2

IRIS’S POV

~Two Days Later~

The breakfast table smelt like roasted beans and overcooked sausages.

Maybe not overcooked but my stomach churned as I toyed with the food on my plate.

My fingers traced the rim of my silver plate, the ware glinting in the low light from the chandelier above.

Just how Father liked it.

Venus was as radiant as ever, her golden strands catching in the light as she took a bite of her food, her eyes bright while she spoke to my mum about a random thing I couldn’t care less about.

This was always about her. Each time I snuck back into the pack after a fulfilling night, I found myself dreading breakfast with my own family. Because it was always about my sisterㅡ Venus. It was like I didn’t exist or I just wasn’t worth being remembered.

I stirred the coffee in my cup silently, avoiding her sharp green gaze that flickered to meet mine for a second.

The sooner I could finish breakfast, I could get out of this hellhole and lock myself up in the room.

“Darling, do stop fidgeting,” my father’s deep voice cut across the room, breaking the silence since Venus had stopped yapping to my mum about the things she needed to buy. “We have an important day ahead.”

That made me pause. My fatherㅡ Alpha Ronan Calder never raised his voice, yet tonight, it felt like he was about to drop something dreary on us.

Even the air seemed to become heavier at his words and I tried not to meet his gaze just in case he was mad at me for something.

I straightened automatically. “Of course, Father.”

Venus smiled —sweet, practiced, and poisonous, leaning forward in her seat. “You know how she is, Father. Always lost in her thoughts. I swear, Iris could walk into a wall and still be thinking about the color of the paint.”

There it was. The jab I had been expecting since the beginning of the breakfast.

My lips twitched. “Better that than being concerned about appearances every minute of the day.”

“Girls.” Father’s tone ended the exchange and I froze, looking back down at my cup of coffee as though the dark gloomy liquid had suddenly become more interesting. “I expect you both to be on your best behavior today. We’re hosting important guests from the Wolfe Pack.”

Guests? That would explain the hushed whispers exchanged by my father and a high ranking elder just an hour ago.

Everyone knew who the Wolfe’s pack wereㅡ the pack that no one ever crossed. They had never come into this territory before, why now? Something was unsettling about the whole thing, I would rather never meet a member of the Wolfe pack, they were known for their brutality and cunning.

Venus’s fork paused mid-air and she adjusted in her seat. “The Wolfe Pack? As in Darius Wolfe?”

Her tone was half excitement, half awe.

Why were we happy that we would be welcoming a man who could destroy us all with a flick of his fingers?

Father nodded. “Yes. Alpha Darius Wolfe and his beta will be joining us this evening. I know this is short notice but your mum and I decided it best to keep the alliance a secret until it was almost time. This alliance could mean everything to our family and the pack. His influence reaches beyond our borders. He’s… a man worth impressing.”

Venus practically glowed at the thought of it while I scowled from my seat at the thought of it. “And why would the Wolfe Pack want an alliance with us?” I asked the question that had been itching at me for the last few minutes.

“Because,” Father said, setting his coffee cup down as he turned to Venus, “you, my dear, are to be his bride.”

The silence that followed was deafening and my eyes widened.

What?

Venus gasped, pressing her manicured fingers to her mouth in delighted shock. “You can’t be serious!” she squealed, almost bouncing off her seat in excitement.

“Oh, I’m very serious,” Father said, a faint smile playing on his lips. “You will represent the Calder Pack. The engagement will be announced formally once everything is agreed upon.”

Her eyes glowed and I just sat there, wanting to disappear into my seat by how awkward this was for me. “I don’t know what to say, Father…” She shook her head, a smile on her face.

“You will say yes, my dear,” My father replied with a soft caress over her hand while my mum stroked her golden curls on the other.

And me? I pushed my plate of food away. Good riddance.

“Going somewhere without saying congratulations to your sister?” My father suddenly bellowed, his gaze sharp and fixed on me.

I froze under the weight of his stare. “Congratulations, Venus.”

The words fell flat and my mother looked disappointed in meㅡ how very surprising.

Venus glowered at me, her expression smug. “I guess you’ll have to start calling me Luna.”

Yes, the faceless Alpha Darius was a legend. Big fucking whoop. No one should celebrate knowing a demon like him.

“Don’t get ahead of yourself…” I muttered under my breath with a stiff bow before I walked out.

Something was off.

The rest of the day passed in a blur, Venus basically floated through the hallways like someone who was born to wear crowns. She had even fucking changed gowns three times.

Servants ran around with bouquets and Father’s temper flared each time someone delayed in what they were sent to do.

I couldn’t tell why I felt so uneasyㅡ My memories darted to the man again and I found myself aching for him. I would rather much be with him again, feel every stroke inside me instead of being here.

That’s why I locked myself up in my room, fingers plunging into my pussy as I remembered the events of the previous night.

My fingers moved with fast deep strokes that made my eyes roll to the back of my head. Then, I was shaking, my legs quaking as I reached my orgasm.

Fuck.

I didn’t care about anything else. I just wanted this night to be over.

By the time the guests arrived, Venus looked every inch a future Luna. White silk clung to her petite frame like a second skin, her hair pinned with silver combs that mum never let me have. I stood beside her in pale blue, that complimented my eyes—chosen, not by me, but by Mother, who said it would “make Venus shine brighter.”

Fucking hilarious.

Father stood proudly at the entrance as black cars rolled into the courtyard.

I watched with a scowl on my face as the doors opened. Savage people.

Three men entered first—guards, by the look of them. Then came the fourth person that looked like he commanded a familiar authority that made everyone quiver at his feet.

He stepped through the doorway, and my breath caught in my throat.

He was tall. Broad-shouldered. His gaze swept over the small company of people gathered in the courtyard.

My brows furrowed and I felt my heart jump. Why did he seem so familiar?

Father straightened under the man’s gaze as he went to him with a large grin before nodding off to us a few feet away.

Something about him made my stomach twist. I couldn’t name it, but I felt it—the faint feeling of familiarity.

But I had never met the Alpha of Wolfe pack. No wayㅡ

“This,” Father said, beaming, “is Alpha Darius Wolfe.”

Alpha Darius Wolfe.

Venus stepped forward, every inch the charmer. “Alpha Wolfe,” she said sweetly, offering her hand. “It’s an honor.”

He took her hand, polite but distant. His gaze drifted for only a second before it found me.

Our gazes locked and something akin to panic flared in his eyes, almost missed it but I was a genius in reading people.

My breath instantly caught and I almost collapsed.

This was the same fucking man I had been meeting up with over the year for sex. My eyes widened and my breathing became ragged, ready to cut off supply to my brain.

His words from last night kept ringing bells in my head as we just stared at each other.

Now, I knew why the sudden ‘change of plans’. One puzzle solved, but right now I had another puzzle to crack and that involved the way his eyes were turning gold as he stared draggers into mine.