Sera's POV
The knock came at exactly midnight again.
I'd been waiting by the window for an hour, my stomach doing worried flips every time I heard a sound outside. After two nights of Darius appearing at my door, I was starting to hope this might become a routine.
A scary, wonderful pattern that made me feel like maybe I really was special.
"You came back," I said as I opened the door, unable to hide my smile.
"I promised I would." His voice was softer tonight, less of that Alpha order and more of the gentle man I'd glimpsed beneath all that power.
He looked tired but happy to see me, and when he stepped inside, I caught him breathing in deeply like he'd been craving my smell all day.
"How are you feeling?" he asked, observing my face carefully. "After last night's... excitement?"
"Better. Still confused about what those things were, but better."
"Good." He pulled a small bag from his jacket. "I brought you something."
Inside were three beautiful crystals that glowed softly in the lamplight – amethyst, moonstone, and something clear that sparkled like caught starlight.
"Protection stones," he explained, looking almost ashamed. "The pack healer said they'd help ground your energy if anything like last night happens again."
My heart melted a little more. "You asked the pack healer about me?"
"I asked about moonfire genetics in general," he said quickly. "Research purposes."
But I could see the lie in his eyes, and it made me ridiculously happy. He'd been thinking about me enough to seek out information. To worry about my safety.
"Thank you," I said, closing my fingers around the warm stones. "They're beautiful."
We settled onto my couch again, closer than last night. Close enough that I could feel the heat coming from his body, smell that honey-forest scent that made my head spin.
"Tell me about your childhood," I said, tucking my legs under me. "Before you became Alpha."
"Not much to tell. Training, studying, ready to lead." He shrugged. "My father believed emotions were weaknesses that got people killed."
"Do you believe that?"
He was quiet for so long I thought he wouldn't answer. Then: "I used to. Now I'm not so sure."
"What changed your mind?"
His eyes met mine. "You."
The simple word hung between us like a confession. My heart started beating so fast I was sure he could hear it.
"Darius..."
"I know this is complicated," he said quickly. "I know I have responsibilities and duties and a hundred reasons why this is impossible. But I can't stop thinking about you. Can't stop having to see you, to make sure you're safe."
"I think about you too," I admitted. "All the time."
Something heated flared in his eyes. "Sera, you need to understand what you're saying. If this goes any further—"
"I know what I'm saying." I shifted closer to him on the couch. "I'm saying I don't care about difficult. I care about you."
The kiss this time was different. Slower, deeper, full of three days' worth of wanting each other. His hands twisted in my hair while mine fisted in his shirt, pulling him closer.
When we broke apart, we were both breathing hard.
"This is crazy," he whispered against my lips.
"Good crazy or bad crazy?"
"The best kind of crazy." He pulled back to look at me, his thumb tracing my bottom lip. "Sera, I need you to know – what's happening between us, it's not like anything I've felt before."
"What does that mean?"
"It means you're changing everything. Every plan I had, every rule I followed, every wall I built – you're taking it all down without even trying."
I'd never heard him sound so open, so fragile. Like he was letting me see the real man behind the Alpha mask.
"Is that bad?"
"Probably." He smiled, and it was soft and real and just for me. "But I can't seem to care anymore."
We talked until almost dawn, sharing stories and secrets and quiet laughs. He told me about the pressure of leading a pack so young, about missing his mother who'd died when he was sixteen, about wanting to be better than his father but not knowing how.
I told him about being lonely, about feeling like I didn't fit anywhere, about my dreams of teaching children and maybe having a family someday.
"You'll make an amazing teacher," he said. "And an incredible mother."
The way he said it, looking right into my eyes, made something warm and hopeful grow in my chest. Like maybe he could picture that future too. Like maybe he could picture it with me.
When he finally had to leave, he kissed me goodbye at my door. Sweet and lasting and full of promises neither of us dared say out loud.
"Tomorrow night?" I asked.
"Wild horses couldn't keep me away."
I floated through the next day like I was walking on clouds. Everything looked brighter, smelled sweeter, felt more alive. Other pack members kept staring at me with strange looks, but I was too happy to care.
At the clinic where I worked part-time, the gossip started instantly.
"Sera!" Amy, one of the other omega assistants, cornered me during our lunch break. "Is it true? About you and Alpha Darius?"
"I don't know what you mean," I said, but I could feel myself burning.
"Don't play dumb. Your scent is all over him, and his is all over you. Plus, you're nearly glowing." She leaned closer, her eyes wide with excitement. "Oh my goddess, you're his new favorite, aren't you?"
"It's not like that," I argued.
"Are you kidding? Do you know how lucky you are?" Amy grabbed my hands. "Alpha Darius never spends time with the same woman twice. Ever. But you've caught his attention for three whole days. You must be amazing in bed."
"Amy!"
"I'm serious! Half the unmated females in the pack have been trying to get his attention for years. And you just waltzed in and made him forget his own engagement party."
That stopped me cold. "His what?"
"Oh." Amy's face went pale. "You didn't know. About him and Celeste Ravencrest."
The world started spinning around me. "Engaged? Darius is engaged?"
"Well, not officially yet. But everyone knows they're going to announce it soon. Political agreement between the packs." Amy's voice got quieter. "Sera, I thought you knew. I thought that's why you were being so secretive about everything."
I felt like someone had ripped my heart out through my throat. Engaged. He was engaged to another woman, and he'd been kissing me. Making me fall in love with him. Making me believe I might actually matter to someone.
"When?" I whispered.
"The engagement party is meant to be next week. But honestly, with the way he's been acting lately, maybe..." Amy trailed off, looking hopeful. "Maybe he'll call it off? For you?"
I wanted to believe that. Wanted to think that the man who'd held me so gently, who'd brought me protection stones, who'd told me I was changing everything – wanted to believe he'd choose me over duty and politics.
But I wasn't that dumb anymore.
"I have to go," I mumbled, grabbing my things.
"Sera, wait—"
I ran from the clinic, my chest tight with fear and heartbreak. How could I have been so stupid? Of course he was engaged. Of course a man like Darius Blackthorne would never seriously consider someone like me.
I was just a distraction. A momentary fascination that would end the moment he remembered his real duties.
By the time I got home, I was crying so hard I could barely see. I fumbled with my keys, desperate to get inside and fall apart in secret.
That's when I smelled it.
Someone else had been here. Recently.
The smell was female, expensive perfume mixed with something darker. Something that made my new wolf impulses recoil in fear.
I pushed open my door and stepped inside, my heart racing.
My living room had been searched. Carefully, properly, but definitely searched. Books moved slightly out of place, couch pillows not quite right, papers shifted on my desk.
On my kitchen table sat a single black rose with a letter tied to the stem.
With shaking fingers, I unfolded the paper: Little omega, you have something that belongs to me. Give him up freely, and you'll live to see your nineteenth birthday. Keep playing house with my fiancé, and I'll make sure you disappear like your parents did. Some mistakes are more permanent than others. – C
The note fluttered from my numb fingers.
My parents hadn't died in an accident.
They'd been killed.
And now someone was threatening to do the same to me if I didn't stay away from Darius.
Through my window, I could see movement in the trees again. More watchers. But this time, I had the horrible feeling they weren't there to watch.
They were there to make sure I got the message.
My phone rang, making me jump. Darius's name showed on the screen.
I stared at it, my hand shaking, as understanding crashed over me like ice water.
I wasn't falling in love with Darius Blackthorne.
I was falling into a trap that had been set long before I was born.
And the bait had been my own heart.