survivors, having hidden in the frozen root cellars while their friends and packmates were slaughtered. They fled to Zenith, but as refugees, they were placed at the very bottom of our hierarchy. They became janitors on the most violent floors of the prison, which was another strike against me. They had spent their lives watching the dark side of our world, and she had grown up in the shadow of their trauma.

She was young, only twenty-one. For a wolf, our twenties to nineties are more like late adolescence. We stay young for a long time because our cells do not age like humans; we do not die unless we are killed in battle or by disease. Her file was standard, listing her as an Omega. I clicked the drop-down menu and changed her rank to Kappa. In our pack laws, Kappa was the transition rank, a shield that protected mates who were not yet ready for physical challenges. Next, I updated her title to Luna.

This meant I would have to teach her how to shift properly. Since she graduated from the Omega track in school, she had missed all the basic martial training. She knew nothing about pack defense, court etiquette, or how to channel her wolf's power. She was a blank slate. If I let the pack elders see her now, they would tear her apart in the political arena. It would be like throwing a lamb to a pack of starving wolves. I had to protect her, to keep her hidden until she was strong enough to stand by my side.

A light tap sounded on the office door.

"Knock knock," Beta Carden said, stepping inside with a smirk.

"Not in the mood, Carden," I warned, letting out a low snarl.

"When are you ever?" he joked, setting a folder on my desk. "I have the report on the trespasser rogues from last night."

"At least they won't be an issue anymore," I grumbled, flipping open the folder.

Those rogues had been lurking in the dense woods at the edge of our territory, mugging anyone who came near the border. If Cressida had managed to escape yesterday and run toward the border, she would have walked straight into their trap. The thought made Varkos growl in fury. I had personally tracked them down last night in my wolf form. I remembered the thrill of the hunt, the way the forest air rushed through my fur, and the satisfying crunch of their bones under my jaws. I had left their bodies torn to pieces in the mud, a clear message to any other rogues thinking of crossing our borders.

"Oh, and congratulations," Carden said, his eyes gleaming with amusement. "She's literally the smallest wolf I've ever seen. Don't smoosh her."

"Thank you," I muttered.

As Carden turned to leave, a sudden, horrifying realization hit me like a ton of bricks. Last night, I had chased those screaming, bleeding bandits right past her house in the housing district. The sounds of bones snapping and flesh tearing must have echoed right outside her window.

No wonder she thought I was a deranged, rabid beast coming to execute her. She had probably sat in her room, listening to me rip those wolves apart, only for me to show up at her door hours later to claim her.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Carden said, noticing my sudden silence.

I dismissed him immediately, my mind racing as I prepared to return to my Luna, fiercely hoping she could somehow see me in a much better light.

***

Cressida

My heart hammered hard against my ribs, the sound deafening in the silence of the massive bedroom.

Why hadn't I just told him exactly what he wanted to hear? Why did I speak my mind like we were equals in this room?

*Because we are, damnit,* my inner wolf, Glimmer, scoffed haughtily in my head. She seemed unbothered by the fact that we were trapped in the lair of the most feared Alpha in the territory. *Mates do not hurt each other. You think too much.*

*He is a killer, Glimmer,* I retorted, my hands trembling as I clutched my knees. *Did you not hear the screams outside our window last night? He tore those wolves apart.*

Glimmer ignored my human panic, stubbornly insisting that the bond was sacred. But our minds remained out of sync, and the disconnect was driving me crazy. She was acting on raw, biological instinct, while I was trapped in the cold reality of his reputation.

A soft knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. A female warrior walked in, quietly placing a large duffle bag of my clothes on the floor before bowing and leaving. She looked at me with a mixture of respect and curiosity, but I felt like nothing more than a prisoner in a gold-rimmed cage.

I quickly locked the heavy wooden door, turning the deadbolt until it clicked firmly into place. I needed to wash away the lingering, suffocating anxiety of the day. I took a long, boiling hot shower, letting the steam fill the bathroom as I tried to ignore the slight soreness in my stubbed toe. If I hadn't tripped, I might not have been caught... but then I would have never met him. The hot water stung the fresh mate mark on my collarbone, a constant, throbbing reminder of the bond that now tied me to him.

I dried off and looked through my bag, selecting a pair of plain, overly modest pink pajamas. They were my only shield. I climbed onto the large, dark wood bed, sitting on top of the black and gold comforter. I was on high alert, refusing to let my guard down around the fearsome Alpha.

Then, a deep, genuinely amused chuckle echoed from the hallway, followed by the jingle of metal keys.

"Let me in, my little mate," Kaelen teased smoothly through the wood.

I didn't move. My fear had me in a chokehold.

"Do you want me to sleep in my own guestroom, babygirl..." his voice dropped to a low, dangerous whisper, "...or do I need to open the door?"

I remained silent, my eyes wide with terror.

*You're dead,* Glimmer joked in my head. *All because you locked a door.*

I heard another chuckle from the other side.

A sudden, paralyzing realization hit me. *Can he hear us? Can he hear my thoughts?*

My face burned with a sudden, intense heat. I had called him a brute, a monster, and a terrifying giant. I had complained about his arrogance and even noted how muscular his chest was. He had heard all of it. Every single embarrassing, panicked thought had been broadcast straight to his mind.

The door unlocked with a loud, metallic click.

He stood in the doorway, wearing a blue bathrobe that hung loosely over his pajama pants, revealing his broad, scarred chest. He looked calm and amused, his amber eyes sparkling with a secret knowledge.

Glimmer knew. She had known the whole time and hadn't said a word.

*You traitor!* I hissed at her.

Glimmer only laughed, curling up in a tight, satisfied ball in the back of my mind.

I stared at him as he walked toward the bed. I was frozen, my hands coming up in a weak, defensive posture. He didn't seem to care about my resistance. He grabbed my left hand and kissed the back of it, his lips warm and soft against my cold skin.

"Don't be such a worrywart," he said quietly, his voice rich and deep. "Like I said, you cannot make me mad. But it does bother me how creative your imagination is."

He climbed into the bed, pulling me down beside him under the heavy covers.

"Our bed," he rumbled, the deep, vibrating sound in his chest sending intense shivers straight down my spine.

I lay frozen, staring at his toned, scarred chest. It was incredibly frustrating that he could effortlessly intrude on my private thoughts while his own mind remained hidden from me, a solid wall of silence. I wanted to know what he thought of me, to know if his promises were real or if they were just the cheap words of a predator.

Suddenly, a deep, gravelly voice linked directly into my mind.

*[...Do you want to?]* his wolf asked, wearing a sly, predatory grin in my mind's eye.

A spark of defiance flared through my fear. I wanted to see if he was really as gentle as he claimed, or if he was just playing with his prey.

*[I actually would],* I boldly challenged back.

The reaction was instantaneous.

In a blinding flash of movement, Kaelen's amber eyes bled red, his wolf taking full control. Before I could even gasp, his massive, suffocating weight pinned me flat beneath him.

Pure panic surged through my veins. He felt like a wall of solid stone, trapping me.

His large, rough hands immediately slipped under my pink pajama shirt, his warm, calloused palms grazing my bare skin as they slid up my ribs.

Inside my head, Glimmer practically purred in delight, shamelessly begging for more of his dominance. But my human mind pleaded frantically for reason. I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing myself for the worst.

But instead of forcing himself on me, Kaelen leaned down and softly kissed my parted lips. The kiss was brief, smelling of mint and the dark woods, before he suddenly flipped me around.

In one smooth motion, he trapped my back securely against his broad, warm chest, holding me tightly like I was merely a stuffed animal.

"I had to try," his wolf growled possessively in my ear. "If I cannot have you now, then I will have to settle with my scent all over you."

He held me even tighter, pressing his nose against my neck and rubbing his jaw along my shoulder. He was scenting me, rubbing his own pheromones onto my skin until the heavy scent of pine and smoke enveloped me.

He held me flush against his hardened body, his arms locked around my waist to physically comfort me. My body was exhausted, the adrenaline slowly leaving my system as the heavy scent began to lull me into a forced calm.

But as I lay there in his iron grip, trapped, my mind remained gripped by the terrifying, undeniable reality that my newly bonded mate was a monster.