03:

SERA

The hot tea had left a red mark on Alpha Kael’s hand, and every time I caught sight of him, my stomach twisted with a mixture of guilt.

Every time I saw the Alpha, I got tensed, not because I feared him, but because I couldn’t stop replaying that moment when I’d panicked and intentionally poured the tea on him.

Maybe I should own up to my mistake and apologize properly for my childish reaction. He said he was my godfather, so I seriously doubted he had the dirty thoughts I’d imagined that night. He was probably just trying to keep me warm, showing genuine care for someone he’d watched grow up from a distance.

But apologizing would mean admitting that I was wrong and my pride would crumble.

My training started three days ago and it has been more draining than anything I’d ever experienced. The physical exhaustion was nothing compared to the mental strain of pretending to be something I wasn’t while simultaneously discovering abilities I never knew existed. I wish I’d never even started this whole charade.

My timetable barely gave me time to breathe, let alone process what was happening to me. Dawn brought combat training with a surly Beta who clearly thought I was too weak to be worth his time.

Mid-morning was spent learning the pack hierarchy and customs with an elderly woman who spoke in riddles and expected me to understand overnight.

Afternoons were dedicated to what they called power development with my assigned teacher, and evenings were filled with mandatory pack dinners where I had to pretend to be happily mated to Damian.

But the worst part wasn’t the schedule, it was what I was seeing. Or rather, what I was hearing.

I was seeing beyond what I should see, hearing things that weren’t meant for my ears. Every time I looked directly into someone’s eyes, their thoughts came rushing into my mind. It was overwhelming, invasive, and absolutely terrifying.

I knew exactly how many pack members hated me, who was sleeping with whom, and which of the younger wolves were planning to challenge me for having Damian as my mate.

Most disturbing of all, I could read my teacher’s thoughts clearly. Margaret, a gentle lady who pretended to have my best interests at heart. To anyone watching, she appeared to be the person who loved me most in this place. But her mind told a different story entirely.

Margaret’s mind was particularly interesting to explore. She wasn’t just hoping I’d fail—she was actively working to ensure it. She’d been feeding me incorrect information about meditation techniques, giving me exercises that were designed to frustrate rather than develop my abilities.

“Relax your mind and tell me what you can see, dear,” she said sweetly, her voice dripping with false encouragement.

I faked relaxation, breathing in deeply and pretending to be as focused as she wanted me to be. In my mind, I could hear her thoughts clearly. “Come on, you pathetic little human. Show everyone how worthless you really are.”

“I can’t see anything,” I breathed out in anger, opening my eyes to look at her. “I can’t see beyond darkness. Maybe I don’t even have what it takes.”

Perfect, her mind sang with satisfaction. Keep doubting yourself, little girl.

She was celebrating every failure and every moment my powers didn’t manifest the way they should. She wanted me to fail, wanted me to be sent away in disgrace so that she could take my place. What they don't know is that the Alpha was never going to send me packing no matter how useless I was to the pack.

“Just calm yourself,” she consoled me outwardly, even placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Let’s try again. These things take time to develop.”

Her false kindness made me sick. I wanted to call her out, expose her for the fraud she was, but that would mean revealing my newfound ability to read minds.

I watched as Damian approached our training area with a towel in his hand. He was putting on quite the show for the pack members who were watching, his expression carefully arranged into that of a concerned mate checking on his beloved.

“How’s training going?” he asked, flashing what I now recognized as his signature fake smile.

I smiled back, walking toward him to close the gap between us. The watching pack members would interpret this as affection, but I had other plans. Pretending to hug him, I placed my lips close to his ear and whispered, “Why not tell these girls you love men instead of letting them pine after you?”

I pulled back to look into his eyes, watching as his fake smile disappeared completely, replaced by a hateful frown that he quickly tried to hide.

I blinked innocently and mouthed, “They’re staring,” before taking his hand in mine and planting a kiss on the back of it for a good show.

He managed to put a smile on and turned away, probably to go find his actual boyfriend and complain about having to deal with me.

You’re just getting started, Damian, I thought to myself. I’ll torment you until you publicly reject me and give me a reason to leave this place.

****

As I walked back to my training session, I could hear the lousy thoughts of the green snakes—the girls who had a crush on Damian.

She doesn’t deserve him.

Look at how she walks, so arrogant.

Damian could do so much better. I wonder why he wouldn't just reject her and come for me

It was almost funny, really. The person they were all hating me for couldn’t love them even if he wanted to. I sincerely wondered what their reaction would be if they knew he was more interested in men than women. They could have him for all I cared.

The same way they all thought he was too good for me was the same way I knew I was too good for him.

This was why I needed to continue pretending that I couldn’t hear their thoughts. If they realized I could read their minds, they’d become conscious and guarded around me. I needed to always be alert if I didn’t want to end up dead within two weeks.

Some of them were already plotting ways to make my life miserable enough that I’d leave voluntarily. Others were discussing more direct approaches to removing me from the picture entirely.

If they wanted to play games, I could play games too. I just had to be smarter about it.

“That’s enough for today,” Margaret said quickly, her voice sharp with barely concealed panic. She’d been monitoring my progress, and whatever she’d sensed had clearly alarmed her.

I opened my eyes slowly, careful to keep my expression neutral. “I think I might have seen something,” I said carefully, trying to see her reaction. “Just flashes, nothing clear.”

Damn it, her mind cursed. She’s actually developing. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

“Well, that’s… progress,” she said aloud, though her tone suggested she found it anything but positive. “We’ll work on clarity next time.”

*

That evening, I found myself paying closer attention to everyone at dinner. The long table was filled with pack members of various ranks, all chattering about their day while I sat between Damian and Alpha Kael, playing the role of the dutiful mate.

But there was one person whose thoughts I couldn’t access at all.

Alpha Kael himself.

It was the strangest thing. Everyone else’s minds were like open books to me, their thoughts flowing freely whether I wanted to hear them or not. But when I looked at the Alpha, there was nothing. It was like looking at a wall where there should have been a window.

I’d tried multiple times to read him, thinking maybe I just wasn’t focusing hard enough. But no matter how hard I concentrated, how directly I looked into his ocean blue eyes, I got nothing. His mind was completely blocked to me.

Was there something else about him that made him different from the rest of his pack? Or was it because he was the Alpha?

As I watched him interact with the other pack members, the only thing I noticed was how, people didn’t just listen, they took everything he said seriously. And obviously, he ruled them, that shouldn't still stop my vision.

“Is everything alright, Sera?” Alpha Kael asked and I realized I’d been staring at him for several minutes.

“Just tired from training,” I said quickly, dropping my gaze to my plate.

But even as I looked away, I could feel his eyes on me, studying me closely which made my skin prickle. It was like he could see right through me, past all my pretenses and walls, straight to the core of who I really was.

I found myself increasingly obsessed with this mystery. What made him so different from everyone else in the pack?

More importantly, I was curious about what he might be thinking when he looked at me. Was he suspicious of my behavior? Did he know about my agreement with Damian? Was he planning something that I should be worried about?

The questions multiplied in my mind. I needed answers, and there was only one way to get them.

Maybe all it took was for me to get close to him—close enough to break through whatever barrier was keeping his thoughts hidden from me.