Selene’s POV~
For one long heartbeat, his eyes were locked on mine.
I thought he would keep staring, that he had found the way I had found him.
But then, suddenly, he looked away.
His gaze turned cold, and he did not look back at again. It was as if I were no one. As if I wasn’t worth even a second glance.
The weight of his eyes lifted from , and I felt both relief and a sharp sting deep inside my chest. He had seen and then chosen to dismiss .
His face hardened. He’s focused again on the warriors standing in front of him now, not . His whole stance scread danger. His eyes narrowed with such a chilly power that even the strongest n in front of him shifted uneasily. He looked ready to tear them apart if they did not obey him.
My body stiffened. I didn’t know why, but my heart beat strangely. A feeling I had never known before rose in as I stared at him.
He was a man definitely in his early forties, strong and unshaken. His clothes were simple, not fine like nobles wore, but his presence was heavy and commanding, as if his aura alone could command all of them.
He didn’t look very old, but I knew at once he must be past forty. That was the kind of strength that only ti could forge.
And then I saw it...what shook more than anything else.
His hair.
It was pale, soft silver with threads of dark ash shining through. So much like mine.
The resemblance struck hard. If soone looked at us side by side, they might think we were kin. Blood of the sa blood.
I felt a chill crawl down my spine. My thoughts spun wildly, refusing to settle. I was sure I had never seen this man before in my life. Yet my heart whispered a reckless question.
What if he was from my father’s side?
What if he was a clue to my father, the man I had never t and never heard from my mother, the man I had searched everywhere for?
The thought was bold. Dangerous. But it would not leave .
I could not breathe. mories ca crashing in, the kind I had fought so hard to bury. The pain, the screams, the night that had stolen everything from .
And now this man stood in front of , carrying a face that echoed mine.
I did not know what to do.
I did not know what to think.
I stood frozen, my fingers curling into my skirt as the weight of the man’s aura spread across the courtyard.
It wasn’t just powerful—it was crushing, like invisible chains wrapping around everyone’s lungs, pressing harder with every breath all of us tried to draw.
My heart thudded painfully, my mind racing. Who was he?
I had seen Lycans before. I had stayed with the Lycan prince himself, and though his presence had been good, it had never felt like this. Not even the Lycan king had carried such a suffocating presence.
No. This man was different. Sothing else. Sothing far beyond my understanding.
The sound of approaching footsteps broke my thoughts, and I turned just as Aeron stepped into view. His face was dark as a black pot, and behind him ca Luca and Kael.
My heartbeat stumbled violently at the sight of them. I forced myself to stay still, to hide the tremor in my hands, and to push every fragile emotion deep where no one could see.
The brothers walked forward, and the pack warriors moved aside instantly, clearing the way for their alphas.
Aeron stepped ahead of his brothers, calm on the surface, but I noticed the tiny bead of sweat sliding down his temple and the stiffness in his shoulders.
Even he wasn’t at ease. And I realized the stranger’s aura had grown even stronger the mont the brothers arrived, as though he were taunting them.
What grudge did he carry against them?
Then his voice cut through the silence, smooth yet sharp, like steel wrapped in silk.
"If Alpha Aeron does not mind, may I stay here for so ti? I have important matters to tend to. But it seems your warriors lack basic etiquette for welcoming a guest. They left standing at the gate, treating as though I were dirt. Tell , Alpha...do your people only respect power and scorn those they think are commoners?"
A faint scoff escaped before I could stop it at his words. Commoner? There was nothing common about him. His presence scread of sothing higher and a respectable figure.
Aeron’s polite smile didn’t reach his eyes. His gaze sharpened, calculating.
"My n... it seems I will have to retrain them," he said evenly. "Please, forgive their mistake. But as is custom, may I ask you to introduce yourself? Our pack does not welco strangers of unknown origin. If you had revealed your na, they would not have stopped you."
For a heartbeat, silence stretched thin. Then the man smiled mockingly. As though he were indulging a lie everyone else refused to admit.
"So I am right, then. Your pack only opens its gates to the powerful. And if I truly were a commoner, you would have cast out without hesitation, the sa way your warriors were about to. That is the truth, is it not?"
With that his aura grew even stronger, and realization dawned on , he was actually forcing them to bow to him. Has he gone nuts? She had never seen an alpha suppressing another.
My heart pounded violently; damn, this man was truly fearless. Challenging the alphas in their own pack. It was the most humiliating thing an Alpha can do to other Alphas.
This wasn’t an ordinary challenge. He was mocking them, provoking them, right here in their own territory. And I knew, deep in my bones, if this man ever chose to fight the three of them at once... the battle would tear this pack apart.
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