"Mate," he growled.
Erald stopped in her tracks. She couldn’t breathe, her lungs felt like they were about to burst.
The sound of that word coming from him in such a deep, raw, and intense tone hit her like a bolt of lightning, sending a surge through her body.
"What... did you say?" she asked slowly, her hand reaching for the dagger at her hip.
He took a step forward, his nostrils flaring as he inhaled her scent like it was water after a drought. "You’re mine."
"No," she hissed, retreating a step. "No, you don’t just... just kiss soone and say that!"
But inside, her wolf was already howling... screaming... clawing at the walls of her mind.
"It’s him," Viola whispered inside her. "The fourth one. The fourth mate. Our fourth mate."
Erald’s pulse thundered in her ears.
"No," she muttered again, more to herself than him. She shook her head slightly, her brain lagging behind her instincts.
That’s not possible. There are already three. The bond couldn’t stretch further. Could it?
He stepped into the moonlight, and Erald’s breath caught in her throat.
He had a strong, muscular build that made him appear as if he had been forged for war. He was tall... towering in fact at 6’6", and his black coat hugged his body tightly.
His hair was a deep black with silver streaks, falling in ssy waves to his shoulders. His dark gold eyes were fixed on her, filled with a fierce intensity that felt almost like a fire.
But it wasn’t just the looks.
It was the aura.
It felt overwhelming, like a storm crashing down around her. Just being close to it made her chest feel tight.
The man moved closer, like a predator stalking prey he already owned.
She couldn’t breathe.
The mate bond surged through her like wildfire, tightening around her chest and squeezing her heart. She felt it clearly. It was strong, undeniable, and frustratingly out of her control.
"I’ve been waiting for this day," he muttered, almost to himself. "Didn’t know it was already at hand."
Erald blinked. "What... what are you talking about?"
He didn’t answer her directly.
Instead, he rambled softly in a gentle, almost reverent voice. "I felt the shift the mont you let out your aura. I knew the mont the sky cracked, and that deep part of reacted. The mate pull... it broke down all the walls I had built around myself."
Erald stared at him like he was insane.
And yet, his words echoed sowhere deep in her bones. She could feel the truth in them like a pulse.
The mate bond. That ache tugging at her ribs, the magnetic pull that made it hard to breathe around him... it was real.
Too real.
"But three. I already have three. This is impossible."
She took a shaky step back. "This... this isn’t possible. I’ve already found my mates," she said aloud, trying to ground herself. "You’re too late."
The stranger’s eyes flared. "Mates?" he repeated with bitter emphasis. "As in plural?"
"Yes," Erald said, regaining so control in her voice. "Three."
A flash of sothing wild showed in his eyes—protective, instinctive. "You were ant for ." He stepped forward sharply. "Who are they?"
Her hand rose instinctively. "You don’t get to ask questions. I don’t even know who you are," she snapped. "Who the hell are you?"
But again, no answer.
His eyes burned into hers instead, and for a split second, she swore she saw sothing ancient and boundless swimming beneath his gaze. Sothing... broken.
Just then, the bushes rustled behind her, and a dozen sets of boots pounded the earth.
Darius burst through the tree line first, flanked by guards.
The new shift had noticed Erald was missing, and in panic, they alerted Dairus. Imdiately, they started looking for her.
"Erald!" he barked, his voice tight with relief. "You were gone from your room... what the hell is..."
He stopped.
Everyone did.
Their eyes landed on the body first.
And then on the man standing beside her.
A beat of silence.
Then Darius froze, his breath catching audibly. His eyes widened slightly. "It’s you."
Erald’s heart slamd into her ribs as she looked from the stranger to her uncle, and back to the man. "You know him?"
Darius didn’t speak.
Her hands curled into fists. "Uncle. I said—"
"Guards," Darius barked. "Take the body. Secure the area." He pointed to the corpse. "Make sure nothing happens to it. I’ll call for an autopsy."
The guards scattered instantly, so lifting the assassin’s corpse with barely concealed revulsion. Others kept close to Darius’s side, their eyes flicking toward the stranger warily.
Erald moved in closer to Darius and whispered, "Seriously... who is he?"
Darius kept his eyes ahead. "Be patient."
"Patient?" she snapped. "He kissed . Said I’m his mate. I don’t even..." She paused and took a deep breath. "He’s not talking, you’re not talking. Soone had better give answers. Now."
Darius closed his eyes for a mont, then exhaled. "Be patient," he said tightly.
"That’s not patience I’m feeling," she snapped. "It’s my blood boiling."
"Erald," Darius warned in a sharper tone now.
She went silent, the words boiling on her tongue.
"Co," he ordered. "Both of you. Inside. Now."
The strange man followed silently, taking long, easy strides, with his eyes fixed on Erald as they passed through the estate gates and entered the hall.
She could still feel him watching her. Watching every twitch of her fingers. Every breath. Every pulse in her throat.
He didn’t just glance at her; he took in every detail, treating her as if she were precious and fragile. It was as if he had spent ages waiting for her and finally found her.
And it made her skin prickle.
The guards kept their distance, looking uneasy. The air around him felt strange, warr and heavier. It was as if reality itself didn’t quite trust him.
They reached the study. Darius opened the door and waved them in, gesturing for her to sit.
She didn’t.
She stood, arms crossed, as the stranger paced once around the room and finally turned toward Darius with a crooked smile.
"It’s been a while," he said. "Darius."
Erald’s eyebrows shot up.
She turned slowly to Darius, who was now rubbing the bridge of his nose like he had a headache that had been waiting decades to arrive.
"What... was that?" she asked.
Darius didn’t answer his niece; instead, his gaze t the stranger with steel in his eyes. "You shouldn’t have co here."
"I had no choice," the man said softly. "The bond made sure of that."
"Who are you?" Erald asked again.
Darius turned to her. "He’s not just anyone, Erald."
The man smirked.
"He’s... The Rogue King."
Erald’s breath caught in her throat when she heard the na. It triggered a distant mory, one spoken about in fear and respect by both warriors and elders.
"I’ve heard that na," she said slowly. "But it doesn’t make sense. The Rogue King is a myth. A ghost story. A warning."
"No." Darius looked at her gravely. "He’s real."
She stepped back a half-step. "I don’t understand. None of this makes sense. Why is he here? And why did he call his mate?"
The man leaned against the edge of the desk with maddening calm. "Because you are."
Erald turned to Darius. "Explain."
But her uncle didn’t answer. He looked almost... shaken, and that scared her more than anything.
Erald took a step. "You’re not answering. Why are you not answering, uncle?"
She had witnessed Darius angry, rciless, cold and emotionless, but she had never seen him rattled or scared.
Even her wolf was unusually quiet, trembling under the pressure of the man’s aura.
What could possibly make one of the strongest n she knew falter? She said in her mind.
"," the Rogue King said in a smooth and deadly voice. "I could."
Erald spun toward him, her jaw clenched. She was absolutely sure she had said that in her head. Her lips didn’t even move a centitre.
"D-did... did you just... read my mind?"
He didn’t answer.
He just smirked and stepped toward her.
Erald tensed as his aura filled the room again... thick, heavy, suffocating, like the scent of blood before a battle.
Her back hit the wall.
"You’re powerful," he said in a low voice. "More than you know. That’s why you called to ."
"I didn’t call you," she hissed.
"Oh, but you did," he said softly. "You just didn’t know it."
"Who the fuck are you?" she whispered, genuinely shaken now.
His gold eyes burned.
"I am the Rogue King," he said. "And you, Erald Lycannis..."
He paused, his eyes shining with a raw intensity.
"...are my mate."
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