Truth and Desire

Orion's Pov:

Stella's green eyes flashed with something that might have been annoyance, but I caught the way her breath hitched slightly at my invitation. She straightened her shoulders, pulling that royal composure around herself like armor.

"I am not here for you," she said, her voice crisp and businesslike. "I'm here to interrogate you, nothing more."

I couldn't help the smile that curved my lips as I leaned against the bars, still holding the untouched plate of food.

"Is that so?" I asked, my tone deliberately lazy and amused. "Then tell me, Princess, why didn't you send one of your guards to question us? Why come down here yourself to face three dangerous prisoners in a dark dungeon?"

Her jaw tightened almost imperceptibly, and I caught the faintest flush of color on her cheeks. "I—that's not—"

"Because," I continued, pressing my advantage, "if this was truly just an interrogation, you could have had us brought to a proper room with proper guards. But instead, you came to me. Alone. In the middle of the night."

I let my voice drop to that intimate rumble that seemed to affect her so strongly. "Almost like you couldn't stay away."

The flush on her cheeks deepened, and I felt a surge of satisfaction.

She felt it too—this pull between us, this inevitable magnetism that drew us together despite every rational reason to stay apart.

"You feel something for me," I said softly, and it wasn't a question. "You felt it the moment our eyes met on that road, just like I did. That's why you're here, Princess. Not for information.

For this." I gestured between us with my shackled hands.

"Enough!" she snapped, her composure finally cracking.

The royal mask slipped, revealing the woman underneath—fierce, passionate, and fighting a battle against her own desires. "Enough games! Why are you here? Why are you in my kingdom?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but Ricky's panicked voice cut through the charged air between us.

"We are just merchants!" he blurted out from his cell, his words tumbling over each other in his desperation.

"Please, Your Highness, we mean no harm! We were just passing through your lands to trade! We have gold, we can pay for any offense—"

"Ricky," I said without taking my eyes off Stella, my voice carrying the kind of Alpha authority that brooked no argument. "Stay quiet."

The command hit him like a physical force, and he immediately fell silent.

Even Shawn stopped his eating to watch the exchange between Stella and me with wide eyes.

I turned my full attention back to the woman who had become the center of my universe in the space of a single heartbeat.

She deserved the truth, and something about the way she stood there—proud and defiant despite the obvious effect I was having on her—told me she could handle it.

"I am Orion Lockwood," I said simply, watching her face for any reaction. "And yes, I came to your kingdom as a merchant, but not to trade. I came to study your lands, your people, your defenses." I paused, letting the weight of that confession settle between us. "I came to conquer your kingdom."

Her green eyes didn't widen in shock or fear as I'd half-expected.

Instead, she simply nodded, as if I'd confirmed something she already knew. That surprised me more than any dramatic reaction would have.

"It is very bold of you to confess," she said, her voice steady and controlled once again. "I thought you would keep lying about your identity."

Now it was my turn to be surprised. I straightened, studying her face more carefully. "You knew?"

A small, almost satisfied smile played at the corners of her mouth. "I already knew that you were Orion Lockwood, even though you had been in disguise. Your reputation precedes you, Conqueror. Did you really think a few merchant's clothes and a bag of gold would fool everyone?"

I stared at her for a long moment, then threw back my head and laughed—a rich, delighted sound that echoed off the stone walls. "I thought you couldn't impress me anymore," I said, genuine admiration warming my voice, "but you absolutely stun me."

She was magnificent.

Beautiful, deadly in battle, intelligent enough to see through my disguise, and brave enough to face me alone in this dungeon despite knowing exactly who and what I was.

Every moment I spent in her presence only confirmed what my wolf had known from the first instant—she was perfect for me.

But then her expression grew serious, almost sad, and she took a small step back from the bars. "I don't want to accept this," she said quietly. "Whatever bond we have between us, I don't want it."

Those words should have hit me like a physical blow.

Any other rejection would have enraged my wolf, would have had me snarling and demanding submission.

But I could smell the lie on her, could see the way her hands trembled slightly as she spoke, could hear the forced quality in her voice.

She wanted me. She wanted this bond as much as I did. But something was holding her back.

"Because you are a conqueror," she continued, and now I could hear the real pain in her voice. "Your principles are against my ideology of peacekeeping. Everything you stand for, everything you've built your life on—it's the opposite of what I believe in."

I didn't feel hurt by her words because I could see the truth beneath them.

She wasn't rejecting me—she was rejecting what she thought I represented.

She was overwhelmed by the intensity of what had sparked between us, fighting against her own desires because she thought we were incompatible.

She had no idea how wrong she was.

"So," I said, my voice taking on that teasing tone that seemed to fluster her so deliciously, "you're a peacekeeper, are you?"

"Yes," she said firmly, lifting her chin with obvious pride. "I believe in protecting my people through diplomacy, through building alliances, through—"

"So much for a peacekeeper," I interrupted with a grin, "to draw out swords and kill ten men at once."

Just two days ago she had killed people right in front of my eyes, didn't she?!

The words hit their mark perfectly.

Her full lips dropped open slightly, and that beautiful flush returned to her cheeks with a vengeance. For a moment, she looked completely speechless, caught between indignation and something that might have been embarrassment.

"That was different!" she finally sputtered. "They were attacking innocent people! I was defending—"

"You were magnificent," I said softly, and the sincerity in my voice seemed to stop her protests cold. "The way you moved, the way you fought—I've never seen anything like it. You weren't just defending, Princess. You were a warrior goddess bringing death to those who dared threaten what was yours."

She stared at me, her breathing slightly uneven, and I could see the war playing out behind those incredible green eyes.

Part of her wanted to deny what I was saying, to cling to her peaceful ideals.

But another part—the part that had carved through those thives like an avenging angel—recognized the truth in my words.

"You can't have it both ways," I continued, pressing the advantage. "You can't claim to be a pure peacekeeper while wielding a sword like you were born to it. There's a warrior inside you, Stella. A fierce, deadly, beautiful warrior who knows exactly how to take what she wants."

I leaned closer to the bars, close enough that she could feel the heat radiating from my body. "The question is—what do you want, Princess? Really want, underneath all those noble ideals and royal expectations?"

Her lips parted slightly, and I caught the way her gaze flickered down to my mouth before darting back up to my eyes.

The scent of her arousal was faint but unmistakable, mixing with the wild roses and rain that made up her natural perfume.

She wanted me. Despite her protests, despite her fears, despite everything that stood between us—she wanted me with the same desperate intensity that was driving me half-mad with need.

The only question now was whether she would be brave enough to admit it.