Semua Bab Lexara Veyne - The Beta's Flame: Bab 31 - Bab 40

They were still forehead to forehead. Breathing. Saying nothing. Lexara had lost count of the seconds — maybe minutes — that had passed like that. Eyes closed. Muscles soft. Veyra calm beneath her skin for the first time in days.Then, Maeron whispered, “Can you hold out any longer?”Her breath hitched.“Or do you need to let it go?”She pulled back slightly, just enough to see his eyes. He didn’t flinch.“The resonance,” he added. “It’s building. I can feel it from here. You’ve been suppressing it for too long.”“You think I don’t know what it does to you?”Lexara didn’t answer. Didn’t deny it. She didn’t need to.Maeron continued, voice low and raw. “You don’t have to hold it in, Lex. Not for them. Not even for me. If it’s burning… let it go. Release it. Right here. On me. I’ll take it.”Lexara blinked. Stepped back, just half a pace. Shocked. Not at the offer — but at the willingness. He didn’t understand what he was offering. Or maybe… Maybe he did. “Why?” she asked, voice thin.

It was near midnight when the pull became too strong. Lexara hadn’t planned to go far — she’d told herself one lap around the southern perimeter, just enough to stretch Veyra’s legs and bleed out the sharp edge building again at her spine. But the moment her boots touched soil, she knew. Veyra didn’t want a lap. She wanted to run.She shed her coat just inside the treeline, tied her braid tighter, and shifted mid-stride — not all at once, not violently. Clean. Natural. Like breath.Veyra emerged with a low exhale and a flash of copper beneath the moonlight, her form taller than most, her movement liquid, powerful. The mist followed — not heavy, not warning. Just… present. Trailing like silver ribbon through the ferns.She ran. Faster than she meant to. Longer than she planned. Not chasing. Not escaping. Just running. Because sometimes that’s the only thing that keeps a wolf from collapsing under the weight of unspent truth.She didn’t hear Maeron behind her at first. Didn’t smell him

The dining hall buzzed lightly with the sound of silverware and low conversation. Just another pack dinner — in theory. But underneath, everything felt like it had changed.Lexara sat near the end of the table, as she always had — not at the Alpha's right hand, not elevated, not central. But tonight, she wasn’t invisible. Not anymore.Alaric sat a few places down, glass untouched, eyes frequently drifting across the table. Not toward Maeron. Toward her. Watching the way she sipped her tea, deliberate and unbothered. The way her shoulders rolled subtly — releasing tension only someone who knew her well would notice. He could feel it. The resonance wasn’t flaring outward. But it was settled. Like a flame in a lantern, waiting. And it wasn’t because of rest. It was because of Maeron. Because he’s become her release valve.And Alaric hated it.Across from him, Seraphine watched too. But differently. Not possessive. Not predatory. Something close to wistful. She wanted Lexara to be free. T

Lexara still hadn’t moved. Alaric’s arms wrapped around her, his breath hot at her neck, his words low and liquid, dripping with want. She told herself it was fine. That she wasn’t leaning into it. That letting it happen was not the same as choosing it.But then— His lips brushed the curve of her neck. Soft. Not demanding. Not aggressive. Just… felt.And then he whispered: “I bet a real kiss would burn the pressure right out of you. I bet it would bring your fire back to me.”Lexara’s breath caught. She didn’t pull away. But her wolf’s heart lurched. Not with yes. Not with no.With danger. Because just as his lips grazed skin again— “Step away from her!”The voice hit like a whipcrack.Sharp. Controlled. But vibrating with restrained fury.Alaric turned. Slowly.Kael stood ten feet away, eyes glowing faintly gold, the others behind him — Rurik, Dain, Bran. All standing in the dark. All very, very still.Lexara stepped forward — more like escaped his hold than walked.Alaric’s jaw cle

Maeron didn’t answer right away. He stood with his arms folded, gaze angled toward the open window — toward the forest where Lexara had run not long ago. “You’re not wrong,” he said quietly. “I wanted to help her. I have helped her.”Seraphine tilted her head. “You have.”“But I didn’t realize how much I…” He trailed off. Voice dry. “…how much I’ve come to need those moments. The resonance. The quiet. The connection.”Seraphine said nothing. Not to absolve him. Just to let him hear his own words.Maeron turned fully now, jaw tightening. “She hasn’t leaned into anyone else like that before. Not even her brothers. And believe me, they’ve tried.” He exhaled sharply. “She chose me. And now she’s walking away from it. From me.”Seraphine stepped closer, voice even. “No. She’s walking toward herself. There’s a difference.”Maeron looked down, fingers flexing at his sides. “Even if I say yes… Her brothers will never allow it. They’re already fraying. They can’t protect her if she’s not here