I snuggled into the pillows, turning to Maya.
She mirrored my position. “So,” she urged excitedly. “Tell me more!”
There it was again-that giddy teenage exhilaration. I’d just come back from a date with my crush, and now I was telling my best friend about it.
But as I recounted the date and all the mundane, inconsequential things we talked about, the warmth ebbed, and a colder thought crept in.
I shifted uneasily, staring up at the ceiling.
“Maya…”
“Hm?”
“I just realized…I know Lucian’s favorite color and that Rome is his favorite city and that he’s an excellent swimmer. But, I don’t really know…him.”
The words felt heavy. “Not really, not in the ways that matter.”
I heard Maya’s frown in her voice. “What do you mean?”
I turned back to her. “Beyond OTS, I don’t know anything about his world. He’s an Alpha, and I don’t even know anything about his pack.”
She tilted her head thoughtfully. “That’s true. But Lucian… he’s always been private. Even with us at OTS. We know he runs everything flawlessly. We know he protects and cares for
But…” She shook her head. “I’ve never even been to his pack. I literally only know its name-which now that I think about it is very apt.”
“Shadowveil,” I mumbled.
Silence stretched between us, broken only by the faint hum of the wind outside.
I sat up quickly. “Maya-“
“What? It’s harmless,” she said with a grin. “A little late-night cyber stalking never hurt anyone.”
Despite myself, I laughed. “You sound like a teenager.”
“Pot, meet kettle,” she shot back. “You were sneaking out and making out in the dark like one just now.”
My cheeks flamed. She wasn’t wrong.
We huddled together over her screen, searching Lucian’s name, trying different combinations, keywords, anything that might lead us to the truth about his pack.
But everything that popped up was about OTS-his leadership, his influence, his partnerships. Nothing about a home territory. No lineage, no records, no whispers of where he came from.
And it seemed intentional.
That unsettled me more than I wanted to admit. An Alpha without a visible pack was strange enough, but one whose background was deliberately hidden? My gut twisted.
“That’s…weird,” Maya muttered, scrolling through another empty page of results. “Even the most obscure packs leave some kind of trail. Birth records, alliances, old disputes. But this?” She frowned deeply. “Super weird.”
The unease inside me grew sharper. I hugged my knees to my chest, staring at the dark window across the room.
“I’ll talk to him tomorrow,” I decided, more to myself than to Maya. “I need to know the truth. Especially about his pack.”
If he was serious about making me his Luna, that meant I would eventually step into his world. I would be damned if I spent the rest of my life with another pack that hated me.
I refused to go through that torture again.
Maya reached over, squeezing my hand gently. “Good. He owes you that much, Sera. If he’s serious about you, he’ll tell you.”
I nodded, but even as I tried to steady myself, my thoughts spun. What if he didn’t? What if the shadows around him weren’t just secrets but dangers?
I pressed my forehead to my knees, breathing slowly, forcing the fear down.
I couldn’t afford to be na?ve.
This time, if I gave my heart, it had to be with eyes wide open.
SERAPHINA’S POV
The hotel dining room buzzed with the easy chatter of morning, sunlight spilling acros plates stacked with eggs and toast.
Light conversation, in addition to the clinking of cutlery, floated together into one messy melody.
Most of the OTS members who had stayed overnight were slumped in their seats, bleary- eyed from staying up until ungodly hours celebrating or gossiping.
But oh, not Maya. She sat across from me at the small round table, bright-eyed and entirely too chipper, stirring cream into her coffee with a grin that was far too mischievous for so early in the day.
She hadn’t even tasted her eggs yet, but she looked plenty satisfied.
“You know,” she said, drawing the words out like she was stringing pearls, “since you two haven’t checked out yet, there’s still plenty of time to…enjoy the suite.” She winked. “I promise I won’t interrupt this time.”
I nearly choked on my orange juice. Heat climbed into my cheeks so quickly it almost stung.
“Maya,” I hissed, setting the glass down before I spilled it everywhere, “stop it.”
Next to me, Lucian’s shoulders shook with a low laugh, not even bothering to hide his amusement.
Instead, he leaned close, brushing his lips across mine. It was quick and soft, but it still made my toes curl in my shoes.
“Tempting suggestion,” he murmured against my mouth, loud enough for Maya to hear, ” but unfortunately, duty calls. I have several important meetings today. The LST isn’t going to organize itself.”
A jolt of nerves shot through me.
LST-The Latent Spark Trials.
The ultimate test: the measure of how far every trainee had come. Months of grueling work condensed into one chance to prove we weren’t just lucky beneficiaries-but fighters.
Worthy of a future.
And I’d let Maya and Lucian convince me to sign up for it three months ago.
At that point, it seemed like light-years away, and I was too busy taking one day at a time to worry about it.
But now…
Fuck, how had three months flown by so fast?
Sure, I’d spent all that time training as hard as I could, being pushed to the brink by my psychotic trainer (*cough* Maya *cough*), but the knowledge of how close I was to being tested filled me with a cutting anxiety I hadn’t felt in a long time.
Lucian noticed the change in my demeanor and pulled back slightly, a furrow between his brows. “You good?”
I nodded, smiling softly. “Yeah, I’m good.”
He didn’t look entirely convinced, but he didn’t press. Instead, he leaned in again, lips brushing mine in a kiss so tender it made my chest ache. “Don’t worry about a single thing.
You’re going to kill it, I know it.”
“Damn,” Maya said, drawing our attention to her. She was fanning herself dramatically with her napkin. “Here I was thinking the hottest thing on this table was my coffee.”
I groaned and pressed my palm to my face. “I can’t take you anywhere.”
“Yes, you can,” Maya countered cheerfully. “We’re the perfect balance of chaotic and calm. We’re stuck together forever, I’m afraid.”
I snorted, unable to stop the wide smile on my face. Being stuck with Maya forever was probably one of the best things that could happen to me.
The rest of breakfast passed like that-Lucian sneaking in kisses and subtle touches that left me blushing, Maya teasing every chance she got until my cheeks were hot enough to fry a fresh batch of eggs.
When we were done, Lucian leaned in for one last lingering kiss.
“I’ll come find you after my meeting,” he said simply, like it was a vow.
And somehow, with Lucian, it felt like one.
Maya and I left the hotel not long after, wheeling our small bags back through the lobby.
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