Chapter 5: The Seduction & The Trap

Serena's POV

"I can explain."

Kael's expression was glacial. He held up the documents like evidence at a trial.

"Can you?"

"Yes." I stepped into Isla's room, closing the door behind me. "But you're not going to like it."

"Try me."

I took a breath.

"Elara and Morgana planted those files here. I overheard them in the library planning the whole thing. They wanted to frame me by making it look like I hid stolen documents in Isla's chambers."

Kael's eyes narrowed.

"And you expect me to believe that?"

"Check the timeline," I said. "When did you come here? Five minutes ago? Ten? I've been in the library for the past hour. The librarian can confirm it." I crossed my arms. "If I planted these files, why would I come back to the scene? That's just stupid."

He was silent, processing.

"Elara and Morgana," he said slowly. "You're accusing two of my most trusted—"

"Mistresses," I finished. "Two women who had your full attention until I showed up. Two women who want me gone so badly they're willing to destroy an innocent third party to do it."

Kael's jaw tightened.

"Isla has nothing to do with this."

"Exactly. Which is why they chose her." I stepped closer. "Think about it, Kael. Isla is sweet. Trusting. The perfect scapegoat. They knew you'd believe she was manipulated by me."

He stared at me for a long moment.

"If you're lying—"

"I'm not." I met his gaze steadily. "And I can prove it."

"How?"

"Give me until tomorrow night. I'll find the real evidence. I'll expose them." I paused. "But I need you to trust me. Just for one day."

"Trust." He said it like a foreign word. "You want me to trust the woman who's been lying to me since the moment I married her?"

Fair point.

"Then don't trust me," I said. "Trust your instincts. You already know something's wrong with Elara's story. That's why you covered for me earlier. That's why you're hesitating now."

His eyes flashed gold.

"You're very perceptive."

"I'm desperate." I moved closer, close enough to feel the heat radiating off him. "Help me, Kael. Give me a chance to prove myself."

He studied my face, searching for something.

"And what do I get in return?"

Of course. Everything was a transaction with him.

"What do you want?" I asked.

His hand shot out, gripping my waist and pulling me against him.

"You," he said simply. "Tonight. In my bed. No protests. No excuses."

Heat pooled low in my stomach.

"You want me to sleep with you in exchange for your help?"

"No." His thumb traced my lower lip. "I want you to convince me that you're worth keeping around. That you're more than just a pretty face and empty promises."

I should've slapped him and stormed out.

But I needed his protection. Needed his resources. And honestly? The way he was looking at me made my wolf purr with interest.

"Deal," I whispered.

His smile was dark and dangerous.

"Good. Then let's go."

Kael's Chambers

His room was even more obscene than mine. Massive four-poster bed, dark wood furniture, and floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the entire pack territory.

The door clicked shut behind us and suddenly the air felt thicker.

"Nervous?" Kael asked.

"Should I be?"

He circled me slowly, like a predator sizing up prey.

"Serena I know was always nervous. You wanted power, wanted the title, but you were terrified of me." He stopped in front of me. "You're not."

"Maybe I'm just good at hiding it."

"Maybe." His hand cupped my jaw, tilting my face up. "Or maybe you really are someone else entirely."

Before I could respond, his mouth crashed against mine.

The kiss was hungry, demanding, like he was trying to devour me whole. His tongue swept past my lips and I gasped, my hands fisting in his shirt.

He groaned, walking me backward until my back hit the wall. His body pressed against mine, hard and unyielding, and I felt every inch of him.

"Tell me to stop," he murmured against my lips. "Tell me you don't want this."

But I couldn't. Because Moon Goddess help me, I did want this.

I pulled him closer instead, kissing him back with just as much fire. My fingers tangled in his dark hair and he growled low in his throat.

His hands slid down my sides, gripping my hips and lifting me effortlessly. I wrapped my legs around his waist instinctively and he carried me to the bed.

He laid me down and hovered over me with his golden eyes burning with heat.

"Last chance," he whispered. "Once I start, I won't stop."

"Then don't stop."

Something snapped in him.

He kissed me again, deeper this time, more possessive. His hands found the laces of my gown and he made quick work of them. The fabric fell away and cool air hit my skin.

"Beautiful," he murmured, his lips trailing down my neck. "So fucking beautiful."

I arched into him, my breath hitching as his mouth found the sensitive spot just below my ear. His teeth scraped gently and my wolf whimpered.

"Kael..."

"Say it again," he demanded, his hands sliding lower. "Say my name."

"Kael," I breathed.

He groaned, his control slipping. His mouth moved lower, trailing hot kisses down my collarbone, between my breasts, across my stomach.

Every touch set my skin on fire. Every kiss made me ache for more.

When he finally settled between my thighs, his eyes met mine.

"You're mine tonight," he said roughly. "No one else's. Mine."

"Yours," I agreed.

He smiled, dark and satisfied, and then his mouth was on me.

I cried out, my back arching off the bed. His tongue was wicked, relentless, and I couldn't think, couldn't breathe, could only feel.

"Kael... please..."

"Please what?" His voice was a low rumble against my skin.

"I need..."

"Tell me." His fingers joined his mouth and I nearly shattered. "Tell me what you need."

"You," I gasped. "I need you."

He was on me in an instant, settling between my thighs. I felt him, hard and ready, pressing against my entrance.

"Look at me," he commanded.

I did.

His eyes were molten gold, his wolf right at the surface.

"This changes everything," he warned.

"I know."

He thrust forward in one smooth motion and I cried out at the fullness, the delicious stretch. He groaned, his forehead dropping to mine.

"Fuck," he breathed. "You feel..."

He didn't finish the sentence. Instead, he moved.

Slow at first, letting me adjust, but then faster, harder, deeper. Each thrust sent pleasure spiraling through me and I clung to him, my nails digging into his back.

"Mine," he growled against my neck. "Say it."

"Yours," I gasped.

His canines extended and I felt them scrape against my throat. The marking spot. The place where mates claimed each other permanently.

"Do it," I whispered.

He pulled back slightly, his eyes searching mine.

"You don't know what you're asking."

"Do it," I repeated. "Mark me."

Something fierce and primal flashed in his eyes.

He thrust deeper, harder, and his teeth sank into my neck.

Pain and pleasure exploded through me in equal measure. I screamed, my body arching as the mate bond ignited. Power surged between us, hot and electric, binding us together in a way that felt ancient and unbreakable.

Kael groaned against my throat, his hips moving frantically as the bond locked into place.

"What..." he gasped. "What is this..."

I felt it too. A surge of power so intense it felt like lightning in my veins. My wolf howled in triumph and I could feel his wolf answering, feel the connection between us growing stronger with every second.

"Serena," he breathed, pulling back to look at me. "What are you?"

But before I could answer, chaos erupted outside.

Shouting. Guards running. Something crashing.

Kael's head snapped toward the door, his body going rigid.

"What the hell—"

A guard burst through the door without knocking.

"Supreme Alpha!" he panted. "Forgive the intrusion but... you need to come. Now."

Kael snarled.

"This better be life or death."

"It is, sir." The guard's face was pale. "Someone's at the gates. He says... he says he's your brother."

Kael froze.

"My brother is dead."

"That's what we thought too, sir." The guard swallowed hard. "But he's here. Alive. Barely. And he's asking for Serena."

My blood ran cold.

Kael looked down at me with his expression unreadable. He was still inside me, the mark on my neck still fresh and bleeding, the bond between us still pulsing with power.

"Stay here," he ordered, pulling out and grabbing his clothes.

"Kael—"

"Don't." His voice was ice. "Don't move. Don't leave this room. I need to handle this."

He was gone in seconds, the door slamming behind him.

I lay there, trying to process what just happened.

I touched the mark on my neck, feeling the bond thrumming beneath my skin.

I'd just been claimed by the Supreme Alpha. Marked as his mate in the most permanent way possible.

And the man I was originally betrothed to had just returned from the dead.

"Well," I whispered to the empty room. "This is going to be a problem."

I got up, ignoring Kael's command to stay put. I threw on a robe and moved to the window.

Below, I could see guards gathered at the main entrance. And in the center of them, collapsed on the ground, was a man.

Bloodied. Broken. Barely alive.

But definitely breathing.

Cyrus.

He lifted his head slightly and even from this distance, I could see his eyes. They were the same gold as Kael's.

And they were looking directly at my window.

At me.

Recognition flashed across his face, followed by something that looked like betrayal.

And in that moment, I realized something terrible.

Cyrus remembered me. The original Serena. The woman who abandoned him for his brother.

The woman whose body I now inhabited.

"Shit," I breathed.

This was bad. Really, really bad.

Because if Cyrus exposed me, if he told Kael that I wasn't acting like his former betrothed should...

Everything I'd built would come crashing down.