Claimed By The King(s) Of Kings

Aina

Roiner remained frozen for a second, his dark eyes fixed on her as he processed her words. But then, with a heavy, resigned sigh, he

shook his head moving the phone to his ear again. ”I am sorry for your plight, Miss Whitelock. Truly, I am. But there is nothing I can do. Academy rules are rules.”

Panic seized her whole body, tearing past her common sense. No way, she is not going back.

”I am your mate!” she yelled. ”Would you really let your fated mate be forced to suffer the fate of a breeder?” Roiner stopped dead. Slowly, he set the telephone receiver back down. His brow furrowed, a faint flash of confusion and irritation crossing his ancient face.

”What? What on earth are you talking about?”

”You heard me!” Aina pressed on, her voice trembling but fierce. ”I am your fated mate! I felt it the exact second you stepped into the dining hall! Your scent... I felt the pull! I know you belong to me, and I belong to you! Are you really going to stand there and let them turn me into a breeding vessel?”

Roiner’s posture shifted, straightening until he loomed ominously over the desk. His dark eyes narrowed, his voice dropping into a dangerously low, warning register that echoed with centuries of power.

”You are playing with fire, girl. Backtrack immediately. Do not make up absurd lies to save your skin.”

”You don’t believe me?” Aina breathed, her eyes darting frantically around the room until they landed on a glass jug of water sitting on a small side table.

She bolted out of her chair, grabbed the heavy jug, and without a second thought, tipped it straight over her head.

Water splashed violently across her face, drenching her collar and hair. She brought her sleeves up, aggressively scrubbing at her cheeks, her neck, and behind her ears, wiping away the heavy layers of scent-blocking cream she had slathered on that morning.

As the thick cream washed away, her true, suppressed scent burst into the room. It was faint at first, carried on the damp air, but it rapidly expanded, filling every corner of the tight office with the sweet, intoxicating aroma of Jasmine. Roiner’s nostrils flared instantly.

The ancient vampire’s eyes flickered, his pupil contracting before bleeding into a bright, predatory crimson. The air in the room grew heavy, saturated with a dark, sudden tension as the undeniable bond snapped into place between them. He gripped the edge of his desk so hard the dark wood groaned under his force.

Aina stood there, dripping wet, breathing heavily. ”See?” she whispered. ”I am your mate.”

Roiner stared at her, his chest heaving as he fought the overwhelming, centuries-old instinct surging through his undead veins. His throat worked as he swallowed, his voice coming out cracked, stripped entirely of its former composure.

”Get out,” he rasped.

Aina blinked, taken aback by the sudden command. ”What?”

”Please...” Roiner choked out, his crimson eyes locking onto hers with a desperate, almost begging tone. ”Get out. Now.”

Aina took a cautious step backward, her hand blindly reaching behind her until her fingers wrapped around the brass door handle. She pulled it open, but before slipping through, she looked back over her shoulder, her voice small and hopeful.

”Am I... am I still getting expelled?”

Roiner squeezed his eyes shut, turning his face away from her enticing, suffocating scent. ”No,” he gritted out through clenched teeth. ”Just get out already. Please. I am begging you.”

”Oh. Okay!”

I need to run before he changes his mind! Aina thought frantically. Without waiting another second, she yanked the door wide and bolted out of the office, her wet shoes squeaking wildly against the polished stone floors as she fled into the corridor.

?????.....??????....????....

By the time Aina finally staggered back to the dorms, the sun was gone and the moon was having its moment to shine. She was mentally and physically exhausted.

She hadn’t managed to eat a single real bite of food since deboarding the train that morning; all she had put in her stomach was that single, fateful spoonful of mashed potatoes.

A spoon of mash she desperately wished she could erase from her memory no matter how good it was.

She wished with everything in her to never see those royal princes again, but deep down, a cold knot of dread told her otherwise. After the spectacle she had caused, she was going to have to face them eventually.

Pushing through the heavy front door of her dorm, Aina was far too drained to even bother sniffing the air for scents. The pile of luggage that had been sitting in the common living room was gone, meaning her unknown roommates were back and had already unpacked.

Tiredly, she shuffled down the hallway to her bedroom. The room was dark, but she didn’t bother flipping the light switch. If she so much as looked at the bed right now, she would collapse onto it without showering and changing into sleepwear, and she couldn’t stand the lingering smell of cold potatoes and dried sweat. Dragging her aching body across the dark room, she made a straight line for the ensuite bathroom and clicked the light on.

The bathroom was shockingly sleek. Bright with warm lighting that illuminated polished dark slate tiles, a floating marble vanity, and a massive walk-in glass shower equipped with a rainfall head and brass fixtures. It was fancier than anything she had seen back home, fancier even than the luxury cabin bathroom in the train.

”Okay, credit where it’s due,” Aina muttered to herself, her voice raspy from exhaustion. ”The academy might be full of maniacs, but at least the plumbing is royal.”

She kicked off her heavy shoes and stripped out of her oversized clothes. Reaching around her ribs, she unwrapped the thick cloth binding her breasts. The moment the tight material fell away, a sharp gasp of sheer relief escaped her lips. Her lungs expanded fully for the first time all day, the painful ache in her ribs finally loosening.

”Oh, sweet mercy,” she whispered, rubbing her sore skin. ”Never taking breathing for granted again.”

She stepped under the hot spray of the rainfall shower, letting the water wash away the dirt and terror of the day. To her luck, the ledge was already stocked with full-sized shower gels and shampoos, each bearing the school’s crest.

”Provided by the academy... complimentary luxury soap,” she hummed quietly reading the label before lathering the sweet-smelling soap over her shoulders. ”Maybe I should steal these before they kick me out tomorrow.”

When she finally turned off the water, fully relaxed and completely clean, a sudden realization hit her, her backpack was still sitting out in the bedroom. She hadn’t brought a single thread of clothing into the bathroom with her.

Shrugging it off, reasoning that her bedroom door was shut and she was in her own private space, Aina wrung out her wet hair and walked straight out of the ensuite completely naked. She reached out and flipped the bedroom light switch right beside the bathroom frame.

Light flooded the bedroom, and Aina froze.

Sitting right on the edge of her bed was a guy.

He was staring directly at her. She was staring directly at him. For three agonizing seconds, neither of them moved.

It was only then, as the initial shock settled, that his scent finally hit her nose. Her exhaustion and naturally weak wolf had dulled her senses from the moment she entered the dorm, but at this distance, the heavy, rich aroma of cedarwood and ozone washed over her like a tidal wave.

Instantly, the mate bond snapped into place with a violent, magnetic pull. Aina’s jaw dropped. Oh, my Goddess, her mind screamed in absolute horror. I am done. I am completely, utterly over this day.~

She didn’t even have time to have a proper breakdown. Remembering her total lack of clothing, Aina let out a squeak, spun on her heel, and bolted right back into the bathroom, slamming the door shut.

On the bed, the guy didn’t move an inch. He just continued sitting there in stunned silence.

Inside the bathroom, Aina pressed her back against the door, sliding down to the cool floor as a full-blown panic attack seized her chest. Someone saw her. Someone knew. He had seen everything in all her bare glory, and to make matters a thousand times worse, he was her fated mate!

Even with her eyes shut tight, his image was burned into her memory. He was towering—easily six-foot-six—with a broad chest and buzzed cut hair. He had a slight crook in his nose, the kind of rugged imperfection that somehow made him look ridiculously hot, paired with a sharp, chiseled jawline. A subtle scar cut clean from the top of his upper lip down to the bottom.

Cedarwood and storm clouds, she whimpered in her head. That’s what he smells like.

After what felt like an eternity of hyperventilating on the tile floor, Aina swallowed her terror. Slowly and agonizingly, she cracked the bathroom door open a fraction of an inch and peeked out.

The bed was empty. He was gone.

A massive weight lifted off her shoulders. Sneaking out of the bathroom like a ghost, she dashed across the carpet and instantly turned the lock on her bedroom door.

Working at lightning speed, she bound her breasts tightly back in the cloth, ignoring the dull ache in her ribs and yanked on a pair of her stepbrother’s oversized flannel pajamas. The rough fabric felt awful against her freshly washed skin, but she didn’t care.

Once dressed, Aina sat on the edge of the mattress, her fingers twisting the hem of her shirt. Her mind churned with anxious thoughts. Should she go out there? Try to explain? Try to save the situation? The Headmaster might have agreed to keep her secret for now, but she couldn’t trust that her fated mate would do the same. She couldn’t afford another person knowing she was a girl.

No, she decided, clenching her jaw. I’m keeping my stupid mouth shut. I will avoid that guy for the rest of my life if I have to.

Relinquishing the fight, she crawled into the plush bed, pulling the soft duvet up to her chin. She grabbed her phone from the nightstand.

This might very well be her first and last night at the academy, and she was going to make every second count. She opened up a browser window, furiously searching for cheap hotels in the capital and entry-level jobs she could apply for overnight. There was no way on earth she was going back to Whitelock territory. Never again. Now that she had made it to the capital, she was going to stake her claim, academy or not.

Her thumb flicked across the glowing screen, scrolling through job board after job board, until her eyelids grew impossibly heavy. Before she could even finish filling out an application, her phone slipped from her fingers, and Aina fell fast asleep.