Chapter Two – The Alpha King’s Father

The ballroom still hadn’t recovered from the shock of Adrian’s words.

I could feel dozens of eyes on me—whispers like daggers slicing through the thick silence.

Lucas’s face was pale, fury twisting his handsome features, but he didn’t dare speak. Not in front of Adrian. Not when one raised brow from the Alpha King’s father could ruin him in less than a heartbeat.

Adrian’s gaze held mine for a beat too long, then he tilted his head toward the massive double doors leading out of the hall. It wasn’t a request. It was a command.

I didn’t know why my legs obeyed.

The air outside was cooler, the corridor dimly lit by golden sconces that threw shadows across the marble floor. My heels clicked in rhythm with the pounding of my heart until Adrian stopped near a tall window, the moonlight casting his features into something almost unreal.

“You’ve caused quite the scene,” he said, voice low, almost amused.

I crossed my arms, forcing my chin high. “Good. I meant every word I said.”

One corner of his mouth lifted. “You threatened to sleep with me in front of half the kingdom. Most women would regret saying something like that.”

“I’m not most women,” I shot back.

His eyes darkened, that hint of amusement sharpening into something far more dangerous. “No. You’re not.”

For a moment, we simply stared at each other, the air between us thick with something I didn’t dare name. Then, he stepped closer—slow, deliberate.

“You want revenge on Lucas,” Adrian said, as if it were a fact, not a guess.

My pulse skipped. “What I want is for him to feel what I felt. To lose what he thought was his forever.”

“And you think using me will get you there?” His tone was unreadable, but his eyes… his eyes were challenging me.

“I think,” I said carefully, “that I’m willing to do whatever it takes.”

He was close enough now that I could catch the faint scent of cedar and something darker, like smoke after a fire. A scent that didn’t just fill the air—it claimed it.

“Be careful, Emma,” Adrian murmured. “Men like Lucas play at power. Men like me… we own it. And once I take something, I never give it back.”

A shiver ran through me, and it wasn’t from fear.

He leaned in just enough for his breath to brush my ear. “If you step into my world, there is no walking away. Not without losing something you can’t get back.”

Before I could answer, the heavy footsteps of guards echoed from the end of the corridor. Adrian’s gaze lingered on me for one final heartbeat before he turned, his deep voice carrying over his shoulder.

“I’ll send for you.”

And just like that, he was gone—leaving me alone with the chilling, intoxicating knowledge that I had just set something in motion that couldn’t be undone.

Inside the ballroom, Clara’s triumphant laughter rang out, Lucas’s voice low and sharp. But none of it mattered.

Because I wasn’t just planning to ruin him anymore.

I was going to make him watch as his father made me his.