3. More Privately

_Nathan’s POV_

The Summit of Lycan Kings always felt like walking into a room full of knives.

I stepped out of the black car behind my father and straightened the cuffs of my suit. The hotel was all glass and dark stone, with security from three different packs already posted at the entrance. Elias Ashwood walked ahead of me like he owned the ground beneath his feet. I followed the way I had been trained to — two steps behind, expression controlled, spine straight.

My wolf was already restless.

I knew why.

Miles would be here.

My father had been unusually quiet in the car. Before we arrived he had only said one thing: “Whatever happens tonight, you will not lose control. The Silvermanes will be watching.” I had nodded like a good son. I hadn’t told him that my control had already cracked once in a tunnel three nights ago and still hadn’t fully recovered. I could still feel Miles’ mouth on mine when I closed my eyes.

Inside the main hall the air was thick with power. The ceilings were high and the chandeliers threw cold light over everything. Alphas and their heirs moved in careful circles, talking in low voices and measuring each other with their eyes. I kept my face neutral as my father greeted the first group of kings. Handshakes. Nods. The kind of smiles that didn’t reach anyone’s eyes.

Then I felt it.

That familiar pull under my skin, like a string tightening in my chest.

I looked up and found Miles Silvermane across the room.

He stood with his father near one of the tall windows. Dark suit, no tie, silver eyes already locked on me like he’d been waiting. The corner of his mouth lifted just slightly when our gazes met. My stomach tightened. My wolf went completely still, then leaned forward like it recognized something it wanted.

I looked away first.

“Stay focused,” my father murmured without turning his head. “Give them nothing.”

“Yes, Father.”

We moved deeper into the crowd. My father spoke to three different Alphas before anyone could get close to me. That was intentional. He didn’t trust me to handle myself in a room like this. He was probably right.

That was when Rowan Golden appeared.

He excused himself from two older Alphas and walked over with the kind of ease that came from knowing everyone in the room was watching him. Rowan was only a few years older than Miles, but the title of King sat heavily on him. His parents’ deaths had made him the youngest ruling Alpha in the room.

“Nathan,” he said, voice smooth. “It’s been too long.”

I inclined my head. “King Golden.”

His eyes moved over my face in a way that made my wolf bristle. There was something too interested in the way he looked at me, like he was cataloging details he had no right to notice.

“I was hoping we might speak later,” he said. “Privately.”

Before I could answer, I felt Miles’s attention sharpen from across the room. I didn’t look to confirm it. I didn’t need to. I could feel him the same way I always could.

“Perhaps another time,” I said carefully.

Rowan’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Of course. I’ll find you later.”

He walked away and I exhaled without realizing I’d been holding my breath.

An attendant approached my father a moment later. 

“King Ashwood. King Silvermane is ready for the private meeting.”

My father didn’t look at me. “Come.”

The private room was smaller and far more dangerous than the main hall. The air in here was different. Thicker. Damian Silvermane was already seated at the head of the table. Miles stood behind his father’s right shoulder. 

Our eyes met the second I walked in. This time neither of us looked away. I told myself it didn’t matter. It did.

The conversation that followed was careful and sharp. Both kings spoke about territory lines and the growing pressure from smaller packs. They talked about trade agreements and security concerns and the cost of keeping six years of open hostility alive. Beneath every polite sentence was the same truth: the old feud had become more expensive than it was worth.

I had expected resistance from my father. I had prepared myself for it. Instead I watched him listen longer than usual. His jaw was tight, but he wasn’t dismissing anything. The possibility of an alliance had clearly been discussed before tonight.

When the agreement was finally reached, both kings stood at the same time.

“The public announcement will be made at dinner,” my father said. “Until then, the heirs will present a united front.”

Damian nodded once. “They will share a suite for the duration of the Summit. Visibility matters. The packs need to see that this is real.”

Nothing said “peace” to the other packs like putting the two heirs who had spent six years trying to destroy each other under the same roof.

My head snapped up before I could stop myself.

I looked at Miles. He was already watching me, expression unreadable except for the faint satisfaction in his eyes. He’d known. Of course he’d known.

The meeting ended. I followed my father out into the hallway, mind still catching up to the words _shared suite_. My pulse was too fast. My wolf was too loud.

I didn’t make it far before a hand closed around my wrist and pulled me into an empty side room. The door clicked shut behind us.

Miles had me against the wall before I could speak.

“Miss me?” he asked, voice low.

“Get off me.”

He didn’t. One hand braced beside my head. The other settled on my hip, warm through the fabric of my suit. He was close enough that I could smell him. Ice and soap and something darker that was only Miles.

“You looked good in there,” he murmured. “Standing all proper behind your father while your wolf was losing its mind.”

I should have shoved him immediately. I knew I should have. Instead I realized, with a cold drop in my stomach, that I had been expecting this. Part of me had known the moment our eyes met across the hall that he would find a way to get me alone. Part of me had wanted him to.

He kissed me.

It was different from the first time. Less pure anger, more certainty. Like he already knew I wasn’t going to fight him the way I was supposed to. I made a sound against his mouth that I hated, and he swallowed it, pressing his body fully against mine. His thigh slid between my legs. Heat flooded me so fast my knees nearly gave out. His hand moved to the front of my pants, palming me through the material with deliberate pressure.

“Already hard,” he said against my lips. “For someone who keeps saying we shouldn’t do this.”

I grabbed his wrist but didn’t push him away. My fingers were shaking. His mouth moved to my jaw, then lower, teeth scraping the side of my neck. When he bit down lightly, my hips jerked forward on their own. 

His hand slipped under my waistband.

The moment his fingers wrapped around me skin-to-skin, fear cut through the heat. Not fear of him. Fear of myself. 

I shoved him away hard. He stumbled back a step, chest rising and falling. For a second something unguarded flickered across his face before the usual mask returned.

“Miles,” I said, voice rough. “We shouldn’t do this. We can’t keep doing this.”

I wasn’t only afraid of my father. I was afraid of how easy it was becoming to forget why I was supposed to hate him. I was afraid of what would happen if I let myself want this without a fight. If I let myself want him.

He studied me for a long moment. Then he straightened his jacket like nothing had happened. Like he hadn’t just had his hand in my pants thirty seconds ago.

“Alright,” he said calmly. “We’ll go back to the luncheon.”

I stared at him, still trying to catch my breath. My suit was rumpled. My lips felt swollen. 

Miles walked to the door, then paused with his hand on the handle. 

“Apparently, we’ll be seeing each other more privately,” he said without turning around.

My stomach dropped. “What are you talking about?”

He glanced back over his shoulder. “You’re going to find out soon enough.”

My phone started ringing in my pocket before I could answer. I pulled it out. Elias’s name lit up the screen.

I answered, still looking at Miles. 

“Nathan,” my father’s voice was cold and precise. “The alliance requires a public display of unity. You and the Silvermane heir will share a suite for the remainder of the Summit. Pack your things. You move in tonight.”

The line went dead.

Miles watched my face the entire time. When I lowered the phone, he smiled. Not the smirk he used in public. A real one. Small and satisfied.

Then he opened the door and walked out, leaving me alone in the empty room with my father’s words still ringing in my ears.

One room. 

One bed. 

The rest of the Summit.

And the man I was supposed to hate would be sleeping ten feet away.