Torak could still hear the faint sound of Lucien Valecrest’s lips brushing against the back of Adele’s palm.

It irritated him more than it should have, considering her severed every connection between them.

Adele slowly withdrew her hand afterward. She didn’t look flustered, or affected by it. She had always been a hard person to please, but he appreciated her not being pleased at the moment.

If she had looked affected by that pathetic display, he genuinely might have killed the man where he stood.

Lucien smiled at her warmly before finally straightening fully again.

"Your beauty has only grown with time, Lady Blackfen."

Adele gave him a small polite smile that never reached her eyes. "You are kind."

Torak almost scoffed aloud.

That was what noble women said when they wished to acknowledge a compliment without encouraging it further.

Lucien either failed to notice or simply chose not to care.

Alpha Blackfen leaned back comfortably in his chair while observing the interaction with obvious satisfaction.

Torak immediately hated that expression on him. He had never seen Alpha Blackfen from that light.

Blackfen had arranged this entire evening carefully, and Torak suddenly understood why he had been summoned here.

The realization made his jaw tighten.

He was being used.

Torak stepped backward once. "I have patrol matters to return to," he said flatly.

Alpha Blackfen’s eyes shifted toward him instantly. "Did I dismiss you?"

Torak looked at him calmly. "No."

"Then remain where you are."

Lucien glanced briefly between them now, faintly uncomfortable at the sudden shift in tension.

Torak quickly glanced at Adele. A strange heaviness sat behind her eyes tonight. Her posture remained perfect, but something about her felt withdrawn.

He hated himself for noticing things about her this quickly.

Alpha Blackfen lifted his wine glass lazily.

"Adele," he said smoothly. "Lord Valecrest was just informing me that the eastern territories are particularly beautiful during winter."

Lucien smiled immediately. "Especially the mountains."

Adele nodded politely.

"I’ve heard they are."

"You’ve never visited?"

"My father rarely permits unnecessary travel."

Alpha Blackfen’s gaze sharpened slightly at that wording.

Torak watched him closely.

Lucien continued smiling anyway. "Well," he said warmly, "perhaps that shall change soon."

Torak’s patience thinned another inch.

He moved again. "I am leaving."

This time Alpha Blackfen’s expression hardened visibly.

"I believe," he said coldly, "you are forgetting your place."

Torak stopped near the chamber doors, then slowly turned back. His eyes were completely emotionless now.

"With respect," he said calmly, "my place is not inside mating discussions."

Lucien cleared his throat awkwardly.

Alpha Blackfen leaned forward slightly. "You speak too boldly for a mere Beta." He cursed.

Torak nodded once. "I’ve been told. It’s a pride at the moment."

The room went still instantly.

Adele’s eyes flicked sharply toward Torak.

Alpha Blackfen’s expression darkened dangerously. "You’re not leaving. Don’t test me."

Torak held his gaze evenly. He no longer cared.

For the past several weeks, he had dealt with prophecy chaos, border disappearances, mutilated wolves, human experimentation, military panic....

And now this?

Standing inside a decorated chamber while some overdressed noble kissed Adele’s hand like they lived inside a romance tale?

His wolf already hated everything about tonight.

Alpha Blackfen slowly placed his wine glass down.

"You forget who stands before you."

Torak’s expression never changed. "No," he answered quietly. "I remember exactly who stands before me."

Adele inhaled softly at that.

Lucien shifted uncomfortably now.

The atmosphere had sharpened enough to cut flesh. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

Alpha Blackfen stood slowly from his chair. Even at his age, authority radiated off him heavily.

"Your loyalty has made you arrogant."

Torak cured under his breath before parting his lips. "My loyalty," he said carefully, "is the only reason I still stand here listening respectfully."

Adele’s fingers tightened faintly beneath the table.

Lucien finally looked properly uneasy now. Why wouldn’t the damn Beta just shut up already?

Alpha Blackfen descended one step from the raised dining platform slowly. "You overestimate your value."

"You underestimate my patience." Torak relied calmly, holding his gaze.

The older Alpha’s eyes darkened immediately.

For one dangerous second, Torak genuinely thought claws might appear.

Adele suddenly spoke, breaking the tension. "Father." She called under her breath, more like a warning.

The room shifted instantly. Every energy redirected towards her.

Alpha Blackfen looked at her.

Adele met his gaze steadily from her chair. "This is unnecessary." She mentioned.

Torak’s eyes moved toward her slowly.

Alpha Blackfen’s jaw tightened faintly.

Lucien immediately tried to recover the atmosphere with nervous politeness.

"I’m certain Beta Torak simply misunderstands—"

"I understand perfectly," Torak cut in flatly.

Lucien stopped speaking immediately.

Torak looked directly at him now for the first time since entering the chamber, and the difference between them felt almost embarrassing.

Lucien carried noble elegance. He was a carefully groomed hair with refined posture, expensive rings, and the scent of luxury.

Torak stood taller, and sharper. Dangerous in a way nobility could never imitate. He saw the exact moment confidence weakened slightly behind the younger man’s eyes.

"Then perhaps," Lucien said carefully, "we simply began poorly."

Torak stared at him. "I have no interest in beginning anything with you at all." He answered honestly.

Adele looked away immediately.

Torak caught the faint twitch near her mouth.

Alpha Blackfen noticed the twitch too. His expression sharpened instantly. "Youbwill speak no more."

Torak looked toward him lazily. "I just did."

The older Alpha’s wolf surfaced slightly beneath his skin now. Pressure filled the room immediately afterward.

Lucien stiffened.

Adele remained perfectly composed.

Torak didn’t move, and that irritated Alpha Blackfen more.

"You test me often."

Torak folded one hand behind his back. "You summoned me." He reminded.

Alpha Blackfen smiled. He chuckled under his breath, as if in doubt. And somehow that felt worse.

"You know," he said quietly, "for a long time I believed your problem was ambition."

Torak’s expression stayed unreadable.

"But now," Blackfen continued slowly, "I think your problem is something much more pathetic."

Adele’s eyes sharpened slightly.

Torak already knew where this conversation wanted to go, and he despised it instantly.

Lucien looked confused between them.

Alpha Blackfen glanced briefly toward Adele before returning his attention to Torak.

"You look at things above your station too often."

The room went silent again.

Adele’s posture hardened almost invisibly.

Torak stared at Alpha Blackfen calmly for several seconds.

He shook his head lightly. He never thought this would be the real Alpha Blackfen away from the council meetings. "You mistake me for a man desperate for acceptance." He said lowly.

Alpha Blackfen’s eyes narrowed.

Torak continued before he could interrupt. "I do not need your approval." His gaze flicked briefly toward Lucien. "Or his."

Lucien straightened faintly at that.

Torak looked back toward Blackfen fully. "And I certainly do not need reminders of class distinctions from a man who hides his cruelty behind etiquette."

The room froze.

Adele’s fingers stopped moving entirely beneath the tablecloth.

Lucien looked genuinely alarmed now.

Alpha Blackfen’s expression changed completely. "You speak treasonously." He said, his chest heaving.

The older Alpha moved forward suddenly. Fast enough that Lucien nearly stumbled backward from shock.

However. Torak did not move. Not even slightly.

Alpha Blackfen stopped directly before him.

Adele shut her eyes briefly.

Alpha Blackfen looked ready to tear through him, and she could see that Torak almost welcomed it.

Lucien suddenly spoke again, trying foolishly to calm things. "Perhaps tonight is not the best—"

"Don’t," Adele interrupted sharply this time, stopping him from speaking.

She slowly lowered the cup she had barely touched. Her gaze settled first on her father, then Torak.

"I believe," she said carefully, "both of you have already said exactly what you wanted to say."

Torak stared at her quietly.

Alpha Blackfen’s expression remained hard.

Adele stood slowly from her chair.

Lucien immediately moved as though intending to help her.

Adele ignored the gesture completely. She adjusted the shawl around her shoulders calmly before speaking again.

"If this evening was arranged to discuss a possible union," she said evenly, "then discuss it properly."

Lucien straightened hopefully.

Adele’s face remained unreadable.

"But if this was arranged simply to provoke territorial behavior from grown men," she continued coldly, "then it has already become exhausting."

Lucien’s hopeful expression faded instantly.

Torak almost smiled.

Alpha Blackfen looked displeased now. "Adele."

"No," she answered immediately.

Her tone was sharp enough to surprise even Torak. He had never heard her soeak that sharply before her father.

Adele lifted her chin slightly.

"I am not an object to be positioned between prideful men while they challenge each other indirectly."

Lucien looked awkward suddenly.

Adele turned toward him politely afterward.

"You have been respectful tonight, Lord Valecrest."

Lucien immediately softened again.

"But I am tired," she finished. "And I no longer wish to continue this dinner. Besides, it’s too late for a meal."

Alpha Blackfen’s jaw tightened visibly. "No one asked your opinion, Adele. Now, sit."

Adele looked at him calmly. "You raised me to speak honestly."

Torak watched Blackfen carefully then.

Because for one brief second, something unreadable crossed the older Alpha’s face. Like he’d raise his hand at her.

"Very well," Blackfen said coldly.

Adele bowed her head once, then turned toward the doors.

She passed Torak quietly. Close enough that her scent brushed against him briefly. That alone nearly unsettled his wolf again.

Adele paused beside him for one second.

Without looking directly at him, she spoke quietly enough that only he could hear. "You should leave too before you say something worse."

She walked away, and closed the chamber doors behind her as she walked out.

Silence remained afterward.

Lucien looked uncomfortable enough to vanish.

Alpha Blackfen slowly turned toward Torak again. And Torak already knew this conversation was far from over.

Torak looked at him calmly. "Have a calm rest, Alpha Blackfen."