Sera's POV
I woke up screaming.
The nightmare was always the same – red eyes in the darkness, claws tearing through my door, that awful voice calling me "Moonfire" like it owned me. But this time felt different. This time, I could still smell something rotten and wrong even after opening my eyes.
My bedroom clock glowed 2:17 AM. I'd only been asleep for an hour.
A soft knock at my fixed front door made me freeze. After last night's attack, Darius had called in pack fighters to fix the damage and stand guard. But the knock was too gentle, too careful to be a guard checking on me.
"Sera?" The voice was familiar. Deep. Tired. "It's me."
Darius.
I wrapped my robe around myself and padded to the door on bare feet. Through the peephole, I could see him standing on my porch in jeans and a dark t-shirt instead of his normal perfect suits. His hair was messy, like he'd been running his hands through it for hours.
"What are you doing here?" I asked through the door.
"I couldn't sleep." His voice was rough. "I needed to make sure you were okay."
I unlocked the door and opened it just a crack. The moment I did, that honey-forest smell hit me again, making my knees wobble.
"The guards said everything was quiet," I said.
"The guards don't know what to look for." His green eyes searched my face. "Can I come in? Please?"
I should have said no. Should have remembered that he was engaged to another woman, that he was way out of my league, that everything about this was confusing and dangerous.
Instead, I stepped back and let him in.
He filled my tiny living room like he filled every space – with power and presence that made the air feel electric. But tonight was different. Tonight, he seemed almost... vulnerable.
"You look tired," I said softly.
He laughed, but there was no fun in it. "I haven't slept since I kissed you. My wolf won't let me."
"Your wolf?"
"He wants..." Darius stopped, running a hand through his messy hair. "He wants things I can't give him. Things that would destroy everything I've worked for."
I curled up in my reading chair, tucking my feet under me. "Like what?"
For a moment, I thought he wouldn't answer. Then he sat down on my couch, close enough that I could see the tiredness in his eyes.
"Like claiming you," he said quietly. "Like marking you as mine and telling the whole world that I don't care about politics or alliances or anything except keeping you safe."
My heart stopped, then started beating double-time. "But you do care about those things."
"I thought I did." He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. "Twenty-four hours ago, I had my whole life planned out. Marry Celeste, unite the regions, be the Alpha everyone expects me to be. Then you walked into that event and changed everything."
"I didn't do anything."
"You existed." His eyes met mine. "You smiled at me like I was just a person instead of a title. You kissed me back like you meant it. And your smell..." He closed his eyes. "Your scent makes my wolf crazy in ways I don't understand."
I wanted to ask about the moonfire thing, about what those creatures had meant, but Darius looked so lost that I found myself wanting to support him instead.
"Maybe it's just because I'm new," I offered. "Maybe once my scent settles, it won't affect you anymore."
"Maybe." But he didn't sound like he believed it.
We sat in pleasant silence for a while. It was strange having him here in my tiny house, this powerful man who could order hundreds of wolves, sitting on my secondhand couch like he belonged there.
"Tell me about yourself," he said suddenly.
"What do you want to know?"
"Everything. Your favorite color, what you want to do with your life, what makes you happy." He smiled, and it was the first real smile I'd ever seen from him. "I realize I don't know anything about you except that you're brave enough to stand up to Maya and sweet enough to forgive me for disappearing on you tonight."
So I told him. About liking to read, about wanting to be a teacher someday, about how I talked to the plants in my garden because they were better listeners than most people. Small, silly things that probably bored him.
But he listened like every word mattered. Asked questions. Laughed when I told him about the time I accidentally dyed my hair green with herb paste.
"What about you?" I asked when I ran out of tales. "What's Alpha Darius like when he's not being all commanding and scary?"
"Scared," he said without thinking. Then looked surprised that he'd admitted it.
"Scared of what?"
"Of making the wrong choice. Of letting people down. Of being the kind of leader my father was." His jaw tightened. "My dad ruled through fear and violence. I swore I'd be different, but sometimes I wonder if I'm just better at hiding the monster."
"You're not a monster." The words came out more angry than I intended. "Monsters don't save people from bullies or stay up all night worrying about someone they barely know."
He looked at me like I'd said something amazing instead of just obvious.
"Sera," he said softly, "I need you to know something. What happened between us tonight – it can't happen again."
My heart sank, but I kept my voice steady. "Because of your engagement."
"Because of everything. My position, my tasks, your safety." He leaned forward. "But I also need you to know that it has nothing to do with you not being good enough. You're... you're amazing. Any man would be lucky to have you."
"Just not you."
"Not me," he agreed, but his voice cracked on the words.
I nodded, blinking back tears I was determined not to let him see. "I understand."
But as I said it, I caught him looking at my mouth like he was remembering our kiss. His hands clenched into fists, and I could nearly see him fighting some internal battle.
"I should go," he said, standing up suddenly.
"Okay."
He made it three steps toward the door before stopping. "Sera."
"Yeah?"
"If anything happens – anything at all that makes you feel unsafe – you call me instantly. Promise me."
"I promise."
He nodded and headed for the door again. This time he made it all the way there before turning around.
"One more thing. About your smell – the moonfire thing those creatures mentioned. I need you to study your family history. Ask around about your parents, your family. There's something important you need to know."
"What kind of something?"
Before he could answer, his phone rang. He glanced at the screen and his whole body went rigid.
"I have to take this," he said, stepping outside.
Through my thin walls, I could hear his side of the conversation: "What do you mean she's missing? ... When was the last time anyone saw her? ... No, I haven't seen Celeste since the wedding... What do you mean there's blood?"
My stomach dropped. His fiancée was disappeared, and there was blood involved.
When Darius came back inside, his face was stone-cold Alpha again.
"I have to go," he said. "Emergency at the pack house."
"Is everything okay?"
"I don't know." He stopped at my door, looking back at me with something desperate in his eyes. "Sera, whatever you do, don't leave this house tonight. Don't trust anyone except the guards I've placed. And if anyone asks you about moonfire bloodlines or old magic, you know nothing. Understand?"
I nodded, even though I understood nothing at all.
He left without another word, but not before I caught him breathing in deeply, like he was trying to remember my scent.
Twenty minutes later, I was still sitting in my kitchen, trying to understand everything that had happened, when I heard something that made my blood freeze.
Scratching. At my bedroom window.
The same careful, intentional sound from the night before.
I crept toward my bedroom, my heart beating so loud I was sure whatever was out there could hear it. Through the window, I could see a dark shape pressed against the glass.
But this time, when the shape moved into the moonlight, I saw something that made my knees give out.
It wasn't a monster at all.
It was Celeste Ravencrest. Darius's lost fiancée.
And her eyes were glowing silver in a way that no werewolf's eyes should ever glow.