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Chapter 57
~Dristan’s POV~
I stopped right in front of her, but she didn’t move. Brielle didn’t breathe either. The raw fear emanating from her was unbelievable.
She was trembling. I could hear it in the stutter of her heartbeat.
"I-I’m sorry, Alpha," she whispered in a barely audible voice. "I didn’t know you were around."
I frowned, arching my brow slowly. What the hell was she talking about?
"I already learned my lesson the last ti," she added quickly. "Please don’t... don’t show again. I—I swear, I’ve been good."
Show her what?
Before I could speak, before I could even process that weird, crawling thing clawing at the back of my mind, my na rang out behind .
"Master Dristan."
I turned to see my chauffeur standing by the black SUV awaiting .
"We must leave now. He’s waiting."
I looked back at Brielle. Her head was still down, fists clenched tightly by her sides like she was holding on to sothing only she could see.
I wanted to ask why, but I didn’t. Sothing told the answer would open a door I wasn’t ready to walk through yet.
And frankly, what did she think she saw in ? Was I a monster now? I shrugged off the thought. Maybe it was better left buried.
Also, if she feared for whatever reason, then it was better to leave it at that. I had been too lenient, letting just anyone think they could talk to .
I turned without another word and headed for the car.
The door shut behind and we drove out of the school premises, but at the back of my mind, her words replayed again.
"Don’t show again..."
What the hell did she see, and what did I show her before?
*************
As soon as I stepped into the office, its usual air wrapped around —cool, quiet and too clean. It was always the sa each ti I ca here.
Minimalist but expensive, all glass and steel, with dark wood shelves that looked more decorative than used. The scent of his cologne still lingered, mixed with sothing older—burnt coffee maybe, or the faint sharpness of paint.
My gaze darted over to the source, a new painting hung on the left corner of his office.
There wasn’t a single thing out of place. Just like him, exactly how Father liked it.
I stepped inside without knocking. He already knew I was coming and expected .
He stood by the tall window, staring out at the city skyline, hands behind his back, his dark tailored suit looking sharp enough to cut. He didn’t turn when I entered. Dad didn’t have to.
"Anything to report?" His voice was calm, the type of deadly cold calm that made your teeth gnash.
I didn’t rush. I took my ti walking in and stopping near the edge of the desk.
"Nothing worth concern," I said evenly. "Aside from the Council knowing the dragon, lycan, and fae royals are attending PSA with us, then no."
My father’s posture didn’t change, but I noticed the shift in energy around him.
"Exactly why I asked," he muttered. "Do you believe in coincidence, Dristan?"
I took a step forward. "No. I know you do not believe in them," I responded as keenly as possible.
"Good. Then you must know that there must be another reason those three are there. It’s not a coincidence. These kinds of things never are."
I said nothing. I could feel him thinking, putting pieces together.
"It could be a plan," he said slowly. "A united move from the kingdoms. Sothing they’ve been hiding for so ti, and if that is true, aning we might have the prophesied war on our hands. Watch them, Dristan. Every move. Every word. You must keep your eyes open."
"And if it isn’t?" I asked calmly.
His head turned just slightly. "Then you still watch. It never hurts to be more vigilant. Or have you forgotten your mission?"
I didn’t answer.
"The reason you’re there," he said sharply now. "Why you were raised differently. Grood differently. Why you’ve been prepared from birth, unlike the others?"
Still, I said nothing.
"Answer ." His voice sliced through the silence as he turned to face completely. "Now."
My eyes locked with his, and I did not flinch, unlike how I did in the past when I was still but a boy. "I did not forget."
"Good." He nodded once, slowly. "Then explain the news I received. About a girl."
I didn’t flinch, but my breath slowed. So he knew. He did not have to call out Valerie’s na completely before I knew that he knew sothing.
"A nobody," he added. "So girl who has not only caught the attention of the Lycan princes, the fae, the dragon, but also your lot of heirs. You, Dristan."
His voice was sharp, but there was sothing else underneath. Calculation.
"I have no relations with anyone," I replied smoothly and coolly. "I have no lover, no girlfriend. Nothing tying to soone unworthy of our bloodline."
"Go on," he said.
"Relationships are distractions. I know this. I haven’t forgotten my place, nor my duty. No girl, especially not a nobody, can ever sit at my side. She wouldn’t understand my purpose. She couldn’t survive it."
Father’s eyes narrowed as he stepped toward .
"Or your darkness," he said softly.
I didn’t reply to this. I knew what it ant, and that it was mories I never wanted to revisit, but he kept reminding subtly, as if to keep in check or sothing else.
"Good." He studied , his gaze hard and unreadable. "Nobody can know."
"I understand."
"Then you understand why I want her gone and erased. For insurance purposes. No distractions, rember?"
My jaw tensed. I didn’t move. I didn’t blink. Inside , Soren growled in anger, silently warning an Alpha King, but I did my best to silence him and kept my face empty.
Stoic. "If I didn’t know better," I said, "I’d think you were testing ." His brow lifted slightly. "You’re free to do whatever you want," I continued.
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