Derek’s grip was still ironclad around Kira’s fingers. She tried to pull away as he led her towards the table where the alphas, betas and their wives were now seated, being served dinner.

"Calm down," Kira whispered.

"I am calm," Derek muttered, halting just long enough to face her.

"You are vibrating like a drum."

His brows furrowed. "No, I’m not. I told you to be careful here."

"We were just talking. Or is he one of the enemies I should be careful about?"

"No. He isn’t worthy of being my enemy. Just an alpha of a small, quiet pack at the edge of the West." He shrugged. "Weird pack."

"Hmm," Kira breathed.

He led her back to the table and pulled out a chair beside his for her.

The meal was a sumptuous spread: herb-crusted lamb chops with a rich red wine reduction, served alongside creamy garlic mashed potatoes and buttered asparagus

"Please, enjoy yourselves," Alpha Lucas said as they took their seats.

Kira caught Cherry’s eyes from across the table. The woman was sneering at her, but she refused to let the beta’s wife ruin her appetite.

The conversation flowed easily at first, with Luna Cassie commenting on the unusually cold weather for the season, and Alpha Lucas sharing a light-hearted story about a recent pack hunt that had yielded an unexpected bounty. Derek responded in his usual style, a nod here, a single word there, sitting as straight as if he had swallowed a sword.

"I hope I’m not late?!" a cheerful voice suddenly called out, stepping towards the table.

Cherry’s entire demeanour brightened instantly. Her gaze shifted towards the owner of the voice. "Oh, Sandra, you’re here."

Derek froze.

The lady’s heels clicked sharply against the polished wooden floor as she walked towards the dining table. She was a stunning blonde with striking blue eyes and a smile that seemed engineered for charm.

Alpha Lucas and his beta, Oliver looked like they were one step away from a full-blown panic attack. Luna Cassie looked as if she wanted to vanish completely from the table. Alpha Lucas shot his beta a glare that the beta returned with a helpless look that clearly said: I didn’t know about this.

Sandra stopped at the table and bowed towards Derek. He didn’t bother looking her way.

"Your Grace," she said quite boldly, smile intact. "Long time no see."

Silence.

Cherry laughed awkwardly and frantically gestured for Sandra to acknowledge the rest of the table.

Sandra complied, but when her gaze finally landed on Kira, her smile brightened even more. Though she tried to be subtle, she gave Kira a once-over that lingered a second too long on her clothes and hair.

That alone told Kira everything she needed to know about the lady. Nevertheless, Kira kept her expression serene, offering a polite nod.

"Your Highness," Cherry said, offering Kira the first genuinely warm smile she had shown since they met. "This is Sandra, my beautiful daughter. Sandra and His Grace were—"

Beta Oliver cleared his throat loudly, shooting his wife a sharp warning glare. Cherry’s smile faltered. She shut her mouth and turned her attention back to her plate.

If the tension affected Derek at all, he gave no sign of it. He continued eating and drinking with calm movements, as if the air wasn’t thick enough to slice with a knife.

Sandra slipped into a chair adjacent to Derek’s.

"I’m sorry, I didn’t make out proper time to welcome you to Snow Crest, Your Highness," Sandra suddenly remarked, her eyes tracking Kira’s reaction. "I’ve been so busy lately handling supplies. The smaller packs are growing restless with the colder weather setting in early."

Cherry chimed in, eager to re-establish her daughter’s importance. "Sandy here, graduated the top of her class from Aethewulf Centralis University, and she is the pack’s welfare manager."

Kira let out a short, amused chuckle that she quickly disguised as a cough when every head at the table swung towards her.

Of course she is the welfare manager, Kira thought. All the bitches are, cue Ruby.

"Are you alright, darling?" Derek asked and immediately reached for the glass of water in front of her and held it out without a word.

"Thank you," Kira muttered and smiled, letting him feed her.

She understood exactly what he was doing. He was showing everyone in the room how much he "adored" her. Even if it was fake.

After she had taken a few sips, he lowered it, then, without breaking eye contact, reached out and brushed his thumb gently across her lower lip, wiping away a stray drop. His gaze lingered on her mouth for a long moment.

Kira’s heart began to pound frantically against her ribcage. His thumb moved absently over her lower lip once more as he held her gaze. Kira didn’t know how long they stayed locked like that until the sudden clatter of cutlery jolted them both.

Derek blinked, pulled his hand away and reached for his own glass of wine, taking a slow sip as though nothing had happened.

Sandra’s smile didn’t reach her eyes as she looked at Kira. Her knuckles had turned white around the handle of her knife. "I was asking," she continued, voice tight, "how you’re finding our pack, Your Highness."

Kira offered a bright smile and shrugged. "What can I say? I’m enjoying my honeymoon as you can see."

Sandra drank from her glass. "I can see," she said and turned to Derek. "I see why Der—I mean the King’s muscles had grown since I last saw him." She laughed at her own joke, with her mother her only audience.

Then, for the next several minutes, Sandra began entertaining the table with funny stories, constantly prompting the others to join in.

"How time flies, really," Sandra said, still chuckling from one of her anecdotes. "Your Grace, you remember it was by this time those years ago, that Father wrestled that mountain lion up in the ridges. The one that nearly took his arm off before he pinned it with his bare hands." She turned to her father. "You still have the scar, don’t you, Father?"

Beta Oliver chuckled despite himself and rolled up his sleeve to show the faint white line. "Yes, yes, it was a beast. Took three of us to drag the carcass back. Sandra was only fifteen and insisted on helping skin it. Nearly gave her mother a heart attack."

Sandra laughed. "I was determined to prove I could keep up with the guys. Mother still scolds me about it every winter." She turned her gaze to Derek next. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"My king, do you still remember that year the tide came in so high it nearly swept away the old wooden jetty? We were only sixteen. You and your cousins were convinced you could build a raft out of driftwood and sail to the islands." She laughed. "I spent the whole afternoon screaming from the shore for you to come back before you drowned, but you always were too stubborn to listen to me."

A few people around the table laughed, but the Alphas remained stony-faced. Sandra didn’t seem to notice—or perhaps she just didn’t care.

"I remember you came back soaked and furious, swearing you’d never trust the sea again," she continued.

Kira felt a prickle of irritation. Sandra was clever, she was weaving a web of ’we’ and ’us’, creating a world of shared history that left Kira standing firmly outside.

Sandra reached over and touched Derek’s hand, her fingers resting lightly on the back of his. "Remember those—"

"That’s enough!" Derek growled, ripping his hand away as if she were a leper, shooting her a venomous glare.

The entire table went silent.

A sudden dark, hot wave of fury had surged up from Kira’s stomach, making her ears ring. She pushed to her feet. "Excuse me," she said, her voice sounding strangely calm despite the fire in her blood. "I need to use the restroom."

Inside the restroom, Kira leaned over the sink, her hands trembling with the sheer force of her temper. She wasn’t a temperamental person, and was surrised at her own anger. She stared at her reflection for a while, calming herself down.

After a few minutes, the heat in her chest settled into a dull simmer. She straightened her hair, reapplied her lipstick, and stepped back out into the long, dimly lit corridor. Suddenly, the lights went off, plunging everything into darkness.

"Bloody hell," Kira hissed, her fingers searching for the wall.

A few steps ahead, something shifted in the blackness. Her heart lurched. Then, out of the shadows, two burning red eyes flared open, fixed directly on her.