3. A Walk Into Temptation

Serena

After leaving Kael behind, grunting in frustration, I headed back toward the ballroom smiling. 

I didn't know what was up with the Lycan King but I was sure glad that someone was putting Kael in his place.

“Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you.”

Valen appeared beside me, his sharp eyes scanning me from head to toe. Suspicion flickered in his gaze.

I frowned.

“I just stepped out for some fresh air.”

Right on cue, footsteps echoed behind us. I didn’t need to turn around. I already knew that scent.

Of course.

What perfect timing.

“Fresh air, huh?” Kael muttered, his tone laced with sarcasm.

He walked past us, his shoulder brushing slightly against mine but not before throwing me a dark, possessive glare.

I rolled my eyes.

“I’m going inside,” I said quickly. I wasn’t in the mood for Valen’s interrogation. Nothing I said would convince him anyway and frankly, I didn’t care enough to try. Let them think whatever they wanted.

“I came to tell you something,” Valen said, stopping me.

I paused.

“I’ll be leaving tonight.”

That made me turn.

“Leaving?” I frowned. “Why? What happened?”

The summit tomorrow was just as important to him as it was to me. And just like me, he had someone he cared about caught in this forsaken crisis.

Valen exhaled slowly.

“My mother woke up,” he said quietly. “She asked for me. If I don’t go… I might regret it.”

The sadness in his voice made my chest tighten and I nodded slowly. If she was asking for him now… then time wasn’t on her side.

“Do you want me to come with you?” I asked softly.

His mother had been like a mother to me too. When I first arrived, broken and hunted, she had taken me in without hesitation. Valen and his mom took care of me and even when I took over my pack, they were my support system.

Valen shook his head.

“No. You know what she wants most… and you can’t give it to her.” His gaze softened. “You need to stay. Represent the Crimson Shadow Pack. You are our alpha and you need to be here.”

His words hit harder than I expected.

“Valen…” My voice faltered.

“It’s okay,” he said, though I could see the pain behind his calm expression. “I understand. I’m not him… and I never will be.”

My chest ached.

He loved me but I couldn't love him back. His mother needed him to take a wife before she died and I couldn't give him that.

“I can’t lie to you,” I said quietly. “Or to myself. I’m sorry.”

He nodded once.

“You don’t have to explain anything,” he replied. “I already know.”

Valen had been there when no one else was. He had helped me rebuild myself when I was nothing and yet… I couldn’t love him the way he deserved. No. The way he wanted.

To me, he was a brother, a confidante but nothing more. I felt bad but it is what it is.

“If I had met you earlier…” he said softly, turning away, “maybe things would be different.”

Something about that felt… off. It was as if there was more behind those words but before I could question it, he walked away.

I stood there, staring after him.

What decision did he make today…?

Shaking it off, I returned to the ballroom.

The party was in full swing now. There was laughter, music, the clinking of glasses and conversation all over. The dance floor was packed, bodies moving under dim golden lights but I felt… out of place.

I was alone and the last person I wanted to run into tonight was Alpha Lucien Drayke and his relentless flirting or even Kael.

With no one to talk to, I slipped out of the hall and headed toward my room.

“Milady… would you care for a walk?”

I stopped.

That voice… it was deep, smooth and commanding.

I looked up and there he was.

King Darius Wolfe.

Standing before me like temptation itself, a faint smile playing on his lips, his hand extended toward me. For a moment, I hesitated but with Valen gone… and the night stretching endlessly ahead…

“Sure,” I said, placing my hand in his.

His fingers closed around mine, warm and firm and just like that… he led me away.

We walked past the pack grounds, deeper into the woods and I noticed the direction immediately.

“You’re taking me somewhere interesting?” I asked, glancing at him.

Darius smirked slightly.

“Maybe,” he said. “Or maybe you’ll discover something you weren’t meant to.”

Cryptic. Annoyingly so but I didn’t press. Instead, I let myself enjoy the quiet… and his presence.

The forest wrapped around us, calm and still. For once, my mind wasn’t racing.

“There’s something I’ve been wondering,” he said after a while.

I glanced at him.

“How did you become Alpha of the Crimson Shadow Pack?”

I arched a brow.

“You’ve done your research.”

He chuckled softly. “When something catches my interest, I make it my business to know everything about it.”

Something. Not someone. Typical.

“Fine,” I said. “Vaken, my beta, found me half-dead after a rogue attack. Took me in. And somehow…” I exhaled lightly. “I turned out to be the missing daughter of the Alpha they were searching for.”

I gave a small shrug.

“Crazy, right?”

Even now, it sounded ridiculous. I was lucky. Too lucky if you asked me but I didn’t question it. I took the opportunity and became stronger because I had learned one thing the hard way, the weak don’t survive, they get trampled and forgotten because they are deemed worthless.

“I didn’t take the position for power,” I added quietly. “I took it because I refused to ever be that powerless again.”

Silence followed and then he spoke.

“Do you trust him?” Darius asked.

I looked at him.

“Valen?”

His gaze didn’t waver.

“Yes. Your beta.”

Something about the way he asked that question made my chest tighten and for the first time that night, I hesitated.