Chapter 98: Malric Knows The Truth....?

Aina

Aina’s whole body shivered at the intimate gesture. Roiner slowly rose to his feet, but as he towered over her, his expression suddenly shifted. His brows drew together. "Head down." Aina blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"There is blood coming from the back of your head," Roiner said, his voice dropping into a sharp, concerned tone. Aina reached a hand up, her fingers grazing the base of her skull. She pulled her hand back and stared in horror at the bright crimson smear coating her fingertips. "Oh..." she whispered, her eyes widening. "How did you know? And how am I not even feeling it?"

"The adrenaline carried you through it yesterday," Roiner explained, stepping closer and opening a bottle of stinging antiseptic. "And I can smell it."

"You know what? It’s fine! I don’t want you touching it—ouch! Roiner!" Aina grumbled, hissing through her teeth as the cold, burning antiseptic hit the open gash at the back of her head. Roiner ignored her protests with a calm expression, dabbing the wound clean before expertly slapping a fresh medical patch over it. As he worked, his eyes suddenly locked onto the roots of her hair where they parted near her temples.

"Do you have purple roots?" Roiner asked, pausing his hands. Aina froze, her eyes darting nervously. "What?"

"Yeah," Roiner murmured, leaning in closer to inspect her scalp. "I can see that you have some purple roots coming in." Aina let out an awkward, high-pitched laugh, patting her hair down. "Oh! That? That’s just my natural hair color! My hair is naturally black with purple strands because... you know my wolf is weak as hell."

A faint, amused smile played on Roiner’s lips. "It is beginning to show. I must admit... I would like to see you with your black and purple hair. I have never seen such a combination." Aina feigned offense, gasping dramatically. "What? You don’t like my blonde hair?!"

Roiner’s gaze softened into something impossibly warm. "I like you always, exactly the way you are." He finished packing up the first aid box, but before he could stand, he leaned down and pressed a series of soft, worshipful kisses across her face, first her forehead, then her eyelids, her nose, and finally, settling gently over her lips.

Aina’s heart hammered against her ribs. As Roiner slowly began to pull away, a sudden, bold wave of heat surged through her veins. Without thinking, Aina reached up, grabbed the back of his neck, and deepened the kiss, pulling him right back down against her.

An instant, electric tension crackled in the room.

Roiner’s breath hitched, a low, dangerous growl vibrating in his chest as he shifted forward, pressing her back against the mattress. "Are you sure you want to do this right now?" Roiner whispered against her lips, his crimson eyes dark with hungry, restrained passion. "Absolute... ly," Aina breathed out, her hands sliding down to grip his broad shoulders as she tangled her fingers in his dark hair.

Roiner didn’t need any more encouragement. He leaned down, pressing hot, lingering kisses along her collarbone, his hand sliding smoothly against her shoulder to gently push the edge of the towel downward.

Aina let out a breathless gasp, her eyes fluttering shut as she looked up at him through her glasses. Last time we did this, it was pitch black, her mind raced wildly through a haze of pure adoration. I couldn’t see a single thing. But now... oh my gosh. He is so ridiculously hot. I seriously hit the absolute lottery when it comes to a fated mate. Oh my gosh... I can actually see our entire future together—

Roiner stopped dead in his motion. His head snapped up toward the bedroom door. Aina blinked, her hands still resting on his shoulders. "What’s wrong?" she whispered, her voice laced with sudden panic as she cupped his face.

Roiner didn’t answer right away. He stared past her shoulder, his jaw tightening into a hard, lethal line. He raised his voice, calling out into the empty hallway.

"Malric. Come out."

Aina’s blood ran cold. What?!

She whipped her head around, staring back toward the open bedroom door. Peering right through the narrow crack of the doorway, standing frozen in the hallway with wide, shell-shocked eyes, was Malric. "Oh, shoot," Aina whispered, her soul practically leaving her body.

Malric’s eyes darted from Roiner’s towering, protective stance over the bed to Aina, who was sitting naked under a towel. His voice came out in a dry, broken whisper. "It’s... it’s you."

Roiner shifted smoothly, placing himself protectively in front of Aina as he leveled a cold, unblinking glare at the young prince. "Yes, Malric. Travis is a girl. Now, be a dear and close the door... or have some basic decency to knock next time."

Malric stared at them, his brain entirely short-circuiting. "No... it’s you." Without another word, Malric turned around on his heel and bolted down the hall, the front door slamming shut behind him with a resounding bang.

Aina frantically pulled the towel up to her chin, her face burning with mortification. Roiner turned back to her, his brows knit together in deep, utter confusion as he looked from the closed door back to her flushed face. "What is going on?" Roiner demanded, his voice tight. "Why is Malric acting like that?" He paused, a sudden realization dawning on him. "And surely it cannot be just because he now knows you are a girl..."

Aina swallowed hard, her voice trembling slightly. "You know... Malric... he’s looking for the girl in the purple dress." Roiner froze. His crimson eyes widened fractionally. "What?"

"You know," Aina squeaked out, biting her lip. "Umm.. I am that girl and he’s... my mate." Silence stretched across the room for two agonizing seconds. Roiner stared at her, the words finally registering in his brain. "Oh... Oh."

"Yeah," Aina whispered miserably. Roiner let out a slow, heavy breath, running a hand over his face before looking back at her with a tender, heartbreaking expression. "Sweetheart... why didn’t you tell me this?"

"I didn’t find it important!" Aina defended defensively, throwing her hands up. "I only found out you had feelings for me yesterday! Up until two days ago, I thought even you and I would never be a thing!"

Roiner raised a slow, skeptical brow. Aina quickly rushed to add, "And it killed me! It was terrible!"

Roiner let out a soft, deep sigh, leaning forward to pull her tightly against his chest. The rich, comforting scent of jasmine wrapped around them like a warm blanket. He rested his chin on her head, his voice dropping into a quiet, serious hum. "What do you want to do, sweetheart?"

"About what?" she muffled against his shirt. "About Malric," Roiner murmured.

"And... the other princes."

Roiner paused, taking in the massive weight of the new information before correcting himself smoothly, his voice laced with a strange, sacrificial devotion. "Or... the other princes. If you want to bond with them, it is okay with me. I will make it happen. You just need to tell me if you need me to do anything."

Aina pulled back instantly, shaking her head with absolute certainty. "No. There is no way I will ever love or bond with any of the princes." She bit her lip, looking down at her lap. "I’ll try to handle the Malric situation by myself. If I fail to make him keep his mouth shut... then, and only then, I’ll ask for your help."

Roiner looked down at her, his crimson eyes shining with a look of pure concern. "Are you sure? It is impossible not to love your fated mate and keep away from him. Look at me... I was away from you for a month, and it felt like I was dying inside. I marked you the moment I saw you again."

Aina let out a small, tired sigh, gently pressing her hand against his cheek. She shook her head firmly. "I’m going to have to make the impossible... possible."