Serena’s POV~
The call ended, and I just sat there, staring at the phone like it might still speak. My chest felt tight, too tight, like sothing was pressing against my ribs from the inside. For a mont, I didn’t even breathe.
Then I laughed... softly. It sounded more like a sigh. "I’m waiting for you here... Mother," I whispered, dragging the last word out until it almost hurt.
It tasted strange in my mouth. The word mother.
The phone slipped from my hand and hit the bed with a dull thud. I stood there, staring at it like it had just insulted . My reflection in the mirror caught my eye next... wet hair, flushed cheeks, eyes that couldn’t decide whether to cry or scream. I hated what I saw.
I grabbed the towel, wiping my hair hard, as if I could scrub off the feelings clinging to . My pulse was racing again, but this ti it wasn’t because of my mother. No. It was because of him.
The mont his face flashed in my mind, my stomach turned. My hands went still.
"What the hell was he even doing here?" I muttered to myself, shaking my head. My voice sounded too small in the empty room.
He shouldn’t have been here. He had no reason to co. Pack alphas never step into Lycan territory unless sothing’s seriously wrong. And even then, he wasn’t supposed to be here.
I had planned everything so carefully. Staying quiet, keeping my distance, staying hidden in this place where no one would look for . I told myself I’d finally have peace. That no one would ever find here.
But of course, fate had to laugh in my face.
The mont I saw him... standing beside Prince Vaelen, tall, composed, radiating that sa infuriating confidence, I felt my entire world collapse inside . My heart stopped. My body forgot how to move.
I rember hiding behind the curtain, just peeking through the edge of the window. My hands were trembling so hard I thought they’d give away. I told myself not to look. Don’t look at him, Selena. Don’t.
But then our eyes t.
And it was over.
That look. That unbearable, familiar, knowing look.
I stumbled back, hitting the wall. My breath ca out shaky. My whole body scread run, but where could I go? You can’t hide from an alpha, especially not him. I knew that. I knew it deep in my bones.
And I was right.
Because that night... he ca.
I had been lying there, pretending to sleep, pretending to be calm, pretending that I didn’t care. The room was quiet, dark, safe or so I thought. But then I felt it... the presence, the heaviness, that strange electricity that always followed him.
My heart nearly stopped.
Every muscle in my body went rigid, and I begged silently, Please don’t co. Please don’t. But even as I said it in my head, I knew I didn’t an it. Because a part of ... wanted him there.
The bed dipped slightly when he leaned closer. My breath caught. His warmth was too close.
And then, in that rough, quiet voice that always made lose myself, he whispered, "Are you real?"
Before I could even think, before I could even open my eyes fully, his lips were on mine.
That mont... it destroyed .
His heat burned through every part of . I froze, but my body didn’t listen to my mind. My heart was wild, and my skin rembered him like it had been waiting all this ti. I hated that. I hated how much I wanted to lt into him.
Now, standing in front of the mirror, my fingers touched my lips without thinking. The ghost of that kiss still lingered. My throat tightened. "You shouldn’t have co," I whispered, but my voice trembled.
Because deep down, I knew I didn’t really want him to stay away.
Every ti I closed my eyes, I saw him again. His eyes. His hands. The way his voice cracked when he said my na. It shouldn’t matter anymore, but it did. It mattered too much.
And then the mories ca of a week ago... the fight, the way he and his brothers had bled for , protected when no one else would. The desperation in their eyes when they thought they might lose . I had told myself I’d forgotten that. I had told myself they didn’t an anything anymore. But maybe I’d been lying all along.
"Damn it..." I muttered, pressing my hand against the cold table to steady myself.
In the past, I thought I had changed enough to fool them. My scent, my hair, my voice... everything. But alphas don’t forget what’s theirs, do they? They don’t need faces or nas. They just know.
And this ti it was sa, he did recognize again. The mont our eyes t again, I saw it... the recognition. The disbelief. The pain.
He knew.
I let out a shaky breath and leaned closer to the mirror, staring at the girl who stared back. She looked calm, almost cold. But her eyes... they betrayed everything.
"He knows it’s ," I said softly. Saying it out loud made my chest hurt even more.
I had no idea how to face him. What could I even say? That I hadn’t ant to disappear? That I hadn’t ant to hurt him? That I was only trying to survive?
It all sounded so small now.
I closed my eyes and tried to push down the storm inside . But it wouldn’t stop. The ache, the guilt, the stupid, unwanted longing... it was all still there, clawing its way up from where I’d buried it.
I forced myself to stand straight, to breathe, to be calm again. My face in the mirror was composed now... just like always.
But inside, I was breaking.
Because I knew the truth. He had already found . And this ti... I wasn’t sure if I wanted to run again.
I stood there for a long ti, staring at nothing. My mind was a ss, full of his face, his voice, his touch. But then another thought struck ... if he was here, then his brothers must be here too.
The realization sent a shiver down my spine.
Of course they would be. The alphas never traveled separately. Wherever one went, the others followed. It was their way... always together, always guarding each other like wolves circling their prey.
I pressed a hand to my forehead and sighed. "Perfect," I whispered bitterly. "Just what I needed."
My plan had already been hanging by a thread, and now... this.
I bit my lip hard, trying to calm the storm in my chest, when a sudden sound broke my thoughts... a soft, polite knock on the door.
I didn’t even flinch. I already knew who it was.
"Coming," I called, taking a deep breath. My voice ca out steady, though my pulse was still racing.
When I opened the door, Vaelen stood there, his usual calm expression softened by worry. His eyes scanned from head to toe like he was searching for cracks, as if I’d shatter any second.
"Serena," he said gently. "You weren’t at breakfast."
I forced a small smile, pretending not to notice how tense he looked. "I wasn’t hungry," I said quietly. "Just needed a little ti to myself."
He nodded slowly, but his eyes didn’t leave my face. I hated that look, the one that said he cared, the one that made feel like I didn’t deserve it.
"I was worried," he admitted after a pause. "After what happened at the club... I thought maybe..."
"I’m fine," I cut in quickly, too quickly. The words ca out sharp, almost defensive. I saw the flicker of surprise in his eyes and imdiately regretted it.
I looked away, biting my lip. "Sorry," I muttered. "I didn’t an to sound harsh. I’m just... tired."
He nodded again, but his gaze softened. "You don’t have to apologize. I just wanted to make sure you’re alright. You were... shaken that night."
Shaken.
If only he knew.
I forced a little laugh and waved it off. "It was nothing. Really, I’m okay now."
But inside, guilt twisted deep in my stomach. Because the truth was, it hadn’t been so random accident. It hadn’t been sothing that "happened" to .
It had been part of my plan.
Every bit of it.
And he didn’t know. He couldn’t know.
Vaelen’s concern was pure, kind, and undeserved. I didn’t want to see it, but I couldn’t look away either. His worry made my chest ache. It reminded how much I was lying. How much I was using him.
"I just needed so air," I said softly, lowering my gaze. "That’s all."
He hesitated before speaking again. "If you ever need to talk about anything... you can co to . You know that, right?"
I looked up at him and smiled faintly, the kind of smile that hides too much. "I know," I whispered.
He seed relieved at that, even though I knew my eyes probably told another story entirely. He gave a small nod, his lips curving into that quiet, reassuring smile of his, before saying, "Alright then. I’ll leave you to rest. Don’t skip lunch, alright?"
"I won’t," I lied again.
When he turned to leave, I watched his back for a mont. The way he walked... calm, composed, always thinking ahead. He didn’t know that every step I took beside him was a lie. That every word I spoke was wrapped in half-truths.
And yet, he still cared.
When the door closed softly behind him, I leaned against it, letting out a shaky breath I’d been holding since he arrived.
"Sorry," I whispered, pressing a hand over my chest. "I’m so sorry, Vaelen."
I couldn’t tell him. Not about the plan, not about why I was here, not about who I really was. Because if I did, everything would crumble and everything I was trying to build.
But the look in his eyes... it made hate myself.
He was worried about , truly worried, while I was hiding knives behind my back.
I turned toward the mirror again, staring at the girl who stared back. Her eyes looked softer now, sadder. I barely recognized her.
"Don’t look at like that," I told my reflection quietly. "You made your choice."
Still, I couldn’t shake the guilt that was growing in my chest, heavy and cold.
I ran a hand through my damp hair, sighing. "I didn’t an to use him," I whispered to the empty room. "I just... didn’t have a choice."
But even as I said it, I knew it was a lie.
Because deep down, maybe I did have a choice. And I chose this path anyway.
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