Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

THERON

“ I ’m surprised the royal couple flew in without their entourage,” Vanessa purrs, her lips brushing my ear. “I hear the eldest daughter is seeking a partner for a new beauty venture. A collaboration now could be gold, right honey?”

A suffocating wave of vanilla slams into my senses, making me wrinkle my nose. I subtly adjust my grip on her arm to put some space between us. Her overfamiliarity is a major buzzkill.

Seren never forces things.

The memory of the gentle scent of lilacs makes a pang of longing shoot through me.

“Theron?” Vanessa snaps, a hint of annoyance lacing her voice.

“It depends on what the daughter brings to the table,” I reply, keeping my voice low. “If Blackwood’s doing most of the work, the ownership would need to reflect that. ”

A smug smile stretches across Vanessa’s face, telling me I’ve said enough to shut her up for a while, so I steer her to the middle of the ballroom. If we’re putting on a show, then we might as well do it where everyone can see. I’m not wasting my entire evening on her.

As the music picks up and couples swirl around us, a flash of shimmering gold by the entrance catches my eye. I smile and twirl Vanessa, positioning myself to make eye contact with the woman in the gold dress. She’s a welcome distraction in this staged performance of a night.

Maybe this ball won’t be a complete waste of time after all.

The music eventually quiets down, and everyone begins to spread out as the alpha king and queen start their royal circuit, weaving through the crowd and greeting all the attendees. I can understand why my father made this my introduction to the community. Every pack in the country has representatives here.

“Theron!” King Ares booms. “I’ve heard nothing but good things about you from the owners of Apex Academy. Your alpha must be proud to hand over the baton to you.”

“Thank you, King Ares. It’s an honor to finally meet you.”

“What a striking couple you two make,” the queen says, her gaze lingering on Vanessa’s dress. “That’s a spectacular gown. Chêne et Soie, I presume?”

Vanessa’s polite smile turns into a full-blown grin. “Thank you, and yes. It’s from a celebration for a dear friend who’s on the cusp of launching her makeup line.”

The queen raises an eyebrow, exchanging a glance with the king before turning back to us. “It’s always important to celebrate milestones. ”

They start to move away. I’m disappointed they didn’t take the bait, but the alpha king turns to add, “There’s a lunch scheduled with some industry leaders next week at the palace. Perhaps you both could join us for it.”

“That would be a privilege, King Ares,” I reply with a genuine smile, tugging Vanessa closer to me. “We’ll be there.”

“Excellent. I’ll have my team send you the details,” he says before moving to greet the next alpha.

“Well, that went better than expected.” Vanessa leans in conspiratorially after the royals are out of earshot, a playful smile on her face.

I chuckle at her expression. I won’t lie—winning the royal couple’s favor without my father’s intervention would be a huge ego boost.

“It looks like we’ll be connecting with your friend this week.”

“I’m always working an angle, honey,” Vanessa replies with a wink. “Always.”

The next few hours turn out to be a mixed bag, and it’s late by the time I’m finally behind the wheel. Unfortunately, I’m not alone.

Vanessa slinks into the passenger seat, slamming the door behind her. The playful glow from the gala has vanished, replaced by a clenched jaw and eyes that bore into the side of my face.

“That wasn’t cool,” she hisses, her perfectly manicured nails clenching into fists. The shift from her charming ballroom persona to this confrontational rage feels like whiplash, but her anger has been simmering almost all evening.

I continue scrolling through messages on my phone. I think I know what she’s on about, but I refuse to play ball .

Suddenly, her hand shoots out, grabbing my wrist like a damn vise, making me turn to her.

“That stunt with the girl in the gold dress,” Vanessa starts, her voice low and tight. “Why?”

I shrug off her grip and put my phone away, my mind still tangled in the night’s events. I check the locks of the car and let out a sigh, readying myself for another round of pointless interrogation.

“I thought we were building something real here, Theron. Not some act for everyone else’s benefit.”

Her sincerity catches me off guard, the tremor in her voice making my muscles tense. I didn’t sign up for this. “It sounds like you want to be my keeper. But that’s not how I roll, honey .” I purposely use her favorite word, enunciating it in a way I hope will make her stop using it on me.

She lets out a humorless laugh. I almost feel bad for her, but then she reaches up and brushes a finger down my jaw, making me jerk away from her touch.

“What do you want?” I don’t bother keeping my voice down. My fingers tighten around the steering wheel, my knuckles turning white.

“She left her mark on you, Theron,” she whispers. “She did it on purpose. She wanted me to find it, I’m guessing.”

I lock eyes with Vanessa, my gaze hardening. “Look, Vanessa, this isn’t a big deal. It’s business as usual. You know the game. You’re playing it too.”

She growls, and I can tell she’s holding back her wolf. “I’ve spent years building my image and making connections so I can be a good match for someone like you. ”

I shrug my shoulders. “So? I never asked for that. Never asked for you, either. Do you hear me complaining?”

“Complaining?” Her voice is suddenly an octave higher. “I’m busting my butt building connections for you. While you were doing your thing with that girl, I spent time with the Moonstone pack’s alpha and luna. For you. And this is how you repay me?”

Sighing, I glance at her and notice the hurt in her eyes, but they only remind me of the gorgeous hazel ones at home. The ones that look at me with hope and silent questions, but never complain. My throat tightens.

“We both know the game, V,” I say, softly this time. “But if you aren’t up for it, you need to take it up with your father.”

Her gaze narrows. I can sense her frustration, but I know she can’t say no. But I can’t be the one making compromises for her.

“I’m all in for this, for whatever we have going on. But disrespect? That’s not part of the deal.” Her voice carries a note of finality.

My alpha ceremony is just around the corner, and I don’t want to unbalance the apple cart. But there’s no way I’m promising things to Vanessa that I know I won’t be able to give.

I push my foot to the pedal, picking up speed on the empty highway. Two hours later, the car rolls to a stop in front of Vanessa’s sleek cabin and she steps out without a word or a backward glance. That works for me.

I drive a few hundred meters before rolling all the windows down to clear out the vanilla-scented air. Relief floods my lungs, pushing away the stifling weight of the evening .

Instead of zipping straight down the main road, I take the longer route home, checking in the rearview mirror to see if that stupid woman’s mark is still visible on my face.

She so wasn’t worth the trouble, especially since I didn’t even get to reach my high.

Guilt coils in my insides. It only exacerbates when I’m driving up the hill and notice the light still on in Seren’s window, haloed around the lonely figure pressed to the side. She probably fell asleep there hours ago. It’s three in the morning.

Fuck! I hate this.

Why does she always do this? She makes me out to be the bad guy, when it’s all her fault.

This is the reason I stayed away for three years. She makes me feel like a criminal.

Just as the estate’s iron gates come into view, I decide to turn at the last minute. The tires screech on the concrete, the noise echoing in the otherwise silent night. I drive around aimlessly until I spot the lake, where I can escape the night’s chaos.

I park by the edge, strip off my clothes, and plunge into the freezing water. The water feels like a thousand damn needles stabbing me, but hell if it isn’t working. The bitter cold washes away the stench of the evening that hangs on me like cheap perfume.

Knowing my wolf would love this, I call him repeatedly, but the stubborn jerk refuses to show up.

I can only stand a few minutes before swimming back to shore. I refuse to plead with Titan until he makes an appearance. Instead, I grab the bottle of Everclear from the car, along with the blunt I swiped from Phil.

Eyeing the bottle, I smirk. Maybe this will shut everything out.

Resting against the trunk of a lodgepole pine, I take a long swig of the clear liquor, relishing the bitter heat searing from my throat to my stomach. I feel it immediately—an instant kick to the head.

To counter the irritation in my throat, I light up the joint. Within minutes I’m high as a kite.

The moments stretch on. The familiar forms of the lake and the trees turn into fuzzy shapes. Before I finally black out, I taste something in my mouth, and it’s not the Everclear. It’s something tart…maybe blueberries.

Blinding light suddenly shines on my face, making me dizzy. My insides churn, threatening to explode out of my body like a bomb.

I try to cover my eyes, but someone rips my hands away. I shoot upright in anger, looking around for the idiot who thinks it’s a good idea to disturb me, but all I see is a blur of vintage honey-glazed patterns on the blue wallpaper. At least I’m in my bedroom.

“What the hell?” I flop back onto the bed as a throbbing headache pulses behind my eyes.

“Oh fuck! Stay still for a second.”

“Luke,” I whisper, letting out a hiss when I feel the needle going in. An icy feeling almost immediately rushes through my veins, and the nausea simmers down in response .

“I found you like this.” Luke stresses “this,” and I exhale another long breath. “You’re lucky I saw your car by the lake when I did.”

I run my hand down the sheets and realize I’m naked. I want to laugh, but that might make me vomit. This is one of the reasons I chose him as my beta. Yes, he’s sharp and hardworking, but most importantly, he keeps my secrets.

“I thought you’d come straight home after dropping off V. What happened?” he asks as I sit up.

An image of Seren’s silhouette in the window flashes through my head and I scowl, massaging my temples. “Nothing.”

“I guess the gala was a major success. I heard V telling everyone about the royal invite next week. She sounded pretty pumped.”

“Everyone?” I ask, ignoring that his sister went home after calling me disrespectful and borderline intolerable, just to present us as a united front the way she always did.

“Yeah, your parents came over for brunch. They wanted to know if we’d seen you, since they couldn’t find you at home, your phone wasn’t reachable, and your mind-link was off,” he replies, reaching for the intercom. “I’m calling for some sunny-side up eggs and toast. I’m guessing you can stomach that.”

Great! The old man gets another chance to remind me how to act as an alpha.

I grunt, pulling on my boxer shorts and freshening up before joining him for the food. My mood today is already ruined.

“By the way, I didn’t know Seren was back,” Luke says between bites. “Is she staying?”

Where else would she go? This is her home .

“Hmmm.” I focus on the eggs, not wanting to talk to him about Seren.

“Did she share her plans with you?”

I put my fork down and stare at him. My head is still throbbing, and this conversation isn’t helping. “Why the sudden interest in her?”

He shrugs, not looking away from his food. “Just asking. She did grow up around us.”

Us?

“I set up a job for her at Blackwood,” I say curtly.

Now he looks at me. “Blackwood? Why? What will she do there? I mean…”

My vision gets darker. A fire bubbles inside my chest. “Why do you care? She’s just some stray my parents picked up eleven years ago.”

He puts his fork down, his gaze sharp. “You can pretend she doesn’t matter, Theron, but the truth flickers in your eyes whenever she’s around. I always thought you two were fated.”

My jaw clenches as my fingers clamp into tight fists .

If anyone finds out about this…

I get out of my chair, letting it scrape harshly over the floor behind me, and breathe out, “Fuck that!” before walking over to the window.

“See, this is a response I don’t understand. This sharp reaction you have every time someone mentions Seren isn’t normal. ”

“Because I don’t like hearing her mentioned.” I grit my teeth. I’m not sure where he’s going with this. “And I don’t understand why you think I’d be interested in her. Have you seen her? In a crowded room, she’d be invisible: no curves, no looks, no personality. She’s as compelling as fucking wallpaper.”

The words rush out of my mouth, and a heaviness settles in my stomach, but then she always does this. She makes me feel like I’m the bad guy in her life.

“So you don’t deny that she’s your fated, do you?”

I huff out a harsh breath, feeling trapped.

“Yeah, Seren is my fated mate. So what? It isn’t something to be proud of. Of all the females out there, I got stuck with the weakest fucking link. Can you picture her by my side as my luna? She doesn’t know how to talk, how to act, or even how to dress.”

My wolf protests, screaming inside me, hurling curses at me for putting my mate down. But now the floodgates have opened, and I have to get everything off my chest.

“I can’t imagine how last evening would’ve gone if I’d taken her with me instead of your sister. Vanessa had the alpha queen eating out of her hand. I wish she was my fated mate.”

The weight of my words settles on my tongue, thick and metallic. A cold sweat prickles my skin. Am I throwing away my future, my happiness, with a careless wish?

But it’s hard to stop midway through a rant when you’re on a roll, especially when the thrill of rebellion outweighs the howls of your wolf.