Chapter 71: _Breaking His Shell

Chapter 71: _Breaking His Shell "Let go of me, Kaelos," I said with a strained voice, glaring at him. "You’ve done enough damage for one night." I tried yanking my hand out of his grip but despite how hard I struggled, his grip was so strong that I even felt like if I struggled for too long, my arm would pull out. Meanwhile, Kaelos’ gaze was cold but his eyes seemed to glint with a myriad of emotions that only got me more confused. What sort of two-faced behavior is this? "You just aren’t willing to understand my perspective of things at all." He suddenly blurted, his tone firm but carrying a hint of desperation that surprised me. "If you would just try and understand me then maybe this–" "How?!" I snapped, my anger and irritation bubbling out. Suddenly, I noticed the lamp close to the bedpost flickering from the corner of my eyes, but it was so brief that I didn’t pay it much attention and instead continued berating Kaelos. "You wouldn’t open up. You’re always so blunt and cold with your words that I most times wonder if you even feel the mate bond the same way that I do." I explained, my tone getting low with sadness at the end. But I gritted my teeth, maintaining eye contact with Kaelos. I successfully yanked my hand out of his grip and this time, he just let me, allowing me to continue. "As I’ve said before, if it were possible to reject the mate bond, I would. But since that’s not the case, maybe, just maybe, I felt like you could change. That you could be better." I muttered, the disappointment clear in my tone. Kaelos was oddly calm, simply staring at me as I spoke. I can’t take this anymore, that’s for sure... "If you aren’t willing to open up then I’ll just continue to be the little witch in your life that you don’t want but can’t get rid of and keep my distance until one of us snaps." With that said, I turned around and walked toward the exit, not bothering to even glance back. Until... "My mother died of mysterious causes when I was a boy." I paused in my tracks, my hand lingering close to the doorknob. My heartbeat quickened as Kaelos continued talking after that first revelation. Well, it wasn’t really much of a revelation since Marcellus had already revealed it to me several nights ago, but still... "My father was... Not the best." Kaelos said with a sigh and even though I couldn’t see his face, I could almost imagine the frown lines forming on his features. I couldn’t hold back my curiosity anymore and reluctantly swerved my body to face him, squinting my eyes and watching as he struggled to continue speaking. "M– My father took the war so seriously and tried his best to make sure I had it ingrained in my mind that witches deserve to be wiped out. Since I was a child, he’s always tried grooming me with that ideology until... Until..." He paused, breathing out heavily. It seemed he’d run out of ’gas’ at this point and looked away from me, closing his eyes and balling his hands into fists. I could feel his frustration almost as if it was my own and as much as I hated it, I felt so bad for him. Gosh, this man was driving me insane with these feelings. "Anyway, something happened in my past that I’m not proud to talk about," Kaelos muttered, his tone becoming less emotional now as he began walking toward me. My breath hitched but I didn’t try stepping away as he walked closer and closer. "I always blamed my father for what I did. But growing up, I’ve realized that I could have made a difference. So ever since my father died, that’s what I’ve been trying to do. Subtly..." He explained, finally getting in front of me and placing both his hands on my shoulder. I flinched but didn’t shift away, instead raising my head to meet his gaze which seemed to soften. "All these... Feelings. They’re new to me. Especially because you’re a witch." He remarked, his voice getting soft. "I can’t even imagine what the reaction of the pack members would be if they found out. It could cause a civil war... Mutiny." I understood where he was coming from but I also had my own perspective concerning the whole thing. "But we’re already married. What difference would being mates bring?" I queried, tilting my head. Kaelos sighed, shaking his head. "We’re only married because of a fickle truce that could dissolve at any time if all goes south. Also, you being my mate would mean I wouldn’t be able to get rid of you if that truce dissolved. Except... You know." I gulped at the implication of the last two words. Death. The only way to get rid of the mate bond between an Alpha king and his mate would be for one of them to die. "And as surprising as it is, I don’t want you to die..." Kaelos suddenly muttered, raising his right hand and fondling my face. My eyelids fluttered before my gaze softened and I smiled warmly. However, before I could even say anything in return, he added plainly. "... Well, not yet, anyway." I clicked my tongue, shaking my head. "You just had to ruin it, didn’t you?" Kaelos chuckled amusingly, his eyes glinting with genuine warmth that took me off guard. I found myself smiling as I stared into his piercing silver eyes. Soon enough, he stopped laughing and began staring at me too, his right hand slowly drawing my face closer to his. I didn’t resist, closing my eyes as our lips met in a passionate kiss that caused me to moan softly. Things became heated quickly and it was clear neither of us could hold back any longer. That wasn’t the plan anyway. Kaelos pressed my body against him until I could feel his hardened dick. I wrapped my arms around his neck, using my tongue to explore the walls of his mouth while his hands gradually went to my gown and began slowly taking it off.