Chapter 4

Aeron

Sera.

I can still feel the warmth of her body pressed against mine when she hugged me yesterday. I can still smell her scent clinging to my clothes—sweet and sharp in a way that drives me insane. Everyone else recoils from it, can’t stand to be near her for more than a few minutes.

But to me? It’s intoxicating.

It can only mean one thing: she was made for me. Only me.

Sera doesn’t know it yet, but she’s already mine. She just needs to realize it.

A sharp knock interrupts my thoughts.

“Your Highness,” the guard’s voice filters through the door. “This is to remind you about the Alpha’s request for your presence within an hour. Luna Helena will also be attending.”

I swing my legs over the side of the bed. “Understood.”

“Also… Gamma Kellan is here to see you. He’s quite… insistent.”

That gets my attention. I have not seen Kellan in two weeks ever since the night he rejected Sera.

“Let him in.”

Kellan stumbles through the door moments later, and the stench of cheap liquor hits me immediately. His eyes are bloodshot, his shirt half-buttoned, his usually neat hair a disaster.

“Morning to you too,” I say lightly, leaning back against my desk.

“Don’t.” His voice is sharp, slurred. “Don’t do that calm voice thing with me.”

I cross my arms. “It’s too early for this level of self-destruction, Kellan. And this is hardly the place for you to display such… irresponsibility.”

He lets out a bitter laugh. “That’s funny, coming from you.” He looks at me then, and his gaze hardens. “Why did you claim her?”

“Claim who?”

“Don’t give me that bullshit, Aeron. You know exactly who I’m talking about.”

I tilt my head, feigning innocence. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Sera!” He nearly shouts it, swaying on his feet. “Everyone’s talking about how close you two have gotten. Gifts. Walks. You’re with her constantly now.”

I step closer, slowly. “I like her, Kellan. Is that so hard to believe?”

His jaw clenches. “She was mine.”

“No.” My voice is calm, measured. “If you really believed that, you wouldn’t have rejected her in front of the entire pack.”

His breath hitches. “You know why I did that. You—you told me to think about what staying with her would cost me. You said the pack would never accept it.”

“I gave you advice,” I cut him off smoothly. “Nothing more. What you did with that advice was your choice.”

“You manipulated me!”

“I simply pointed out the reality of your situation.” I shrug. “You didn’t love her enough to face the consequences. That’s not my fault.”

He flinches like I’ve struck him.

We grew up together, Kellan and I. Trained together. Bled together. When my father nearly cast me out for being illegitimate, it was Kellan who stood by my side. That loyalty earned him the position of Gamma.

We were friends. Against better judgment, we still are.

But friendship has limits.

“Why?” His voice breaks. “Why would you do this to me?”

Because she’s mine. She’s always been mine.

Out loud, I say, “Because you wouldn’t have treated her right. You were with her to prove something to yourself, not because you truly wanted her.”

“I was trying to protect her and save her.”

“From what?” I snort. “From yourself? How noble.”

Silence stretches between us. He doesn’t argue because he knows I’m right.

“You don’t deserve her,” I say flatly. “No one does.”

He looks up at me, eyes glassy. “You’re obsessed.”

I smirk. “And you’re drunk and embarrassing yourself.”

He slumps forward, muttering something incoherent, and passes out on my bed before he can say anything else.

I leave him there. He won’t remember most of this conversation anyway. He never does.

-----

I dress quickly and make my way through the corridors, the weight of the past pressing in on me with each step.

I was never supposed to be here.

I was born illegitimate—the product of a woman my father was infatuated with and discarded when he realized she wasn’t what he wanted. After my mother died, my existence became an insult to him. He didn’t even try to hide his disdain.

But I refused to be invisible.

I trained harder than anyone else. The elders started looking at me differently. Slowly, I earned respect. Something my father never gave me, but something I could take for myself.

My half-brothers, Helena’s precious twins, hated me for it. They mocked me whenever they got the chance and tried to undermine me at every turn. They even tried to have me killed once.

But they underestimated me.

I’d known about their dealings with the Grims for months—a dangerous rival pack we were forbidden from engaging with. The twins were involved in illegal trades and blood debts with them.

I kept that knowledge to myself. Waited for the right moment.

When I finally exposed them, my father had no choice. Pack law is clear on having any business with the Grims. He exiled them both.

He never forgave me for it. That was three years ago.

Now, I’m the only Alpha heir left. Funny how things work out.

-----

The council chamber is heavy with tension when I enter.

My father sits at the head of the table, and he looks smaller than I remember. Illness clings to him, hollowing his cheeks and dulling the fierce presence he once commanded. But his eyes are sharp as ever, burning with hatred when they land on me.

Luna Helena sits beside him, composed and elegant as always. Her hands are folded neatly in her lap, her smile perfectly in place. She hates me too especially after what I did to her sons but she’s better at hiding it than my father. Prim, proper, always playing to the crowd. Probably why my father preferred her to my mother.

I bow respectfully. “You called for me.”

“Yes.” My father’s voice is cold. “Sit.”

“Why have you summoned me, Father?”

His lips curl into something that might be a smile. “Your betrothal.”

The word hits like a blade to the chest.

“Excuse me?”

“It was meant to be a surprise,” Luna Helena says smoothly, her smile never wavering. “One we’re quite pleased with.”

The doors open, and a woman steps inside.

She’s beautiful in a polished way. Golden hair, perfect posture and flawless skin. The kind of beauty that’s been cultivated.

Her scent reaches me. Roses and vanilla, cloying and artificial.

Nothing like Sera.

“This is Aspyn Vaelor,” my father announces. “Daughter of Elder Vaelor. You will wed her in one week.”

I feel nothing looking at her. Nothing but cold fury building in my chest.

Aspyn’s eyes meet mine, and she smiles confidently.

“The ceremony will be public,” my father continues. “It will make clear to everyone that your earlier… claims were nothing but jests. Youthful foolishness.”

My hands curl into fists beneath the table.

“You can’t be serious.”

“I’m perfectly serious.” His voice hardens. “You will do this, Aeron. Or you will lose everything you’ve worked for.”

Luna Helena’s smile widens ever so slightly. “We’ve already made all the arrangements. The invitations have been sent.”

I look at Aspyn again—at her perfectly styled hair, her expensive dress, the way she stands like she owns the room.

Aspyn steps forward, her voice smooth and practiced. “I look forward to getting to know you better, Aeron. I’m sure we’ll make a… formidable pair.”