2. The Mate Who Lost Me

Serena

I left that corridor and went to the veranda behind the alpha's house for I needed a breather but I guess someone has been watching and following me.

“Serena?" 

Hearing his voice again, I felt something bitter rise and clog my throat. Slowly, I turned around, forcing a smile onto my lips. A smile he couldn’t even see, hidden beneath the delicate mask covering my face.

“Hello there, Alpha Kael,” I drawled. “What a surprise… it's like the Lycan King's warning didn't mean anything to you." 

I tilted my head slightly, my tone dripping with mockery.

“What? Does your mate know you’re out here chasing another woman?”

I didn’t bother hiding the disdain in my voice but Kael didn’t flinch. If anything, his lips curved into a smile. That smile. The one that used to make my knees weak. The one I had once craved so desperately… but had only ever received in my dreams.

Too bad for him, I wasn’t that girl anymore. I wasn’t the weak, desperate omega who begged for his attention. I was no longer the Serena who would crawl just to be seen.

Kael took a step toward me, that same confident, arrogant stride that used to undo me.

“God, I missed you, Serena,” he murmured when he stood in front of me, his hand lifting as if to touch my face. I stepped back immediately, my glare sharp.

“What do you think you’re doing?” I snapped. “Don’t you dare touch me, you bastard. Serena is dead. I am Alpha Alina Rivera!”

The nerve. After everything he had done to me… Did he really think I would let him touch me?

Enjoy it, even?

…And yet…

I hated the way my body reacted when his fingers almost brushed my skin. A flicker of warmth. A dangerous spark. Stupid mating bond. For a split second, I thought I saw something flash in his eyes, regret… maybe even pain but it vanished so quickly, I wondered if I had imagined it.

“I know you want me to touch you,” Kael said, his voice low, confident. “Isn’t that what you’ve always wanted? For me to touch you… to possess you?”

The arrogance in his tone made my stomach churn.

I let out a sharp, humorless laugh.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Kael,” I scoffed. “Do you really think I’m lacking men to touch me?”

His expression darkened and before I could react, he shoved me back against the wall, his body pressing mine in place. My breath hitched as his warmth surrounded me, his scent invading my senses.

His hand gripped my waist, firm and possessive. A traitorous sound almost escaped my lips.

Damn this bond.

My wolf stirred, purring in delight. Pathetic, I cursed inwardly.

“Don’t deny it,” he murmured against my ear. “You still want me… just as much as I want you.”

“Let her go.”

The voice cut through the moment like thunder. My eyes lifted past Kael’s shoulder and then I saw him.

Those eyes: Golden. Piercing. Commanding. The air itself seemed to shift around him.

“Didn’t you hear me?” The man said again, his voice colder now. “Let her go.”

Kael released me, though not without hesitation, before turning to face him.

“This is between my mate and me,” Kael said sharply. “Why are you interfering?”

I almost scoffed. Kael had forgotten what the Lycan Kong had said.

Before Kael could react, Darius moved.

A blur.

A force.

Kael barely had time to register it before he was sent crashing to the ground with a brutal blow. A groan tore from his lips as he struggled to rise.

Silence fell around us. Heavy. Suffocating. Darius didn’t spare him another glance.

Instead, he turned to me and smiled. For a moment… I forgot how to breathe.

“Alina, right?” He asked.

I nodded, unable to look away. He stepped closer, taking my hand in his much larger one.

“I’m Darius,” he said smoothly. “Your future mate… and husband.”

My heart skipped.

“My… what?” I whispered, stunned. I thought he had been joking when he said it in the hall.

He lifted my hand and pressed a slow, deliberate kiss against my knuckles.

“My queen,” he murmured.

Then he leaned closer, his voice dropping into something darker… more intimate.

“I would very much like the privilege of seeing your face… and unraveling that guarded heart of yours.”

A shiver ran through me.

Why did that sound…

Why did it feel…

So dangerously tempting?

Images flashed through my mind, his hands, his strength, the way he would touch… I swallowed hard.

Get a grip, Serena.

He stepped back, offering me one last knowing smile before turning and walking away as if he hadn’t just turned my world upside down.

“Unbelievable,” Kael muttered bitterly behind me. “So you’re sleeping with him now? Are you that desperate?”

I rolled my eyes.

“You’re the only asshole I know, Kael,” I said coldly. “And desperation? That’s a woman begging for a man like you which I'm not.”

I didn’t wait for his response as I walked away because I refused, refused to stand there and let him humiliate me again.

I was no longer the girl he broke.

~~~~~~~~~

Darius’s POV

“I can’t believe you just did that,” Raul said, his tone amused. “This is his territory. Aren’t you worried he’ll retaliate?”

“She is mine,” I replied simply. “I won’t allow anyone to even think of claiming her.”

Not even Kael Thorn.

That fool thought he could touch her? He would learn. Today, I merely put him in his place. Tomorrow… I might do far worse.

“They have history,” Raul reminded me.

My jaw tightened.

“He rejected her. Humiliated her. Banished her.” My voice dropped. “He forfeited every right to even stand near her.”

After discovering Serena was my mate, I had looked into her past. What I found was a web of secrets, betrayal, and something far deeper than anyone realized.

“She’s not just any wolf,” Raul said thoughtfully. “There’s more to her.”

“I know,” I replied, “and I would uncover every piece of it.”

Raul exhaled. “You do realize Kael’s intentions aren’t pure? He wants her for power.”

I scoffed lightly.

“Power makes monsters of men,” I said. “Haven’t you heard the stories about me?”

Raul smirked faintly. “We both know the truth.”

“Truth doesn’t matter,” I replied coldly. “Perception does.”

To the world, I was a ruthless king. A monster who rose through blood. Let them believe it.

“What’s your plan?” Raul asked. “Their move is tonight.”

I smiled slowly.

“I’m taking my mate for a walk,” I said. “Handle the rest.”