"Try ."
But instead of indulging him, Eve exhaled and pushed herself up. "Thank you for dinner, Your Highness. I think that’s enough for one night."
Kyle watched Evelina push back her chair, his smirk dimming just slightly as she stood. "That’s enough for one night?" he echoed, swirling the wine in his goblet. "I don’t recall setting a limit."
Evelina exhaled sharply. "Kyle."
Kyle sighed dramatically, setting down his drink and standing as well. "So, no decision?"
Evelina frowned. "What decision?"
Kyle stepped closer, his blue eyes gleaming with sothing unreadable. "You asked questions. I answered. It’s only fair I ask one in return." He paused. "Will you choose ?"
Evelina’s stomach twisted.
He said it so easily, so smoothly, but there was a weight behind his words.
She folded her arms. "Kyle, you can’t expect to—"
"I can expect a lot of things," he cut in, tilting his head. "But I also know you well enough to know you don’t like being cornered. So, I won’t push." He stepped back with a smirk. "For now."
Evelina narrowed her eyes. "You sound very confident."
Kyle chuckled. "Not confidence, my lady. Just patience."
Evelina studied him for a mont before shaking her head. "You’ve given enough to think about. But ultimately, the choice is mine."
Kyle nodded slowly. "Fair enough."
Evelina turned to leave but hesitated before glancing back at him. "And I’m trying not to be rude to you, considering you’re a guest of the Arcadia Pack and the kingdom."
Kyle’s smirk returned, but this ti, it was playful. "How very diplomatic of you."
She exhaled, shaking her head. "Goodnight, Kyle."
"Goodnight, Evelina."
As she walked away, her wolf stirred again.
Relia huffed. "I like his blue eyes, I’ll admit that much."
Evelina raised a brow. "Oh? A complint? That’s rare from you."
"Don’t get used to it," Relia muttered. "Aside from his eyes, he’s gradually moving from an ache to a real pain in the ass."
Evelina almost laughed but kept walking.
"We should have punched him in the face when we had the chance," Relia added with a growl. "You rember? Back when he kidnapped us?"
Evelina sighed. "Yes, I rember."
"Should’ve knocked him out."
"It wouldn’t have changed anything."
"It would’ve made feel better."
Evelina shook her head, ignoring her wolf’s dramatics as she made her way to her chambers.
She still wasn’t ready to face Damian.
Even if a part of her wanted to.
So, instead of heading to his chambers, she turned toward hers.
She stepped into her room, shutting the door behind her with a quiet sigh.
The night had been exhausting. Too many emotions, too many questions, and—
"I knew you would co here to spend the night."
Evelina froze.
Her heart leaped into her throat as she spun around.
And there he was.
Damian.
"Prince Damian?"
It’s either he had masked his scent so well that she couldn’t sense him till he had spoken up or her wolf sensed him but was playing coy with her.
It’s more of the latter because Relia rarely calls him ’Prince Damian’.
Damian sat in the shadows of her chambers, his silver eyes watching her like a predator waiting for the right mont to strike.
He was calm—too calm, and the expression on his face was hard to read.
Evelina swallowed hard, gripping the edge of the door. "What are you doing here?"
Damian leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on his knees. "Waiting."
Her chest tightened. "For what?"
His gaze burned into hers. "For you."
Evelina’s fingers tightened around the door handle, her heart pounding against her ribs.
She should have expected this.
Of course, it’s Damian we’re talking about here. He wouldn’t let the night end like this—not after everything that had happened.
Not after she had walked away.
But that didn’t an she was ready for him.
Not when his silver eyes burned with sothing unreadable. Not when her chest was still tight with the image of him and Selene—so close. Too close.
Evelina exhaled sharply. "Waiting for ?" she repeated. "For what, exactly if I may ask, Your Highness?"
Damian tilted his head slightly, ignoring the way she called him by his title. "You tell ."
Evelina’s stomach twisted.
That tone.
Smooth and controlled. But there was sothing else beneath that tone. Sothing sharp.
She folded her arms. "So you broke into my chambers just to throw riddles at ?"
Damian’s eyes flickered, his wolf lurking behind them. "It’s not a break-in considering the palace belongs to ," he said evenly. "But that aside, you don’t lock your doors."
Evelina huffed. "Note to self. I should rember to lock my door from now on."
Damian’s lips quirked, but it wasn’t amusent—it was sothing darker. "Would that be before or after you finish entertaining Kyle?"
Evelina stiffened.
Her nails dug into her palms.
And just like that, the tension in the air thickened—shifted—crackled between them like a live wire.
"What," she said slowly, "is that supposed to an?"
Damian leaned back in his chair, giving off a lazy sort of dominance that made her want to throw sothing at him. "Exactly what it sounds like."
Evelina clenched her jaw. "So, let get this straight. You think I was—what? Running to Kyle because of what I saw in the gardens?"
Damian didn’t answer right away. He just watched her. Studied her.
And that alone was an answer.
Evelina let out a sharp laugh—one filled with disbelief. "You’re unbelievable."
Damian’s expression didn’t waver. "I’m unbelievable?" he repeated, voice deceptively calm. "You ran straight to another man."
Evelina’s anger flared. "I’m not cheap. There’s you, though. You let another woman put her hands all over you!"
Damian’s silver eyes darkened, but she didn’t give him a chance to speak.
She took a step forward, raising her voice. "You let her touch you, Damian. You didn’t move, you didn’t push her away—you just stood there. Do you have any idea what that looked like?"
Damian’s jaw tightened. "I wasn’t in my right mind."
"Oh, that’s convenient," Evelina shot back. "She almost kissed you, Damian. That’s if she didn’t already."
"She didn’t. I just was not thinking straight."
"And here I thought you had more control than that."
Damian stood in one fluid motion, the air between them electrified with frustration, pain, and sothing else—sothing neither of them wanted to na.
His voice was low but steady. "You think I wanted that?"
Evelina scoffed. "I don’t know, Damian. You weren’t exactly fighting her off."
Storm growled in his mind.
He hadn’t expected this to be easy, but hearing the raw hurt in Evelina’s voice made sothing inside him twist painfully.
"She drugged ," he said sharply. "She used so kind of magic. A potion."
Evelina blinked, montarily thrown.
But the anger in her chest refused to cool.
"And yet, you still didn’t follow ," she said, her voice quieter but no less sharp. "You stayed behind. You let walk away."
Damian inhaled slowly, his hands balling into fists at his sides. "Because I saw you with Kyle."
Evelina’s breath caught.
"That’s right," Damian said, stepping closer. "I was going after you, but then I saw you leaving with him. I saw you choosing him."
Evelina’s heart pounded, her pulse roaring in her ears. "I didn’t choose him. Even if I did, so what? You decided not to bother? You just gave up?"
Damian’s silver eyes flashed. "You think I don’t care?"
"I don’t know what to think, Damian!"
Their voices were rising now and neither was willing to back down.
The atmosphere around them was intense and electric, their wolves were becoming restless too.
Damian exhaled harshly. "I didn’t want her."
Evelina swallowed. Her emotions was tangled in a ss of hurt and confusion, flying all over the place. "And yet, she was there."
Damian clenched his jaw. "And Kyle was there for you."
Evelina scoffed. "You’re comparing the two?"
Damian’s gaze was intense. "Aren’t you?"
Silence.
Only their uneven breaths could be heard in the thick, hot silence.
Then—
Damian took another step forward and Evelina didn’t move.
She didn’t step back; didn’t push him away.
The frustration, the pain, the jealousy—the bond—it all swirled between them, tightening like a thread about to snap.
Evelina’s chest rose and fell rapidly as she felt the subtle change between them. She should walk away. She should end this argunt.
But then Damian spoke again.
His voice was low and rough. "Tell , this thing you feel between us, do you feel it with Kyle? Because I don’t feel it with anyone but you."
Evelina’s heart clenched.
His scent, his presence, the heat rolling off him—it was too much.
And then, Damian reached for her. His fingers brushed against her arm, and everything fell apart within her.
Evelina’s breath hitched.
And suddenly... they crashed into each other.
The kiss wasn’t soft; it wasn’t gentle.
It was a collision—a battle—a desperate, angry, fiery thing that sent sparks skittering down Evelina’s spine.
Damian’s hands slid into her hair, tilting her head back as he deepened the kiss as if trying to consu her whole.
Evelina’s fingers curled into his shirt, pulling him closer, gasping against his lips as his warmth surrounded her.
Her wolf howled in satisfaction. "I’ve been waiting for this mont."
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