His lips curled into a smile at her bemused face.
"I am Alpha Blaze, Damien’s uncle."
She managed to compose herself, offering a polite nod.
"Hello, Alpha Blaze, I am Anne."
"Anne, are you enjoying the party?" Blaze asked, his voice smooth.
"Yes," she replied, forcing a smile. "It’s lovely."
"Good," Blaze said with a knowing look. "Though I imagine Liana must be giving you a hard ti."
Anne blinked in surprise, her smile faltering. She glanced around to make sure no one else had heard.
"How... how did you know?" she asked, her curiosity piqued.
Blaze smirked slightly, his eyes gleaming with the faintest hint of amusent. "I know my sister-in-law very well. She’s ruthless, Anne. Not the kind of woman to underestimate. You should be careful around her."
Anne nodded slowly, her mind swirling with questions. Was this a warning, or was he testing her?
"I... I’ll keep that in mind," she murmured, unsure of how else to respond. Blaze was offering advice, but his motives remained opaque, like a shadow she couldn’t quite place.
Blaze’s expression softened, just a little. "I’m a friend, Anne. If you ever need help, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’ll make sure you’re taken care of."
"Thank you for your offer, Alpha Blaze." Anne said. "Why did you leave the pack ?"
He smirked and replied, "Let’s just say there cannot be two Alphas in a pack. My brother is the Alpha King; now if I remained, he would have felt threatened, right ?"
Anne nodded, understanding the delicate balance of power within a pack.
"I am in the council now. I have a different role to play in maintaining peace and order among our kind," Blaze added.
"Good to see you, uncle," Damien’s voice interrupted their conversation.
Blaze’s smirk widened, but his gaze didn’t falter. "Damien. Always a pleasure."
There was an undercurrent in his voice that Anne couldn’t place—was it respect, or sothing more?
Damien stepped closer to Anne, his hand resting lightly on her back in a subtle gesture of ownership. "I see you’ve t my mate. Hope she’s been good company."
Blaze’s eyes flicked to Anne, his smile softening. "Very much so. You’ve chosen well, Damien."
"Anne," Damien said, his tone firr now, "we should mingle with the guests."
Anne nodded, casting one last glance at Blaze. His eyes t hers, filled with a silent promise that she couldn’t quite decipher.
She took a breath, finally breaking the silence. "Damien, why didn’t you ever tell about your uncle?"
"We’re not close."
Anne tilted her head, studying him. His voice was calm, but there was an edge to it, as if he was choosing his words carefully. She wasn’t satisfied with such a simple explanation.
"But... he’s your uncle. It seems strange that he’s never co up, especially considering the power dynamics in your family."
Damien’s lips pressed into a thin line, a slight tension building in his posture. He was in the race to beco Alpha King as well, back when my grandfather was deciding on his successor."
This piqued Anne’s interest. "You never ntioned that before. What happened?"
Damien let out a low, humorous chuckle. "What happened? My father succeeded. That’s what happened."
"How did your father win? Blaze doesn’t seem like the type to just step aside."
Damien chuckled again.
"By having ."
The weight of those words hung in the air between them. Anne blinked, trying to process what he ant. "What do you an?"
"My father wasn’t the strongest nor the most feared. My grandfather, the Alpha King before my father, valued legacy—family. He was obsessed with ensuring the pack’s future, making sure there was a clear line of succession."
"Blaze didn’t have children. My father did. . A direct heir. My grandfather saw as the future of the pack, and that was enough to tip the scales."
Anne’s eyes widened slightly as she began to understand. "So, your father used you to secure his position."
Damien’s lips curled into a sardonic smile. "Exactly. My father knew what my grandfather wanted, and he gave it to him. In the end, it wasn’t about strength or strategy—it was about bloodline. My father convinced my grandfather that the pack needed stability and a future. I was that future. Blaze... well, Blaze didn’t stand a chance after that."
"How did Blaze take it?" Anne asked cautiously, sensing the complicated emotions woven into this part of Damien’s family history.
Damien shrugged, but there was a tension in his shoulders that didn’t go unnoticed. "He left. After my father was nad Alpha King, Blaze didn’t stick around to play second fiddle. He’s been on the council ever since, working behind the scenes. I suppose it suited him better than being under my father’s command."
Anne nodded, piecing together the dynamics that had been hidden from her. Blaze’s bitterness now made sense. He hadn’t just lost a title—he had lost the future he had been promised, all because of a well-tid birth.
"That explains a lot. It explains why Blaze seed different. There’s history there, weight. He’s not just your uncle; he’s—"
"A rival," Damien finished, his voice flat. "He always has been, and probably always will be."
She turned back to Damien, her curiosity not yet fully satisfied. "Do you trust him?"
Damien’s response was imdiate. "No."
The word fell like a stone between them, heavy and final.
"Blaze plays his own ga," Damien continued. "He might have stepped out of the pack’s direct line of power, but that doesn’t an he’s harmless. He’s dangerous in a different way now, more subtle. And he never forgets a slight."
Anne nodded, understanding more than she had when the conversation had started.
"I’m a friend, Anne. If you ever need help, don’t hesitate to reach out."
But now she understood that Blaze’s offer was just another move in the dangerous ga of power he had been playing for years?
Damien was suddenly thoughtful, as if he had just realised sothing.
"Anne, do not go anywhere. I will be back. I need to talk to Chris."
Anne watched as Damien hurried off.
"Hello, you must be that famous, Anne; everyone is talking about you." She heard a female voice and turned to see a beautiful woman approaching her with a warm smile.
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