Chapter 15

Cassian’s POV

“What the hell is taking her so long?”

I cursed under my breath as I drummed my fingers on the arm rest in the car.

The sound of the car engine continued even though I was still up sef and everything else felt like it had come to an abreupt end.

She was testing me.

That had to be it.

We were already behind schedule. The Council Ball wasn’t something you walked into like a village bonfire. Nobles, diplomats, high-ranking alphas—they’d all be there. Watching. Measuring. Judging.

And she was keeping us waiting.

despite all my emphasis

Again.

I turned to the front. “Go check. If she isn’t down in the next two minutes—”

“Alpha!” I turned around to the sound of the voice that just called me.

To my surprise a maid threw herself on the floor.

. She bowed quickly, fiddling with her apron. “Please, forgive the delay. The designer just finished up. There was… an issue.”

I narrowed my eyes. “What kind of issue?”

She swallowed hard. “The makeup artist arrived late. And then, um, she and Miss Selena had a disagreement.”

I knew it

It was an entirely bad idea to bring here

I should have been on my way by now

But Conrad just had to suggest, putting me in a not so pleasant position.

“What kind of disagreement?” I managed, locking eyes with the inquisitive eyes that knelt before me

The maid wrung her hands. “Miss Selena refused makeup altogether.”

I blinked. “Refused?”

“She said—uh—‘I’m not about to have someone bake a whole bakery’s worth of chemicals into my pores,’ sir.”

My brows rose so high I felt the skin stretch.

“She insisted she’d look fine without it,” the maid added quickly. “She… wouldn’t budge.”

I leaned my head back against the seat and exhaled through my nose.

Of course.

She’d been nothing but fire and defiance since she set foot in this palace. Challenging Adeline during Luna training. Questioning protocol. Scoffing at formalwear suggestions. And now, choosing to appear less of pack expectations with one final, unnecessary act of rebellion.

I was about to tell the maid to bring her down regardless when—

“Daddy! Daddy!”

Sisi’s voice felt like the energy i didn’t know I needed.

. I turned just in time to see her bolt out the front doors and down the steps like a streak of moonlight.

She yanked the car door open, eyes sparkling. “Daddy, you have to see Mommy!”

I almost scoffed, when was she going to realize that she isn’t her mother. “What about her?”

“She looks like a queen. No—like one of those magical princesses! You know, the ones with glitter everywhere?”

I raised a brow. “You mean the ones who always burst into song?”

She giggled, nodding vigorously. “Exactly! But prettier. Way prettier.”

I chuckled and reached over to fix the lopsided bow in her curls. “You’re glowing yourself, pumpkin. Look at you—are those….” I paused, to take a closer look at the shoes she was putting on, “sparkles on your shoes?”

She looked down and wiggled her toes. “I told Martha I needed to shine today. But even I don’t look as good as Mommy.”

I was about to ask what exactly had gotten her so excited when the front doors opened again.

I loved being here

With sisi

She was the compensation i had no idea I needed.

And everything stopped.

The chatter. The movement. The air in my lungs.

My gaze followed Sisi’s gasp and her tiny finger pointing out the window.

And then I saw her.

Selena stood at the top of the steps, still and composed like a painting come to life. The world didn’t deserve that kind of stillness. It was too raw. Too perfect.

She came down the stairs, one leg at a time

She was putting on a black dress and lord, where have these curves been all my life.

It looked like the dress was made exactly for her, tye slit ran high up her thigh.

And it was enough to make me shift in my seat like a teenager .

She wasn’t wearing a necklace. No earrings. No jewels. Nothing glittering but the way she carried herself.

But her face…..

gods.

Bare. And her hair—

She hadn’t pulled it up like the stylists insisted.

She left it down. Curls wild and bouncy and completely untamed.

It framed her face like a crown.

I hated that staring at her made my throat dry, but I couldn’t deny that… that.

She was… breathtaking.

“What did I tell you?” Sisi whispered reverently, her small hand resting on my wrist. “She’s like a goddess.”

I didn’t answer.

I couldn’t.

Not with my mouth dry and my thoughts tangled.

Selena stepped closer, not hesitating, not slowing—not even blinking when our eyes met.

She knew.

She knew exactly what she was doing to me.

And she was enjoying it.

She stopped beside the open car door and raised one arched brow.

“Are you done admiring me, Alpha?” she asked, voice like honey laced with steel.

I cleared my throat. “I was just wondering… why the hell you’re not wearing any makeup.”

She smirked. “I told them I didn’t want any.”

“That’s not an answer.”

She cocked a hip, her hands on her waist. “It’s the only one you’re getting. I don’t like it. I don’t need it. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to let someone smear chemicals on my face just to please a room full of people who don’t know me.”

“You’re going to a treaty ball, not a farmer’s market,” I bit out.

She shrugged. “And yet somehow, I look better than most of the powdered dolls you probably have on speed dial.”

I stared. “Is modesty a foreign language to you?”

She tilted her head, her curls bouncing. “Confidence isn’t immodesty. It’s clarity. You might want to try it sometime.”

“You have a sharp mouth,” I muttered.

“You’re the one staring at it,” she shot back.

I opened my mouth, ready to snap—

“Alright, enough,” Conrad’s voice interrupted like a slap of cold water.

He strolled out of the house, adjusting the cufflinks on his sleeves, his expression equal parts annoyed and amused. “Can we please save the power struggle for after the political event of the year?”

He paused, looking Selena up and down.

Then let out a low whistle. “Selena, damn. You look… dangerous. Breathtaking, really.”

Her shoulders relaxed slightly. “Thank you, Conrad.”

He grinned. “If the plan was to make sure no one pays attention to the treaties, you nailed it.”

Then he looked at me.

Hard.

“And you. Can we go now? Or are you still trying to figure out how black became your favorite color?”

I scowled,.

If I hadn’t known better Conrad would have been 6’six feet beneath the ground.

but, I heard sisi chuckle, placing her hands over her lips and I felt all my anger dissolve..

Swlena slid into the car, adjusting sisi and whispering something about beauty and charming.

And mindlessly,

I followed her

Letting her scent guide me.

The driver started the engine.

The car pulled away.

We didn’t speak.

But the air between us felt like it was going to swallow me whole.

And it wasn’t just tension anymore.

It was awareness.

It was danger.

It was something that felt like the start of something I wasn’t ready for.

Not now.

Not ever.

But gods help me…

I wanted it anyway.