My eyes widened in shock, and the only sound echoing in my ears was the frantic pounding of my own heart. The hand holding my chin tightened slightly, yet I couldn't tear my gaze away from his dark eyes. I could see my own reflection in them. Just like his heart, his eyes seemed to reflect only me.
That heart belongs to me.
Those words stirred something inside me, filling me with both excitement and unease.
Kongar lowered his hand from my chin without looking away. Then he took my hand and placed it over his heart once more. Beneath my palm, it felt as though his heart was struggling to break free of his chest, much like my own heart pounding wildly in my ears.
"Look," he said, glancing down at our joined hands resting over his heart. "Do you see it? I told you. That heart belongs to me."
I no longer knew what to think. What he was saying sounded like a confession of love, yet it wasn't. Kongar didn't even consider his own heart to be his.
How could he love me when even his heart didn't belong to him?
I needed to find out why Kongar had been created in the first place. Only then would I be able to think clearly. Maybe there was a way to separate us from each other.
The thought sent a shiver through me, and I wrapped my arms around myself. It felt as though an invisible wind had passed through my body, leaving nothing but coldness behind.
When I turned my attention back to Kongar, I noticed the black smoke I had seen in the forest wrapping around him once again. They coiled around his body for a few seconds before being drawn back into him and disappearing.
"W-what was that, Kongar?" I asked, instinctively shifting farther away across the bed.
Instead of answering, Kongar simply continued watching me. As I moved away, he slowly moved closer.
"Are you afraid of me?" he asked.
I flinched when he reached toward my hair. Yet when his icy fingers brushed my cheek and gently tucked the loose strand hanging over my face behind my ear, the tension in my shoulders slowly began to melt away.
None of this made any sense. Just seconds ago, that black smoke had frightened me, and now I was surrendering to the comfort of his touch.
Why did Arkan's and Kongar's touches affect me like this? One part of me wanted to move closer to both of them, to wrap my arms around them and never let go, while the other kept screaming that I needed to run.
"Answer my question," I said, forcing myself to regain control. If I was truly his master, then he shouldn't have been able to disobey my command.
His black eyes slowly faded back to their familiar yellow, and that irritating smile spread across his face once again.
"Are you all right, Kayra?" he asked. "You seem tense."
"What was that black smoke surrounding you?" I demanded.
Kongar glanced down at himself before tilting his head slightly and looking directly into my eyes.
"What black smoke?"
Was he making fun of me?
"The thing that wrapped around your body a moment ago and made my skin crawl," I said, wrapping my arms around myself again. "I saw the same thing in the forest."
Kongar's brows slowly drew together.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Kayra," he said. The smile vanished completely from his face.
Did he really not know?
Or did he have some kind of psychological disorder too? I was schizophrenic, Arkan had two beings living inside one body, and maybe Kongar had another personality hiding inside him.
Wonderful.
At this rate, the three of us would end up in the same psychiatric hospital.
"So..." I said, avoiding his gaze. "Do you remember kissing me?"
"Yes," he replied. "Would you like me to kiss you again?"
I immediately shook my head.
"No!"
My voice must have come out louder than I intended because Kongar lowered his head.
"Was it really that bad?" he asked before sniffing softly.
There!
That was the Kongar I knew. The dark and unsettling stranger from a few minutes ago was gone, and in his place stood that strange creature who got hurt over the smallest things.
The tension inside me dissolved at once.
Before I could stop myself, I climbed off the bed and threw my arms around him.
Kongar stiffened the moment I hugged him, but he didn't push me away. After remaining completely still for a few seconds, he slowly wrapped his arms around me.
"Ahem..."
The sound of another voice in the room made me pull away from Kongar at once.
"I brought your meal, Luna," said the woman standing in the doorway.
She was holding a tray and looking directly at me. She appeared young, but she was also quite large. Then again, that didn't surprise me. She was a werewolf too.
As her gaze swept over me from head to toe, it was impossible to miss the judgment in her eyes.
She had probably seen me hugging Kongar.
I couldn't really blame her for it. After all, they saw me as their Luna—the Alpha's mate.
"Thank you," I said, taking a step toward her to accept the tray.
Before I could reach it, Kongar quickly moved past me and took the tray from her hands instead.
The woman let out a low growl and squared her shoulders toward him.
Was she about to attack him?
Before I could make sense of what was happening, Kongar turned to face her with the tray in his hands and simply looked at her in silence for several seconds.
"It's nothing, Luna," the woman said.
Then she turned around and walked out of the room.
I frowned.
What had just happened?
Had Kongar done something?
His back had been facing me the entire time, so I had no idea.
Smiling, Kongar turned back to me and set the tray on the table. Then he pulled out a chair and gestured toward it.
"Don't let your food get cold, Kayra," he said, waiting for me to sit down.
He was like a real butler.
I wondered if he would do housework too if I took him home.
Maybe I could even send him to work somewhere.
Of course, I'd have to find his instruction manual first.
The thought made me smile despite myself.
Even though part of my mind still insisted on treating this place like some kind of hospital, the food was far better than I had expected. I ended up eating until I was completely stuffed, and now I was paying the price with a mild case of indigestion.
Throughout the meal, Kongar sat in the chair across from me and watched me eat. I had insisted that he sit down because having someone stand over me while I ate made me far more uncomfortable than it should have.
After finishing the last bite, I wiped my mouth with a napkin and rose from the table.
At that exact moment, the door opened, and that dizzying scent flooded the room once again.
I instinctively took a deep breath and turned toward the doorway.
As Arkan's glowing blue eyes swept over me from head to toe, warmth rushed to my face. The moment I looked away in embarrassment, a low growl echoed through the room.
I had heard that sound before.
This time, however, it affected me differently.
My knees suddenly weakened, a strange shiver coursed through my body, and before I realized it, I had sunk to the floor.
What was happening to me?
I had heard him growl before. Why was my body reacting like this now?
After taking a deep breath, Arkan closed his eyes for a brief moment.
"Mine," he said.
His voice sounded more animal than human.
That single word sent a wave of heat spreading through my body, and an involuntary moan slipped from my lips. Then I felt the place where he had bitten my neck begin to burn, and my hand immediately flew to the mark.
"Ahh..."
Damn it.
The sound that escaped me had been far too suggestive. I wanted to cover my mouth, but my body refused to cooperate.
As Arkan slowly walked toward me, his scent grew even stronger. Before I realized what I was doing, I had already reached out toward him.
A pleased rumble rose from his throat at the sight.
Ah... that sound.
Arkan crouched down in front of me. With a gentle yet firm motion, he moved the hand covering my neck aside and exposed the mark. Then he brushed his tongue over it.
"I want you," he growled.
So do I...
As the warmth of his tongue lingered against my skin, the burning sensation gradually faded, only to be replaced by an entirely different kind of longing.
Arkan stopped trailing his attention along my neck and cupped my face in his hands before leaning closer.
Was he going to kiss me?
Did I want him to?
Yes.
I wanted to feel those incredible lips again.
Then, all at once, a cold hand wrapped around mine, and every bit of desire building inside me vanished.
Turning my head to see who had touched me, I found myself staring into Kongar's yellow eyes.
Arkan was practically casting a spell on me. There had to be some explanation. This whole mate-bond thing had to be nonsense because the moment Kongar touched me, whatever hold Arkan had over me shattered.
The only problem was that his intoxicating scent was still hanging in the air.
Shit.
The moment my attention shifted to Kongar, Arkan let out an enraged roar. The sound sent the heat rushing through my body all over again. I couldn't bring myself to pull away.
Instead, I found myself moving a little closer to Arkan.
Before I could take another step, Kongar moved between us, blocking Arkan from my view. Then he turned his attention to me.
"Kayra, because of the commands you've given, you can't be this close to him," he said.
His eyes darkened for the briefest moment.
"If you want to kiss someone..." he said, cupping my face between his hands.
The instant his cold fingers touched my skin, the burning heat inside me faded away, replaced by a strange, cooling sense of relief.
Kongar lowered his head.
"Then I'll kiss you."
And he kissed me.